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973.812.8000 www.flexptnj.com September 2017
Employee Spotlight Meet Marissa, Your Physical Therapy Aide!
Hi everyone. As many of you know, my name is Marissa Fulvi, and I am an aide at Flex Physical Therapy. After graduating from Bergen Community College with an associate’s degree in general science, I enrolled at Montclair State University to earn my bachelor’s degree in exercise science. This month, I will start filling out my applications for graduate school — due in January — to earn my degree in occupational therapy. While I wrestle with applications, I plan to work full time and save as much money as I can! When I graduated from high school, I was convinced that I wanted to pursue a degree in nursing. After chatting with multiple people about my career choice, I realized that a day in the life of a nurse doesn’t allow for the one-on-one connections I crave in a career, so I knew I needed to explore other options. I came across occupational therapy, did some research, and discovered that through a career in occupational therapy, I could help others in a medical setting while cultivating the types of relationships I wanted.
I was all over the place with my credits after feeling uncertain about nursing, so I finally chose exercise science for my major, and I was even able to obtain an internship at an occupational therapy office. Now, I am working at Flex Physical Therapy — I just celebrated my two-year anniversary — and assisting at my internship until I am accepted into graduate school! My favorite part about working at Flex Physical Therapy is the environment. We are very relaxed and friendly, and or patients know howmuch we are rooting for their recovery. Our patients see us to get better, but they also choose Flex Physical Therapy because they like our atmosphere and vibe. Our team is happy all of the time, and we all genuinely enjoy being at work. When I think about my future career, I feel excited. When I came across occupational therapy, I knew that I wanted to help people, and I wanted to have one-on-one relationships with my patients. After my initial research, I realized that therapists in the school system teach kids through techniques that feel more like games than tasks, and I really appreciated that strategy, so I wouldn’t mind working with kids for a few years. However, my ultimate goal is to work with wounded veterans at the Department of Veterans Affairs. In my spare time, I enjoy hanging out with my family and being outdoors. I love summer the most, and I grew up going camping with my family almost everyweekend. I also enjoy attending concerts and hiking. As long as I am outside, I am happy!
I discovered that through a career in occupational
therapy, I could help others in a medical
settingwhile cultivating the types of relationships I wanted.
See you soon!
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Extracurricular Overload HowTo Demystify Your Kids’ Jampacked Schedules
Every parent knows that a poorly organized tangle of kids’ activities is a recipe for a migraine. As school starts up again, so does sports season, and your kids’ extracurricular ambitions pile up like the falling autumn leaves, Don’t let yourself get burned out. Here are some tips to stay sane in the midst of the extracurricular whirlwind. Consolidate all your scheduling, jotting, and activity-tracking into one system. Let’s get one thing straight: You can’t afford to be scrawling “Abby piano lesson rescheduled 9/21” on the first scrap of paper you come across. That doesn’t mean you have to be hyper-organized, but it does mean that you need to keep your entire calendar in one place, whether that place is Google Calendar, a fridge whiteboard, or the old-fashioned standby: a calendar with a lighthouse on every page. One particularly attractive option is the Cozi app (cozi.com), which not only consolidates an entire family’s calendars, but allows you to include to-do lists,
shopping lists, recipes, chore checklists, and more. Whichever system you choose, keep it updated. Its word is law. Form parent alliances. Those soccer practices Jacob’s going to? There are other teammates there, and they have parents shuttling them around, just like you are. Set up carpools — Noah’s mom drives them both Tuesday while you’ve got Thursdays — to manage scheduling conflicts between your kids and drastically reduce the time you spend as a chauffeur. To simplify the process and make sure everyone’s on the same page, check out the Carpool-Kids app at carpool-kids.com. It’ll let you directly invite other parents and set up weekly or one-shot carpool schedules. Maintain balance. You almost certainly will need to say no to additional extracurricular activities every now and then. Sure, simultaneous baseball, football, and soccer seasons might seem healthy and fun for your kid, but you need to consider and being away from it for this longwas definitely challenging. Flex PTwas, luckily, a great choice, and I’m glad I got to spend my recovery time here. The small group of people who work here are all very nice, and you get to know themwhile you’re here. I’m glad to finally be finished, but if I ever get injured during sports and I need therapy again, I’ll be coming back here for sure.” “One morning, I woke upwith excruciating pain in my left shoulder blade. I was in so much pain that I could hardly breathe. For my job, I have to sit in front of a computer for about 10 hours a day. I was in so much pain that I couldn’t even sit still for more than five minutes at a time. My chiropractor recommended Flex Therapy. Raffaele has been a miracle worker. He personally workedwith me one-on-one and provided –Gabriella L.
your own needs, as well. Many parents give their children free rein over what to choose, but limit activities to one or two per season. Johnny wants to do underwater basket weaving? Strange choice, but sure — though he’ll have to abandon either fencing or ice hockey. Make sure you weigh each child’s needs equally, and keep the rules the same for each of them.
Testimonials
treatment appropriate to my needs. In my case, that included simultaneous heat and TENS treatment, followed by a deep tissue massage, which loosened up my tight shoulder. He had me workingwith weights, Thera-bands, and pulleys to help strengthen my shoulder, and he gave me exercises to do at home in between therapy sessions. “I felt a marked improvement after only a few sessions. I just completed my 14th and final session, and I feel great. I am able to sit in front of my desk andwork again. I just make sure to get up about every half hour, so I don’t get stiff. Raffaele also gave me some Thera-bands to exercise at home with. The entire staff is very friendly and professional. I highly recommend Flex therapy.”
“Overall, my time here at Flex PTwas pretty great. After having surgery on my shoulder back in June, I found out that I needed to go to physical therapy. I was pretty scared at first, but walking in my first day, I felt verywelcomed. I would be lying if I said I didn’t have a good experience here. Coming in three times a week and doing exercises became second nature. It felt great knowing that, after putting in the work, I’d be able to return to sports. I’ve been involved in sports mywhole life,
–Eli P.
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Will Your Chair Be the Death of You? Why Sitting Is More Than Just a Pain in the Neck
We have some bad news. You’re going to want to sit down for this. Odds are you’re already seated and have been sitting for quite some time. Or, you spent most of your day sitting at your work desk. That’s the bad news. More often, neck and lower back pain are a direct result of sitting for eight-plus hours every day. A lot of this pain comes from bad posture. Research into workplace ergonomics found the ideal sitting position is with the spine straight, both feet flat on the floor, forearms parallel to the ground when typing, and eyes pointed directly at the top third of the computer screen. That said, the best way to avoid pain isn’t to just sit up straight. We need to move around more. Our lives are literally depending on it. “We’re sitting ourselves to death,” warns Dr. James Levins of the National Institutes of Health. After 15 years of research,
Dr. Levine determined that sitting for prolonged hours leads to obesity, high blood pressure, and diabetes, and can increase the likelihood of developing certain forms of cancer. However, just standing around isn’t the answer. While standing desks are better than sitting for eight hours a day, you might shift your pain from your back to your legs and feet. Furthermore, standing still is equally sedentary. Humans are meant to move! Even if your job requires you to stay at a desk all day, there are easy ways you can add much-needed movement into your life. Rather than send an IM, get up and walk over to a co-worker’s desk when you need to chat with them. If possible, make phone calls while walking around. Desk exercises are another great way to increase your movement and improve your health. You can find a whole list of easy “deskercises” at greatist.com/
fitness/deskercise-33-ways-exercise- work. At the very least, you need to step away from your desk once an hour and take a five-minute activity break. It could put an end to your neck and back pain and help you live longer, too.
One-Pan Harvest Pasta
Recipe courtesy of midwestliving.com.
5 -Minute Meditation Mudras are symbolic hand gestures that can be added into a meditation practice to help focus the mind and invite additional relaxation into your practice. Our mudra of choice this month is the Vajrapradama Mudra, which invites confidence, independence, and trust. Interlace your fingers at your heart and leave your thumbs open wide, parallel to each other. Complement a simple meditation with this Mudra or just enjoy it for a few deep breaths when you need it.
This easy, healthy, hearty recipe is a delicious way to employ the harvest from your vegetable garden.
beans (white kidney beans), rinsed and drained 1 3/4 cups reduced-sodium chicken broth 1 cup dried whole grain elbow macaroni 1/2 teaspoon crushed red pepper
Ingredients •
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
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1 small eggplant, cut into 1-inch pieces (4 cups) 1 medium zucchini, coarsely chopped (2 cups) 2 tomatoes or 4 Roma tomatoes, coarsely chopped (1 cup)
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Kosher salt
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1/3 cup chopped red onion
Ground black pepper (optional)
2 cloves garlic, minced
Snipped fresh basil
1 (19-ounce) can cannellini
Grated Parmesan cheese
Instructions 1. In a very large skillet, heat oil over medium heat. Add eggplant, zucchini, tomatoes, red onion, and garlic. Cook, uncovered, 7–10 minutes or until vegetables are almost tender, stirring occasionally. 2. Add beans, broth, pasta, and crushed red pepper. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat. Cover and simmer 7–10 minutes more or until vegetables and pasta are tender, stirring occasionally. Remove from heat. Season with salt and pepper; top with basil and Parmesan cheese and serve.
iris.mindandbody
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INSIDE • Meet Your Physical Therapy Aide, Marissa! PAGE 1
• Extracurricular Overload PAGE 2
• Testimonials PAGE 2
• Will Your Chair Be the Death of You? PAGE 3
• One-Pan Harvest Pasta PAGE 3
• The Museum of What? PAGE 4
The Museum of What?
Momofuku Ando Instant Ramen Museum Osaka, Japan It’s not just college students and video gamers who love ramen. Since the invention of the instant noodles by Momofuku Ando in 1958, ramen has evolved into a beloved dietary staple from Japan to Jamaica. The museum named after its creator offers you the chance to look at some of the strangest versions from around the world. As an added bonus, you can even design your own packaging. Bring along some chopsticks, as there are plenty of samples to slurp up. The Kansas BarbedWire Museum Rush County, Kansas Plenty of museums are hands-off, but that’s usually to protect the precious objects held within. At the Kansas BarbedWire Museum, not touching the exhibits is just sound advice. The development of barbed wire was instrumental in settling the American West, and this museum pays tribute to the ingenuity of those farmers who wanted to make sure their cattle stayed on their property and thieves stayed out.
they don’t have access to one. In India’s capital, you can explore the fascinating history of commodes. From primitive examples you would never use today to gold-plated bathroom thrones from palaces across the world, the variety of toilets on display is staggering. Divided into three sections — ancient, medieval, and modern — you’ll be shocked at howmuch you can learn about history and culture through an examination of the ways a society flushes (or doesn’t). The Museum of Bad Art Dedham, Massachusetts There are plenty of museums dedicated to exceptional artwork from history, but only one dedicated to less-than-successful artistic endeavors. The Museum of Bad Art, or MOBA, promotes itself as the home of “art too bad to be ignored.” A trip to MOBAwill leave you smiling, laughing, and feeling a little better about the fact that you’re not Picasso.
Museums are a staple
of vacations no matter where you travel. Everyone has heard of the Louvre
and the Smithsonian, but you might be surprised to
learn about some of the stranger museums around the world. For nearly every passion, there is a building somewhere dedicated to it. Take a look at some of the weirdest. Sulabh International Museum of Toilets Delhi, India A functioning toilet is something everyone takes for granted until
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