November 2018
Today I would like to express my biggest gratitude to all of you who have followed me for many years. It’s special to me that our paths have crossed, and that you allowed my therapists and me to be part of your healing journey. When I first founded Rising Sun Physical Therapy, I was dedicated to creating a place where the sun rises every day, no matter how deep the clouds hang, where I could show you that there is new beginning in a safe healing environment. Thank you for being strong while recovering from life-threatening and deforming cancer treatments, debilitating pain syndromes, sports injuries, or even living in constant fear of embarrassment because of pelvic floor dysfunctions. Thank you for allowing my therapists and me to witness your personal healing transformation, your vulnerability, and your trust. MONTHLY MOMENTS Bettina’s
In our lifetimes, Thanksgiving hasn’t changed all that much. Sure, you may have modernized the menu and begun posting your family photos to Instagram, but the tried-and-true quartet of family, football, grub, and gratitude has been in place for generations. While it’s easy to take holiday traditions as a given, each one has a fascinating history all its own. Christmas trees, Valentine’s chocolate, and other de rigueur activities often have strange, unexpected origins. With that in mind, let’s take a look at the backstories behind some of the essential Thanksgiving traditions. TURKEY Unlike other items on this list, it’s likely that turkey has been a staple of Thanksgivings since the first Thanksgiving in 1621. At the time, the holiday didn’t even have a name, and it was still more than 200 years away from being officially recognized by Abraham Lincoln. There are only two primary source documents detailing the meal between the Massachusetts colonists and the Wampanoag natives, and one of them mentions the famous Thanksgiving bird explicitly. Plymouth County Governor William Bradford described the menu in his journal “Of Plymouth Plantation,”which is one of the earliest accounts of life in colonial America. “Besides waterfowl,” he wrote, “there was great store of wild turkeys, of which they took many, besides venison, etc.” As the colonists moved throughout the continent, they brought turkeys with them. In fact, there was even a specific role, called a “turkey drover,” for the person who would shepherd the birds from one part of the country to another. The relationship between turkey and Thanksgiving was well-established by the time the American Revolution began. Alexander Hamilton went so far as to say, “No citizen of the U.S. shall refrain from turkey on Thanksgiving Day.” According to the National Turkey Federation, TheHistory Behind ThanksgivingTraditions T urkey , F ootball , and B lack F riday
It means the world to me. Thank you.
–Bettina Neumann
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more than 40 million turkeys are eaten each Thanksgiving, so it’s safe to assume that most people are heeding Hamilton’s advice. FOOTBALL American football — or any football, for that matter —wasn’t even a sport when Thanksgiving began. However, the association between the two American icons dates back to the earliest days of the sport in the late 19th century. Harvard and Yale played the first Thanksgiving game in 1876. A decade later, the University of Michigan began a series of games that most historians believe inaugurated the tradition of Thanksgiving football in earnest. College football may have been where the sport’s relationship with Thanksgiving began, but the NFL is how we get our Thanksgiving football fix these days. The Detroit Lions played in the first professional “Turkey Bowl” in 1934 against the Bears, and the Dallas Cowboys got in on the act in 1966.
The teams from Detroit and Dallas still host holiday games to this day. The NFL, never one to miss an opportunity to make money, added a third Thanksgiving game in 2011. One year later, Mark Sanchez of the Jets produced the now-notorious “butt fumble,” laying an egg that even the largest fowl would be envious of. BLACK FRIDAY The wildest shopping day on the calendar begins earlier and grows more annoying every year — recently, it’s started to encroach on Thanksgiving itself, making you wonder if you should stick around for pie or head off to the mega-retailer for a chance to take advantage of some screaming deals. You may be happy to know that people being irritated about Black Friday goes back as far the tradition itself. Many people assume that the holiday gets its name from retailers going from“red” (having a loss) to “black” (making a profit) on that day,
but that’s actually a myth. The term was coined by Philadelphia police officers to describe the influx of suburban shoppers who flocked to the city, wreaking havoc and forcing them to work long hours. It took only a few years for Black Friday to become an unofficial city holiday. Black Friday in Philadelphia began in the 1950s. A few decades later, in the ‘80s, when America was chock-full of shopping malls, it became a nation-wide phenomenon. Even the explosion of online retail hasn’t slowed the droves of people lining up at insane hours to secure the biggest savings of the season. Thanksgiving is one of the most traditional holidays. Whether you’re content to keep the routine the same or are the type of person who likes to spice things up, it’s fun to know why Thanksgiving looks and feels the same for so many Americans.
AN ATTITUDE OF GRATITUDE Should Last Beyond Thanksgiving
HOW TO PRACTICE GRATITUDE
Taking the time to acknowledge who and what you’re grateful for is a Thanksgiving tradition far more important than turkey or football. It’s the cornerstone of the holiday and the reason we feast together in the first place. But when you really think about it, should expressing our gratitude and appreciation for others be limited to one day every year? Of course not! WHY GRATITUDE MATTERS As we get older, it’s easy to succumb to negativity and pessimism— “Kids these days,”“The world isn’t what it used to be,” etc. The crabby grandparent and angry old neighbor are archetypal depictions of later life. But these fictions don’t have to be your reality. Recognizing and acknowledging gratitude will help you take stock of the positive aspects of your life and dwell less on unhappy thoughts. Being grateful has also been linked to significant health benefits. According to gratitude expert and author Dr. Robert A. Emmons, “Preliminary findings suggest that those who regularly practice grateful thinking do reap emotional, physical, and interpersonal benefits. Adults who keep gratitude journals on a regular basis exercise more regularly, report fewer illness symptoms, feel better about their lives as a whole, and are more optimistic about the future.”
In the above quotation from Dr. Emmons, he mentions the practice of keeping a gratitude journal. This activity is a great way to start seeing the world with a more positive, appreciative eye. As often as you can, take a few minutes to write down the acts, people, and moments that you’re grateful for. Some will be big, others small — but all will have an impact on your mood and bring a smile to your face. Before you know it, you’ll have an entire book full of good memories and warm feelings. While keeping a journal is great, there are other ways to go about cultivating and expressing gratitude. The easiest one is simply to say “Thanks”whenever you can. It may seem insignificant, but you’d be surprised what a difference it makes. When you approach the world with the perspective that every day is Thanksgiving, it’s only natural to be grateful. We all have moments when we want to curse the world, especially as we get older, and those experiences are perfectly normal. Just as frequently, though, we have moments that are worth celebrating, often with people who are worth appreciating. Which will you think about more?
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THAT MORNING CUP OF JOE
Coffee and Its Relationship to Your Health
What’s the first thing you do in the morning? For most of us in the United States, it’s one crucial task: getting that morning cup of joe. Our obsession with coffee is nothing new. A paper entitled “The Consumption of Coffee in the United States,” published July 18, 1861, noted that “the people of the United States habitually consume more coffee than the inhabitants of any other country.” Its popularity has only increased with time; people in the U.S. consume an estimated 400 million cups of coffee a day. Of course, we weren’t the first to find out how great coffee is. Long before anyone in the Americas enjoyed the beverage, legend has it that an Ethiopian goat herder discovered the amazing effects of coffee beans — on his goats. He noticed that after eating “berries” from a certain tree, his goats became so energetic they didn’t want to sleep. News spread around the Arabian Peninsula, and cafes began to pop up, known as “Schools of the Wise” for the intellectual conversations that happened there. In addition to coffee’s long-standing popularity, science has found several reasons to give our morning habit the thumbs-up. In 2015, the U.S. Dietary Guidelines evaluated the effects of coffee and caffeine for the first time, concluding that coffee can be part of a healthy lifestyle “along with other behaviors, such as refraining from smoking, consuming a nutritionally balanced diet, maintaining a healthy body weight, and being physically active.”The guidelines cite “strong and consistent evidence” that consuming coffee within the moderate range (3–5 cups per day, or
up to 400 mg of caffeine per day) is not associated with an increased risk of major diseases. In fact, according to observational evidence, caffeine intake may be linked to reduced risk for certain diseases in healthy adults. Scientists think that antioxidants found in coffee, such as polyphenols, might contribute to its positive effects. There’s one major caveat, however. While coffee shows potential benefits when consumed in moderate amounts, the sugar and other additives that many of us like to put in it get a thumbs-down. The Dietary Guidelines also note that health alone isn’t a reason to start drinking caffeine. Folks with blood pressure concerns should be especially careful and should consult their doctor about how much coffee is okay to drink, as studies have shown evidence of increased blood pressure with caffeine consumption.
Everything in moderation, as the saying goes, at least when it comes to caffeine.
Take a Break!
SWEET POTATOES Spicy, Creamy
Sweet potatoes are a Thanksgiving staple, but they’re often the blandest thing on the table. Luckily that’s not the case with this recipe, which features Thai spices and coconut milk.
Ingredients
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5 pounds sweet potatoes
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1/2 cup dark brown sugar
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1 cup canned coconut milk
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4 tablespoons unsalted butter
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1 tablespoon Thai red curry paste
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1 tablespoon kosher salt
Directions
1. Heat oven to 375 F. On a large sheet pan, bake potatoes until very soft, approximately 75 minutes. 2. Let potatoes cool until they are safe to handle, then peel and mash. 3. In a small saucepan over low heat, combine coconut milk and curry paste. Once mixed, add the mixture, salt, half the sugar, and half the butter to potatoes. 4. 30 minutes before serving, heat oven to 425 F. Spread potatoes in a baking dish, cover with foil, and bake for 20 minutes. 5. Uncover potatoes and dot with remaining butter and sugar. Broil until brown, crusty, and delicious. Serve hot.
Black Friday Colonies Feast Football
Gobble Grateful Gravy Potatoes
Thankful Thanksgiving Tradition Turkey
Recipe courtesy of The New York Times
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INSIDE THIS ISSUE Bettina’s Monthly Moments PAGE 1 Why We Eat Turkey onThanksgiving PAGE 1 How to GiveThanks Year-Round PAGE 2 A Closer Look at Your Cup of Joe PAGE 3 Take a Break PAGE 3 Spicy, Creamy Sweet Potatoes PAGE 3 3 Tips for Pain-Free Cooking PAGE 4 Whenever an activity involves heavy lifting or repetitive motion, it’s important to take steps to prevent injury. While back pain, carpal tunnel, and sore shoulders are normally associated with work-related injuries, it’s important to note that these issues can also result from working in the kitchen if you’re not careful. With the big feast coming up at the end of the month, here’s a guide to pain-free cooking! MIX IT UP Even if you’re “just” chopping carrots or peeling potatoes, you may be exposing shoulders hunched forward is also bad for your back. While it’s always important to keep an eye on your posture, the best way to avoid pain and stiffness is to do a mix of activities in short bursts. If you’re cooking with family, consider swapping jobs every yourself to a repetitive strain injury. Standing for long periods with your
PAIN-FREE COOKING Avoid Injury This Thanksgiving
six or seven minutes to give your body a break from the same motions and positions. USE YOUR TOOLS If you are older or suffer from arthritis, this is an especially important point. Ergonomic kitchen utensils are available to make many cooking tasks, from slicing to stirring, easier to handle. Using oven mitts rather than pot holders also lets you grip hot items with greater confidence and reduces the likelihood of an accident. LIFTING THE TURKEY All right, here’s the big one: One of the easiest ways to hurt your back is to lift a heavy object while simultaneously twisting your torso — the exact thing one might do when trying to take a turkey out of the oven in a single fluid motion. Do not put yourself and the feast at risk. Lift with your legs,
straighten all the way up, and then turn to where you want to carve it. No one wants to throw their back out before Black Friday. We hope you have a safe and happy start to the holiday season. If any aches or pains develop as the weather gets colder, feel free to swing by and let our physical therapy experts get you moving again!
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