PATIENT PULSE
(858) 675-1133 | www.waterpt.com
15373 Innovation Dr. #175 | San Diego, CA 92128 | (858) 675-1133 12171 World Trade Dr. | San Diego, CA 92128
With Mother’s Day fast approaching, I felt it was the perfect time to pay tribute to my mom, Kathy, as well as the mothers who work here at North County Water & Sports Therapy Center. I’m always so amazed at the ability of our four working moms — Ryann, Jackie, Jan, and Britani — to juggle a career and parenting without ever letting a ball hit the ground. I’m honored to work alongside these remarkable ladies. My mother was a working mom, as well. She was the rock of our family, holding down a steady job as an X-ray technician while my dad pursued his dreams of starting his own business. I don’t know if I realized it at the time, but looking back on it now, it’s hard to fathom how much my mom accomplished in a day. Before heading off to work at 3 p.m., she would have dinner ready to go in the oven. That way, all my dad had to do was get everything reheated and ready to serve. She wouldn’t get home until almost midnight, but she never let her career get in the way of being an awesome parent. One quality I admire about my mom’s parenting style was the way she was able to balance being encouraging and trusting while raising me. She offered lots of valuable guidance and advice, but she never expected me to be anything other than myself. There was never any pressure to be perfect or follow a prescribed path. In fact, she even let me make my own mistakes and learn from them. I think the independence she allowed me to have helped me become a strong adult. I certainly was not one of those people who showed up to college clueless about how to live without the guiding hand of a parent. For that, I am extremely thankful. My mom continues to be an inspiration to me. She’s as active as ever and has never stopped loving life. Far from a homebody, she still plays wallyball and pickleball regularly. Given that we live on opposite sides of the country, I don’t get to visit with her as much as I would like, but we talk on the phone often. And the Moms at Our Practice A TRIBUTE TO MY MOTHER
Beth and her Mom in Ireland
environment that’s welcoming and accommodating to mothers, but I still understand the sacrifices they have to make. Whenever I have a day when I’m feeling burnt out, I look to the mothers in my office as a reminder that being busy is no excuse for a lack of enthusiasm. This Mother’s Day, I encourage you to express your love to your mom, but I don’t want you to stop there. Remember that you probably work and interact with mothers every single day. Don’t forget to thank them for all they do.
–Beth Scalone
I see the same energy and selflessness in the team of mothers I get to work with every day. I’ve done everything I can to create a work
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TRAVELING WITH THE GRANDKIDS?
3 THINGS TO DO BEFORE THE TRIP
We could all use a vacation, and if you’re looking to bond with your grandkids, a trip might be the perfect answer. It’s fun for you, and getting away from Mom and Dad for a while is thrilling for any kid. But before you board a plane to Italy with your granddaughter or rent an RV for a trip to Yellowstone with your grandsons, there are a few things you need to check off your to-do list.
your grandchild to call home and tell her father about all the fun she’s having. A little compromise can lead to less stress and more fun for everyone.
PACK NECESSARY DOCUMENTS You need to have some form of ID for your grandkids. Older kids can use a driver’s license, but if you’re traveling with little ones, find a copy of their birth certificates. You also need copies of insurance and prescription cards and a notarized letter from the parents granting you permission to authorize medical care in case of an emergency. It’s also a good idea to have a letter of permission for your grandkids to travel with you. Make sure the letter is signed by all legal guardians, especially if your grandchild’s parents are divorced. You don’t want to accidentally cause a custody dispute. PLAN A TRIP YOU’LL BOTH LOVE When planning your itinerary, ask yourself if your grandkids will have fun, too. You might be excited to visit an art museum, but a younger child might not appreciate it as much. This doesn’t mean you shouldn’t visit museums or historical sites! In fact, most of these places offer kid-centric activities, like scavenger hunts, that can help a younger audience engage with the environment. Just be sure to think of your grandchild first when planning. There’s nothing like the adventure of travel to bring generations closer together and create lasting memories. These tips will help you ensure those memories are good ones. Happy travels!
DON’T LET THE PARENTS WORRY Letting their kids go on a trip without them can be nerve-wracking for parents. Don’t view parental worries as an implication that you are an irresponsible grandparent. Instead, think about how you felt when your own children were young, and take steps to alleviate the parents’ concerns. If your daughter asks you not to be on your phone while in crowded public places because she’s concerned you might lose sight of her child, promise to keep the phone in your pocket. If your son-in-law wants regular updates, make time before bed for GET IN THE POOL!
As you can probably tell from our name, North County Water & Sports Therapy specializes in using water as a medium for therapeutic treatment and exercise. We have an on-site pool, which we use to work with many of our patients. As summer approaches, the pool will start filling up, so we wanted to take a moment to highlight some of the benefits of aquatic therapy. Aquatic therapy has long been used in concert with traditional land-based techniques to encourage healing, reduce pain, and strengthen. Part of the reason aquatic therapy can be so effective is the way a body can move in water. The buoyancy of an aquatic environment greatly reduces effective body mass and provides support, making movements easier with less pain. The scientific law behind this concept is called Archimedes’ principle, which states, “Any object, wholly or partially immersed in a fluid, is buoyed up by a force equal to the weight of the fluid displaced by the object.” In layman’s terms, that means the water surrounding your body helps you move more freely. This effect has tremendous benefits when it comes to physical therapy. You can begin range-of-motion exercises in water long before you can on land. An aquatic environment also creates resistance through drag, promoting strength and stability. The force water exerts on your body, called hydrostatic pressure, decreases pain, reduces swelling, and facilitates excess fluid trapped in your tissues. The Benefits of Aquatic Therapy
All of these properties make aquatic therapy an excellent treatment option for athletic injuries, post-surgical rehab, arthritic conditions, and more. If you’ve found exercise to be unduly painful, the water is a great place to get started. Because we offer flotation equipment, you don’t need to be able to swim to receive the benefits of aquatic therapy. After you’ve used aquatic therapy to become stronger and increase your range of motion, you’ll be able to perform land-based techniques that were overly taxing before. When combined with other physical therapy techniques, aquatic therapy can lead to transformative results.
With all that said, we encourage you to hop in the pool. The water is warm and waiting for you.
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10-35% of all sports-related injuries involve the ankle joint and 77-83% of those injuries are classified as a lateral ankle sprain. This incidence rate is suspected to be higher since many of these injuries go unreported. Lateral ankle sprains occur most often when the foot rolls inward, overstretching the outside of the ankle. You don’t have to be playing a sport for this happen; many people sustain injury with a misstep off a curb or uneven surface. If you have had a prior ankle sprain, you are at risk for subsequent ankle sprains, and in some people, repeated ankle sprains lead to chronic ankle instability, pain, and loss of function. Repetitive ankle sprains may lead to early onset of arthritis. REDUCE YOUR RISK OF ANKLE SPRAINS The clinical practice guidelines on lateral ankle sprains, developed by the Orthopedic Section of the American Physical Therapy Association, make the following recommendations: 1. Use external support, lace up, brace, or tape (especially athletes playing basketball and football) during sports. 2. Always take time to warm up before sport/activity including static stretching and dynamic movements. 3. Improve the ankle’s ability to dorsiflex (flexing the foot by bringing the toes up). Lack of mobility in this direction has been shown to increase risk of injury. ARE YOU AT RISK FOR A LATERAL ANKLE SPRAIN?
4. Participate in a balance and proprioceptive prevention program. This is especially important for those who have had a previous injury and did not go through formal rehabilitation. Check out the other side for ankle exercises to improve balance and proprioception. Want to have an ankle sprain prevention program designed specifically for you? Call 858-675-1133 to schedule an appointment with one of our Doctors of Physical Therapy. During this appointment the therapist will assess your ankle mobility, strength, balance, and proprioception. Based on the results, an individualized program will be designed for you. A Special Discounted cash rate for this hour-long appointment is $100. This applies to a wellness/ prevention program design only.
BALANCE AND PROPRIOCEPTIVE EXERCISE TO IMPROVE YOUR ANKLE STABILITY.
These exercises are recommended for people who are currently not in pain. If you are still recovering from an ankle injury, ask your physical therapist before beginning these exercises. Try these exercises without shoes for greater challenge. Single leg balance: Standing on one leg, keep shoulders and pelvis level. Work up to balancing for 30 seconds
• Superman lean: hinge from your hip, keep back straight. Hold for 30-60 seconds. Increase challenge by adding light dumbbells and perform an upper extremity row while maintaining the forward lean position. Single leg balance toe taps/ clock:
Once that becomes easy, close your eyes for the 30 seconds. The following are ways to progress this simple exercise:
Keeping your alignment: pelvis level, shoulders level, slightly bend the knee you are standing on. With the other leg, tap the foot in different directions as if you are following the time on a clock. For example, if you are standing on your left leg the right foot would go out to right side for 3 o’clock, then return to center. Try to do this reaching for different points on the clock for 60 seconds. Band: step out four-way
• Clasp hands in
front of your body, arms straight.
Maintain balance and move arms to one side. Repeat 30 times alternating between sides. • Stand on an unstable surface; start with a pillow and move up to more challenging such as a BOSU ball (use caution as you advance, hold onto a stable support at first to be sure you can control the new challenge). Hold for 15-30 seconds.
Progress to eyes closed only if you are very stable with the eyes open and can hold for 30 seconds easily.
With a resistance band around your ankles, keep your right foot still and step out with your left foot forward and return, then step out to the side and return. Repeat on the other side. The key is to control the motion on the return to start position.
Have you ever injured your ankle by doing something simple, like stepping off a curb or kicking a soccer ball? Don’t be discouraged. Ankle sprains are among the most common injuries people face, and they can happen anytime and anywhere. There’s a good reason why ankle sprains are so common. You might not consciously think about something as simple as standing or walking — these motions are second nature to most of us. But when you really think about it, your ankle supports most of your weight, which is why injuring it is so commonplace. According to the American Physical Therapy Association, 23,000 people in the United States will suffer from a sprained ankle, and 45 percent of that number are sports-related injuries. What you might not realize is that once you’ve injured your ankle, there’s a good chance that you could injure yourself again. This is what physical therapists strive to help you prevent. Their goal is not only to work with your ankle after the injury to get it back to normal, but also to strengthen the muscles around it to avoid future injuries. PHYSICAL THERAPY CAN HELP
that won’t push you beyond your physical capabilities. Your physical therapist will work with you to stretch and strengthen your ankle with a number of exercises, beginning with resistance exercises and eventually progressing to weight-bearing exercises. Keeping an open line of communication with your doctor and physical therapist will help you toward a speedy recovery. Ankle injuries can be tough to get through, but if you work with the professionals and take things slow and steady, you’ll be back up on your feet in no time.
The rehabilitation process should be taken at a slow and careful pace, one that you’re comfortable with and
TAKE A BREAK
S
Zucchini and summer squash are arriving on grocery store shelves. Here is a great way to take these humble, delicious vegetables to the next level. This easy dish is perfect for early summer.
INGREDIENTS
DIRECTIONS
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1 zucchini
1. Cut zucchini into 1/4-inch-thick semicircles. Dice onion. 2. Heat a large skillet to medium high. Add olive oil, onion, and thyme. 3. Once onion is soft (about 2 minutes), add zucchini and squash. Season with salt and pepper; cook 4–5 minutes until squash barely begins to caramelize. 4. Place in serving bowl and top with feta.
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1 summer squash
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1/2 medium red onion
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2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
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2 teaspoons fresh thyme
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1/4 cup crumbled feta cheese
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Salt and pepper to taste
Inspired by thekitchn.com
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Monday—Friday 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. (858) 675-1133 www.waterpt.com
15373 Innovation Dr. #175 San Diego, CA 92128
INSIDE THIS ISSUE
1
The Inspiration of Working Mothers
2
Secrets to a Great Family Vacation
How Aquatic Therapy Can Help You
3
How to Handle a Common Injury
Sautéed Zucchini and Squash With Feta
4
Local Events Calendar
AWESOME SAN DIEGO EVENTS To Kick Off Summer in Style
San Diego may not get frigid, but the city still celebrates the start of summer with a packed calendar of events and activities. Here are a few of the upcoming highlights on our calendar.
the $35 price of admission doesn’t include tacos, you will get access to Lucha Libre wrestling, a Chihuahua beauty pageant, and live performances all day long. If you like your tacos with a little extra seasoning,
22ND ANNUAL FESTIVAL OF ARTS IN NORTH PARK When: Saturday, May 12, 11 a.m. to 10 p.m. Where: 30th Street and University Avenue
you’ll be happy to know that Salt- N-Pepa is headlining this year. This event is 21-plus, and tickets can be purchased at sdtacofest.com.
North Park is one of the city’s most vibrant neighborhoods, and the Festival of Arts in North Park is when local artists, musicians, chefs, and more come out to show their stuff. Featuring dozens of local bands, live art performed on-site, and an area specifically devoted to kids, there’s something for everybody at this festival. Admission to the festival is free, but for $35 you can visit the craft beer tent to enjoy local brews and craft cocktails paired with dishes from neighborhood chefs.
MARINE CORPS MUD RUN When: June 9–10 Where: Camp Pendleton
Want to have fun, work out, and support our Marines all at the same
SAN DIEGO TACO FEST When: Saturday, May 19, 11 a.m. to 10 p.m. Where: Waterfront Park
time? Check out the Marine Corps Mud Run. There are events of varying distances to accommodate folks of all fitness levels, including a 2K for kids. With races across both days, you can pick the time that works best for your schedule. Go to marinecorpsmudrun.com to find out more.
We don’t have to tell you that San Diego is a paradise for taco lovers. It would take months, if not years, to try tacos from all of the city’s best purveyors. Unless, of course, you attend the San Diego Taco Fest. With more than 30 vendors topping tortillas with any number of delicious ingredients, you’ll certainly leave full. While
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