Health Masters PT February 2018

Health Masters PT February 2018

hen I was approaching the end of my studies at the UT Health Science Center in San Antonio, I had no idea where I wanted to go and begin my career in earnest. Luckily, I met a therapist at a program called W One Small Sacrifice and an Unpayable Debt HOW MY FATHER ENABLED ME TO START MY CLINIC

move out to San Diego, another opportunity arose in its place. One day, during a particularly deep conversation with my father, I brought up my frustrations with the local banks. You see, I was finally trying to open up my own physical therapy practice in El Paso, but I didn’t have enough money to get it off the ground. I’d gone to several banks, but nobody would loan me a cent. I wasn’t sure what my next step could possibly be if a PT clinic was so far out of reach. “Well, how much money do you need?” My father asked. I told him with a sigh, not thinking anything of it. After a minute, he turned and looked me straight in the eye. “I have savings. Let me cosign the loan for you.” His offer meant so much to me that it’s difficult to put it into words, even today. My father was by no means a wealthy man, but he’d worked hard his entire life for our family. I felt blessed and deeply honored that he was willing to put his savings on the line for a project he knew was incredibly important to me. I accepted his offer and thanked him profusely. From the very start, I took my new clinic seriously, especially with my father in mind. The idea of wasting my father’s good faith was utterly unconscionable to me, so every single decision I made, every exhausting seven-day week I worked, I did so that one day I might pay him back. In the end, the clinic succeeded, and I was able to pay my father back in full. Honestly, I’m just grateful we got to spend so much time together for the many years since I moved back to El Paso. Though he passed away a few years ago, I’ll never forget that he was the one to give my dream a shot, and that I have him to thank for all the abundance and purpose in my life.

“The Challenge of the Lumbar Spine.” He and I went on a couple runs together and got to talking. It turned out that he owned an orthopedic practice out in San Diego, one that offered rehabilitation not only to locals, but dozens of patients coming up fromMexico for surgery. When he discovered I was a fluent in Spanish, it piqued his interest. Though he was treating a large number of Spanish-speaking patients, his own skill with the language was marginal at best. And he knew my passion and training in the physical therapy field were both substantial. So, a few weeks after we met, he called me up and offered me a position at his clinic. Right away, I accepted. It was an incredible opportunity, and I had yet to determine the exact course my future would take — it was a no-brainer. I was excited for the opportunity, but during one of my last rotations at the hospital in which I’d been working, I received an urgent call. It was my mother, and she had bad news. My dad had been diagnosed with cancer. Though it wasn’t terminal, it was clear that it would be a big uphill battle for him to get well again, and the doctors weren’t sure whether he’d make it. At that point, I had one of the most important decisions of my life to make. Would I follow the course of my career and move out to San Diego, take on this promising opportunity I’d been offered? Or would I move back to El Paso, and spend what time I could with my father before he potentially passed away? I’m sure you can guess the choice I made. Though I agonized over it for days, worried that it might stunt my physical therapy career, I decided that connecting with my father was far more important than anything else could possibly be. I flew back into El Paso and began to spend as much time as possible with my dad.

–Louis Zuniga

Steadily, his condition improved, and he ended up living another 20 years thanks to the grace of God. It turned out that, in sacrificing the

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Education in the Kitchen

What Your Child Can Learn From Baking

from the instructions for a pastry to go from delicious to disgusting. Spending

With Valentine’s Day right around the corner, you’re probably wracking your brain for the perfect recipe to bake for your loved one. There’s nothing wrong with store-bought chocolate, but there’s no topping the personal touch of some homemade baked goods. If you have kids, baking alongside them can be just as rewarding as enjoying the fruits of your labor. As an added bonus, baking is a hands-on opportunity where your child can learn all sorts of important concepts. Here is a short list of some of the educational lessons hiding in your kitchen. Math Baking is a numbers game. Just take a look at any recipe, and you’ll recognize the importance of math in building a beautiful cake. Having children measure out ingredients helps them learn about fractions and ratios. You can also test your kids by doubling or halving a recipe for multiplication and division practice. With older kids, practice unit conversions by asking, for example, how

time in the kitchen, then, is a great way for kids to learn the importance of reading directions carefully and comprehending what they’ve just read. Cultural Understanding

Cuisine is a fundamental part of every culture. Introducing your child to dishes from around the world will expand their horizons. Want your child to be a less picky eater? Involving them in the cooking process is the surest way to get them excited about trying new flavors and ingredients. Nutrition Now, you might not think that baking cookies will encourage greater nutritional awareness, but hear us out. Sugar is often buried within packaged foods. When you bake something at home, a child gets to see, firsthand, just how much sugar goes into certain sweets. Meanwhile, cooking savory dishes also allows them to learn what constitutes a balanced, healthy diet.

many pints are in half a gallon. Following Directions

Not unlike computer science, baking requires a strict order of operations. The wet and dry ingredients often need to be mixed separately and then folded together. It only takes one deviation

Need a Little Spice in Your Life?

Spices and herbs add much more than flavor and aroma to your favorite beverages and treats. They also offer many health benefits. When properly utilized, these spice rack staples can ease a variety of symptoms. Ready to find your new holistic health kick? Read on. Nutmeg This spice, known for its earthy, nutty flavor, has anti- inflammatory and antimicrobial properties. Want to calm nagging pain? This spice has been used to treat joint pain and arthritis. It can even be used to remedy bad breath. Nutmeg is most potent when it’s freshly grated, so it’s recommended you purchase whole nutmeg seed, found in most specialty food stores. You can incorporate nutmeg into your diet by taking it as a supplement in capsule form or simply sprinkling it into your next chai tea. Your achy joints will thank you. Ginger This root is an essential natural anti-inflammatory. It can help ease an upset stomach and finally tame your nausea. You can safely eat it raw, candied, as a supplement, in tea, or in baked goods. Ginger is most effective when it’s ingested raw or in capsule form. If you have morning sickness, raw ginger might do

the trick. Just ask the people of ancient China. Like many spices, ginger’s use as a supplement goes back centuries. Southeast Asian countries used it to ease their own common ailments. Call

it tried and true. Peppermint

You can use peppermint as an essential oil, steep the leaves for tea, or take a supplement capsule. Each form comes with its own benefits. As an essential oil, peppermint is great for treating colds. It’s a mild decongestant, and it helps with coughs and stuffed-up noses. It also soothes sore throats and headaches. Rub one or two drops under your nose, on your temples, or over your sinuses and feel the relief wash over you! Even further, a study published by The BMJ found that when administered as a capsule, peppermint helped reduce the symptoms of IBS in a majority of patients.

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WHY YOUR HEEL ACHES EVERY MORNING The Skinny on Plantar Fasciitis

across the heel, forcing you to avoid putting your full weight on the bottom of the affected foot. Typically, this pain is worse when you first get up in the morning or after you take your first steps following a long sedentary period. Plantar fasciitis is especially common among people 40–60 years of age, but it can affect

Most people take their two feet for granted, assuming they’ll remain resilient and pain-free forever — that is, until an injury strikes. That’s when we realize just how much we depend on our feet to navigate our everyday lives. Plantar fasciitis is among the most common of these injuries, affecting upward of 2 million Americans every year and accounting for more than 11 percent of all foot injuries that send patients to a specialist. If you’re suffering from persistent foot pain, it’s important to understand the basics of the syndrome. Armed with this knowledge, you can determine whether the symptoms of plantar fasciitis match your own and figure out the best way to heal your injury. The heel of the foot is a complicated network of muscles and ligaments, all supported by a thick band of tendons called the plantar fascia. This structure holds up the arch of the foot and undergoes tension as the foot bears weight. As you walk, the plantar fascia elongates and tightens repeatedly, acting like a spring that conserves energy and facilitates a proper gait. However, with repetitive stress and/or overuse, the plantar fascia may begin to suffer degenerative decay, particularly at the point at which it connects to the heel. This can result in severe pain

individuals at any stage of their life, particularly runners, military personnel, teachers, restaurant workers, and other professionals who spend most of their day on their feet. Luckily, the syndrome is often treatable through noninvasive methods like physical therapy. Depending on your particular case, an experienced physical therapist can guide you through a set of exercises that will reduce your pain, increase your range of motion, and steadily heal your damaged fascia. If you believe you may suffer from plantar fasciitis, it’s vital to seek treatment soon. It most likely will only get worse until it’s addressed.

Have a LAUGH

HONG KONG EGG TARTS

Celebrate Chinese New Year in style with these egg tarts! Originally a Portuguese delicacy, these marketplace treats were influenced by British custard tarts and eventually became a Hong Kong staple.

INGREDIENTS

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Vanilla extract

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1 cup confectioners’ sugar 3 cups all-purpose flour

2/3 cup white sugar 1 1/2 cups water 1 cup evaporated milk

1 cup butter

10 eggs, beaten

DIRECTIONS

1. In a medium bowl, mix confectioners’ sugar and flour. Mix in butter with a fork until crumbly. Stir in 1 beaten egg and a dash of vanilla until doughy. Shape dough into 1 1/2-inch balls and press into tart molds. Use 2 fingers to fold down edges of dough. 2. Heat oven to 450 F. In a medium saucepan, combine white sugar and water; bring to a boil. Simmer until sugar is dissolved, then let cool. Strain remaining 9 eggs through a sieve, then whisk in sugar mixture. Stir in evaporated milk and a dash of vanilla. Strain the mixture again and fill tart shells. 3. Bake 15–20 minutes, until golden brown.

Recipe inspired by AllRecipes.com

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INSIDE This Issue

One Small Sacrifice and an Unpayable Debt

Cook Your Way to Better Grades

3 Holistic Remedies Hiding in Your Kitchen

Why Your Heel Hurts ​ Every Morning Craving Dessert for Chinese New Year? The Most Romantic Destinations on Earth

The Best Valentine’s Getaways to Fantasize About Valentine’s Day is for fancy dinners, heart-shaped boxes packed with subpar chocolates, and fantasizing about the magical places you and your beau would have escaped to — if only you had the PTO. So, grab a glass of bottom-shelf cab sauv, cuddle up next to your special someone, and try to make them feel bad for taking you to Chili’s instead of whisking you away to one of these picturesque fantasy lands. Udaipur, India mountainside. Too small to accommodate swarms of tourists, it’s the perfect place to while away the hours ambling from shop to shop, sampling the delicious local cuisine, and maybe taking a dip along the 300-meter beach. The Maldives

From a water villa smack dab in the midst of the glassy, ultra-blue Indian Ocean, you and your main squeeze can enjoy utter seclusion. Sip champagne in the shade of a palm overlooking an otherworldly sunset or get a little more adventurous, strap on a mask, and check out the abundant aquatic wildlife. Many hotels in the area even include access to an array of boats, perfect for your own private excursion along the mild waves. Of course, you could also always just stare, dumbfounded, into the horizon, wondering how such a place could actually exist on Earth.

These days, meandering through the cobblestone streets of Paris with your loved one is très passé . All the real high-rolling romantics are migrating southeast to the famous Oberoi Udaivilas hotel in western India. Set in a traditional Mewari palace, visitors will feel like royalty as they stroll around the labyrinthine gardens that surround the elaborate cream-colored structure. Travelers can relax beside one of the many glassy pools sprinkled throughout the estate, all of which are enthusiastically attended by an unparalleled service staff. Positano, Italy More than perhaps anywhere in the world, this place looks like it was lifted straight from a sappy romance novelist’s imagination. You and your partner can kick back on a balcony overlooking the entirety of this seaside town, taking in the century-old multicolored Italian architecture perched precariously on the verdant

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