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Home General Health Senior Health A little exercise goes a long way, especially in seniors

The word exercise often induces images of sweat and labored breathing, discouraging many people. Exercising on a regular basis helps us stay healthy and maintain our weight when combined with a balanced diet. Despite knowing this, many people go without regular exercise.

This is very apparent in the senior population, where dependent behavior is actually encouraged. Perhaps it is due to their perceived frailty. But according to new research, this perception may be doing our elderly a great disservice.

Home care aides provide seniors and older adults with services and personal care to individuals that can no longer take care of themselves. While making sure they dont overexert themselves is of great importance, a study was done to see if using this method of senior care was best for their overall health.

The study investigated homebound seniors taking part in three low-risk, gentle exercises as part of a program called Healthy Moves for Aging Well. These included a seated step-in-place, arm curls, and an ankle point-and-flex. All exercises were guided by at home aides, making sure that participants were performing the exercises safely. Encouragement was also given to the older adults to complete exercises on a daily basis, and they were frequently reminded of their health goals.

A total of 54 subjects took part in the study, ranging in age from 63 to 101. For a total of four months, seniors were asked to perform these at-home exercises.

The researchers saw significant improvement in the participants ability to perform basic activities such as getting to the toilet, pouring a drink from a carton, preparing meals, and doing laundry.

He continued, few physical activity programs targetolder adultswho have difficulty with basic activities, such as standing and walking. Programs that do so effectivelythrough physical or occupational therapy, for exampleare often too expensive for wide dissemination among this group of people.

Overall function and health outcomes saw an improvement, and satisfaction with the program ranked high with 98% of participants.

The researchers are quite happy with the outcome of this study. They want to get more home care aids to develop and become involved in a sustainable health promotion program such as this.

Related: Seniors who feel close to God have improved well-being through prayer

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https://academic.oup.com/gerontologist/article-abstract/doi/10.1093/geront/gnx101/3869650/Promoting-Seniors-Health-With-Home-Care-Aides-A?redirectedFrom=fulltext

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A little exercise goes a long way, especially in seniors - Bel Marra Health

Home Health News Chronic fatigue syndrome patients may benefit from guided exercise: Study

Chronic fatigue syndrome (CFS) is a debilitating condition for patients as they constantly live with low energy. It can make daily life a struggle and the worst part is that there arent FDA-approved treatments for it, so patients are often left in the dark about what to do to improve their symptoms. Symptoms of CFS include extreme fatigue, muscle and joint pain, sore throat and tender lymph nodes, headaches, and difficulties with memory and sleep.

A new report suggests that patients may obtain some relief through expert-guided, self-help exercise programs.

For the study, 200 CFS patients performed workouts over the course of 12 weeks with either phone or online support from a physiotherapist. The patients physical activity slowly progressed over the 12 weeks as they established daily routines.

The researchers suggest that this form of guided exercise is useful for patients because it does not require them to leave their homes to visit a clinic.

The lead author of the study, Lucy Clark, explained, We found that a self-help approach to a graded exercise program (GES), guided by a therapist, was safe and also helped to reduce fatigue for some people with chronic fatigue syndrome.

Researchers are now trying to determine whether the benefits of the exercise lasted beyond the 12-week study period.

In an accompanying journal editorial, Dr. Daniel Clauw, director of the Chronic Pain and Fatigue Research Center at the University of Michigan, praised the study by saying, The finding that graded exercise therapy is effective even when exercise is not being witnessed and directly guided by a physiotherapist is a substantial advance, since many patients with chronic fatigue syndrome and other functional impairment have difficulty getting to physiotherapy or do not have access to appropriately trained physiotherapists.

As mentioned, there arent any FDA-approved drug therapies currently available for treating chronic fatigue syndrome, but using natural remedies that can offer patients some relief is still a viable way to improve quality of life.

Related:Chronic fatigue syndrome diet: Foods to eat and avoid

Related Reading:

Depression and chronic fatigue syndrome: How are they linked?

Overcoming chronic fatigue syndrome: Steps to follow

http://www.thelancet.com/journals/lancet/article/PIIS0140-6736(16)32589-2/fulltext

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Chronic fatigue syndrome patients may benefit from guided exercise: Study - Bel Marra Health

June 26, 2017 by Jacqueline Carey Credit: CC0 Public Domain

An exercise program comprised of gentle exercises and taught by home care aides can help frail older adults perform basic daily activities, according to a new study by researchers at the University of Illinois at Chicago published in The Gerontologist.

"Despite evidence proving the benefits of regular physical activity for all people, regardless of age and ability, our health care system and long-term care norms encourage dependent behavior in older adults," said corresponding author Naoko Muramatsu, associate professor of community health sciences in the UIC School of Public Health and fellow of the UIC Institute for Health Research and Policy.

"This study challenges our passive care model and is one of the first to test an intervention for frail seniors using home care aides," she said.

The program, called Healthy Moves for Aging Well, includes three low-risk, gentle exercises: a seated step-in-place, arm curls and an ankle point-and-flex to home-bound older adults. Aides remind clients of their health goals and provide motivation to complete the exercises daily during regular visits.

For the study, Muramatsu and colleagues looked at the outcomes of 54 clients aged 63 to 101 living in Chicago who participated in Healthy Moves for Aging Well in a Medicaid and state-funded home care setting for four months. The researchers saw improvement in the ability to perform basic activities, such as getting to the toilet and pouring a drink from a carton, and light daily tasks, such as preparing meals and doing laundry.

"Improvement in these small tasks makes a large difference when it comes to quality of life, especially in a society that has not yet caught up to the needs of its aging population," Muramatsu said. "Few physical activity programs target older adults who have difficulty with basic activities, such as standing and walking. Programs that do so effectivelythrough physical or occupational therapy, for exampleare often too expensive for wide dissemination among this group of people."

"We are excited to see function and health outcomes improve, and we are also very excited to see that participation and satisfaction with the program was high," Muramatsu said. "This tells us that the program is sustainable for wider dissemination."

Ninety-eight percent of clients reported high levels of satisfaction with the program and 80 percent reported the program was "just right."

And, clients are not the only ones who benefit from this program. The research also found the program empowered and benefited home care aidesone of the fastest growing occupations is the U.S.who often lack access to wellness initiatives provided in more traditional workplaces. These secondary findings are published in the International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health.

Muramatsu plans to enroll approximately 300 home-care aides and their clients, in future studies. The goal, she says, is to develop a sustainable health promotion program that can be used widely by all kinds of people and organizations in community-settings.

Explore further: Tailored preventive oral health intervention improves dental health among elderly

More information: Naoko Muramatsu et al. Promoting Seniors' Health With Home Care Aides: A Pilot, The Gerontologist (2017). DOI: 10.1093/geront/gnx101

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Exercise program improves performance of daily activities for frail older adults - Medical Xpress

The Supreme Court concluded its work for this session on Monday siding with religious institutions in a major church-state decision and with no indication that pivotal Justice Anthony M. Kennedy is retiring.

The speculation about Kennedy, who has served on the court for nearly three decades and is almost always the deciding vote in divisive cases on the nations biggest controversies, dominated the end of a relatively quiet Supreme Court term.

But the courts announcement of final decisions came and went without any word from Kennedy, whose former clerks had speculated he was considering leaving. The rumors were closely watched at the White House, where a vacancy would give President Trump the chance to solidify a more conservative Supreme Court.

In the church-state case, the court ruled 7-2 that it violates the Constitutions protection of the free exercise of religion to exclude churches from state programs with a secular intent in this case, making playgrounds safer.

Missouris state constitution, like those in about three dozen states, forbade government from spending any public money on any church, sect, or denomination of religion.

Trinity Lutheran Church in Columbia, Mo., wanted to participate in a state program that reimburses the cost of rubberizing the surface of playgrounds. But the state said that was not allowed.

The exclusion has raised big questions about how to uphold the Constitutions prohibition on government support for religion without discriminating against those who are religious.

The exclusion of Trinity Lutheran from a public benefit for which it is otherwise qualified, solely because it is a church, is odious to our Constitution and cannot stand, wrote Chief Justice John G. Roberts Jr.

The church had ranked high enough in its application for the safety surface that it would have received the grant, but for the denial from the state's natural resources department.

The express discrimination against religious exercise here is not the denial of a grant, but rather the refusal to allow the church solely because it is a church to compete with secular organizations for a grant.

Roberts was joined by the courts conservatives as well as one of its liberals, Justice Elena Kagan. Another liberal, Justice Stephen G. Breyer, agreed with the outcome of the case.

[Justices express sympathy with Missouri church at Supreme Court hearing]

(Monica Akhtar/The Washington Post)

Roberts made a concession that may have drawn some votes. In a footnote, he said This case involves express discrimination based on religious identity with respect to playground resurfacing. We do not address religious uses of funding or other forms of discrimination.

The two dissenting votes came from Justices Ruth Bader Ginsburg and Sonia Sotomayor.

Sotomayor issued a stinging dissent, and made clear her displeasure by summarizing it from the bench after Roberts announced the decision.

She said the ruling weakens this countrys longstanding commitment to a separation of church and state beneficial to both.

She concluded: If this separation means anything, it means that the government cannot, or at the very least need not, tax its citizens and turn that money over to houses of worship. The court today blinds itself to the outcome this history requires and leads us instead to a place where separation of church and state is a constitutional slogan, not a constitutional commitment.

Some states with the same restriction as Missouri already allow churches to participate in programs that are generally applicable to the public and are for secular benefits such as health and safety.

Adding a twist to the case, Missouri now does as well. The states new Republican governor, Eric Greitens, announced just before the April oral argument that he was reversing the policy that denied Trinitys application in 2012 and that churches are now eligible to participate.

The states new attorney general agrees, and a private attorney was appointed by the state to defend its old policy.

The case has been pending for a very long time. The court agreed to hear it in January 2016, just before the sudden death of Justice Antonin Scalia.

The case is Trinity Lutheran Church of Columbia v. Comer.

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Supreme Court sides with religious institutions in a major church-state decision - Washington Post

A few weeks after a skiing accident in February left her paralyzed from the hips down, 16-year-old Sierra OLeary received a text from a concerned Rivendell Academy friend who asked if shed ever walk again.

I dont know, OLeary responded. Nobody knows.

But this much OLeary does know: Its way too early to give up.

After completing nine weeks of therapy at Spaulding Rehabilitation Hospital in Boston, OLeary could have returned home to Fairlee and got on with life as a paraplegic.

But at the urging of her parents, Robert OLeary and Susan Gyorky, Sierra has stayed in Boston and continued to push herself so she might some day walk again. At Spaulding, the family heard about a nonprofit organization called Journey Forward that works with people who have suffered severe spinal cord injuries.

OLeary spends two days a week at Journey Forwards gym in Canton, Mass., going through the paces of an intense exercise program aimed at getting her back on her feet.

Its not inexpensive, however. The sessions cost $100 an hour and are not covered by insurance. Her most recent bill came to $1,600. Her parents put it on a credit card.

Last week, I sat with Robert and Susan on the back deck, which was recently outfitted with a wheelchair ramp. Theyve looked into looked into renovating an upstairs bathroom to make it wheelchair-friendly and installing an elevator to their daughters second-floor bedroom.

But theyre holding off.

Do we fix up the house so Sierra can move back home? Robert said is a question they wrestle with. Or do we spend money on Journey Forward so she might walk back into the house someday?

In my gut, I know shes going to be able to walk again.

Sierra tried downhill skiing for the first time during Rivendells school vacation week in February. Her older brother, Jeremy, an experienced skier, took her to the Dartmouth Skiway in Lyme.

Sierra seemed to get the hang of the sport quickly. By the last run of the day, she was ready to strike out on her own. Ill meet you at the bottom, she told her brother.

But shortly after they got off the chairlift, Sierra took a wrong turn onto a steep slope, where she quickly picked up speed. I hit an icy patch, she told me. Im not entirely sure what happened after that.

Apparently, she lost control and hurtled into the air, landing hard on her lower back. When the ski patrol reached her, she said her legs felt locked up.

Susan, a registered nurse in Dartmouth-Hitchcock Medical Centers cardiac catheterization lab, was at work when her husband called. Robert, whos been a stay-at-home dad and has done odd jobs ranging from substitute teaching to waiting on tables, had just heard from Dartmouth Skiway that his daughter had suffered a back injury. An ambulance was taking her to DHMC.

Hospital tests showed that Sierra had suffered a traumatic spinal cord injury. The good news was that she still had feeling in her legs.

Sierra underwent a 12-hour surgery for a burst fracture of the first lumbar vertebra in her lower back. Afterward, she could still move her legs.

But 36 hours later, she took a sudden turn for the worse. She had lost feeling in her lower body and no longer could move her legs.

After two weeks at DHMC, Sierra was transferred to Spaulding, where doctors speculated that inflammation around the injured area was causing her paralysis. Spinal shock, they called it.

After the inflammation subsides, some patients have been known to regain their mobility, doctors told Sierra and her parents.

But it can take months, sometimes years.

Theres been a slow realization for Sierra that this wasnt something she could quickly bounce back from, her mother said.

Thats where Journey Forward comes in. It gives her something to be fighting for, Susan said.

The exercise regimen is meant to keep Sierra from losing muscle strength and bone density. That would increase her chances of regaining mobility, if the inflammation diminishes.

In one exercise, I pull myself up (on a bar) and someone holds my hips so I dont fall, Sierra told me over the phone last week. Standing up is kind of painful, mostly in my back.

I dont know if its going to work, but I might as well try.

Shes also joined a Boston-area YMCA that offers programs for the disabled and is undergoing outpatient therapy at Spaulding to learn how to navigate life from a wheelchair.

Shes living with her grandmother, who has a condo in a building equipped with an elevator, in Quincy, Mass. Her parents spend a lot of time driving back and forth to Boston, taking her to therapy sessions and bringing her home on weekends.

As news of the familys ordeal spread, offers to help poured in. Along with providing meals, people have volunteered to care for Sierras younger sister, Sofia, and watch the familys Siberian husky, Quincy.

Parish Players, a community theater group in Thetford that Robert has been involved with, donated the proceeds from its Fathers Day matinee. Fred Allard, a nurse who works with Susan at DHMC, organized a Sprint for Sierra fundraising event on Saturday at Rivendell.

A family friend started A GoFundMe crowdfunding campaign on Facebook to help with Sierras expenses, such as Journey Forward, that insurance doesnt cover.

Were lucky, compared to some people, her dad said. We live in a community that cares about us.

Jim Kenyon can be reached at jkenyon@vnews.com.

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Jim Kenyon: A Fairlee Teen's Journey Forward - Valley News

John Penney jpenney@norwichbulletin.com, (860) 857-6965 jpenneynb

PLAINFIELD Rate increases and repairs are on tap for the popular Plainfield Town Hall pool, a facility which was nearly shuttered this year to save money.

Beginning July 1, visitors to the 100-year-old pool will see across-the-board user prices jump as recreation officials work to make the municipal pool a self-sustaining facility.

We previously took in about $65,000 annually in fees, said Myra Ambrogi, the towns recreation director. In order to keep it running, we need to bring in $110,000 a year, which these price changes will do.

Ambrogi said prices for all pool-related programs will rise under the new plan. A thrice-weekly exercise class will increase to $150 from $90, while swim lessons jump to $75 from $50.

The prices have not quite doubled in some cases, she said. The hope is people around here feel its worth the cost to keep this pool open.

On Thursday, Killingly resident Ted Blanchette took part in his regular water exercise program.

Ive been coming here for more than 20 years, he said. This is not an amenity to me, but a necessity. And I am definitely prepared to pay more to keep it open.

Plainfield officials earlier this year briefly considered closing the pool, a move predicted to save roughly $117,000. But a public outcry led leaders to find savings in other town accounts. The town is moving ahead on replacing of a failing pool dehumidifier, the money for which was set aside from the 2016-17 budget, First Selectman Paul Sweet said.

We estimate itll cost around $100,000 for the new equipment, and weve met with two manufacturers so far, he said. After the project is bid out, we could begin installation in September.

The work is scheduled to coincide with the pools annual maintenance shut-down, during which peeling paint will be refreshed, the water will be drained and the empty pool will be steam-cleaned.

We want to do this all at the same time, so theres only one period when the facility is closed, Ambrogi said.

Sweet said the town has been vigilant about making regular repairs and upgrades the facility.

We added in UV lights, change out pumps as they age and replaced a lot of steel pipes with plastic, he said.

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Plainfield pool prices to shoot up - Norwich Bulletin

The United Nations wants everyone to have the chance to be fit and healthy regardless of ability or disability, and its trying out its ideas at ACAC Fitness & Wellness Centers.

The local health club has joined the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization to test a program that trains staff to attract and serve more people with disabilities.

UNESCO decided that as a world, a country and a community, we need to reach out to persons with disabilities to help them with wellness, said Kelly Kyriacopoulos, director of ACACs Physician Referred Exercise Program.

Everyone knows they need exercise, just like everyone knows that smoking is unhealthy. A lot of times the problem is that someone with disabilities feels self-conscious about being in a club situation, she said.

The program, Universal Fitness Innovation and Transformation, or UFIT, is being tested in four health clubs across the country, including ACACs location at Albemarle Square and its club in Timonium, Maryland.

UFIT programs also are debuting in Ireland and Peru. The programs include specialized training for personal trainers and club managers to serve those with Parkinsons disease, cerebral palsy, intellectual disabilities and spina bifida.

ACACs program will focus on aiding Parkinsons patients and those with intellectual disabilities. The lessons learned, Kyriacopoulos said, also apply to those with other disabilities.

We have a lot of the training in place already and we serve a wide variety of people, she said. UFIT is a different tack, but its really not that great of a stretch for us.

Tom Vandever is executive director of the Charlottesville-based Independence Resource Center, which helps people with disabilities live as independently as possible. He said the program is welcomed.

In the last 10 or 15 years, there has been a lot of innovation in providing accessible training facilities, but most of it has been at municipal levels, said Vandever, a former mayor of Charlottesville. As critical as the technical aspect of providing training is, embracing the concept that everyone should have access is even more critical.

Critical is a word researchers often use to describe the need for exercise programs for the disabled.

People with disabilities are three times more likely to have heart disease, stroke, diabetes and cancer than adults without disabilities, according to a report by the Public Health Institutes Center on Disability.

Nearly half of all adults with disabilities get no aerobic physical activity, wrote James Rimmer, a professor at the University of Alabama at Birmingham. Adults with disabilities who get no physical activity are 50 percent more likely to have chronic diseases than those who get the recommended amount of physical activity.

Rimmers research noted that people with disabilities have a long history of being excluded from planning programs and services that directly affect them. That includes health and exercise programs.

Once aware of the gap, often non-disabled experts, program planners and other professionals will attempt to develop, implement and evaluate program activities to rectify the situation, he wrote. Unfortunately, these efforts can have unintended consequences.

Vandever said adapting exercise regimens to meet physical abilities and setting goals are crucial. So is providing a supportive environment.

If you have a marathoner in a wheelchair, you still train for endurance but you focus on upper arms and upper body strength, Vandever said. That can be done with machines or even barbells, which are very adaptable. The main thing is to have an environment thats accepting so that the athlete feels comfortable training.

Kyriacopoulos noted that ACAC has long offered programs designed for seniors and those with arthritis, as well as classes for Parkinsons patients.

More and more medical research shows the benefit of exercise and gross motor movement in slowing the progression of Parkinsons and for improving quality of life, she said. That was a major factor in selecting this group for the [UFIT] pilot program.

For Larry Hofmann, a Parkinsons patient who has been a member of ACAC for five years, the program has proved perfect.

They try to make working out fun, he said. If I want to swim, I can swim. If I want to play basketball, I can play basketball.

Hofmann said he has worked with physical therapists at the center to improve his balance.

For me, balance is a problem. The therapists did some research on it and showed me some exercises and followed up with me to make sure I had them right, he said. Thats made a big difference. I can come in here and not feel intimidated.

ACAC chose to focus on Special Olympians, as well as Parkinsons patients, in an effort to improve health and fitness among the intellectually disabled.

With UFIT in place, it will be easier to offer more Special Olympians an opportunity to learn about exercise and improve fitness levels, said Kyriacopoulos. My daughter is a Special Olympian, so this group is particularly close to me. I know firsthand the impact that regular exercise can have on their lives.

The UFIT program at ACAC features a 12-week club membership for $199.

We want to work on it and we want to get it right, Kyriacopoulos said. Our goal is to find out what their goals are. The key to success is finding something they like to do. If they enjoy it, theyll come back and make it a part of their lives.

Just as important, she said, is making people feel welcomed.

Its not so much what is here for some people as what is not here, Kyriacopoulos said. A lot of people think of athletic clubs as people in great shape, lifting weights and wearing yoga pants, but its really about getting out and getting active, finding the incentive to do it and doing it in a safe environment. Thats what we offer.

We want to have an environment thats open and accepting, Vandever said. When I see ACAC embracing this, Im thrilled.

Link:
ACAC joins UN effort to help the disabled - The Daily Progress

Simple changes to your lifestyle might delay the start of dementia or slow its progression, a new report suggests.

Some scientific evidence indicates that keeping your mind active through "cognitive training," controlling your blood pressure and exercising more may pay dividends in terms of brain health, researchers determined.

Although not yet proven to thwart the cognitive decline that accompanies aging or dementia, the public should have access to this information, said Alan Leshner. He led the committee at the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering and Medicine that compiled the report.

"There are a few domains where the evidence that does exist suggests they might have an effect," said Leshner.

"At least two of those, we know, are good for a whole lot of other things that people do or that they could suffer from. That's controlling your blood pressure if you have hypertension and engaging in physical exercise," said Leshner, CEO emeritus of the American Association for the Advancement of Science.

Leshner's group was asked by the U.S. National Institute on Aging to research measures that might delay mild mental decline or Alzheimer's-like dementia.

Specialists welcomed the findings, which the researchers deemed encouraging even if not definitive.

"It's high time that people are given information about things they can do today to reduce their risk of cognitive decline and possibly dementia," said Keith Fargo, director of scientific programs and outreach at the Alzheimer's Association.

"Everyone is worried" about their mental functioning, he said. "But you shouldn't feel helpless. You should take control of your brain health," he added.

According to the report, which was released June 22, three promising areas for future research include:

He said the committee did not try to pinpoint which mental activities might be best; how low blood pressure should go; or how much exercise one needs to get the most benefit.

These are areas that need more research. Randomized trials are the "gold standard" of research and are the only ones that can prove or disprove a benefit from an intervention, he said.

11 Photos

Here are some tasty ways to help take care of your brain as you age

One dementia specialist said some biological evidence supports the benefit of exercise, but in the final analysis, genetics might be the biggest determinant of whether you develop dementia.

"There is good evidence that physical exercise delays onset or slows progression [of dementia], perhaps because exercise stimulates release of nerve cell survival substances," said Dr. Sam Gandy. He directs the Center for Cognitive Health at Mount Sinai Hospital in New York City.

There is also good evidence that in people who carry the APOE4 gene mutation, which predisposes them to Alzheimer's, exercise can erase amyloid from their brains. Amyloid plaque is a hallmark of Alzheimer's disease, he said.

However, it's also possible that "genetic loading" for dementia is so strong in some people that diet and lifestyle will never be enough to prevent mental decline, he said.

Even without scientific backup for these lifestyle improvements, Leshner said they're worthwhile in their own right to improve other aspects of your health, such as preventing heart disease and strokes and improving the quality of your life.

"They're good for a whole bunch of other things," Leshner said.

2017 HealthDay. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.

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3 lifestyle changes that may help guard against dementia - CBS News

EDISON, NJ -- The new JFK Johnson Center for Cardiac and Pulmonary Rehabilitation opened this week to speed the recovery and extend the lives of people with heart and lung disease. The newly expanded and renovated center provides highly specialized, closely monitored exercise programs as well asnutritional counseling, stress management and behavioral modification.

For post-cardiac stent patients, for instance, studies have shown the chance of dying decreases 45 percent among those who complete a cardiac rehabilitation program.

We know our patients see amazing benefits, from a reduction in mortality to a reduction in symptoms such as angina. Many quit smoking, improve their exercise tolerance and reduce their blood lipid levels, saidSara Cuccurullo, MD, Medical Director of JFK Johnson Rehabilitation Institute and Chair of the Department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation at Rutgers Robert Wood Johnson Medical School.

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We also seean improvement in our patients overall well being and stress levels, she told the physicians, patients, nurses and therapists gathered for the opening of the new center, which is located at JFK Johnson Rehabilitation Institute, at 65 James Street in Edison.

The newly renovated center includes state-of-the-art exercise equipment, such as recumbent bicycles, and upgrades that allow patients to easily remain on oxygen while they exercise.

Every day one of my patients comes to me and tells me how great the rehabilitation program is, said Dr. Aaron Feingold, Chief of Cardiology at JFK Health. Our patients are recovering faster and living longer and feeling better. It really does save lives and is part of our cardiac continuum of care here at JFK Health.

Staff members include exercise physiologists, registered dieticians, rehabilitation psychologists, registered nurses and other experts who monitor and guide each patient, including some who may have thought they were too ill to exercise at all.Some patients come to the center in wheelchairs and need to use oxygen. Many improve substantially and no longer need their wheelchairs as they gain strength and balance and confidence during the 36-session program, which is covered by Medicare and most insurance plans.

Raymond Fredericks, President & CEO, JFK Health, mentioned his father went through the program and expressed to him how deeply the staff members care for their patients.

This is a beautiful new space, he told staff members at the gathering. Every time I walk in here and talk to a patient they tell me how grateful they are. You are truly extending the lives and improving the quality of life for your patients.

Some patients who have a cardiac procedure, such as stenting or angioplasty, may think the intervention alone will end their problems. But most people also need to improve their overall health to reduce the risk of a recurrence, explainedChrista Reineke, Director of Rehabilitation Services at JFK Johnson.

You may think if you had a heart blockage a stent will fix everything. But all the things that caused the blockage in the first place may still be there if you dont make changes, she explained. What we do here is very specialized to help patients in their recovery. Were not just talking about putting someone on a treadmill.

The center helps people with a range of cardiac issues, such as heart attack, coronary artery disease, a bypass graft, heart valve replacement, heart transplant, stable angina and congestive heart failure. The pulmonary program helps patients with problems such as COPD, bronchiectasis, sarcoidosis, pulmonary hypertension, pulmonary fibrosis, interstitial lung disease, lung cancer, lung volume reduction and pre- and post- lung transplant.

Saleem Husain, MD, a cardiologist, said what happens after a patient leaves the hospital is key. The rehabilitation center helps people take care of themselves, and teaches them about their disease and how they can make themselves feel better. Its important that a few weeks after a procedure our patients are being closely watched, Dr. Husain said.

One patient, Samantha Taylor, of Plainfield, gave an emotional description of how JFK Health and the rehabilitation center saved my life. The three-time cancer survivor suffered double pneumonia and fluid around her heart and was so sick she wrote a good-bye letter to her nine-year-old daughter while in the ambulance on the way to the hospital.

I thought that was it for me, she said. Today, vibrant and energetic, Taylor said the rehabilitation that followed her three-week hospital stay has renewed her physically and emotionally.

The days were very, very hard. But being here with all of you made me want to keep going, she said at the opening. The new space is beautiful and all of you made it so easy for me to get better. It was so effortless!

As her 11-yeara-old daughter, Sophia, with tears in her eyes, sat in the front row, Taylor continued: You took such good care of me. I love you all from the bottom of my heart and thank you for giving me more time with my family.

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New JFK Johnson Center for Cardiac and Pulmonary Rehabilitation in Edison Opens - TAPinto.net

Home Harvard Health Blog Lifestyle change: I know what to do, I just need to do itbut how? - Harvard Health Blog Posted June 23, 2017, 6:30 am

I hear this nearly every day in my primary care clinic. Many of my patients are overweight or obese, which mirrors the national trend: two out of three adults in the US are overweight or obese. Many of these folks suffer from medical issues such as low back, hip, knee, and foot pain; asthma; obstructive sleep apnea; fatty liver; type 2 diabetes; high blood pressure; high cholesterol; or depression. We know that these conditions often improve with weight loss. So, I often recommend weight loss as a first step in treatment, and the usual approach is through lifestyle change.

Lifestyle change programs for weight loss have been extensively studied, and across the board, those that incorporate diet and exercise are very effective if people can stick to the program.

And that is exactly my patients lament. They know theyre suffering, they know that weight loss can help, and they know all about diet and exercise, but many have trouble sticking to the program. Why is this, and what can I do to help?

A recent study examined what things hinder or help people to stick to a lifestyle change program. The authors scoured the research literature for high-quality studies. Whats really important about the studies included is that they did not look at actual weight loss, only at lifestyle change success or failure.

While lifestyle changes including diet and exercise can work, many people struggle to stick to a program, and its not for lack of willpower. Many factors can get in the way, but with a little work you can figure out what those are. Your doctor can help you figure out ways to overcome the barriers to healthy living. Tell your doctor whats working or not working for you. Ask about resources, possibly including life coaches, therapists, and/or nutritionists, who can help you be successful with your lifestyle change program.

National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases, Overweight and Obesity Statistics.

Global, regional, and national prevalence of overweight and obesity in children and adults during 19802013: A systematic analysis for the Global Burden of Disease Study 2013. The Lancet, August 2014.

Lifestyle interventions for weight loss in adults with severe obesity: a systematic review. Clinical Obesity, October 2016.

Management of obesity. The Lancet, February 2016.

Obesity as a Risk Factor for Low Back Pain: A Meta-Analysis. Clinical Spine Surgery, November 2016.

Is body mass index associated with patellofemoral pain and patellofemoral osteoarthritis? A systematic review and meta-regression and analysis. British Journal of Sports Medicine, May 2017.

Obesity and the role of bariatric surgery in the surgical management of osteoarthritis of the hip and knee: a review of the literature. Surgery for Obesity and Related Diseases, January 2017.

Foot pain severity is associated with the ratio of visceral to subcutaneous fat mass, fat-mass index and depression in women. Rheumatology International, May 2017.

Co-morbidities in severe asthma: Clinical impact and management. Respirology, March 2017.

Bariatric Surgery or Non-Surgical Weight Loss for Obstructive Sleep Apnoea? A Systematic Review and Comparison of Meta-analyses. Obesity Surgery, July 2015.

Effect of Weight Loss, Diet, Exercise, and Bariatric Surgery on Nonalcoholic Fatty Liver Disease. Clinics in Liver Disease, May 2016.

Treatment of metabolic syndrome. Expert Review of Cardiovascular Therapy, March 2004.

Overweight and Obesity Associated with Higher Depression Prevalence in Adults: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis. Journal of the American College of Nutrition, April 2017.

Determinants of adherence to lifestyle intervention in adults with obesity: a systematic review. Clinical Obesity, March 2017.

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Lifestyle change: I know what to do, I just need to do itbut how? - Harvard Health (blog)

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