You At Your Best

By Karen rice yoU at yoUr Best Injuries have the potential to sideline people for weeks, months or permanently. Recovering from incidents that can impact mobility and range of motion takes time, but physical therapy can help the body get back to normal and resume regular activity. In many cases, a person can regain his or her original capabilities after even serious incidents, like strokes or major surgery, but the task can sometimes feel overwhelming, especially for older adults. Jay Quintana, co-founder and CEO of Everest Rehabilitation Hospitals, says he has a personal connection to the challenges facing older patients who need physical therapy. "My grandparents raised me," he says. His grandfather had an amputated limb, and Quintana saw how few services were available for people like his grandfather. Last month, Everest opened a state- of-the-art, 41,000 square foot physical rehab hospital in Rogers. The goal of the facility is to provide intensive therapy (typically 3 hours or more per day) to enable a person to resume his or her life and activities after serious injury or illness. The impressive $23 million facility boasts inpatient and outpatient therapy gyms with floor-to-ceiling windows and top-of-the-line therapeutic exercise equipment, an outdoor mobility courtyard, two large education rooms, a café and an in-house pharmacy. The undisputed star of physical rehabilitation is the underwater treadmill. Patients walk on a treadmill in a tank filled with water; the water supports the patient's joints, preventing further injury, and the patient benefits from exercising muscles used in walking. The outpatient physical therapy gym at Everest even has a real Smart car, retrofitted by Rogers New Technology High School, so patients can practice getting in and out of the seat. That's just one of the body movements people with certain physical injuries—like stroke, amputation or fractures—have to relearn. An outdoor courtyard has long, sloping ramps and short flights of steps for patients to practice negotiating. They can walk on concrete, cut stone, artificial turf and several types of paving stones. A day or two before discharge, inpatients at Everest (there are 36 private rooms) stay in a small apartment with a bed, kitchen, washer/dryer and bathroom, to practice handling daily tasks such as using a microwave or operating the stove. The fully furnished apartment allows patients to engage in trial runs of their daily routines: getting out of bed, showering, opening the refrigerator and even baking cookies. "We get patients as independent as we can before they go home. Our goal is to get the patient back to their previous level of function," said Cody Garrison, CEO and manager of the Rogers Everest Rehabilitation Hospital. While physical therapy can be used for recovery from strokes or paralysis, injuries, trauma, and musculoskeletal conditions, it can also benefit healthy people. Physical therapists can teach exercises and techniques to help prevent problems, strengthen weaknesses and help correct poor body mechanics that cause pain. In addition, physical therapy can teach people how to improve their balance and prevent falls. Physical therapy continues to evolve, helping people get back on track after even serious injuries and guiding healthy individuals to improve their overall wellness, one movement at a time. hearing and your health By Marla richards WolfpacK hearing As a Registered Dietitian (RD) who operates a hearing clinic, I have seen how nutrition and hearing go together. Putting healthy foods into the body results in a healthier you, both mentally and physically. The same concept can be applied to hearing your best. My goal in writing this piece is to place the importance on our overall health. When it comes to overall health, we need to dig deeper and look at the overall benefits of treating our bodies right. For example, when we eat trans fats and simple carbohydrates in excess, our health is affected through physical changes such as weight gain. However, as a dietitian, I rarely placed focus on what the scale said. We talked about the reduction in energy level, and why our food choices made us feel sluggish or lack motivation. We talked about the negative self-image where we don't feel good about ourselves physically. This sort of negative self-talk takes more energy, leaving us feeling even more sluggish. The cycle continues. As an audiologist, my husband applies the same sort of thinking to what he does in treating hearing loss. For example, we know that exposure to extremely loud noise causes damage to the inner ear, potentially leading to hearing loss. Now think about how hearing loss might affect our overall health. We know that untreated hearing loss can lead to social isolation, depression, and anxiety. We see it cause frustration among spouses, leading to further isolation and even marital problems. These mental effects cause the same negative self-talk and energy levels that bad food choices do. The cycle continues. Science confirms that we should eat right and exercise. It also shows us that we need to hear our best to feel our best. If your health and hearing aren't where they should be, there are steps you that you can take to be at your best. An easy first step to may be to make an appointment for a hearing evaluation at Wolfpack Hearing Clinic. Call them at (479) 957-9300. sponsor content Physical therapy: An important part of a wellness journey the state-of-the-art everest rehabilitation hospital, which opened in rogers in January, features advances like an actual smart car so that patients can practice getting in an out of a vehicle. 8 | yoU at yoUr Best | nWadg.coM/yoUatyoUrBest March - natUral health & Wellness | satUrday, feBrUary 29, 2020 Located in East Fayetteville 2630 E Citizens Dr. #7 (479) 957-9300 wolfpackhearing.com Our patients succeed. You will, too! Best BestNWA.com of Northwest Arkansas the

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