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Let’s Get Walking!

April 14, 2020 – The weather is getting nicer each week and now we are social distancing and spending more time at home. A big part of surviving this isolation is to make sure we get our exercise. This especially includes aerobic activities such as walking, running, and biking. We need to get our heart rates up for 30 minutes, 5 days per week to keep our heart healthy as we are more sedentary throughout the day. This week’s blog will focus on how to start a walking program.

It is important to understand your baseline fitness level as that will dictate where you start and how fast you progress your walking program. Let’s assume for this example that you are starting from scratch. You spend most of your day working at a desk with limited activity and when you get home you are tired after working all day and then coming home to deal with dinner and kids.

Start by walking at a pace of a 20-minute mile or 3.0 mph. Start on a flat and even surface and try walking for 10 minutes. If you can do this at an intensity where you would struggle to carry on a conversation with someone then you are at a good intensity level. After a few days when you notice you can talk easier after 10 minutes of walking then you increase your time. You keep increasing your time following these guidelines every 3-7 days.

It is important as you are beginning your program that you start to make good habits. Make sure your posture and breathing are appropriate. Focus on your arm swing and stride length and try to keep all of these in balance as you are walking. Make sure you stay hydrated and on your workout schedule. Getting these aspects in line now will make it easier as you progress your program.

As you are becoming a more experienced walker then you start to increase other aspects of your walking. Start looking for hills to walk, move to walking on more trails, start to carry a backpack, increase your pace to get your heart rate up and burn more calories. All these items are simple ways to progress the intensity of your program.

If you have any questions, please contact us in Louisville at 402-234-3333 or Plattsmouth at 402-298-4747.

Your Witte Physical Therapy team

#homegrown #backtolife

References:

https://www.henryford.com/blog/2019/03/10-ways-walk-better-health

https://uhs.berkeley.edu/health-topics/exercise-starting-walking-program

Let’s Get Outside….Carefully!

April 7, 2020 – It is getting warmer outside! Which means we are all starting to look at our gardens, landscape beds, and lawns. But we are also looking at doing more work than we might be used to, and we need to be ready for it.

First, we need to get our body ready for this work. This includes starting a good walking program that is appropriate for our age and fitness levels. This will help us start to handle being up and, on our feet, more. Walking outside both on concrete and grass can help us get ready to navigate more uneven ground.

Next, we need to start to work in some sit to stands or squatting exercises inside our homes. Working on our squat form by using a chair to guide us as we begin to squat down will help us develop proper form for this activity. When we are outside working low to the ground it is important to know how we are supposed to squat, not bend over. Doing this activity will help us with that form. We can also work on a lunge position to work to get down on our knees and then back up off our knees when we are outside.

Last, we need to have a plan. Know what you can handle one day at a time. Make sure we don’t work ourselves too hard too fast. Drink plenty of water. Have supplies ready that are in good working order. Make sure to have a seat or bench for modifications so that we don’t get our backs and legs in positions that are too stressful for them to handle.

Contact us at 402-234-3333 in Louisville or 402-298-4747 in Plattsmouth for more information or guidance on the best way for you to start to get ready for this outside work.

Your Witte Physical Therapy team

#homegrown #backtolife

How to Test your Safety at Home

March 31, 2020 – Now that you have learned about how to be safe in your home, safe in your community, how fast you should walk, and what vestibular rehab is, we should explore how you can test your fitness at home to ensure you are as safe as you can be. (FYI, if you haven’t learned about all of this stuff yet just click on our blog page at wittephysicaltherapy.com and you can get caught up!).

There are several easy tests for home to see how your overall fitness is and how safe you are to be at home and be a low fall risk.

• One Time Sit to Stand Test: Get in a normal height and sturdy kitchen table chair. This chair should not have wheels. See if you can stand up one time from that chair without using your hands to hold onto anything, push yourself up, or lower your self down. Every adult living at home along should be able to do this safely. If you cannot please contact us.
• Five Time Sit to Stand Test: Get in a normal height and sturdy kitchen table chair. This chair should have wheels. Time yourself to see how fast you can stand up and sit down from this chair five times without using your hands. You should be able to complete this in under 11 to 14 seconds depending on your age.
• Timed Up and Go Test: Get in a normal height and sturdy kitchen table chair. This chair should not have wheels. Please an object 10 feet from the front fee of the chair on the ground. Time how long it takes you to stand up from the chair, walk around the object on the ground, and sit back down on the chair. You should be able to complete this in under 9 seconds.

These simple tests can help you determine your fall risk and safety at home. If your scores do not fall into the norms of these tests, please call us in Louisville at 402-234-3333 or in Plattsmouth at 402-298-4747 to set up an evaluation. Physical therapy is more than just help for pain or for issues after surgery. We want to work with you to keep you in your home and moving safely.

Your Witte Physical Therapy team

#homegrown #backtolife

Are you dizzy?

March 24, 2020 – If you have ever wondered, “Can you fix vertigo or dizziness?” My question back to you is “Have you heard of vestibular physical therapy?” As we continue our March discussions on balance, we need to understand all the parts of our body that we use for balance. These include our core and leg muscles, our eyes, and our ears. Vestibular rehab focuses mainly on your ears and how they can affect your balance.

Vestibular rehab is an exercise-based program to improve dizziness and other balance issues. We use our muscles to help keep us up right when our balance is tested. We use our eyes to help us maintain our balance by using our landscape to know what is upright. We use our inner ears, or our otolith in our vestibular canals, to help us maintain our sense of our body in space. If one of these 3 systems is out of whack our balance can become severely hampered.

Vestibular rehab focuses on exercises that can help with your inner ear issues that are contributing to your balance problems. If you can stand still with your feet together, but when you move your head like you are saying “no” really fast your balance becomes worse, this could be a vestibular issue. This is a simple test and is only one of the many tests that we can perform to help you assess your vestibular balance.

Witte Physical Therapy has the knowledge and expertise to treat your balance issues caused by weakness, lack of proprioception, or vestibular issues! Call us at 402-234-3333 in Louisville or 402-298-4747 in Plattsmouth today!

You Witte Physical Therapy team

#homegrow #backtolife

How fast are you walking?

March 17, 2020 – As we are living in an uncertain world and the healthcare system becomes more and more strained and consumed with the COVID-19 virus, it is important that we do our part to ensure we aren’t putting extra strain on hospitals and nursing homes. One of the biggest causes of hospital and nursing home admissions are falls and the cascading of other health problems they can create.

Most of us think that if we take our time and walk slower that it can help us avoid falling, but this is not correct. Did you know that you if you walk slower than 0.60 m/s you are more likely to fall. A test at home you can do is to mark out a 3 meter course (about 10 feet) and time yourself. You should be able to walk from start to finish in under 5 seconds. If you cannot do this safely, then you need to seek treatment to help you increase your gait speed.

Appropriate and safe gait speed are:

• 1.3 m/s to climb stairs
• 1.1 m/s to do yard work
• 0.9 m/s for household activities
• 0.67 m/s for activities of daily living such as showering and dressing
• Less than 0.60 m/s leads to an increased likelihood of hospitalizations or longer stays in a skilled nursing facility

If you have concerns about how fast or safely you are walking please contact us at 402-234-3333 in Louisville or 402-298-4747 in Plattsmouth.

Your Witte Physical Therapy Team

#homegrown #backtolife

What is Aerobic Exercise?

February 11, 2020 – What do you think of when you think aerobic exercise? Walking, biking, swimming, golfing? The truth is that all of these are great examples of aerobic activity and these are just the tip of the iceberg.

(image obtained from study.com)

Some people find it much easier to participate in aerobic activities in the summer months. We generally get more sun and because of that we are usually in a better mood and thus more active. It is easier to go for a walk or a jog outside, to head to the local pool or lake for a swim, to go to our great State Parks and do some hiking or rowing. But what about this time of year?

In the winter most of our days are spent inside trying to get exercise. This is hard to do as we are usually stuck inside working and then don’t want to go outside in the sloppy and cold winter weather, making it hard to get a good workout in. At the gym we can get on the treadmill, exercise bike, stair climber, rowing machine, or elliptical to get our heart rate up. But sometimes, getting around some other people makes that workout seem better. Taking a kick boxing or dancing class can get our blood pumping. Working on circuit training or doing other aerobic classes can also help.

Once you find an activity that you enjoy then we need to understand how well it works on our heart. In our blog last week we presented ways to measure how hard you and your heart are working. Typically moderate intensity aerobic activities could include walking, biking, golfing without a cart, or dancing. Vigorous activities including running, soccer, basketball, cross country skiing, or swimming.

For further guidelines or questions please contact us at 402-234-3333 in Louisville or 402-298-4747 in Plattsmouth.

Your Witte Physical Therapy team #homegrown #backtolife