Who is your “go to guy”?
We want to be your go to guy in Physical Therapy. Our owner, Dr. Wade Rinehart, is currently working very hard to get the new beach facility ready for the big move this Friday! That means another state of the art location for your therapy needs. We already have our town clinic beyond highest standards and now the beach clinic is raising the bar for physical therapy across the bridge. Come see us at either of our locations to get better quickly! Call us today at 248-1600.
Simon Haussmann, PTA
Getting Your Body Beach-Ready
Increasing temperatures foretell the coming summer and swimsuit season. Whether you wish to lose a few pounds or simply tone up, getting your body beach-ready will require working out and a healthier diet.
Some may prefer joining a gym, taking spin, pilates, or zumba classes. Others, including myself, would rather spend every spare moment of the day outside choosing outdoor workout.
So, to drop a few pounds, you need to begin with cardio exercises. You may start power walking, jogging, running, biking or swimming for more than 30 minutes, at a moderate level of intensity (60-80 percent of maximal heart rate) at leased 4-5 times a week. To develop muscular fitness, as well as aerobic conditioning, cross-training would be your best choice. Alternating activities during your workouts will keep you from getting bored and will recruit different muscle groups. It creates less stress on your body, decreasing chances of an injury and wearing out your joints. Cardio-intensive exercises will not only speed up your metabolism and burn fat, but also improve your cardiovascular health. They increase HDL – cholesterol (the good one), reduce total cholesterol and blood pressure, lessen symptoms of anxiety and depression.
Improving your body look and stamina will also require some diet modifications. Consider reducing calorie intake, cutting down on empty carbohydrates (sugar, refined flour, white rice), processed food, and ready meals. Increase consumption of vegetable proteins, such as beans, broccoli, cauliflower, asparagus, artichoke. Prepare home-cooked food and eliminate fast food and takeouts from your daily routine.
Set achievable short-term goals. Instead of thinking that you need to lose 20 pounds, think that you want to lose 1-2 lb. this week. So, it is time to dust off your bike or hit a gym, and see you at the beach.
Maggie Garbiec, PTA
Why TEAM always wins!
Proverbs 11:14 states “…victory is won through many advisers.”
Here at First Choice we live out that principle. We believe in team approach with all of our treatments we offer to our patients. After you have been evaluated by one of our Doctors of Physical Therapy, every individual on our team becomes part of your treatment to give you the best possible care. We consider it a victory if a patient is progressing well. Call us today at (850) 248-1600 to schedule an evaluation to experience our winning team.
Simon Haussmann, PTA
MVP Making Headlines
Just recently the Girls Soccer all-county team for Bay county was named. With not much surprise, but tons of excitement for ours girls, MVP Sports Enhancement was well represented by our athletes. Jordan Lewis, Taylor Hallmon, Stevie-Marie Mullins, Kelli Crowley, Annelise Mitchell, and Jade Ullman have all trained extensively to help them reach the top of their athletic potential and become the best soccer player possible. We are very proud of all our athletes with whom we spend countless hours training through blood, sweat, and tears and are especially proud of and excited for these girls because they are seeing the benefits of hard work and dedication. Some of the girls have already committed to continue their soccer careers in college which is a dream come true for them.
MVP Sports Enhancement focuses on the athlete as a whole, exposing weaknesses, and then finding and developing the athletic potential specific to the athlete. These athletes are just a few of the hundreds of athletes that MVP Sports Enhancement has had the privilege of developing across the nation and are perfect examples of the athletes we produce.
Brent Holtgrewe
Director of MVP Sports Enhancement
Effects of Smoking on Bone Fracture and Post Surgical Healing
FDA and anti-smoking movements inform us about carcinogenic properties of cigarettes and their negative effects on heart and respiratory organs on a daily basis. However, deleterious implications of nicotine smoking are not limited to pulmonary and cardiovascular systems. Numerous studies, as well as our clinical practice, have shown tobacco impact on musculoskeletal system and slower rate of bone fracture and post surgical healing. Compromised orthopedic outcomes and more frequent complications have been found in smoking patients that underwent spinal surgery, joint fusion, ACL reconstruction, just to name a few.
Smoking has been identified as a significant risk factor for surgical site infection. It inhibits function of macrophages, a type of white blood cells, that clean up dead tissue and engulf bacteria present in the wound. White blood cells also produce chemical messengers, called growth factor, which helps repair wounds. Compromised performance of white blood cells prolongs healing process and increases the risk of infection.
Carbon monoxide, which is present in cigarette smoke, binds to hemoglobin in red blood cells, preventing them from delivering oxygen to the body tissues. Nicotine and other chemicals present in cigarettes cause blood vessels to constrict, which further reduces the level of oxygen in the blood. The oxygen and nutrients, that blood carries to the wound, are essential to successful healing. Oxygen deprivation results in delayed healing, lingering of post-operative pain, and a higher rate of complications. Nicotine smoking not only affects outcomes of surgeries but it contributes to the development of conditions which require surgery. Associations have been found between the duration of smoking and development of osteoporosis, arthritis, progression of spondylolisthesis and intervertebral disc degeneration (1).
Many studies have demonstrated that smoking has direct effects on the health of bones and their ability to heal. Nicotine and free radicals suppress osteoblast, that is responsible for the synthesis and mineralization of bone, and impede the hormon called calcitonin, which inhibits bone resorption. Smoking increases levels of hormone cortical, which leads to bone breakdown. The researchers at the University of Pennsylvania, led by Mara L. Schenker, MD, found that smokers have higher incidence of long bone fracture nonunion (15%) and prolonged healing times. The mean fracture healing time for nonsmokers was 24.1 weeks, compared to 30.2 weeks for smokers (2).
Quitting smoking is the best thing a patient can do to ensure the maximum benefits from an orthopedic surgery. Whether you are a candidate for a surgery or recovering from fracture, or a surgical procedure, smoking cessation is not out of your reach. Believe it, believe in yourself.
Maggie Garbiec, PTA
References:
1. Smoking and Intervertebral Disc Degeneration. Fogelholm R. Med Hypotheses. 2001 Apr;56(4):537-9.
2. Smoking Associated with Fracture Nonunion, Longer Healing Times. Leahy M., American Academy of Orthopedic Surgeons, April 2013.
Come to therapy…even if you are hurting
We have patients cancel regularly due to pain. “I hurt too bad to come in” is what they tell our receptionist. There seems to be a misunderstanding that if you come to therapy, we are going to make you do jumping jacks and run wind sprints despite feeling like you’re on death’s doorstep. Now, I understand if you are so sick that you can’t get out of bed, but if you have pain in the area we are already treating, there are pain-relieving modalities and less rigorous activities we can do to not only alleviate your pain, but still improve flexibility, strength and function while not worsening your present symptoms. Often times, we will administer pain-relieving modalities (electrical stimulation, soft tissue manipulation, etc.) first when a patient is in pain. Afterward, the patients are usually able to perform some, if not all, of their exercises and feel better after doing so. If you’re a patient, do yourself a favor and keep your appointment. You’ll feel better in the end.
Stephen Peaden, PT, DPT
Doctor of Physical Therapy
Do You Think You Are Rich?
This is probably not something most of us would admit to thinking on a daily basis, but we should! We are bombarded each day with advertising asking us things such as: “Will your 401K give you the retirement you deserve?”, “you deserve a luxury vacation”, etc. Given our nature as human beings, these advertisements lead us to discontent and a tendency to focus on what we DON’T have rather that what we DO have.
Studies show that if you have food in your refrigerator, clothes on your back, a roof over your head and a place to sleep, you are richer than 75% of the world. If you have money in the bank, your wallet and spare change in your car, your are among 8% of the world’s wealthy. If you woke up this morning with more health than illness, you are more blessed than 1 million people that will not survive this week.
In fact, Globalrichlist.com notes that if you have a NET income of $12,000./yr, you are in the top 14.46% wealthiest people on the planet! It is interesting that the US Department of Commerce will allow a person to make $1000/month and still qualify for welfare and food stamps. Therefore we can say that many of our “poor” in this country are among the wealthiest people in the world. There are 39 states in the US where welfare pays the equivalent to $8.00/hr and Hawaii pays its welfare recipients the equivalent of $17.50/hr. Just something to think about…..have a good day rich people!
Scott Champagne, PT.
There is hope
Have you ever gone throughout your day and wondered “is this it”? The routine of going to the gym, work/school, family routines, church, pay bills, another month passes, etc had me asking that question quite often. As a physical therapist, I had often thought there must be more that I can do with my training and clinical experience I have gained over the past 11 years.
That question was answered at around 12, 000 feet above the Caribbean on a flight returning from Haiti. The 10 days prior were spent as part of the relief effort in the aftermath of a 7.0 magnitude earthquake that left in its path ~ 250,000 dead, 300,000 injured and 1.5 million homeless. The talk on the plane with other medical professionals was about the experience and looking forward to getting back in the US. However, I couldn’t help but feel that the plane was heading in the wrong direction. There was so much that needed to be done in Haiti, so many people that needed help, so many people that had lost everything including family members. My thoughts were forever changed from “is this it?” to “this is it!”. It is interesting how even natural disasters can be the doorway to your calling.
In 6 trips to Haiti since the earthquake, I have been fortunate to witness the structure of physical therapy evolve from under shade trees and in tents to a free standing clinic in the coastal town of Jacmel. In 2012 I became a Continuing Education Liaison for Community Coalition for Haiti with the task of providing clinical assistance and training for the physical therapy staff in Jacmel. It has been one of the most gratifying experiences to see a clinic develop from infancy into a solid and thriving entity that has touched more than 22, 000 patients in the years since the earthquake.
Missions to Haiti have also allowed me to see that the need is so much greater than physical pathologies. My eyes have been opened to the plight of the orphans and “Restavek” in Haiti. Restavek is a creole term which means “one who stays with” but commonly translated as “child slave or domestic servant”. It is estimated that 300,000 children in Haiti are Restavek and the age range usually varies from 4 to 14 years old. Due to poverty and illiteracy, 80% and 47% respectively, these children are typically given up by their parents to upper class families with the hope for a better future. The transaction is usually an agreement that the child will be sent to school in exchange for helping with household chores/duties. This is rarely the outcome and children become domestic slaves being forced to work long hours cooking, cleaning, fetching water and are often neglected, abused and even raped. One day a child and the next day a slave.
However, there is hope! Through advocacy and awareness as well as supporting orphanages such as All My Heart Haiti, The Hands and Feet Project, Restavek Freedom, Jean R. Cadet Restavek Organization and others, children can grow up in a loving environment, have an opportunity to go to school and hope for a better future.
James 1:27 – “Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world”.
If you care to make a donation to increase the amount of support that we can supply, please go to http://www.gofundme.com/physical-therapy-in-haiti
Compete to Serve
Scott Champagne, PT
First Choice Physical Therapy
The winner is … Junior Achievement
This weekend five of our ladies represented First Choice Physical Therapy at an annual fund raiser held at Rocket Lanes for Junior Achievement. If you guessed that means they went bowling, you’re right! They had a great time and so did all the participants. Karen Mathers brought home (well, she really brought it to work) the trophy for highest individual score. Our team was made up of Mary, Anna, Allison, Karen and Emily. The big winner of the day was Junior Achievement of Bay County and we were happy to be part of their event. The team is already talking about doing it again next year!!
What is love?
Happy Valentines Day
Since it is Valentines Day I want to talk about “What is Love?”
“What is love? Baby don’t hurt me! Don’t hurt me! No more!” Quote from a song by Haddaway.
Love was the most searched phrase on Google in 2012, according to the company. I wanted to do my own search about love and found a website called the guardian which I will attempt to summarize quickly for you. They had experts in the fields of science, psychotherapy, literature, religion and philosophy to give their definition of what love is.
The physicist says: ‘Love is chemistry’– Love involves chemicals like (pheromones, dopamine, norepinephrine, serotonin, oxytocin and vasopressin) all acting in biological order to produce a powerful neurological response.
The psychotherapist says: ‘Love has many guises’ – Defining love in its different entities as follows:
Philia-friendship love; Ludus-playful or flirting love; Pragma-mature love developed over time between couple; Agape-generalized love like a love for humanity; Philautia-loving oneself or self acceptance
and the ever so popular and troublsome ‘Eros’-sexual passion and desire. I think it was Bill Clinton who said “to eros is human”. Not sure though.
The Philosopher says: ‘Love is a passionate commitment’– all love is a kind a passionate commitment that we nurture and develop. That’s why it is more than just a powerful feeling. Without the commitment, it is mere infatuation. Without the passion, it is mere dedication. Without nurturing, even the best can wither and die. Deep right?
The romantic novelist: ‘Love drives all great stories’ – Love is the driver for all great stories: not just romantic love, but the love of parent for child, for family, for country. Mushy?
The nun: ‘Love is free yet binds us’ – Love is more easily experienced than defined. As a theological virtue, by which we love God above all things and our neighbor’s as ourselves for his sake. We express love in acts of kindness, generosity and self-sacrifice. Love’s the one thing that can never hurt anyone, although it may cost dearly. The paradox of love is that it is supremely free yet attaches us with bonds stronger than death. It cannot be bought or sold; there is nothing it cannot face; love is life’s greatest blessing. My favorite definition.
The Physical Therapist: Love is a four letter word that we use to answer other four letter words, that slip off the lips of patients who sometimes suffer from another four letter word – called pain. So when we tell our patients that the current pain we are inflicting is really just tough love, often times the patients’ response is, in a high pitched voice, sometimes, but not always in tune, “What is Love? Baby don’t hurt me! Don’t hurt me! no more!”
A famous song that depicts love as being some sort of painful experience is probably not the best advertisement for a Physical Therapy company. However, Physical Therapy does not have to be painful. As a matter of fact, most of our patients experience quite the opposite. Our job is to get rid of the pain as fast and effectively as modern science allows.
First Choice Physical Therapy Contest-
So, on this day dedicated to love, I wish everyone a very happy Valentines Day. I have included a YouTube link below to 40 famous love songs for your listening pleasure. Tell us which one is your favorite and why and it could be worth a prize package from First Choice Physical Therapy.
Top 40 Love Songs for your listening enjoyment.
http://m.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLxapcT_Uy6khvJ4WiBWrzDCwCyveGLIwv
To Haiti and back
I am so thankful Scott Champagne, Clinical Director at First Choice Physical Therapy on Panama City Beach, decided to travel to Haiti in the midst of a very chaotic time four years ago. Despite the risks, he put his faith & hope in God and trusted what was calling his name. Serving others and selfless actions. Scott shared his testimony with me during work at First Choice Physical Therapy in 2012. In 2013 I decided to come on the next trip with Scott. I was able to witness what a light he is to the Haitian community in Jacmel, Haiti.
Scott and Wade Rinehart have both played an integral role in educating the physical therapy community and advocating for the Restivak orphans. Because Scott and Wade have been a voice for the people in their own community, they have been able to change the lives of people like me and bring hope to those in Haiti.
I decided to make another trip this year in January 2014 after learning Haitian social services would be finally be intervening and rescuing 19 children and bringing them to All My Heart Haiti organization. Traveling alone, I knew God would take care of me. I am on my way back and reflecting on this trip.
Let me tell you how good God is! He escorted me through the airport and helped me with 200lbs of supplies that I had checked. He was just in disguise and using the name Will, who happens to be the Founder of the Hands and Feet project and 10 years of experience of travel in Haiti. Will let me use his phone and taught me how to dial a number in Haiti and take his number if I need anything as I head to the city. Wow. Thank you Lord I thought! It was just two weeks before my departure Scott wrote a blog and mentioned Will’s organization, “Hands and Feet”, as well as the organization I was traveling on behalf of. Because of Scott’s post I was able to say, “Wow, I have heard of what you are doing in Haiti, Will.”
It is funny how God works! Someone before I left jokingly asked if I had a 300 lb body guard traveling with me. No, I said. However I was very wrong. I did indeed have a body guard. He was much, much bigger and much wiser and powerful than anyone could imagine. Looks can be deceiving. Will was only about 160 pounds but his soul exceeded the scale limit. This story has a bigger picture. I asked for prayers before I left. Scott has played major role in the success of my trip. Will and Scott have a lot in common. If they both met today he would describe him as a beautiful soul.
“I believe God makes this world very small when he wants it to be “-C. Eglin
If you would like to help Scott continue his mission and this story touches you in anyway visit our page at www.GoFundMe.com/physical-therapy-in-haiti.
I just touched down in the U.S. Thank you for your prayers and mom and dad for the donations! Thank you Gulf Coast for the awesome learning tools! The kids loved them.
Thanks to all & Glory be to God!
Emily Schmitt, PTA
Surprise! Emily is in Haiti
Emily is a PTA at our Lynn Haven clinic. When she started working for us a few months ago and heard about Wade and Scott’s mission trips to Haiti, she was eager to go herself. She is there and just sent us a short message and photo. Fun moment and good exercise too.
Her message: Supporting Heart Health at All My HEART HAITI! Early morning work out! Great way to start the day! Everyone sends hello!!