My thanks to Leah Versteegen, DPT, of Alpine Physical Therapy for her thoughts and insights on this topic.

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Research overwhelmingly shows that by maintaining a healthy body weight and getting regular moderate intensity exercise, you can significantly improve your cholesterol and blood pressure, while also decreasing the incidence of heart disease, diabetes and stroke.

It is often intimidating to begin an exercise program, especially if you view your self as overweight or obese and don’t want to enter a public setting to workout. You might also be afraid of injuring yourself or aggravating an old injury. Or you may simply have no idea where to even begin.

Utilizing the services provided by a Physical Therapist (PT) can be a safe and reliable gateway to making a lifestyle change toward adding regular physical activity to your daily routine. The traditional view of PT is to treat a specific injury or help recover after surgery. The reality is that physical therapists are also available to help minimize knee or back pain, which are common when beginning a new exercise routine. PTs also teach safe body mechanics to minimize joint stress with exercise, and they provide guidance on proper exercise progression to fit your individual needs.
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For more information or to get started call our clinics at 251-2323 or 541-2606.

Computer workers . . . this blog’s for you. Your health will be merrier when you consider the advise posted here by Cheyene Rivers, owner of ErgoWellness, Missoula’s resource for office ergonomics.

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Support your body with proper nutrition and drink plenty of water. We should all be drinking half of our body weight in water per day. If we have water by our side while computing, this will help support us in getting up to get more water and going to the bathroom! Every break, no matter what it is, is a support to our well-being 

During the time that I was injured by repetitive strain injury, I was under factors of fatigue, pressures from clients, and being stagnant at the computer as well as repeating mouse clicking many times during the day. In addition, I was undernourished because I did not take the time for a good lunch and sufficient meals throughout the day. When I became injured, the body started drawing on the reserves of my muscles and tissues because I  had not supported my body enough nutritionally. This led to further injury. Make time to eat well in a relaxed environment for proper digestion. This information is supported by Real Cooking, Holly Greenwood, Missoula Montana. Take a moment to visit Holly’s website at RealCooking.net.
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Be sure to also visit the ErgoWellness website at MissoulaErgonomics.com.

Good intentions don’t usually cut it, nor do they burn fat at the speed you’d prefer. Most people about this time of year are busy writing out their goals and signing up for the fitness club with the best deal.

Unfortunately, after nearly killing themselves by doing an hour or so of “cardio” for a few weeks straight and not seeing immediate improvement, they quit . . . until next year about this time.

Let’s cut the crap and burn the fat! No more old school remedies for working out that flat don’t work. I’ve worked as a physical therapist in a health and fitness facility for the last 6 years. I see many of the same faces (and bulging belt lines). There’s no change. Same body fat. Same lack of muscle tone. It makes no sense that they keep doing the same things. . . that have no effect.

Let’s get with the new model of fat burning, methods that work fast to cut deadly belly fat and build solidly cut muscle. Take the few needed minutes to view my new video. In it, I explain everything. You’ll walk away in minutes, knowing what works, how to achieve results, and anxious to get started. Start getting results now, results that last way beyond early January or February each year!
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Go here. It’s free.

Certified Ergonomic Assessment Specialist Cheyenne Rivers of Missoula-based ErgoWellness gives the following insights and recommendations for streamlining work practices.

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One of the things I like to promote is learning time efficiency and increased productivity. If we can get more things done and stay focused to complete these tasks, we can have more free time . . away from the computer enjoying a healthy worklife balance.

Recently, I came across a handy book called The Four Hour Work week by Timothy Ferris. It’s filled with wonderful and helpful tips and tools that are quite innovative for today’s work world and vast worldwide network.

Here is one such tip.

Anything that prevents the start to finish completion of a critical task are considered principal interruptions. These include . . .
1. Time wasters: those things that can be ignored with little or nor consequence. Common time wasters include meetings, discussions, phone calls, web surfing, and e-mail that are unimportant.

2. Time consumers: repetitive tasks or requests that need to be completed but often interrupt high-level work. Here are a few you might know intimately: reading and responding to e-mail, making and returning phone calls, customer service (order status, product assistance etc.), financial or sales reporting, personal errands, all necessary repeated actions and tasks.

3. Empowerment failures: instances where someone needs approval to make something happen. Here are just a few: fixing customer problems (lost shipments, damaged shipments, malfunctions etc.), customer contact, cash expenditures of all types.
Here’s a look at a prescription for number one on that list. (I have edited a little bit and encourage you to buy the book!)

Limit e-mail consumption and production. This is the great single interruption of the modern world Turn off the audible alert if you have one on Outlook or a similar program, and turn off automatic send and receive, which delivers e-mail to your inbox as soon as someone sends them.

Check your e-mail twice per day, once at noon or just prior to lunch, and again at 4 PM. 12 PM and 4 PM are times that ensure you’ll have the most responses from previously sent e-mails. Never check e-mail first thing in the morning. Instead, complete your most important task before 11 AM, to avoid using lunch or reading e-mail as a postponement excuse.

Before implementing the twice-daily routine, create an e-mail auto response that will train your boss, coworkers, suppliers, and clients to be more effective. Speak with your immediate supervisor and propose a trial to the approach for one to three days.
A sample response might look like this:

Greetings friends and associates,

Due to a high workload, I am currently checking and responding to e-mail twice daily at 12 PM &  4 PM mountain time. If you require urgent assistance that cannot wait until either 12 PM or 4 PM, please contact me via phone at–––––.

Thank you for your understanding this move to more efficiency and effectiveness. It helps me accomplish more to serve you better.

Sincerely,

Your name here

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For more tips, please check out this book by clicking here. Again, it’s fantastic tool chocked full of tips and tricks!
Cheyenne Rivers, CEAS
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ergowellness@gmail.com

​After falling nearly 7 feet and landing horizontally on my back nearly six weeks ago, I’m still not out of the woods. My back feels fragile, and I still have pain in my left flank and my right hip. Now that I can actually move around without the excruciating pain, I’ve gotten back to some creative options for getting an effective workout in minimal time.

For one, I’ve joined 4 other people in a group exercise training program at The Core Studio, a new studio in Missoula that provides access to Pilates and CoreAlign methods at affordable costs. The CoreAlign method has been especially helpful in helping me get my jittery muscles back in tune. . . and in tone. And the exercises are fun! For more information on CoreAlign, visit www.CoreStudioMissoula.com.

As for fat burning approaches, I’ve been able to resume my 4 for 40 approach, which has helped others burn 40 pounds in 4 months, by working out 4 minutes a day, 4 days a week. I know it sounds crazy, but new technology and science make it possible to get effective muscle toning and fat burning in as little as 4 minutes a day. Heck, there’s even a company out there that will sell you their machine that they claim requires only 4 minutes a day for profound results. Only problem is the price. Their unit costs about 15 grand. Check it out at www.FastExercise.com.
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My approach is equally effective, yet it’s free. You can use it if you’re hampered by various pain complaints, or if you need to get massive results quickly and in minimal time. Let me boil it down for you. It’s fast, easy, and free. Take a few minutes to watch my new video on the topic.

In this way, people are able to get a total body workout . . . with ease. The BioStep motion also helps strengthen key muscles associated with function . . . those that specifically deal with mobility, walking, and balance. This is a great addition for rehabilitation, especially for our aging adult population. I used it on 5 of my patients today. Every person who used the machine commented on how smooth the action was and how much they liked exercising on the BioStep!
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Alpine has taken a big step by introducing the BioStep. It’s another example of how Alpine continues to seek out new and effective ways to help our clients move and feel better.

Along with directing our north clinic for Alpine Physical Therapy, Angela oversees all inservice education and mentorship for our entire team of therapists. Resultantly, our team of 11 therapists is constantly attaining greater clinical mastery.
Angela attends the annual conference of the AAOMPT. For the year following each conference, Angela leads and directs our ongoing training and mentorship, giving our therapists a steady flow of new information and techniques. This is yet another reason why area doctors and patients know us as the top spot for orthopedic physical therapy.
For a list of other reasons that answer the questions Why Us? Why Alpine? click here.

Okay. At Alpine Physical Therapy we haven’t figured out yet how to make physical therapy as easy as a drive through. But we have taken steps to provide convenient access to physical therapy for people on both ends of Missoula.

To the south, we’re located within the prestigious Peak Health and Wellness Center on the corner of Hwy 93 south and Blue Mountain Road. You don’t need to be a member at the fitness center to access our team of eight therapists there. But you do get access to the Peak during and after your stay at Alpine.

To the north, we’re located in the North Reserve Business Center. We are just about ready to move from our 1,000 square foot leased space into our brand new 4,300 square foot building. We’ll be opening the doors of our new building on January 3rd, 2011! It’s super easy to get to our north clinic from anywhere on the north side of Missoula. Simply hit I-90 and exit at Reserve. We’re right there for you.

Convenience. Yet another reason why people choose Alpine Physical Therapy.
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For a list of other reasons that answer the questions Why Us? Why Alpine? click here.

As the yearly and exclusive physical therapy sponsors of the annual Missoula Marathon, Alpine Physical Therapy wishes to announce the following press release, submitted by Jennifer Straughan, Race Director of the Missoula Marathon.

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The Missoula Marathon is included in a list of 10 Best Beginner Marathons in the United States in an on-line article by Fitbie.msn.com.  The article describes their choices for the 10 best marathons for first-time marathon runners.  The Missoula Marathon was included in part because of the gentle course and excellent community support.  The Missoula Marathon’s hand-painted mile markers and free finish-line photos were mentioned as unique attributes of the event.

The Missoula Marathon was honored in a list that includes major and established events such as the Marine Corps Marathon, Chicago Marathon, Portland Marathon, Las Vegas Rock’n’Roll Marathon, and others.

To view the entire article, click here. Fitbie is a new on-line publication, a partnership between Rodale Inc., publishers of Runner’s World Magazine and MSN.
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The 5th Annual Missoula Marathon is slated for Sunday, July 10, 2011.  The Missoula Marathon is an event of Run Wild Missoula, the local non-profit 501(c)3 running club.