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‘Prehabilitation’
Prehabilitation is becoming a more widely accepted process before hip and knee surgery. It is defined as exercise and strength training designed to strengthen the body before surgery so the body is better able to tolerate the stress of the procedure and its post operative effects.
The gentle, low impact/high resistance exercises that Original SANDDUNE offers with its capacity of developing the lower body’s “balance strength“, and core’s strength, lends itself to this type of therapy. We are Sharing a posting about the benefits of “Prehabilitation” before surgery.
‘Prehabilitation‘ prepares patients for hip and knee surgery
http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-10-prehabilitation-patients-hip-knee-surgery.html
Labor Day 2014 – Original SANDDUNE Celebrates Caregivers
Rehabilitation
Caregivers need to keep their Fitness and Vitality in check!
As more and more Baby Boomer age, their adult children are shouldering caregiving for parents, children and grandchildren simultaneously. As a result many tend to forget to take care of themselves. This holds true for Boomers opting to stay at home preferring care from family, usually the spouse who juggles responsibilities with the adult children.
Fitness and healthy eating become a thing of the past. Oftentimes it is the caregiver that everyone depends on who turns into the patient, becoming incapacitated and unable to care for anyone.
Pad & Short Burst Cardio
Original SANDDUNE™ provides a viable answer for many caregivers who are “home bound” and or juggling time between “generational” needs/demands with little backup support more often than not. It creates discipline and provides that valuable time for focus on fitness at home in a time frame that works even if flexibility is part of the equation. Its there, ready for action.
Senior Citizens
With assistance, the gentle low impact exercise that SANDDUNE™ offers, makes it a Fall Prevention exercise alternative to discuss with the doctor or physical therapist for the parents who are frustrated with reduced physical activity and mobility due to weight gain, surgery, illness or injury inclusive of diabetic neuropathy, Parkinson’s, aching knees, or drop foot.
Fun on the SANDDUNE
The unique benefit of Original SANDDUNE™ is created by its ability to provide “mirror” muscle resistance by simulating walking through loose sand at the beach and the light weight, portability and “squishy” surface make it fun and easy for grandkids to use.
Fitness & Train Low Workout
Begin your simulated “beach workout at home” today. Start slow with padding for 15 minutes twice a day and build from there to maintain or begin building that healthy lifestyle of core balance, muscle strength, fitness, vitality, eating and a brighter outlook on Life with Original SANDDUNE™.
Your Internal GPS
Experiencing weight bearing activity on a compliant surface such as the Original SANDDUNE™, engages use of proprioception otherwise known as your internal GPS. Exercise on this apparatus safely recruits muscle fiber without the traditional tearing that occurs on hard surfaces. This is why we suggest padding for at least 2 weeks to become acquainted with the Original SANDDUNE™’s unconventional surface.
This regimen is
a great alternative to letting the body rest after following the workout/fitness pattern of high intensity workout training without loosing the strength and stamina gained in the high intensity workouts.
Original SANDDUNE™ is also an alternative to beginning a regimen that can be part of addressing neuropathy, common in many with diabetes. It is easy on the feet facilitating and encouraging exercise.
Padding is simply walking but keeping your feet in continual contact with the surface. This is suggested for EVERYONE, including high functioning athletic types. Resist the temptation to jog. Why? Because you are retraining every muscle
and joint in your body including long and short muscles closest to the bone.
This is “mindful” centering with the somatasensory body (whole body meaning bottom of foot to brain) – a new way of educating and retraining the foundation of your physical body (neuro pathways) using Original SANDDUNE#™.
Simply holding on to a bar and learning to stand on one leg with your other foot raised slightly above the pad after you have centered yourself or just standing and learning to create small dime size circles clock-wise and counter-clockwise under your foot, noticing how the sensation moves up your legs into the trunk and into the hip sockets, will help you begin to retrain your foundation.
Learning the subtleties of how the body aligns and connects through the resistance option of both uphill and downhill positions teaches postural integrity. The uphill slope is higher and simulates walking uphill. The downhill slope is lower and simulates walking downhill.
Beginning these exercises slowly and building speed and momentum may not feel like much to start, but the results will definitely make themselves known or felt in a relatively short time as the muscle activation becomes stronger and the movement easier. Once you step off and resume walking on a normal surface, you will begin to notice subtle changes in your posture.
This is your new way of educating and retraining the foundation of your core balance, strength and coordination.
Celebrate 4th of July with Appreciation
Independence Day is a day to reflect and show appreciation for Liberties we have accessible to us, collectively and individually in America.
This is the Land of Opportunity even in hard times.
Have a Safe and Sane Holiday from the Original SANDDUNE™!
The Brain’s job and Neuroplasticity
The brain’s job is to learn and when occupied in an inner awareness or mindful undertaking, like meditation, its capacities grow because you need to pay attention/focus for the brain to learn the activity.
- In yoga, for example, when you first begin, one must move slowly and mindfully to understand what is happening when learning a new motor skill.
- The focus on and practice of these new activities causes the brain to adapt, and to create new motor and sensory-motor maps for the task at hand.
- This is known as “neuroplasticity.”
Science has shown that this phenomenon of the brain called “neuroplasticity,” enables it to create its own re-organization and produce new neurons. Dr. Paul Bach-y-Rita, American neuroscientist and Moshe’ Feldenkrais, a Ukrainian born physicist/mechanical engineer, are responsible for coining the term and introducing this to the world of science.
The premise of the Original SANDDUNE™ addresses:
- neuromuscular disorders
- performance acceleration
- weight control
- balance issues
In the realm of sports, it has been used by dancers, professional, amateur, and “school based” teams, and medically by physical/occupational therapists for injury and post surgery rehabilitation.
Your Internal GPS
Experiencing weight bearing activity on a compliant surface such as the Original SANDDUNE, engages use of proprioception otherwise known as your internal GPS. Exercise on this apparatus safely recruits muscle fiber without the traditional tearing that occurs on hard surfaces. This is why we suggest padding for at least 2 weeks to become acquainted with the Original SANDDUNE™’s unconventional surface.
Padding is simply walking but keeping your feet in constant contact with the surface. This is suggested for EVERYONE, including high-functioning athletic types. Resist the temptation to jog. Why? Because you are retraining every muscle
and joint in your body including long and short muscles closest to the bone.
This is “mindful” centering of the somatosensory body (in this case determining the exact location of sensations on your body) – is a new way of educating and retraining the foundation of your physical body (neuropathways) using the SANDDUNE™.
Simply holding on to a bar and learning to stand on one leg with your other foot raised slightly above the pad after you have centered yourself or just standing and learning to create small dime size circles clock-wise and counter-clockwise under your foot, noticing how the sensation moves up your legs into the trunk and into the hip sockets, will help you begin to retrain your foundation.
Learning the subtleties of how the body aligns and connects through the resistance option of both uphill and downhill positions teaches postural integrity. The uphill slope is higher and simulates walking uphill. The downhill slope is lower and simulates walking downhill.
Beginning these exercises slowly and building speed and momentum may not feel like much to start, but the results will definitely make themselves known or felt in a relatively short time as the muscle activation becomes stronger and the movement easier.
Once you step off and resume walking on a normal surface, you will begin to notice subtle changes in your posture. This is your new way of educating and retraining the foundation of your core balance, strength, and coordination.
Peeling The Heel on the Original SANDDUNE™
“PEELING THE HEEL” ON THE ORIGINAL SANDDUNE™
As we age, our bodies change and we must learn ways to continue to function independently by learning how to work with change. This includes how to listen to the body, sense change and noting where you are in space. By preparing for change and understanding where the center of gravity is through balance and alignment training and by strengthening the body’s core, daily function becomes a much easier part of life. Being able to find and sense the feet/ankles without always looking down when they are in an unfamiliar surrounding will increase your ability to balance more readily.
Learning to ground is sensing the entire foot working on the floor and being able to sense the body’s center. We call this mindfulness on the SANDDUNE. Learning to “Peel the Heel” is the ability to incorporate the whole foot in exercise thus strengthening it. One is able to learn to lift the knee and foot, higher, together facilitating easy of walking without stumbling or shuffling.
Why do I keep falling?
As we become more aware of fall prevention across the country and around the globe, it has become apparent that once someone has fallen, more specifically in the 50+ age group, the fear of falling increases and walking properly becomes an issue.
Sometimes the resulting fear of taking another spill can create what I call the “ground watch” posture. We have all seen or know someone with the stooped or slouched upper body, the gaze fixed on the ground, and their arms barely swinging if they are not using a cane or walker. It makes it tough to walk when the knees hardly bend enough to lift feet clear of the ground or thinking that shuffling feet anchored to the ground will prevent a fall. In short this means their mechanism for reacting to shifts in walking surfaces is not used and is now severely diminished.
One may not realize that they are not lifting their feet off the ground when walking nor properly using their upper body when turning around to look behind themselves or to the side for fear they might trip. Poor reaction time makes them at risk for falling.
All of these newly developed “habits” make falling more probable which may be why so many seniors begin to fall more often. This gradually acquired way of walking becomes the “norm” instead of the natural activity of an “active,” upright upper body with swing arms that engage the hips as they work to lift the knees giving us our wonderful mechanics of walking or running. Get to a balance class and learn to use your body again!
Exercise in the pool is a great way to begin, too, since you are building your body by doing resistance training with water! How many people do not pass driving tests because they depend on the rear view mirror to tell them what is behind or beside them and will not turn and look when changing lanes?
Exercise on the Original SANDDUNE™ will help you restore diminished leg and core strength whether due to chronic illness like diabetic neuropathy, Parkinson’s or MS, stroke recovery, surgery (ie…hip or knee replacement) or a sedentary lifestyle. It provides a comforting and enjoyable way to get back on the fitness bandwagon!
Happy Thanksgiving
The staff of the
Original SANDDUNE™
wish you a
plentiful and joy filled
Thanksgiving Day.
Original SANDDUNE™ 