APRIL 4, 2011

Agriculture Secretary Vilsack Announces Local Projects to Help Kids Get Outdoors

Funding will support partnership programs in 18 states and Puerto Rico

WASHINGTON – Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack today announced $1 million in cost-share funding for children's programs in 18 states and Puerto Rico, furthering USDA's commitment to connect young people around the country with America's great outdoors. The two programs receiving funding through this announcement will reach tens of thousands of young people this year, and support the goals of both President Obama's America's Great Outdoors Initiative and First Lady Michelle Obama's Let's Move! Initiative. Keep reading...

APRIL 1, 2011

Take Steps to Ensure Your Healthcare Wishes Are Followed

Hoping for the best but preparing for the worst is a somewhat cynical English proverb. But it can also serve to remind us that we should take steps to ensure our quality of life and provide a clear understanding of our wishes for ourselves during traumatic events.
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MARCH 31, 2011

Tonto National Forest outfitter guide survey

PHOENIX – Tonto National Forest recreation planners are conducting an outfitter-guide needs assessment to determine the public and agency need for commercial recreation activities across the forest. Keep reading...

MARCH 31, 2011

Arizona Has the Lowest Cancer Rates in the U.S

But Many People are Diagnosed Too Late to Survive

Good news for Arizonans! Findings from a report by the National Cancer Institute (NCI) and the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) determined that Arizona’s cancer incidence rates are the lowest in the nation. According to the United States Cancer Statistics (USCS) Incidence and Mortality Web-based Report (which compares the rates of cancer across 49 states, six metropolitan areas and the District of Columbia) Arizona ranks 50th and 49th in key categories. Keep Reading...

MARCH 30, 2011

Keeping weight down can decrease risk of arthritis

Losing just five pounds can save the knees from feeling 15 to 20 pounds of pressure

HOUSTON – Extra pounds are tough on the knees, even increasing the risk of arthritis, an orthopedic surgeon at Baylor College of Medicine said.

“Weight management is a major part of managing arthritis, particularly knee arthritis. If you are overweight or obese, then the incidence of arthritis goes up significantly,” said Dr. Melvyn Harrington, associate professor of orthopedic surgery at BCM.

Losing just five pounds, Harrington said, can save the knees from feeling 15 to 20 pounds of pressure.

If a knee injury does occur from playing sports, or through some type of accident, Harrington recommends the RICE treatment (Rest, Ice, Compression and Elevation). If pain is continuous, a trip to the physician may be necessary.

Most cartilage injuries do not require surgical treatment, Harrington said, and can be treated at home or with physical therapy.

However, surgery may be required, said Harrington, “if the torn cartilage is causing locking and catching [when the knee gets stuck], and isn’t getting better with non operative management.”

Some medications such as the antibiotic CIPRO® have been shown to weaken tendons. Harrington advises to be cautious while exercising when taking these medications.

BY DR. DAVE HEPBURN | MARCH 30, 2011

You can borrow my rhinoceros

dr dave hepburn Every morning I am forced to walk my dog, who wakes me up at the crack of dawn by placing a wet nose or raspy tongue on any part of my anatomy that happens to be extending over the edge of the bed. Should, at the time, I happen to be in dreamland, protecting my rhinoceros farm against a flock of savage beanie babies while wearing only golf cleats, her well placed snout will cause me to bolt straight up in bed, frightening off all beanies and rhinos. This seems to please her immensely judging by the dance of joy she performs, beating to shreds everything in reach of her tail and dragging me out for her walkies.

While I stumble outside barely able to open my eyes, she is zipping and spinning about as if she’s spent the night lapping Red Bull from the toilet. We plod up the road to the park where we greet other drowsy dog owners with a groggy hello and a quick sniff. The dogs greet each other as well. But as I reach my house again I, at least, appreciate that I have already undertaken a third of the 10,000 steps that I, and every one of you, need to take every day.
Being a doctor is a sedentary job. I have a 50-year old friend who has been a letter carrier for threescore years and has been trim and slim as a result of his active job of losing mail and pepper spraying rottweilers.
But he retired last year and lo and behold, much to my sedentary pleasure, a wee pot has formed just above his belt line. I am overjoyed.

Due to the car, computer and cable we have become a super-sized sedentary society. I asked several patients to guesstimate the number of steps they took in a day. Then they used a pedometer and were shocked to know how sedentary their lives really were. 10,000 steps (roughly five miles) is the equivalent of 50 lbs a year of calorie burn. Many websites can be found under “10,000 steps” to introduce you to how to take these steps. Of course if you need a website to learn how to walk then apparently you might need the 12 steps site first.

A recent study from the hold-the-mayo clinic found that obese folks (BMI>33) spent an average of two hours a day longer sitting than their leaner counterparts. Though both groups were found to lie down for the same amount of time, obese people sat for an average of 9.5 hours a day, expending 350 fewer calories! That adds up to 36 pounds a year for plunking your Kentucky fried Krispy-Kremed keyster at a keyboard or in a K-car for an extra two hours a day.

Our routine energy expenditure is known as Non Exercise Activity Thermogenesis or NEAT. It is a term coined to describe how active we are when we’re not exercising. Those with low NEAT often complain of having “low metabolism” when in fact they just feel a need to spend more time sitting. Those with higher NEAT may actually have a difference in their brain chemicals that requires them to sit less. If they also happen to have three nostrils and a tail they would be classified NEAT freaks.
So to avoid being labeled sedentary take 10,000 steps every day in ADDITION to your exercise program and sit less than 7.5 hours. Add up the difference and you will lose 86 pounds per year and therefore disappear altogether in three years. If you need help getting started, you can borrow my rhinoceros.