GET IN SHAPE FOR SPRING
The snow is gone, the sun is out and the outdoors beckons, but don't jump too quickly into exercising. Overdo it after a winter as a couch potato, and you risk injury, burnout and a lot of post-exercise soreness, according to Paige Waehner, of About.com's Guide to Exercise. A change of season means changing where to exercise, how to exercise and what to wear. To get ready for spring physical fitness:
-- Visit a gym, get to know the equipment again and figure out what new gear may be needed.
-- Whether buying new gear or not, inspect home exercise equipment and make sure it's safe, clean and in good working order.
-- Step up strength workouts, which is important not only for shaping muscles but in losing weight.
-- Don't forget to stretch.
-- Be sure to ease back into cardio workouts by focusing on time rather than intensity.
PREVENTING ASTHMA TRIGGERS
Latino children with asthma experience nearly twice as much activity limitation as white children with asthma. It's important to increase awareness of asthma triggers in the home.
SC Johnson's Raid, Healthy Children, Healthy Homes suggests parents can help prevent the onset of asthma by:
-- Reducing exposure to cockroaches and their dried droppings -- a top indoor trigger of asthma -- by using roach baits and other roach killing products.
-- Keep pests out of the home by storing leftover food in sealed plastic bags and containers. Put garbage in containers with tight lids.
-- Wash away dust and mold. Remove dust and dust mites by regularly cleaning countertops and other surfaces as well as washing curtains, bedding and other household fabrics regularly.
-- Limit a child's exposure to others with cold or flu-like symptoms and to anything that they have shown an allergic reaction to in the past, such as cats, dogs, birds or foods.
-- Keep tobacco smoke outdoors.
GET MOVING TO GUARD AGAINST ARTHRITIS
A study, published in Arthritis Research & Therapy, suggests the more 70-plus women exercise, the better their chances of preventing the stiff and painful joints of arthritis. Kristiann Heesch and colleagues at the University of Queensland in Australia found women 72 to 79 who did a little more than an hour of moderate physical activity each week could lessen their chances of developing frequent arthritis symptoms within the next three years. They also found:
-- Pushing the physical activity to 2.5 hours per week is even more likely to prevent arthritis symptoms appearing.
-- Exercising into old age could ensure movement without stiffness and pain for longer, and reduce the burden of arthritis.
BEND THE KNEES FOR BACK PAIN
More than 20 million U.S. adults suffer from back pain caused by the derangement of a disk. After the common cold, back pain is the second most common reason Americans call in sick. To help prevent this all-too-common ailment, NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital's Spine Center advises:
-- Make sure the object you're picking up is properly balanced and packed correctly so the weight won't shift when lifted.
-- Before lifting test the weight of every object by pushing it -- a small size doesn't mean a light weight. Get help, if necessary.
-- Take time to lift because rushing can strain back muscles.
-- Bend at the hips and knees, not the lower back -- use legs to lift.
-- Never twist, but keep the shoulders in line with the hips and face the object.
-- Get a good grip by using handles or gripped gloves.
-- Keep weight close to your body.
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