This last week I had the fun of traveling to Orlando, Florida for the annual private practice section convention of the American Physical Therapy Association. Each year it takes place in varying venues, and this year we were lucky to have great weather in Florida while we were there. I forgot how such nice weather affects your mood, and how easy it is to exercise when you can get outside everyday, even if it's only for a 30 minute walk.

Staying healthy can be difficult when we lead such hectic lives, and fresh air and exercise are some of the key components of optimal health. Thomas Kelly wrote, "Over the margins of life comes a whisper, a faint call, a premonition of a richer life", we just have to choose it. How many times has your heart called you to stop the hustle-bustle of your life to take care of your health, and you decided to ignore the call? Often we need to change up our exercise regimes so that we can jump start our metabolism, prevent boredom from taking over, and keep challenging our musculoskeletal system to be able to function in harmony.

Recently, I was reminded of this when I evaluated a lovely woman who had been hit with a firestorm of health issues. Not just one health problem, but multiple ones had occurred, all at once. She had so much pain, and she had to be confined to bed. It was difficult for her, and she lost the life she had prior to this health crisis. But ever so slowly, and with great determination, she is working her way back to a new life. She presented in physical therapy to restore her physical body, due to her fatigue with just doing everyday things, like getting up from a chair, getting in and out of the car to drive to the market, and going up and down the stairs at home. Would this always be her life? Would she always feel so weak?

Disuse atrophy happens in the body in multiple ways, with non-use such as bed rest and surgical interventions that require hospitalization and pain. In just three to five days, muscles, tendons and ligaments can decrease in size. Our heart and lungs become less efficient in their pumping patterns with less lung expansion and less oxygen traveling to vital areas. All the body systems are challenged and decrease in their efficiency. So what needs to happen? I have one answer: Physical therapy!

Physical therapists are the answer to your body breakdown needs. They are the movement specialists. That is their specialty: body and mind rebooting. They start with the body, balancing the systems to get them back in harmony with each other. The body's systems need to work in rhythm will each other, like a great symphony. The mind will then get on board as the endorphins are released and the freedom of movement begins again. Once you feel this part of exercise feed your brain, you won't want to live without it. Remember, never forget the value of your health, and choose to exercise at least 30 minutes every day.

Sheree DiBiase, PT, is the owner of Lake City Physical Therapy and she and her wonderful staff can be reached in their Coeur d'Alene office at (208) 667-1988 and in their Spokane Valley office at (509) 891-2623 and coming soon in their new Hayden office in the Hayden Creek shopping center off Government Way. We will keep you posted.