Warning Signs

With Summer here, remaining hydrated
is especially important, particularly in Colorado.

Dehydration is 100 percent preventable.
Here are some practical tips to prevent you
from becoming dehydrated this summer.

Water is one of the most important nutrients in our body. It makes up approximately 70 percent of our muscles, and about 75 percent of our brains. We use water as well as expend it. In fact just in everyday breathing we lose about two cups of water. Other ways that we lose body water is through sweating and urinating. If we fail to replenish these losses, we set ourselves up to become dehydrated.

If our body sense’s low water stores it will tell the kidneys to conserve the water instead of excreting it (darker colored urine will result). Dehydration can also lead to constipation and bloating as well. Some other symptoms of dehydration include dry mouth and tongue, apathy and a lack of energy, and muscle cramping.

If left untreated, dehydration can lead to heat exhaustion or heat stroke. These symptoms include: fatigue, dizziness, nausea or vomiting, headache, rapid shallow breathing, high temperatures, rapid heart beat, and decreased alertness or complete loss of consciousness.

According to the Center for Disease Control (CDC), more than 6,600 people have died from heat related causes from 1979-1995. And last year in Texas, 130 people died during the summer. These statistics are grim, but dehydration is 100 percent preventable. Here are some practical tips to prevent you from becoming dehydrated this summer:

For most of us, being aware and prepared is the easiest way to prevent dehydration from occurring. On hot humid days, an active person can become dehydrated in just 15 minutes. If you experience any of the symptoms above, stop the activity and rest in a cool area. Then drink fluids to replenish the water lost.

Adapted from: Preventing Dehydration and Heat Illness; American College of Emergency Physicians and Preventing Dehydration by L. Reilly. Vegetarian Times. January 1998.

There has recently been much publicity and research on the importance of exercise and activity. The studies reveal that participation in regular exercise is important for both mental and physical wellbeing.

Stroke survivors and senior citizens are not excluded from these findings. However, stroke survivors sometimes have particular challenges to address to be as successful as possible with exercise programs. Common complaints from stroke survivors include weakness, stiffness or spasticity, difficulties with walking, mobility, balance and decreased endurance for physical exertion. An appropriate exercise program can improve all of these areas of difficulty. It is important to get input from a physical therapist to help individualize and tailor an exercise program to help address each person's unique needs.

Often the greatest improvements are made with therapy during the first year following the stroke event. However, people still make significant improvements for years after the stroke. This can be facilitated by attending community therapy classes, such as those offered by Rocky Mountain Stroke Association.

 

One option is aquatic therapy. Water has been utilized for centuries as a healing modality. Aquatic exercise or therapy has been popularized again, along with the fitness boom. The water is a unique and special environment. Due to certain properties it has, it can help promote movement, fitness and function.

One of the properties is buoyancy. Buoyancy provides support. This can translate into the ability to stand up with less effort. It can also assist movements toward the water's surface. And, it can decrease pain in the joints resulting from weight bearing providing the opportunity to gain strength or mobility required to improve function.

Viscosity is another property of water. This is the slowing of movement through water. This property can be utilized to help increase work on independent movement or even balance and equilibrium training that might not be possible on land without falling.

Utilization of warm water pools can increase muscle relaxation and decrease pain. This may promote easier stretching of tight muscles, which in turn, can improve movement. Sometimes the water's stimulus may increase sensory awareness of limbs that may have little or no sensation. Often higher level skills can be worked on with greater success due to the water's many properties. Participation in exercise classes offers opportunities for work, socialization and FUN!

Rocky Mountain Stroke offers Aquatic Therapy Classes.
Click here to learn more.