48227 West Farrell Road

Maricopa, Arizona 85139

Tel: (520) 568-1080

Fax: (520) 568-1081

Volume 29Volume 29Volume 29 Fall 2012Fall 2012Fall 2012

We all know that it’s hard trying to find

time to get a little time to exercise. We get up

in the morning, fix something to eat. Work all

day, get dinner ready. Then by the time it’s all

over and done with. It’s time for sleep.

Time and time again you hear that we need

to have some sort of exercise in our daily rou-

tines. We are in an age of fast is essential.

Fast food, fast wireless, fast work week, the

last thing on our minds is exercise.

According to the American College of

Sports Medicine states, we “need to get at least

150 minutes of exercise each week”. Where

do we have time for 150 minutes of exercise

you might be saying? What about 10 minutes

here, 20 there for a quick workout or a walk

around the track.

Here are some pointers to help you get your

fitness on:

1. Be realistic. Nobody knows you than you

know yourself. “No Pain, No Gain” should

not be your mantra or a train of thought. If

you know you cannot do it, then you

should not be trying it.

2. Don’t do all in one day. I don’t know

how many times I’ve stressed this a lot.

Reason why it’s 150 minutes? It’s to be

accountable, and to have you become a

goal oriented person toward health and fit-

ness. It’s like savoring that delicious meal,

tasting every ingredient’s. Not wolfing it

down in 1 minute.

3. Don’t get discouraged if you can’t make

it to 150 minutes. Not everyone can make

the whole 150 minutes. Do what you are

able to do, it’s not a race.

4. Set a realistic schedule for yourself.

Remember you know what’s in your own

schedule. If you know that 10 minutes is

all you have then you can set that time for

a walk or some push-ups and some stretch-

ing.

5. Moderate-intensity activity. Get to the

point where you feel the sweat coming out.

I know it sounds gross, but that’s an indi-

cator that you are working it. Examples of

what moderate-intensity is not: a walking

speed at home, standing, working out with

very light weights, cleaning a room or

home. It’s where you would have to get

your heart rate up and actually feel the

exercise working.

Sunday Monday Tuesday Wednesday Thursday Friday Saturday

10 minutes

on the track.

5 minutes

stretching.

30 minutes

on an exer-

cise dvd

5 minutes on

stretching.

15 on the

treadmill at

lunch time.

Off 15 minutes

on the re-

sistance ma-

chines.

10 minutes

walking in

the morning.

20 minutes

jogging.

30 minutes

on exercise

dvd.

Here’s an example of how to set up your workout schedule:

As you can see that you really don’t have to do all of the 150 minutes of exercise recommenda-

tion all at once. Spread it all out over the course of the week. The key is just finding that time to

get your fitness in.

How to fit fitness in By: Thomas Yazzie, MFS

LUNCH IDEA

HANDOUTS Egg Salad on

lettuce with homemade

Wheat Crackers. Homemade

Granola and cucumber rounds.

Spinach salad with feta

cheese, almonds,

grape tomatoes.

strawberries, turkey and cheese rolled in a whole wheat

flour tortilla.

Strawberries & Grapes, Homemade

blueberry Banana Bread.

Chicken, tomato, onion

and mushroom kabobs over a

blend of Israeli style couscous, orzo, baby garbanzo Beans, red

quinoa, baby spinach, red pepper and feta cheese salad.

Rice, ½ Hard Boiled egg,

Turkey, Carrot and cheese kabobs,

cucumber slices and for

desert celery, apple, strawberries and grapes with peanut butter for dipping.

Sacred Trail Therapeutic Shoes

The Ak-Chin Health Education Department is proud to offer Sacred Trail Signature

Collection therapeutic shoes. We have partnered with Sole Nation Health to provide a

high quality shoe available for Ak-Chin. This shoe is designed to help prevent diabetic

related foot problems. The shoes have shock absorbing gel to help ease the excessive

pressures in these areas while walking.

In addition, the diagonal patterns under the forefoot helps direct a proper walking

gait easing excessive pressures under the toes. Each pair of shoes comes with a specifi-

cally designed arch support, and a pressure reducing rocker bottom outsole for greater

side-to-side support and balance.

Who is eligible for shoes and how much do they cost: The shoes are FREE to Ak-

Chin Community members who have had a documented podiatry appointment in the last

year and a special modification shoe has not been prescribed.

For questions and more information please call Ak-Chin Health Education at 568-1082.

AkAkAk---Chin Healthy TimesChin Healthy TimesChin Healthy Times Page 2 Page 2 Page 2

We have heard this from our family members

and friends. “My lower back hurts!” The first thing

we do is take pain medication, and rub something

smelly on ourselves, and say man…..that stinks and

feels good. Then after awhile they get that feeling

again, the pain. I’ll give you the low down on this

ever going struggle.

The Nature and Scope of the Problem.

Low back pain, injury and other back disorders

may be the most pressing health problem in mod-

ern America, at least in terms of prevalence if not

severity. Low back problems may affect as many

as 80% of all persons during their lifetime.

In 2003, for example approximately $26 bil-

lion was spent in treating back problems and bil-

lions more were attributed to lost work days, wages

and productivity.

Plus, and this is astounding…it represents the

largest single contributor to injury costs and insur-

ance claims in the manufacturing environment and

an appreciable percentage of total injury costs in all

work environments. Makes you wonder how you

sit at your desk or in your vehicle huh? (Now every

one who reads this is sitting straight by now).

Facts related to on-the-job back injuries in-

clude, but are not necessarily limited to, the fol-

lowing:

Fact: More than one out of five work-related inju-

ries is a back injury.

Fact: Work accident injuries to the back occur

nearly twice as often as any other injury.

Fact: Back injuries cause more than 100 million

lost workdays annually.

Fact: several factors, including type of work,

noise, temperature and design of the workspace,

can influence the safety of a workplace.

Fact: Training and education on proper lifting

techniques can prevent avoidable back injuries.

Fact: Personal risk factors such as age, sex,

strength and fitness influence a person’s potential

for injury.

This doesn’t mean, however, that doctors are

visited each time a back problem surfaces. In fact,

low back pain usually occurs spontaneously and, in

most cases, is either self-correcting or gets better

with treatment. 80-90% of low back problems get

better within 3 months and only about 1 percent of

all lower back problems require surgical interven-

tions.

How the back works and why is my other side

longer than my other side???

The back is an intricate network of bones, mus-

cles, ligaments, discs and nerves. You have the

Spinal Column, it’s the primary mover for the

back, it protects the spinal cord. You have the

vertebrae , which is broken down to 5 regions, the

cervical, thoracic, lumbar (which holds all the

weight of the body), sacrum and the coccyx. And

approximately 400 muscles work together to stabi-

lize the spine and pelvic bone, maintain proper pos-

ture and allow movement. More than 1,000 ten-

dons attach these muscles to the bones. The

spine’s alignment is maintained by ligaments,

which are bands of tissue between the bones. The

ligaments provide the movements to bend and

curve. I want you to know how the back works and

now to the meat and potatoes part….

Risks associated with low back pain.

Understanding on how the back works and

knowing the risk factors will help you understand

and how to spot these risk factors that contribute to

your back pain… now here we go:

1. Prolong sitting: a sedentary lifestyle leads to

muscular atrophy or your losing you muscles

man! The law of Use and Disuse applies; use it

or lose it. Weak muscles do not provide good

support and /or mobility.

2. Improper sitting/posture in general: Do I need

to say more?

3. Upper body obesity: Some conditions predis-

pose the hip bon to forward displacement, ex-

aggerating the lumbar curve, pressuring the

soft and bony structures of the lower back, pro-

ducing pain. Abnormally large abdomens in

men and during pregnancy in women are good

examples of these conditions. The wearing of

high heels by women can also trigger back

problems due to forward hip displacement.

Watch your stilettos..

4. Emotional stress/anxiety: Muscular tension

will aggravate the tension of this due to physio-

logical events that will contribute to neck,

shoulders, back and hips.

5. Occupation: We heard this a lot at work during

orientation and wellness courses, lift with your

legs, sit straight at your desks, don’t slouch.

And …they were right.

6. Aging: This is the normal wear and tear of the

body, as we reach those good ‘ol days. And

the only way that we can keep our backs in

good health is to listen to our bodies.

7. Then we have the others, like muscular weak-

ness or imbalance, Sports, Psychological fac-

tors, and Cigarette smoking (due to the carbon

monoxide binds to red blood cells about 200

times as strongly as oxygen. When tissues are

deprived of oxygen, they tend to age/

degenerate more rapidly.)

I hope this has been an interesting subject and

will shed some light on the subject of Lower back

pains and syndrome. I have seen this with some of

my former clients that I have worked with, and

more or the same is in the risks that I have men-

tioned earlier. Most of the time it’s the obesity

factor which plays a major role due to the hip

displacements. And how the body will compensate

for the other side due to the muscle imbalances.

If have any questions or need more information

on this. Feel free to come by the office and chat

with us. And have a smashing weekend, and get at

least one fruit a day.

One Love…

Foods That Can

Help Reduce

Arthritis

Inflammation

As of late the weather is turning cold and

with it can bring arthritis. There are certain

foods and spices that can help tame the in-

flammation. Eating a high fiber diet is just

what you need. Remember to eat at least

five servings of vegetables a day. Choosing

veggies that are brightly colored and dark

green in color are best. Below are some

foods that can help.

Fruits and Vegetables:

cherries (tart), strawber-

ries, sweet potatoes, or-

anges, broccoli, blueber-

ries, spinach, turnip

greens, apricots, canta-

loupe, sweet red pep-

pers, kale, elderberries,

raspberries, boysenberries and butternut

squash. Both carrots and tomatoes are better

cooked rather than fresh to receive maxi-

mum anti-oxidants.

Fats and Oils: Taking a

fish oil supplement or

eating fish at least 3

times a week (usually

cold water oily fish

such as salmon, herring,

rainbow trout, ancho-

vies, sardines and pacific oysters), extra vir-

gin olive oil in food preparation (raw or

cooked) and Flaxseed oil (uncooked). You

can always use walnut oil and grape seed oil

as well. Pumpkin seeds, tofu, and soy beans.

Spices: Ginger, turmeric and chili peppers.

Either black or green tea is good as well.

Proteins: Tuna in water, Brazil Nuts, lean

beef, turkey, crab and shrimp.

Eating a nutritious diet is best. Losing

weight can help arthritis and remember the

foods above should be eaten in controlled

portions.

If you have any questions or concerns about

the above article please allow us to help you

at the Ak-Chin Health Education Depart-

ment (520) 568-1080.

Lower Back

Syndrome By: Thomas Yazzie, MFS