Showing posts with label United States. Show all posts
Showing posts with label United States. Show all posts

Friday, April 12, 2013

Interesting Facts About Me

Catholic Cross Jesus
(Photo credit: TheChristianAlert.org)
In lieu of anything to say, I was tagged by my brother over at Music on Your Pizza at some point before finals, so I’m getting around to it now. I’m not going to tag anyone else (especially as any of you who read this have probably already gotten this one), but I’ll answer:

Meme premise: I am to list ten (somewhat) interesting and (relatively) unknown facts about me/opinions of mine/habits/etc. I am also to tag ten other people, but as I said, I’m not going to. Given that I’m not particularly forthcoming on this blog, this may be a big first, but so it goes….

1) I don’t actually like doing research, though I’ve worked in multiple labs over the years in different bioogical fields. Now that I’m in medical school, I’m very happy that I won’t have to do basic research ever again. Obviously, however, I like talking about it.
2) At one point, I did, in fact, have an investment license (and I was a public notary). Amusing.
3) I’ve always suspected that my father’s side of the family plays up their Scottish heritage more than is strictly true, but I’ve never cared enough to truly dispute it. I find it more entertaining to carry on the possible vast exaggeration than to be the whistleblower.
4) A nun once hit me on the head with a bible for falling asleep during a prayer service. I think it’s an even funnier event considering that I’m not Catholic, and never have been, but happened to go to a Catholic high school.
5) I paid WAY too much for a car warranty...WAY too much.
6) I often appear younger than my younger brother, so when we’re out together, I invariably get carded, while he does not. When he’s not around, I appear about as old as I am, but there’s something about his presence.
7) I’m convinced that if I work hard enough, I can grow almonds in Wisconsin.
8) I secretly love shoes, and if I ever have the money, I intend to have lots of them. I feel rather guilty about this, but it seems a harmless secret passion. The only real problem is that I tend to leave all my shoes by the door, having taken them off when arriving home.
9) I didn’t really have an interest in dolls as a child - I had My Little Ponies instead. Dolls seemed boring.
10) If I weren’t in medicine, I’d sort of love to be a bohemian artist. Of course, I realize it’s not all my mental image thinks it is, but I still sort of like it. For a little while.

As I said, no tags, but I didn’t want to be totally remiss in my “having-been-tagged” obligation.

Thursday, October 4, 2012

Benefits of Hydrotherapy

Why does a soak in a hot tub make you feel good?

The benefits of hydrotherapy have been known for centuries. With the introduction of spas, or hydrotherapy tubs, Americans rediscovered that great feeling. But what makes hydrotherapy relieve so many ailments?

Two hundred years ago, a doctor in Bath, England (of all places) recorded the effects of warm water immersion, or hydrotherapy, on a man named James Crewk who suffered from jaundice, palsy, rheumatism, and back pain. Crewk was a drunk with a bad heart. The records show that when he was immersed in warm water, the swelling in his legs was reduced and he excreted more fluid than he drank.

Oddly enough, there is not much documented on water immersion and hydrotherapy. However, in the early years of America's manned space program, the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) became concerned about astronauts because of the illness and dizziness they suffered during relatively short periods in space. A loss of salt and minerals (electrolytes) can cause this condition. Warm water immersion (soaking in a hydrotherapy tub) was selected for the NASA experiments, because people weigh only 10 percent of their body weight in water, and that was as close as they could come to simulating the weightlessness of space on earth.

They discovered that hormones triggered the electrolyte changes. By allowing the astronauts to soak in a hydrotherapy tub, NASA found a means to control hormones. This work was helpful in discovering how hydrotherapy can lead to a healthier lifestyle.

 Hydrotherapy Can:


  • REDUCE STRESS LEVELS - The general massaging hydrotherapy action increases circulation, relieves tension, and accelerates physical and emotional healing.
  • SOOTHE MUSCLE & JOINT PAIN - During hydrotherapy, the body becomes buoyant, reducing body weight by as much as 90%, reducing pressure on joints and muscles.
  • CONDITION & CLEANSE THE SKIN
  • BALANCE BODY AND SPIRIT
  • PROMOTE DEEP, PEACEFUL SLEEP
  • Today, a soak in a hydrotherapy tub, or spa, can help relieve stress, muscle aches, and minor arthritis pain as well as a number of other health problems. Best of all hydrotherapy can help you relax and forget the stresses of the day.