As the seasons change there are new chores that face us in our homes and yards, and many different ways we can injure ourselves.   Taking the right precautions to care for our joints will let us be active for longer periods of time.

The fall brings the chore of raking leaves, along with sweeping and cleaning outside.

• Make sure to protect your back by avoiding a lot of repetitious tasks.
• Avoid prolonged bending, trying to lift the leaves by using your legs and not your back.
• Don’t reach the rake too far in front of your body, take shorter strokes so there is less strain on your back and shoulders.
• When bagging up fall brush, avoid filling the bags too full.

Shoveling snow is another really good way to hurt yourself if you are not careful.

• Keep the shovel close to your body and don’t reach too far in front.  This way, you can use the power in your legs to push the weight of the snow, and not strain your back.
• Try not to throw the snow over your shoulder, instead, push it off to the front of you.

Inside, we start projects like housecleaning and cleaning out closets.

• Try to avoid prolonged periods of keeping your arms overhead.  This will take stress off of your shoulders.
• Do different tasks through the day so your muscles can get a break.

If you do feel a muscle or joint pain, rest the area and apply ice for 10-15 minutes.   Also, try to keep up your normal exercise routine even when other chores seem to take precedence.

The hall at the Elks was beautifully decorated in the Center for Joint Surgery and Sports Medicine colors, blue, silver, and white. Potted flower arrangements centered the tables, and mints in colored cellophane peppered the tables. Patients began arriving an hour early, and were lined up around the building. We had a full house, with approximately 550 patients and staff! Volunteers were recognized for their hard work with the joint patients, and first-time joint replacement patients were recognized with a pin.

Special thanks must go to the volunteers at the hospital, for their hard work in helping orientate the patients with the Joint Program. Their time spent is invaluable to the program, and is greatly appreciated. If you have had a joint replacement, and would like to become part of the volunteer team, please contact us!

Special thanks must also go to the staff and volunteers of the Elks Lodge, who worked tirelessly to provide us with a delicious meal, and a wonderful evening. Their staff works hard to make sure that our event goes off without a hitch. Thanks must also go to the staff of the Center for Joint Surgery for setting up the beautiful decorations each year, and greeting patients.

Last, but not least, we must thank Dr. Ralph Salvagno for hosting this wonderful reunion, and making it possible.

We hope to see everyone next year!   

We will be leaving from New York and traveling to:

• Saint John, New Brunswick, Canada
• Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada
• Portland, Maine
• Boston, Massachusetts

If you are interested, please contact: Alex Bohn (Antietam Travel Service, Inc.)

Email: alex@antietamtravel.com —  Phone: (301)662-8080  —  Toll Free: (800) 722-3489

Begin by exercising three times a week for 30 minutes of moderate cardiovascular and light strength training.  Allow time for both warm-up and cool-down with exercise, approximately 5-10 minutes.  Light impact activities (i.e. walking, biking) are a good way to exercise without placing additional stress on your joints.  Strengthening of your legs is also important for function and protection from injury.  By increasing muscle strength, you can give support to the joints and allow energy conservation with daily activity. 

It is not uncommon to have muscle soreness after starting an exercise program.   A day of rest between exercise will help to decrease the onset of muscle soreness.  If soreness does occur, ice can be used for 10-15 minutes.  If you suffer a minor injury to a muscle or joint, make sure to rest.  To avoid further injury or inflammation, you should elevate and ice the area 10-15 minutes, several times per day.

-Center for Joint Surgery Physical Therapy Department

Women and Arthritis

Video

Naming Meritus Medical Center

Health Matters Radio Show

Dr. Salvagno has appeared on the following Health Matters radio shows. Below are the air dates and title of discussion. Please click here to be re-directed to the Meritus Medical Center website, where you can listen to these podcasts.

12/21/10 – Knee Replacement Surgery 

7/21/09 – Advancements in Joint Replacement

5/16/06 – Joint Replacement Center

7/13/04 – Joint Replacement

On May 8^th 2011, the Center for Joint Surgery and Sports Medicine set sail for Bermuda, carrying on board a total of 144 patients and significant others. We also took a few of our own crew members along on the vessel:  Paulette, our office manager; Laura our physical Therapist; Shane and Luke our Biomet Reps.; myself (Pattie), the one and only surgical coordinator; and last but not least….Captain Dr. Ralph Salvagno.

The cruise to Bermuda and back was very relaxing. The food and entertainment were, in my opinion, first class (FYI I am easily impressed). Seeing the patients outside of our office setting was amazing. They were laughing, cracking jokes, telling stories, and trying to cause trouble, not real trouble, but truly having a wonderful time and enjoying every moment. Once we arrived, it was so easing to be off and on the boat and do whatever it was that each and every one of us wanted to do on our own. Shane and I walked…and walked…and walked some more. The churches, homes, stores, and vendors of Bermuda were like something that you would see in a postcard; except that actually being there allowed you to smell the flowers, feel the breeze, and feel the warmth of what you had envisioned on a piece of 3 x 5 cardboard.

Dr. Salvagno gave two seminars on the ship. The first one was about being in the “high-tech know-how,” called, “Social Networking.” He told us about the benefits and challenges of Facebook, texting, Twitter, etc… The second seminar was actually a game show spin-off that Dr. Salvagno named, “Joint Jeopardy.” With this one, we learned how quick our patients are with their knowledge of joints and how important it is to take good care of yourself. 

Laura did two seminars as well. Her first was called, “Exercising Your Joints.” I cannot comment on this one… I must admit, I missed this one due to oversleeping. You see, no one told me about a time change so how was I to know???  Now for the second seminar, I was there and ready for action!! It was called, “Take a Walk with CJS.”  Earlier I mentioned walking ‘round and ‘round – so this one was fun for me because I love walking and I also got to talk with patients the whole time. Some of them got pretty winded - that must be because I was moving so fast! 

In addition to the seminars and our excursions to Bermuda, we had an Ice Cream Social with all kinds of delicious toppings. Doesn’t ice cream have calcium? So that’s good for the joints! We also had a Cocktail Party. I did not see any birds with cocktails, but we had a great time socializing and getting to know one another better. In the evenings when we would return back to the ship and get ready for dinner, we would have the opportunity to talk about the day - what we did, what we bought, what we saw –  everyone would try to talk at the same time! 

Sitting out by the pool; eating juicy, delicious hamburgers on the pool deck; hanging out in each other’s rooms; dining on fancy, hoity-toity four-course dinners; dancing the night away; listening to music; gambling at the ship’s casino (not me I am too much of a tightwad to do this); drinking martinis, biking on the rail trail; planning an escape to the other ship with the rock wall; traveling on boat taxis; snorkeling and kayaking in the clear water; touring the island; talking until the wee-hours; laughing at jokes; sometimes falling asleep early and taking naps; and last but not least, enjoying the baby blue water, beautiful sand, and chickens running free with their peeps…for me, this was truly…a wonderful time shared by everyone.

Pattie Hutchison, Surgical Coordinator

Center for Joint Surgery & Sports Medicine