Improve mobility? Keep up with the grandkids? Did you know simple movement tests can predict your health status. The American Heart Association encourages people to "know their numbers" referring to our vital signs: blood pressure, blood cholesterol, blood glucose, heart rate, and weight. However, research is now showing that moving properly is also important for health.

In recent medical literature, walking speed has been called the "sixth vital sign." Like blood pressure or heart rate, it is quick and easy to measure. It also tells medical staff a lot about your health. Walking speed has been shown to be predictive of future hospitalizations, functional decline, and overall mortality. Normal walking speed is considered to be 1.2 to 1.4 meters per second—the time allowed to cross the street before cross walk counts down to ‘0’!

Another mobility test to get a picture of your health may include how many push ups you can do without stopping. Researchers found that men who could do 40 or more consecutive push ups were at a 96% lower risk for cardiovascular disease than were men who could do less than 10. The push up test was also more useful in predicting future cardiovascular disease than aerobic capacity measured on a treadmill.

If you can't easily get down on the floor and back up your health might be in trouble, according to a study that looked at more than 2,000 people. They found that if you need to use more than one hand to get up and down from the floor, you were 2 to 5 times more likely to die in the next 7 years than someone who can do it with just one hand, or even better, no hands at all.

Moving well is obviously important to overall health and longer life. These tests can give a snapshot of how you're doing. If you're having trouble with any of them, consider seeing a movement specialist—your physical therapist. At Moab Physical Therapy and Rehabilitation, we can address your mobility limitations billable to your insurance.

Make 2020 a memorable year. Call us (435) 210-1985 or check out moabphysicaltherapy.com
Follow us on social media: @MoabPT

Americans are increasingly taking for granted that chronic disease is just a part of life. Unless something changes fast, authorities estimate that half of all children born after the year 2032 will develop autism. One-third of children born after the year 2000 will develop diabetes at some point in life. Already, 75% of Americans over age 40 have at least one chronic disease. One American dies of cancer every minute. One in three seniors dies with Alzheimer’s or another dementia.

What do all of these conditions have in common? Toxicity. And for every one of us who develops a disease from it, many more experience annoying if not debilitating symptoms. This includes such diverse and nonspecific problems as fatigue, dizziness, inability to lose weight, brain fog, depression, trouble sleeping, aches and pains, inability to handle stress, unexplained hormone disturbances, anxiety, irritability, ringing in the ears, bad breath or body odor, digestive problems, and so much more.

We try to take care of ourselves, but toxins find their way into all of our lives. The Environmental Working Group has found that babies today have an average of 200 toxins in their blood at birth. Add to that the polluted air we breathe, pesticides on our food and in the water supply, and heavy metals that surround us, mostly unrecognized. Then we have household cleaners, personal care products (most lipstick is laced with lead, for example), food dyes, preservatives, additives, “natural flavors”, BPA (in plastics and many other sources), medications (many are made with aluminum, mercury, formaldehyde, dyes, and other toxins), cigarettes, alcohol, flame retardants (on furniture and carpet), sunscreens, etc.

Some experts estimate there are currently 88,000 manmade chemicals in existence today. Aside from those regulated as “food” or drugs, there is no requirement that these chemicals undergo studies proving their safety to humans, animals, or plants.

Don’t forget about electrosmog from our cell phones, wireless routers, blue tooth, cell towers, radio waves, and wires in our homes and other buildings. Or radiation from x-rays used in medical diagnosis and treatment. We cannot see or feel harmful electromagnetic radiation, but the damage it causes to our DNA and mitochondria is undeniable.

Needless to say, the conveniences, productivity, prosperity, and opportunities created by modern technology all come with a price. It’s a wonder anyone is even remotely healthy anymore!

Engulfed in toxins of all kinds, it would be easy to throw one’s hands in the air and give up trying to be healthy. Especially considering those pollutants over which we have no personal control. But ANY effort to reduce one’s exposures pays dividends.

You can make a good start by becoming aware of the toxins over which you DO have some control. Take a look at the ingredients in your makeup, lotions, lip balm, and other such products. Do you see the word “paraben” anywhere? That’s a specific type of hormone disruptor called a “xenoestrogen”. There are many xenoestrogens in our environment and in products we use every day. Increased risk of cancer is only one of many consequences of xenoestrogens.

The nonprofit Environmental Working Group has compiled a wealth of information (go to www.ewg.org) to help Americans learn what toxins are in our water, produce, cosmetics, cleaning agents, food additives, sunscreens, and other sources. Just as important, it identifies healthier alternatives to help you reduce your everyday exposures. Download the Healthy Living app to see how easy it is. You can even scan bar codes on your favorite products to instantly find out how each of their ingredients stacks up.

In order to not overwhelm yourself, you could substitute a healthier alternative for each toxic household or personal care item as it runs out rather than trying to replace them all at once. This effort will reduce your ongoing exposure and therefore risk of disease down the road.

But what about all the toxins that have already found “homes” in cells throughout your body? The body was marvelously designed to remove a host of chemicals. But the overwhelming majority of chemicals in existence today did not exist even 50 years ago. Believe it or not, some of the toxins in your brain, liver, kidneys, fat, and other organs have been there since before you were born, due to exposures your mother had during pregnancy.

As helpful as they can be, saunas, ionic foot baths, liver cleanses, gallbladder cleanses, and colon cleanses will not remove from your cell membranes these fat-soluble toxins that continue to hamper your health. Fortunately, at Prestige Wellness Institute, we have a program for cellular detoxification. If you are tired of symptoms unexplained by lab tests, call (435)259-4008 to make an appointment in Moab or Utah County. Why not start 2020 off with a little “house cleaning”? You might just find that it helps you with some of those health-focused New Year’s resolutions.