Chronic disease impacts almost 90% of Americans over 65 years of age (the most expansive portion of our population), and is a significant cause of distress for those younger, as well. Fortunately, and as foundationajly developed, Healthy Steps minimizes the risk of complications associated with exercise and Chronic Illnesses.

Chronic disease is classified as an infirmary lasting more than 3 months that cannot be prevented by vaccines or cured by medications or surgery, nor do they disappear. Chronic disease can often be controlled but not cured!

Chronic diseases are associated with persistent and unremitting symptoms dependent on their etiology (cause), including, but not certainly limited to fatigue, wheezing, pain, coordination issues, and edema of all types. It can be associated with any bodily component: skeletal, body fluid and organ; it is categorized as a disease, disorder or injury and may be single system or multi-system based; it may be stable, worsening or improving but never resolving.

Medical literature has demonstrated that appropriate exercise programs, such as in Healthy Steps, aides not only in the treatment of Chronic Illnesses, but on its prevention. Such programs can significantly impact the risk for cancer, cardiovascular disease and hypertension, pulmonary disease, arthritis and developmental skeletal disorders, fluid disorders, diseases of unknown etiology, obesity, and diabetes.

Appropriate exercise, as modeled in the Healthy Steps Program, is associated with conditioned aerobics; warm up and cool down activities, movements that are associated with passive stretch, stabilized flow, slow and steady activities; tone based exercises, structured rest conditions and avoidance of trauma and avoidance of overuse conditions.

In summary, Chronic Illnesses are becoming so frequent that it is changing our population pool for all exercise programs. Appropriate exercise for this population is critical both for prevention and treatment and Healthy Steps is such an appropriate program for all Chronic Illness patients

Please visit us to find a class at www.gohealthysteps.com and click 'find a class'. Also visit our store and purchase one of our 'at home' DVDS.

Exercise and Cancer

(HealthDay News)

People undergoing cancer treatment traditionally have been told to rest as much as possible and avoid exertion, to save all their strength to battle the dreaded disease.
But a growing number of physicians and researchers now say that people who remain physically active as best they can during treatment are more likely to beat cancer.
The positive evidence for exercise during and after cancer treatment has piled so high that an American College of Sports Medicine panel is revising the group's national guidelines regarding exercise recommended for cancer survivors.
The panel's conclusion: Cancer patients and survivors should strive to get the same amount of exercise recommended for everyone else, about 150 minutes a week of moderate-intensity aerobic exercise. Resistance training and stretching also are recommended.
"Exercise is so important for cancer patients, but so many doctors and health professionals are concerned about safety issues -- is it safe for people undergoing treatment to exercise?" said Colleen Doyle, director of nutrition and physical activity at the American Cancer Society. "And this group has decided that yes, it is. These guidelines really help lay some of those issues to rest. This clearly delineates that it is safe and it is feasible and we should be recommending exercise for cancer patients."
The new guidelines stand as an important sea change in cancer treatment, said Kathryn Schmitz, an associate professor of epidemiology and biostatistics at the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine and a researcher at the university's Abramson Cancer Center, who presented the guidelines at a meeting this past summer of the American Society of Clinical Oncology.
"The exercise guidelines for all Americans stand for cancer patients undergoing treatment," Schmitz said. "This is a landmark statement because the guidelines up to this point have been, 'Take it easy, don't push yourself.'"
But that's changed, she explained. "Not only is exercise safe, but it has a number of benefits for cancer patients during treatment," she said.
The top benefit is a better chance of survival. Exercise seems to make the body better able to withstand the withering effects of such cancer treatments as chemotherapy and radiation therapy.

"Evidence is promising that exercise may make cancer treatment more effective,"

This is why Healthy-Steps is the perfect class for you. Easy, fun to do and our medical studies show it helps increase energy, decrease depression and increase Quality of Life. Please go to www.gohealthysteps.com and then click find a class. Put in your zip code and find a class near you. You can also purchase our DVD in our store. Do it today and feel better!

Exercise while you are pregnant

NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - Being physically active while pregnant may help women gain a little bit less weight, according to a new review of recent research.
Pooling the results of 12 studies, researchers in Munich, Germany, found that women who exercised while pregnant gained an average of 1.3 fewer pounds than women who didn't.

That alone is probably not much of an incentive for women who are considering exercising while pregnant, but there are other reasons to do it, said Dr. Michael Kramer of McGill University in Montreal who reviewed the findings for Reuters Health.

Research shows that exercise can have positive effects on mood and insulin sensitivity in people overall, and appears to have no negative effects on women during pregnancy, noted Kramer, who is also scientific director of the Institute of Human Development, Child and Youth Health at the Canadian Institutes of Health Research.
Exercise can also help women maintain their pre-pregnancy conditioning.

"Women who have been physically active can continue, and women who haven't can start," Kramer said. "But they shouldn't expect major outcomes for them or their baby."

Healthy-Steps has a wonderful Maternity program and Juzo supplies garments for pregnant women! email us today for information at info@lebedmethod.com

It was indeed a pleasure presenting the lecture on "Exercise in Pregnancy" on the lovely Navigator of the Seas cruise ship.

The program reviewed American College of OB/GYN recommendation and contraindications for exercise during pregnancy and post-partum. The Healthy Steps program was presented based on these recommendations both in lecture form and then by completely reviewing the practical performance of these exercising steps.

Though the presentation and the course was fully educational and fun, I must mention the tremendous experience of jointly participating in a presentation with my brother and our talented and lovely sister. With that being said, there was a strong feeling from those attending this most rewarding conference that we all walked away with more experience and knowledge to aid our patients with the Healthy Steps Program.

See you all next time around.
?Dr Joel Lebed