By Juliann Hanson-Zlatev, OTR, Heuga Center Program Staff Member

By: Greg Farmer, M.S., M.P.T., Heuga Center Program Staff Member

With less daylight and colder temperatures it can be a challenge to stay active and maintain your fitness in the winter.  By understanding your symptoms and using some creativity, you can have fun and maintain your fitness goals during the winter.

Stretching has many benefits for all people.  It is an activity which we can all participate in to one degree or another.  Some of the benefits of stretching include:

Strength is defined as the quality of being strong or powerful as it relates to muscular activity.  Muscle strength is needed to perform daily activities.  Weakness can decrease function.  People with MS often report weakness or lack of strength as a problem.  Strength can be affected by fatigue, spasticity and limitations in range of motion.  Strength training is designed to improve muscle power, bone strength (decrease the risk of osteoporosis), physical capacity for daily activities and prevent injury.  Additional benefits for people with MS may be increased enduranc

As recently as twenty years ago, people with multiple sclerosis (MS) were advised to avoid physical activity/exercise because it could increase symptoms or possibly even increase disease activity.  Today it is well accepted that exercise is beneficial in maintaining or increasing one’s health, decreasing secondary complications and improving psychological well-being.  There is recent evidence that exercise may have some neuroprotective and anti-inflammatory effects for people with MS, but more research needs to be done in this area.

As recently as twenty years ago, people with multiple sclerosis (MS) were advised to avoid physical activity/exercise because it could increase symptoms or possibly even increase disease activity.  Today it is well accepted that exercise is beneficial in maintaining or increasing one’s health, decreasing secondary complications and improving psychological well-being.  Some of the newest areas of research are around the anti-inflammatory and potential neuroprotective factors of exercise.

With Atkins, LA Weight Loss, Dr. Phil, South Beach and 35 billion dollars donated to weight loss routines, why are Americans getting heavier? In 2000, the prevalence of obesity in US adults was 19.8 percent, which reflects a 61 percent increase over the previous 10 years. One in three Americans have a body weight that is 20 percent greater than recommended.

Loss of balance can be frustrating. It is most commonly seen with activities such as walking, climbing stairs or transfers. It can also be a problem with sitting or standing.

Balance problems can result directly from plaques in the cerebellum, the ‘balance and coordination center.’ It can also result from other impairments commonly seen with multiple sclerosis, such as visual disturbances, loss of sensation, spasticity or weakness.

Wellness is a term that has gained increasing popularity in recent years. Wellness generally focuses on physical, psychological and spiritual aspects of one’s life. Wellness is a term described by Ardell in 1977 as “a conscious and deliberate approach to an advanced state of physical and psychological/spiritual health”. The key points in this definition include the facts that it is ‘conscious and deliberate’ and that it is an ‘advanced state’. Traditional medicine generally seeks