Rediscovering Life After Stroke: How Outdoor Therapy Transforms Recovery | Bengaluru News

Your competent? doctor has already created protocols on outdoor rehab? NO? So you DON'T have a functioning stroke doctor, do you? RUN AWAY!

Like these:

Prescribing nature: Research suggests the outdoors are good for your mental health

 September 2021

5 ways spending more time outside benefits our health November 2021

The latest here:

 Rediscovering Life After Stroke: How Outdoor Therapy Transforms Recovery | Bengaluru News

Bengaluru: Ravindrarcharya, 63, a stroke survivor and reside ..

Read more at:
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/articleshow/115426034.cms?utm_source=contentofinterest&utm_medium=text&utm_campaign=cppstBengaluru: Ravindrarcharya, 63, a stroke survivor and reside ..

Read more at:
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/articleshow/115426034.cms?utm_source=contentofinterest&utm_medium=text&utm_campaign=cppstBengaluru: Ravindrarcharya, 63, a stroke survivor and reside ..

Read more at:
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/articleshow/115426034.cms?utm_source=contentofinterest&utm_medium=text&utm_campaign=cppstBengaluru: Ravindrarcharya, 63, a stroke survivor and reside ..

Read more at:
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/articleshow/115426034.cms?utm_source=contentofinterest&utm_medium=text&utm_campaign=cppst

Bengaluru: Ravindrarcharya, 63, a stroke survivor and reside ..

Read more at:
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/articleshow/115426034.cms?utm_source=contentofinterest&utm_medium=text&utm_campaign=cppst

Bengaluru: Ravindrarcharya, 63, a stroke survivor and reside ..

Read more at:
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/articleshow/115426034.cms?utm_source=contentofinterest&utm_medium=text&utm_campaign=cppstBengaluru: Ravindrarcharya, 63, a stroke survivor and reside ..

Read more at:
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/articleshow/115426034.cms?utm_source=contentofinterest&utm_medium=text&utm_campaign=cppst

5 ways spending more time outside benefits our health

 It is your doctor's responsibility to get you recovered enough to easily and safely exercise outdoors.

5 ways spending more time outside benefits our health

Have you ever noticed how you feel happier and more refreshed after spending some time in nature? That is no coincidence. Research has proven that spending time outsideis associated with good health and overall wellbeing.

Today, the average American spends 90% of their life indoors. While modern amenities have undoubtedly made life easier on many accounts, life today is unlike any other point in history. Over the course of the past 200 years, workers have migrated from workplaces like fields and farms to factories and offices. On the one hand, working indoors protects the skin from harmful ultraviolet sun rays. On the other hand, however, today’s indoor lifestyles can be harmful to physical and mental health.

It is more important now than ever before to prioritize outdoor time. In return, individuals will find they are happier, less stressed, and even more, protected against cancer.

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Here’s how spending time outdoors can improve one’s health:

1. More exercise!

While being outside is not a guarantee of being active, spending time outdoors is associated with more activity than indoor living. Activities such as strolling through the park, swimming at the beach, gardening, and bike riding increase the heart rate and get the body moving. Children, in particular, are more likely to get exercise outdoors than indoors. Studies have shown that American children spend over six hours per day with electronic media and that time is largely spent sitting down. When outside, researchers found that children are doubly active.

Getting exercise is a great way to build muscle and feel good, but it can also protect against many types of cancers, including cancerof the bladder, breast, colon, kidney, and stomach. Regular exercise can prevent obesity, a risk factor for many cancers. It can also improve immune system function, control hormones related to cancer growth, and prevent high blood glucose levels of insulin.

2. The body may heal faster

Researchers at the University of Pittsburgh reported that spinal surgery patients experienced less pain and stress and took fewer pain medications during their recoveries if they were exposed to natural light. Another study showed that the view out the window (trees vs. a brick wall) affected patient recovery. A body that is well equipped to heal itself is beneficial in all circumstances, but cancer patients may find it particularly helpful, especially if undergoing surgery.

3. Lower blood pressure and less stress

Walking among the trees can lower blood pressure and reduce the stress-related hormones cortisol and adrenaline. Stress is an uncomfortable response to deal with, but it can be worse yet. Studies suggest that stress hormones may awaken dormant cancercells that remain in the body after treatment, meaning there is a link between stress and cancer coming back. Additionally, cancer patients are more likely to experience stress in relation to their current situation. Reducing stress hormones can positively impact the quality of life for people diagnosed with cancer and their families.

4. Soak up Vitamin D

So long as the skin is protected from extended exposure to harmful ultraviolet rays (thank you, sunscreen!), the sun can nourish the body with Vitamin D. Vitamin D helps the body use calcium and phosphorus to make strong bones and teeth. Research suggests that women with low levels of Vitamin D have a higher risk of breast cancer. It is believed that Vitamin D plays a role in controlling normal breast cell growth and may stop breast cancer cells from growing.

5. Improved mood

Perhaps the most immediate benefit to spending time outdoors is a scientifically proven good mood. Researchers have found that nature simply makes us happy and decreases anxiety, depression, and anger. Tragically, cancer patients are more likely to experiencethese symptoms than the general population. A quick mood boost can be exceptionally beneficial to patients and their loved ones. However, it is important to remember that depression is a serious condition and should be discussed with a professional as early as possible.

So what are you waiting for?

With traveling beginning to return to normal, there is no better time to get out to some of the most naturally beautiful places in the country. The southern states, such as Missouri, Kansas, and Texas, are soon to be peaking with autumn hues of reds, oranges, and yellows. To experience peak autumn foliage and reap the many benefits of being amongst nature, pack some bags and head to Lake of the Ozarks in Missouri, Big Bend in Texas, or Guadalupe Mountains National Park between Texas and New Mexico.

Want to make a positive impact on cancer research while traveling?

Fly to Find a Cure is a signature fundraising program that allows frequent flyers, travel enthusiasts, and most importantly, those passionate about supporting cancer research to make a real impact while receiving airline miles in return. Visit the Fly to Find a Cure webpage to view NFCR’s airline partners and to make a donation.

Though it is exciting that travel is starting to resume as usual, it is crucial to consider that traveling can still be a risk to one’s health. Cancer patients are recommended to discuss travel plans with their doctor prior to booking a trip.

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Prescribing nature: Research suggests the outdoors are good for your mental health

Well your doctor should have been prescribing forest bathing and water vistas for years. Or is your doctor incompetent in that also?

• forest bathing (10 posts to September 2015)

• blue space (2 posts to May 2016)

• blue water (2 posts to October 2019)

 

Prescribing nature: Research suggests the outdoors are good for your mental health

Dr. Melissa Lem says spending time outdoors can clear our minds, lower our stress

CBC Radio · Posted: Sep 06, 2021 4:00 AM ET | Last Updated: September 6

As a teenager living with depression, Jon Cadang found solace in fishing and exploring the outdoors. He says nature has been key to treating his mental health concerns. (@jonny.darter/Instagram)

The Current23:12Back to the Land: How a prescription for nature could make us healthier

For many teenagers, a driver's licence can mean freedom to visit the mall — but for Jon Cadang, it offered him a reprieve from the depression that consumed him for years.

One of his first stops? A creek near his home in Mississauga, Ont., abundant in fish that he was determined to catch.

It would take Cadang two weeks before he landed one, but it taught the forager and painter that nature could be a powerful treatment to what ails him.

"I realized that whole time, I stopped ruminating about my situation — all the bad things that were happening," said Cadang, now 25. "I realized that maybe being out here and putting myself towards a goal, even if that's just to catch fish, maybe that could help," he told Back to the Land host Duncan McCue.

"I liked what I saw. I felt at peace."

A growing body of research suggests that being outdoors can benefit mental health and boost memory, improve cardiovascular health and help us live longer. Additional studies find that nature lowers cortisol, the body's stress hormone.

With that research in hand, doctors in parts of Canada have signed on to provide what are known as "nature prescriptions" for those living with mental illnesses and physical health conditions such as heart disease and diabetes.

Cadang holds dame's rocket, a herbaceous weed, as wild garlic cooks on a portable gas burner. (Duncan McCue/CBC)

Last November, PaRx, an organization led by Dr. Melissa Lem, partnered with the B.C. Parks Foundation and health-care providers across British Columbia to offer patients nature prescriptions. Programs have also recently launched in Ontario and Saskatchewan.

"We leverage what we know about their health status, where they live, what they're interested in to kind of create a customized nature prescription that they can fill," Lem said. A standard prescription, she adds, is two hours of nature per week, at 20 minute or longer intervals.

• 1,000 km and up: 'Something I could control,' says Toronto woman of daily walks during pandemic

Patients work one-on-one with a licensed health-care professional — a doctor, nurse or psychologist — to find the best solution for them. Nature prescriptions are often used in tandem with more traditional approaches to health care, and PaRx recommends that people first consult with a health-care provider if they have medical concerns.

Lem says her patients have responded positively to the idea. "I find that when I bring it up in the context of other lifestyle interventions — like healthy diet, like exercise and good-quality, adequate sleep — that they nod their heads like it's intuitive to them.

Outdoors offered peace, but challenges continued

Cadang says that while he now has a good relationship with his parents, it was their expectations that compounded his depression.

"They wanted me to excel at school, so I couldn't really go outside. I couldn't really go anywhere aside from school," he said.

Dr. Melissa Lem, a Vancouver-based family physician, has touted the benefits of 'nature prescriptions' for more than a decade. Now she leads PaRx, an organization that provides health-care professionals with information to prescribe the outdoors to patients. (Submitted by Melissa Lem)

The pressure wore on him, and his mind spiralled. He spent most of his time alone in his bedroom, ruminating about his situation.

At the height of his depression, Cadang says, he would spend 18 to 20 hours a day sleeping. At one point, he experienced suicidal thoughts. In 2018, Cadang was diagnosed with major depressive disorder.

"It seemed that no matter what I tried to do, I could never get anything right. I think the worst part was feeling that I really had no place in this world, and it felt like there was no escaping that," he said.

• Plants bring peace to gardeners grappling with grief, depression and anxiety

Casting a line and tackle brought Cadang solace that had a healing effect. But as a college student, he still struggled with his mental health — and eventually faced a crisis, requiring medication and therapy.

Still, his counsellor at the time encouraged him to continue using nature as a medicine.

"It was affirming to hear that being outside, going on these walks, incorporating that into my treatment plan felt like I was walking the right steps," Cadang said.

WATCH | How daily walks help this B.C. woman take the pandemic in stride: 

'My top 5 tips for building mental resilience': Sheila White, 97

7 months ago

4:47

The B.C. resident stays active and connected to her community throughout the pandemic. 4:47

Stressed in the city

Lem has been advocating nature prescriptions for more than a decade. The family physician has a practice based in Vancouver, but she worked in rural British Columbia earlier in her career.

After that, she made a move to Toronto — a change that proved to her the benefits of the outdoors.

• Nature's sounds improve well-being — reducing stress and even pain

Her job in Toronto, working as an outpatient physician, was less stressful than her time in rural B.C., where she had to deal with emergencies and middle-of-the-night births. But in Toronto, she says she still struggled with the weight of her job.

"I was sitting in my apartment looking out at a tiny little square of sky with the CN Tower in the distance, hearing the streetcars rumble by and feeling incredibly stressed," she told McCue.

"I thought, why am I so stressed out? And then I realized it was probably because I didn't have as much access to nature."

Becca Lovell, a researcher at University of Exeter in Truro, U.K., has studied the benefits of nature on humans. She says that while more research is needed, currently available evidence points toward positive outcomes. (Submitted by Becca Lovell)

Living among green spaces can also lead to a healthier life, according to Becca Lovell, a researcher at the University of Exeter medical school, based at its campus in Truro, England.

"The greener your living environment, probably the better it is for your health, in terms that it can ameliorate a number of environmental stresses — so noise, poor air quality, heat-island effect and so on," she said.

"What we're starting to do now is think [of] the so-what question — so how do we make environments healthier?" That could mean adding green spaces to certain areas, or encouraging better use of what's already there.

And while more research into the topic is needed, Lovell argues that what is known points toward generally positive outcomes.

• The Dose
  What are the dos and don'ts of getting the most out of my daily walk?

Along with PaRx, Lem's work goes beyond jotting prescriptions on a notepad. She is also an advocate for improved access to high-quality green space as part of urban planning.

"A really important part of the work that we do is getting governments to realize that nature is an essential health service and to get them to enshrine policy into city building and city planning that makes sure that green spaces are accessible to everyone," she said.

Nature offers 'a lot of meaning'

Cadang continues to work on his mental health. He says he's also looking for ways to turn his love of the outdoors into a career, after transitioning from an interior design program to study fish and wildlife technology.

He's recently found success foraging for and selling wild mushrooms.

As he tries to find a way to make money off his love of nature, Cadang has found success as a wild mushroom forager. (Submitted by Jon Cadang)

And after making peace with his parents, it's a hobby they now enjoy as a family.

"We've made it a tradition that we go foraging for fiddleheads every spring. Now we go to the same spot and we end up having a really nice meal afterwards," Cadang said.

"They're very accepting of what I do now because they see that it brings me a lot of meaning and joy in my life — and they certainly don't mind having a lot of food on the table when I come home."

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Written by Jason Vermes. Produced by Zoe Tennant.

What people say about travelling outdoors after their stroke: a qualitative study

We absolutely need outdoor experiences post-stroke. Demand you get some. A doctor was insistent that I not watch an outdoor whitewater slalom race during a weekend pass due to the possibility of falling and bleeds due to warfarin use. I ignored her.

Glancing at greenery can boost concentration levels

 

Residential exposure to visible blue space (but not green space) associated with lower psychological distress in a capital city

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/22272885

Barnsley L¹, McCluskey A, Middleton S.

Author information

Abstract

BACKGROUND/AIM:

Reduced walking ability and loss of confidence are common after stroke. Many people cannot drive or use public transport, which can restrict participation. This qualitative study aimed to explore the experiences and attitudes of people following stroke to travelling outdoors early after hospital discharge.

METHODS:

Two semi-structured interviews were conducted with 19 people post-stroke, all of whom were receiving rehabilitation to increase outdoor travel. Mean age was 68.6 years (SD 11.7years). Eight significant others also participated. Interviews were conducted at home (median 21 days post-discharge), with a second interview three months later. Questions focussed on common destinations, modes of travel including driving when relevant and factors that influenced outdoor travel. Qualitative data were analysed using constant comparative (grounded theory) methods, resulting in themes and categories.

RESULTS:

People with stroke were categorised as either a hesitant or confident explorer, in relation to walking, catching public transport and driving. Factors influencing outdoor travel included their emotional disposition, having meaningful destinations, expectations of recovery and the sphere of influence, including family and therapists. These factors could have an enabling or restricting effect. A pre-stroke walking habit also positively contributed to outdoor travel. Gate-keeping by therapists, general practitioners and family members seemed to adversely affect travel.

CONCLUSIONS:

This emerging theory offers insights into the experiences and attitudes to outdoor travel of people who were ambulant and participating in community rehabilitation following a stroke. Future research could explore the experiences of people with more severe mobility, cognitive and communication problems.
© 2011 The Authors. Australian Occupational Therapy Journal © 2011 Occupational Therapy Australia.