Tuesday, June 30, 2015

Post Knee Replacement Physical Activity

This is going here so I can find it easily.  I had my knee replacement in February of 2011 and my memory about what the surgeon said about physical activity after recovery has grown a little dim.  Probably not helped by having 2 back surgeries in the meantime.  So I googled and found the following recommendations on kneesociety.org.  So, bicycling, swimming, hiking, ballroom dancing, bowling, go for it.  Okay but be careful: scuba diving, skating, skiing.  No way, no how: parachuting, rock climbing.  Darn, those last 2 were on my bucket list.  Oh well....

Recommended Activities

Cycling is an excellent aerobic workout.Calisthenics, swimming, low-resistance rowing, stationary skiing machines, walking, hiking, and low-resistance weight lifting all are excellent ways to maintain fitness without overstressing the implant.

Suitable activities include bowling, croquet, golf, doubles tennis, table tennis, ballroom dancing and square dancing.

Other activities that are suitable but slightly more risky include downhill skiing, scuba diving, in-line skating, ice skating, softball, volleyball, speed walking, horseback riding, hunting and low-impact aerobics.

Discouraged Activities

In general, patients who have undergone total knee replacement should avoid high-impact activities that cause high stress loads on the implant and therefore may increase the risk of early failure.

Activities to avoid include baseball, basketball, football, hockey, soccer, high-impact aerobics, gymnastics, jogging, power lifting , rock climbing, hang gliding, and parachuting.

Thursday, June 18, 2015

Audubon & the Pope agree - make a bird friendly garden!

This just in from the Audubon society,  https://www.audubon.org/news/how-make-bird-friendly-sanctuary because that's something any of us can do to help with the climate issues.  And really, wouldn't it be better to have fewer chemicals and more birds in your yard?


 I particularly liked the stats at the end, quoted below:

532: Varieties of butterflies and moths supported by
 native oak trees. Vs. 5: Butterfly and moth species 
supported by non-native ginkgo trees.
96: Percentage of land birds that rely on insects 
to feed chicks.
1,200: Number of crops that depend on pollinators 
to grow.
40 million: Acres of lawn in U.S. currently.
80 million: Pounds of pesticides applied to lawns 
in the U.S. annually. Native plants, on the other hand, 
support a balance of predator and prey and thrive 
without pesticides.
800 million: Gallons of gas used annually by 
lawn mowers. This produces significant amounts of 
C02 and other greenhouse gases driving climate change.

So change out those lawns!  Bring back the birds and the bees and we'll all be happier.  The Pope said so...