Page 4 - September_Healthbeat 2015

health bits
[ DID YOU KNOW?]
Earbuds enable music lovers to enjoy their favorite tunes uninterrupted and without distracting others around them. People often use earbuds while com- muting to work, at the gym and even at home. But according to a hearing-aid manufacturer, noise-induced hearing loss can occur by using earbuds at a high volume for extended periods of time. Earbuds can put audio signals close to the inner ear, which is the equivalent of boosting the volume by nine decibels. Even moderately high volume can cause hearing loss. It’s important to keep the volume low and to take frequent breaks when using earbuds. Keep earbud volume below 60 percent, and wear them for no more than 60 minutes per day.
— Courtesy of Metro Creative
[ THE LATEST ]
Robot-assisted walking therapy helps patients learn to walk again
[ TERMS ]
Nuclear scans: These are tests that use radioactive substances to make structures and functions inside the body visible. The tests employ a special camera that detects radioactivity. Before the test, the patient receives a small amount of radioactive material. These scans can help doctors diagnose many conditions, including cancers, injuries and infections.
SOURCE: THE UNITED STATES NATIONAL LIBRARY OF MEDICINE
50,000
THE APPROXIMATE NUMBER OF PEOPLE WHO ARE DIAGNOSED WITH PARKINSON’S DISEASE IN THE U.S. EACH YEAR
SOURCE: THE NATIONAL INSTITUTES OF HEALTH
CHI St. Vincent, auxiliary invest in larger space for moms and new babies
LITTLE ROCK — Looking more like some cra- zy inventor’s contraption than a high-tech piece of therapy equipment, the Lokomat is the latest addition to the Baptist Health Rehabilitation In- stitute’s arsenal of technology-based care that is helping patients relearn to walk again.
The robot-assisted device helps stimulate normal walking patterns for patients who have sustained an injury or illness that has severely limited their walking ability. It’s believed that the repetitive walking pattern helps the brain and spinal cord work together to re-route sig- nals that have been interrupted by injury or illness. The Lokomat may also help strength- en muscles, improve circulation and increase bone density.
Supported by a suspension harness that
looks like part of a parachute, patients are fitted with a robotic frame that’s strapped to the outside of their legs. Positioned over the device’s built-in treadmill, the robotic frame ensures that the patient’s legs stay in a natu- ral walking pattern while a computer controls the walking pace and measures the patient’s efforts.
This new walking therapy is most benefi- cial to people who have had a stroke, an in- complete spinal cord injury or a brain injury, or those who suffer from extreme muscular weakness as a result of immobilization, mul- tiple sclerosis, cerebral palsy or Parkinson’s disease. Robot-assisted walking therapy is not appropriate for everyone, and certain medical conditions prohibit participation in this therapy.
HOT SPRINGS — CHI St. Vincent Hot Springs is investing more than $1.6 million to increase the size of rooms for mothers and their new- borns. In addition to the larger size, the current 14 labor and delivery
or repainted. The improvements are made possible in part by a generous contribution by the CHI St. Vincent Hot Springs Auxiliary. The auxiliary contributed a half million dollars to the project. They raised the largest amount of money through manage- ment of the gift shop and scrub shop.
As a regional referral center, CHI St. Vincent Hot Springs cares for patients from six counties: Clark, Garland, Hot Spring, Howard,
Montgomery and Pike.
For more information
about labor and delivery, as well as mother and baby services, at CHI St.
Vincent Hot Springs, go to www.CHIStVincent.com/
HotSprings.
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In addition to the larger labor and de- livery rooms, a new tri- age area is being built to assess patients as they arrive.
Floors, ceilings and walls will be replaced, refinished
4 SUNDAY, SEPTEMBER 27, 2015 // HEALTHBEAT // ADVERTISING SUPPLEMENT TO THE ARKANSAS DEMOCRAT-GAZETTE