Adam Prudhomme
Editor
Rural Frontenac Lennox and Addingtion’s (RFLA) Allied Health Team will be providing plenty of opportunities for people to form healthy habits in 2022.
Starting this month the team will be hosting a series of kinesiology programs that are geared towards dealing with various chronic diseases. More than just exercise classes, the programs will include an educational component that will help members make better choices in their everyday life to help manage their ailments.
All of the programs offered are free and will be held virtually for now with an option to meet in-person at their Napanee location of 310 Bridge Street W. when it is deemed safe to do so by Public Health.
“I would call each of the programs self-management programs,” explains Katherine Taylor, a registered kinesiologist with the RFLA Allied Health Team. “There’s a lot of education and even though we do some exercise together, it’s more I’m teaching you what to do as part of your lifestyle, long-term.”
Taylor outlined the kinesiology programs for the winter-spring season, starting with Women on Weights, with the next intake starting Jan. 13-March 31.
The eight-week program, which is delivered Thursdays from 10 a.m. to 11 a.m., is a lifestyle intervention program to help maintain bone mass and reduce the risk of osteoporosis.
“The premise of that group is helping women to maintain their bone density,” said Taylor. “Osteoporosis is a condition where the bones in the body start to become less dense or basically more brittle which means they’re more likely to break or fracture. It’s pretty prevalent, one in three women over 50 have osteoporosis. This program is specifically based on strength training, so lifting weights. What the research shows is that strength training is the top two to three things we need to do to keep the bones strong. When we do strength training, all our muscles are attached to the bones so when we contract our muscles really strongly with strength training or other vigorous activities, that pulls on where the muscle attaches to the bone and that is the stimulus to keep those bones remodeling stronger.”
The program also focuses on good posture to protect the spine as well as tips from a registered dietician. Included in the program is a fitness assessment.
For those dealing with hip or knee osteoarthritis there is the GLA:D program, which will have intakes from Feb. 1 to March 24 and April 12 to May 26, running 2:30-3:30 p.m. on Tuesdays and Thursdays.
“In this group we learn how to move to keep the knee and hip joints healthy,” said Taylor, noting the program originates from Denmark and is offered across Canada. “One component of that is we do strength training exercises two days a week. That’s helping to keep the cartilage healthy but also when it comes to osteoarthritis we have to keep the muscle surrounding those joints really, really strong. If the muscles are weak, we’re not going to have good alignment or good function of the joint. All the GLA:D program is basically strengthening all the muscles of the hips and thighs, fronts and backs of the legs and that type of thing.”
Taylor explains arthritis is caused by slow regeneration of cells in the joints.
“With osteoarthritis we want to look at what helps to encourage good regeneration of the cartilage,” said Taylor. “It’s actually movement that encourages regeneration of the cartilage because with our joints, when we think about our knee joints there’s something called synovial fluid in there and everybody’s joints has this fluid and when we move we’re actually pushing that fluid in and out of the cartilage. That’s what helps it to keep healthy.”
For those living with metabolic syndrome there is the CHANGE Program.
“It is a year long program and for the first three months people come once a week for a visit and they do an hour of education and exercise with me and then they do an hour of nutrition education with Paige (Huycke, an Allied Health Team dietician). That goes for 12 weeks and then they come back in once a month.”
To qualify for the program participants must have at least two of five criteria for metabolic syndrome (large waist line, high blood pressure, high blood sugar, high triglyceride or low HDL).
“There’s a really good success rate with this group,” said Taylor. “Metabolic Syndrome Canada says there’s a 20 per cent reversal of metabolic syndrome of people who take this program. Lots of folks who join this program see a reduction in their blood pressure or they see their A1C, which is their blood sugar measurement, drop down. We see improvements in HDL, the good cholesterol and a reduction in triglyceride. This one is done in conjunction with a family doctor because they get the blood work done every three or four months for us.”
The next intake for the CHANGE Program is Jan. 26.
Ongoing throughout the year is a drop-in stretch, roll, move class for myofascial release and light exercise. That class, which Taylor says is like a gentle self-massage, runs Thursdays from 1:15-2:15 p.m.
Lastly the RFLA Hiking Group will be starting up again with Saturday morning hikes throughout the KFLA region.
Taylor says she’s also developing youth snowshoe events, with one tentatively scheduled for Feb. 19 at Menzel Centennial Provincial Reserve in Roblin and another planned for March 5 at Elbow Lake. The family-friendly hikes will include scavenger hunt games with experts on hand to talk about local wildlife and trees spotted along the trail. Youth are welcome to attend any of the regular hikes as well as they are for all ages and abilities. Taylor leads the hikes, which range between 3-4 km or 5-8 km. For more information on the hikes, contact KatherineT@kchc.ca or call 613-449-5678.
For more information on any of the programs or to register visit https://kchc.ca/napanee/rural-frontenac-lennox-and-addington-allied-health-team/.
Aside from the hikes, all of the other classes can be attended from virtually anywhere provided there’s an internet connection.
Taylor hopes the classes will encourage people to look at exercise in a different light. Getting active can play a major role in improving the quality of life for those dealing with chronic diseases.
“Rather than exercising just to lose weight, think about all the things they’re doing for their arteries, their blood pressure, their heart and their muscles and bones and lungs,” Taylor said when it comes to thinking of the positives of exercise. “Every time we exercise we get those health benefits even if we aren’t getting the weight loss we want to see, at least we know we’re doing all sorts of good things for the prevention of health conditions.”