Have you become part of the pickleball craze yet? It’s a sport that has been gaining popularity in recent years, attracting people of all ages and skill levels. If you’re curious about pickleball and want to learn more about it, you’ve come to the right place. We’re going to cover the basics of pickleball, from its origins to the rules of the game. So, grab your paddle and let’s dive in!

What is Pickleball?

Pickleball is a paddle sport that combines elements of tennis, badminton, and ping pong. You play pickleball on a court similar to a tennis court, but with a smaller size. You can play the game in singles (one player on each side) or doubles (two players on each side).

Equipment:

To play pickleball, you’ll need some basic equipment. Here’s what you’ll need:

• Paddle: Pickleball paddles are usually made of lightweight materials like graphite or composite. They are slightly larger than ping pong paddles but smaller than tennis racquets.
• Ball: Pickleballs are plastic with holes, similar to a wiffle ball. They come in different colors, but yellow is the most common.
• Court: A pickleball court is 20 feet wide and 44 feet long, with a net in the middle. The court is divided into two halves, with a non-volley zone (also known as the kitchen) located on each side.

How to Play:

The objective of pickleball is to hit the ball over the net and into your opponent’s court, aiming to score points. Here are the basic rules:

• Serve: The game starts with an underhand serve. The server must stand behind the baseline and hit the ball diagonally across the net. The serve must clear the non-volley zone.
• Volley: Once the ball is in play, players can either volley it (hitting it in the air without letting it bounce) or play it after it bounces once on their side.
• Non-volley zone: Players are not allowed to step into the non-volley zone and hit the ball in the air, however, they can enter the zone after the ball bounces.
• Scoring: The serving team is the only one who scores points. The first team to reach 11 points (with a two-point advantage) wins the game. Usually, you play matches as best of three games.

Pickleball Strategies and Techniques:

While pickleball may seem simple, there are various strategies and techniques to master. Here are a few tips to improve your game:

• Placement: Aim to hit the ball strategically, placing it where your opponent has difficulty returning it.
• Dinking: The dink shot is a soft shot that lands in the non-volley zone. This forces your opponent to hit the ball from a difficult position.
• Communication: In doubles, communication with your partner is essential. Coordinate your movements and shots to cover the court effectively.

Pickleball is a fun and engaging sport that is easy to learn but challenging to master. Whether you’re a beginner or an experienced player, the game offers a great way to stay active and socialize. So, grab a paddle, find a court near you, and give pickleball a try. Who knows, you might just fall in love with this sport! Are you like me and have trouble staying with new hobbies or exercise? Check out  Sticking to Your Exercise Program to make pickleball a lasting hobby!

Physical therapists can significantly reduce the risk of falls, especially for older adult populations. During each appointment, they conduct thorough assessments to identify risk factors that can make a person more likely to fall. This may include evaluating balance, gait, sensation, muscle strength, coordination, medication side effects, vision, footwear, and home safety hazards. 

Based on their assessment findings, the physical therapist will design an individualized treatment plan to reduce fall risks. This may include balance training, gait training, and strengthening exercises. Treatment sessions may also incorporate dynamic standing balance training, multi-directional stepping, walking on uneven surfaces, and dual-tasking. Based on patient experiences, physical therapists often encourage their patients to practice personalized tasks. This helps improve their confidence when performing activities that they frequently complete throughout the day at home. 

Physical therapists can also instruct patients on safe ways to get up after a fall. This may involve rolling onto your side, getting onto your hands and knees, and using stable furniture for support. Physical therapists can help you rehearse the motions needed to stand back up in a safe and step-by-step manner. Learning how to safely get off the floor can improve patient confidence in recovering independently if a fall happens. Your PT can give you exercises to improve your strength to help get up after a fall.

If you have a history of falls or would just like to reduce your risk of falling, try physical therapy. Your physical therapist’s expertise in fall prevention, balance training, and fall recovery techniques can help you remain active. This will keep you engaged within your homes and communities. To learn more about the benefits of physical therapy for fall prevention check out the Academy of Physical Therapy’s Article Physical Therapy Guide to Falls. To learn more about how physical therapists can help reduce falls in the winter, check out another MOSAIC blog here.

As parents, we strive to provide our children with the best possible upbringing. One crucial aspect of parenting is establishing and nurturing healthy boundaries. Boundaries not only help our children understand their limits but also empower them to navigate the world confidently. By setting boundaries early on, we equip our young ones with crucial life skills that will serve them well into adulthood. In this blog post, we will explore practical tips and strategies to establish healthy boundaries with your young child, fostering their emotional well-being, independence, and self-respect. 

Lead by Example

Firstly, children learn by observing the behavior of their parents and caregivers. It is essential to model healthy boundaries in our own lives. Show your child how to communicate effectively, respect personal space, and establish limits. By demonstrating these behaviors, you create a safe and nurturing environment where boundaries are valued and respected. 

Communicate Openly 

Effective communication is key to establishing healthy boundaries. Talk openly with your child about their feelings, emotions, and needs. Encourage them to express themselves and listen actively without judgment. By creating a safe space for open dialogue, you foster trust and empower your child to voice their boundaries confidently. 

Consistency is Key for Nurturing Boundaries

Consistency is crucial when it comes to setting boundaries. Establish clear and age-appropriate limits for your child’s behavior, such as screen time, bedtime routines, or household chores. Consistently reinforce these boundaries, explaining the reasons behind them. This consistency helps children understand expectations and develop self-discipline. 

Nurturing Boundaries Means Encouraging Independence

Allowing your child to explore their independence within safe boundaries is vital for their growth and development. Provide age-appropriate opportunities for decision-making, problem-solving, and taking responsibility. Encourage them to express their preferences and opinions, fostering a sense of autonomy and self-confidence. 

Teach Empathy and Respect

Help your child understand that boundaries are not only about their own needs but also about respecting the boundaries of others. Cultivate empathy by encouraging them to consider how their actions may impact others. In addition, role-play different scenarios to help them understand the importance of consent, personal space, and treating others with kindness and respect. 

Establishing healthy boundaries with your young child is a journey that requires patience, consistency, and open communication. By modeling healthy boundaries, fostering independence, and teaching empathy, you empower your child to navigate the world confidently and build meaningful relationships. Remember, each child is unique, and it is essential to adapt your approach to their individual needs and developmental stage. With your guidance, love, and support, your child will grow into a resilient and emotionally balanced individual, equipped with the tools to establish healthy boundaries throughout their lives. For more tips on fostering supportive parenting, check out this blog.

New year’s resolutions around fitness and exercise are incredibly popular. The excitement and hope generated by the start of the year makes starting an exercise program easy. But, sticking to your exercise program is a whole other challenge.

Now that it’s February, staying with it gets hard. Life gets busy, motivation drops, and suddenly you’re back on the couch, wondering how you’re 6 episodes into The Golden Bachelor instead of at the gym. 

You know the benefits of exercise – they’re probably what motivated you to start exercising in the first place. If you need a reminder here are just a few:

• 3 hours of exercise a week reduced pain and disability by 47% in people with knee arthritis
• Exercise reduced the progression of dementia by 50%
• Exercise reduced the risk of hip fracture in post-menopausal women by 47%
• A meta analysis showed exercise decreased anxiety by  48%
• A low dose of exercise relieves depression in 30% of people, a higher dose woks for 47% of people
• A 12 year study of 10,000 Harvard alumni showed that people who exercised were 23% less likely to die
• Exercise is the #1 treatment for fatigue

Knowing that you should exercise or why you should exercise isn’t the problem. Actually getting up and doing it is. Here are our top tips for making sure you stick to your exercise plan:

Tips for Sticking with Your Exercise Program

Firstly, set realistic goals. Don’t try to go from zero to hero overnight. Start with small, achievable goals and increase them gradually. Make it easy to win – that helps you build motivation and an exercise habit. For some people that might mean starting with a daily 10 minute walk. For some people, that bar is too high. When we say make it easy to win, we mean easy. Your goal could be to scan your card at the gym 3 times a week. It might be putting on your walking shoes and going out the door. It might be one pushup. Start tiny.

Secondly, do activities you enjoy. Exercise isn’t punishment. Choose activities that are fun. It could be running, walking the dog, dancing, swimming, kickboxing, or playing a sport.

Thirdly, schedule it. Schedule your workouts like you would any other important appointment. When people ask you to do something else during that time, say “sorry, I’ve got an appointment.” The more you make exercise a routine, the less likely you are to skip it.

Other Tips to Stick to Your Exercise

Don’t go it alone. Having someone waiting for you at the gym really motivates you to get there. Having support helps push you to work harder, and motivates you when you’re feeling down. Your support could be a friend, the other people in a group fitness class, or a trainer.

Mix it up. Try a new class. If you usually run at the same pace, try intervals. Walk a different route. Doing the same thing over and over again gets boring and leads to burnout. Keep things interesting to stay interested.

Track your progress. Bonus points if you find a way to make it visual somehow. Our brains love to see tasks checked off, a chart or numbers going up, and rings closing. Seeing how far you’ve come is a great motivator. Keep track of your workouts in a journal, make a spreadsheet, use an app or fitness tracker.

Bribes work. Celebrate your successes, no matter how small. Set a goal to work out 3 times this week and treat yourself to your favorite coffee when you do. Buy yourself a new workout outfit, get a massage, or anything else that will help you stay motivated when you reach milestones.

Adjust. Don’t push yourself too hard, especially when you’re starting out. If you’re feeling tired and sore, take the intensity down. Plan rest days into your routine. Don’t make your goal and plan so rigid that it’s impossible to complete in the real world.

Forgive yourself! Everyone has setbacks. You’re going to get sick. You’re going to miss a workout. That’s ok. Pick yourself up and get back on track. That’s the key to sticking with your exercise program. With the right mindset and a little perseverance, you can reach your fitness goals.

rEFERENCES

1. Updating ACSM’s Recommendations for Exercise Preparticipation Health Screening. Medicine & Science in Sports & Exercise 47(11):p 2473-2479, November 2015. https://journals.lww.com/acsm-msse/fulltext/2015/11000/updating_acsm_s_recommendations_for_exercise.28.aspx
2. Benefits of exercise for older adults: a review of existing evidence and current recommendations for the general population. Clinics in geriatric medicine 8.1 (1992): 35-50. https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0749069018304968
3. Exercise Acts as a Drug https://bpspubs.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1111/j.1476-5381.2012.01970.x
4. Perceived Exercise Barriers  https://doi.org/10.1002/art.22098
5. The Benefits of Exercise on Brain Health https://www.choosept.com/podcast/benefits-of-exercise-on-brain-health
6. Time Magazine: How To Keep New Year’s Resolutions: https://time.com/6243642/how-to-keep-new-years-resolutions-2/

What is reading rope? When we think about learning to read and to read well, we tend to immediately think about knowing letter sounds and how to sound out words. This is a prerequisite to reading fluency, but reading requires much more. Scarborough’s Reading Rope provides an excellent model of the skills needed to be an accomplished reader. Each rope strand represents a skill, and all the strands are then intertwined to indicate the relationship among the strands. When any one or more of the strands is weak, reading skills are compromised.

Reading Rope Skill Levels

A reading rope references two skill levels. One level is what we typically think of when learning to read. It consists of phonological awareness, decoding and recognizing sight words. Phonological awareness is knowledge of sounds and how sounds go together to make words. Decoding is sounding out words letter by letter and requires knowledge of the sounds associated with letters. Sight word recognition is knowing highly familiar words and reading these words without needing to sound them out. Sight word recognition helps us read more fluently.

The second level requires knowledge of language. Knowledge of language consists of background knowledge, vocabulary and sentence level understanding of language, verbal reasoning, and literary knowledge. Background knowledge (our understanding of concepts, ideas, etc.) and a strong vocabulary help readers understand what they are reading. They can relate new information in the text to knowledge they already have, and thus more easily understand what they are reading. Knowledge of language structure includes knowing the order in which we use words, rules that apply to the English language, and how an author’s choice of words and word order at the sentence level affects the meaning of the text.

Verbal reasoning is understanding figurative language which is knowledge of metaphors, similes, analogies, idioms, and inferencing. Readers usually learn a great deal about figurative language through school instruction. And lastly, literary knowledge is understanding book concepts such as turning pages, reading from left to right, and understanding the different types and styles of writing, such as fiction, nonfiction, autobiography/biography, poetry, etc. Our literary knowledge expands when we read different genres and styles of writing.

This reading rope model illustrates the skills needed to be an accomplished reader. Reading proficiently requires each skill, that is, to read text fluently and with understanding. A breakdown in any one skill will impact the ability to fully comprehend text and will make reading less enjoyable. Learn more about helping develop early literacy skills here.

PTs and nutrition are often seen as separate, but the truth is, they are deeply intertwined. To get the most out of PT, especially after an injury or surgery, integrating both is crucial. Here’s why:

Food Fuels The Body

During recovery from an injury or surgery, your body is working to heal itself. The activities and exercises you’re doing in PT are designed to help it along. To take advantage of all the work you and your body are putting in, proper nutrition is critical.

Protein provides the building blocks for tissue repair and muscle growth. Carbohydrates provide energy and help support your immune system. Your body also needs healthy fats to regulate inflammation and to build certain cells. Being short on any of these critical components will slow your recovery down. 

You also need enough micronutrients, like vitamins and minerals. For example, vitamin C makes collagen, which goes into bones, skin, and connective tissue. Vitamin D helps your body absorb calcium, which is important for healing fractures, or surgeries involving bones. Iron helps your blood cells carry oxygen throughout your body, which your body needs for healing in general. Again, being low on any of these micronutrients will affect your healing. 

Your Weight Affects Your Health

Being overweight directly affects your health. It puts you at higher risk for cardiovascular disease, stroke, osteoarthritis, back pain, diabetes, sleep apnea, and more. All of these are conditions that you might see a PT directly for, or that will impact your healing. Eating a healthy diet is the most effective way to reduce body weight. Therefore, combining a healthy diet with exercise is even better for your health. 

As an example, an 18-month study of 450 people with knee osteoarthritis showed that the group that lost weight through a diet and exercised had less pain, better walking speed, and lower joint forces in their knees than groups who either only lost weight, or only exercised. 

PTs can help with nutrition

While PTs are not authorized to provide individual diet plans or medical nutritional advice, they can still help with your nutrition.

• PTs can screen for potential nutritional deficiencies or imbalances that may impact your progress in PT or your overall health. This might involve screening for malnutrition, sarcopenia (muscle loss), or assessing dietary habits affecting energy levels, healing, or muscle building. 
• Your PT can educate you on the importance of nutrition for various aspects of rehabilitation and recovery. This includes explaining how specific nutrients like protein, vitamins, and minerals contribute to tissue repair, muscle building, energy production, and pain management.
• They can offer general guidance on healthy eating patterns, portion control, and choosing nutrient-rich foods to support reaching your specific physical therapy goals.
• PTs recognize that overall health and well-being involve various factors, including proper nutrition. They can encourage you to adopt healthy lifestyle habits that include a balanced diet alongside regular exercise and proper sleep hygiene.

Finally, your PT can recognize when your nutrition needs exceed what they are able to provide. In that case, they can refer you to and collaborate with a registered dietician or other qualified healthcare professional for help in dealing with complex nutritional needs or recommending specific dietary changes.

By combining the power of physical therapy and nutrition, you can achieve your recovery goals faster and feel your best!

References:

1. Effects of Intensive Diet and Exercise on Knee Joint Loads, Inflammation, and Clinical Outcomes Among Overweight and Obese Adults With Knee Osteoarthritis: The IDEA Randomized Clinical Trial Effects of Intensive Diet and Exercise on Knee Joint Loads, Inflammation, and Clinical Outcomes Among Overweight and Obese Adults With Knee Osteoarthritis: The IDEA Randomized Clinical Trial | Obesity | JAMA | JAMA Network
2. Ottawa Panel Evidence-Based Clinical Practice Guidelines for the Management of Osteoarthritis in Adults Who Are Obese or Overweight Ottawa Panel Evidence-Based Clinical Practice Guidelines for the Management of Osteoarthritis in Adults Who Are Obese or Overweight | Physical Therapy | Oxford Academic (oup.com)
3. Strategies for optimizing nutrition and weight reduction in physical therapy practice: The evidence Strategies for optimizing nutrition and weight reduction in physical therapy practice: The evidence: Physiotherapy Theory and Practice: Vol 25, No 5-6 (tandfonline.com)
4. Body mass index and risk of knee osteoarthritis: systematic review and meta-analysis of prospective studies Body mass index and risk of knee osteoarthritis: systematic review and meta-analysis of prospective studies – PMC (nih.gov)
5. Nutrition:  A Portion of PT’s Menu of Services Nutrition: A Portion of PTs’ Menu of Services | APTA
6. Considerations for PT’s Role in Nutrition Considerations Related to the PT’s Role in Nutrition and Diet | APTA
7. Nutrition and PT a Powerful Combination – Nutrition and Physical Therapy: A Powerful Combination | APTA