Doctors see more sprains and strains related to weather Posted on February 14, 2011August 16, 2012 by Dakota PikeFirst published by the Daily Gazette, February 14 , 2011. Reported by Marcy Velte.Doctors see more sprains and strains related to weather CAPITAL REGION — To save money this winter, more families than usual are opting to remove ice and snow themselves instead of hiring a service, but it could be costing them money in medical bills.An increase in storms means an increase in snow- and ice-related injuries, according to Dr. Todd Duthaler, chief of emergency medicine at Nathan Littauer Hospital in Gloversville.“It’s been a very slippery winter,” he said, speaking about the many sprained wrists and ankles he sees annually. “Another cause of concern is more people trying to clear their roofs and harming themselves.”“It has been a slippery winter” Dr. Todd DuthalerMost local hardware stores have had trouble keeping roof rakes, shovels and rock salt in stock.T.J. Grim from Bellevue Builders said his business is out of snow rakes because of the large number of “do-it-yourselfers” this year.“We feel bad because we have to turn people away,” he explained.Duthaler said numerous people have come to the hospital with broken bones or back injuries from falling off ladders or the roof.“People are hearing on the news about getting the snow and ice off their roofs and becoming concerned, but they aren’t thinking about taking appropriate safety measures,” he said.Duthaler recommends staying on the ground to clear roofs, but that too can be a problem.Ray Hayden, owner of Hayden Brothers Snow and Ice Removal in Schenectady, said more customers are calling for help later in the season because they are nervous about injuries.“They see people getting hurt or have gotten hurt and they get scared,” he said. “They want people that know what they’re doing.”Hayden explained most injuries he sees come after someone uses a roof rake. People tend to stay on the ground and pull the snow off the roof and toward themselves.“You shouldn’t do that,” he said. “That could be 400 pounds of snow and ice falling down on top of them. They don’t know.”Hayden explained it’s important to use the right equipment to remove ice while on top of the roof — like a ladder that attaches to the roof so it doesn’t slip — or hire someone if help is needed.The large amounts of snow are causing other injuries.Dr. Krystal Clarke of Sunnyview Physical Therapy said most patients are coming in with sprained backs or ruptured discs from shoveling snow or lugging a snowblower.She recommends going slow and using the proper form when shoveling snow.Duthaler agreed.He said people coming to the hospital with chest pain or trouble breathing is an issue during snow-shoveling season. There’s also an increase in heart attacks.Clarke said the majority of her patients with snow- and ice-related injuries are seniors.“Pride is a big factor. Always ask for help if it’s needed,” she said. “If it’s too difficult to hire someone, ask family or neighbors.”Using common sense is the best way to prevent injury, according to Duthaler.“Be careful. Take breaks. And if you start to feel discomfort, stop what you’re doing,” he said.
NLH: Addressing e-device overuse Posted on January 31, 2011August 16, 2012 by Dakota PikeAddressing e-device overuse First published in the Leader Herald, Rodney Minor reporting, January 29, 2011Too much texting, playing video games can cause injuries January 30, 2011 – By RODNEY MINOR, The Leader-HeraldGLOVERSVILLE – Parents whose children frequently play video games or send text messages might want to make sure their kids are not doing too much of it.Otherwise, it could end up being painful.Repetitive Stress Injuries have been reported nationally in connection with texting on cell phones and overuse of the Nintendo Wii and similar video-game system.Kirsten Lennon, a registered and licensed occupational therapist at Nathan Littauer Hospital, said the problem is people, especially children, tend to spend too much time texting or using the Wii.“The Wii is great. It gets people up, it gets them moving,” she said. “But they have to take into consideration how much time they are using it.”Repetitive Stress Injuries is a term for syndromes characterized by discomfort, impairment and loss of muscle strength and function, according to information from the hospital. The pain comes from people performing repetitive movements the human body was not designed to do.As an example, Lennon noted the Wii – which uses a sensor and “Wii-motes” to simulate motions like swinging a tennis racket and throwing a baseball. A tennis game can include hitting 1,000 balls in a one-hour session. That’s because all someone has to do in the game is hit the ball, not run after it and take breaks like they would in a real game, she said.Dr. Shannon?Colt, a pediatrician at the hospital, also noted that, with any video game system, it is possible for people to get tension headaches and feel sore from playing for too long.According to the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke website – www.ninds.nih.gov – RSIs include carpal tunnel syndrome, bursitis, tendonitis, epicondylitis, ganglion cyst, tenosynovitis, and trigger finger.While RSIs may be thought of as an older persons ailment normally, they can happen to anyone, she said.Sometimes, bad habits that start in childhood can have a negative effect on someones health when they get older.“If [children] can break those bad habits early, they will be ahead of the game,” she said.Lennon had many recommendations to help people avoid excessively playing on the Wii, including:Start slowly. See how your body tolerates an activity.Cross train on the Wii, just like people do in real life.Lennon said an easy thing to do is to switch between games. People could switch from bowling, to dancing, to playing guitar on the Wii, for example.“People can use different muscle groups that way, not just reuse the same ones,” she said.Warm up before you start playing, similar to how you would before exercise.If a person’s body starts to hurt, they should take a break. They should not play again until the pain is gone.Treat pain from playing just like any other; Use ice, rest and if the pain persists talk to a doctor.Colt noted that parents may have to step in and limit their child in how much time they spend playing.However, there are other ways parents can approach the issue if they think their child is spending too much time playing one game. One way is to urge their child to switch to a different game, she said. If they want to, they could even challenge their child to play a different game against them, she said.TextingAmericans between the ages of 8 and 18 spend an average of 7 and hours a day using an electronic device. Also in America, 75 percent of 12 to 17 year olds own a cell phone and 1/3 of teens send more than 100 text messages daily, according to information provided by the hospital.Lennon said excessive texting can lead to RSIs, also.Part of the problem is many keyboards tend to be small, so one finger is all most people can use to type. People also tend to have bad body position when they type, which she demonstrated by taking her phone out and hunching over in imitation of the bad posture.Lennon recommends people alternate fingers when they text. People should take a break once in a while if they find themselves sending messages frequently, she said.She demonstrated a couple of exercises people can do as well to stretch out their fingers before using them. One involved the thumb on each hand against the fingers on the same hand five times. She also used rubber bands, putting them on her fingers and opening them to build up strength.Colt noted there are more than just physical ailments that can result from too much texting.In addition to sometimes being a distraction and promoting poor writing, too much texting could hurt a child’s social skills.Lennon said while they have not seen children coming into the hospital with ailments related to use of the Wii or texting, they wanted to get the word out about it. Injuries from overusing the Wii and texting have become national issues, she noted, and it will help local parents to be aware of the issue.For more information about RSIs, visit the NINDS website at www.ninds.nih.govFor more information about using the Nintendo Wii safely, visit www.nintendo.comCheryl McGrattan, public relations director for Nathan Littauer Hospital, said the hospital also will put together a YouTube video about stretching before using the Nintendo Wii. She said it should be available on the hospital’s website in the next three weeks.Kirsten Lennon, Occupational Therapist left and Dr. Shannon Colt at Nathan Littauer Hospital talk about overuse injury in electronic devices.
NLH Smoking cessation class works! Posted on December 2, 2010August 16, 2012 by Dakota PikeRead this Letter to the Editor which first appeared in The Leader Herald, December 1, 2010Cessation class effective December 1, 2010The butt stops here. These are words we never thought would pertain to us.Linda Hidde and Sue Cridland helps smokers quit!In September, we saw an ad in The Leader-Herald for a smoking-cessation class presentation by HealthLink through Nathan Littauer Hospital. Ms. Linda Hidde was the facilitator.She gave us information through booklets, videos and open discussion. With her and this class, which met once a week, we were both able to quit after smoking for more than 45 years each.A new class will be starting in the middle of January. Anyone interested in quitting should watch for the ad in The Leader-Herald.We will be there, too, with help and support.ELIZABETH HODEL and GERALDINE SOLMOGloversville
Littauer Doctor helps clarify radiation debate for concerned travelers Posted on November 30, 2010August 16, 2012 by Dakota PikeIs there radiation exposure when traveling? Littauer’s Dr. McBiles provides answersConcerned about radiation exposure when you are traveling this holiday season? Let Littauer’s own Dr. McBiles, Chief of Radiology lend clarity on this difficult issue. Watch the story here as reported by CBS6 news:Watch story here!
Nathan Littauer Ahead of the Pack: Most Connected Hospital in the Region Posted on August 12, 2010August 16, 2012 by Dakota PikeCaption for photo Sarah Katz, NLH’s Social Networking Technician helps the hospital use new tools to reach audiences.Gloversville, NY…You may be surprised to hear that the hospital with the largest social networking system in the region is Nathan Littauer Hospital in Gloversville, NY. “We wanted to build an information platform not just a website.” stated Laurence E. Kelly Hospital President and CEO. He added, “We have a lot of information and good news to share here and we saw social media as just one more way to reach our vast audience.” He explained, “Also, we wanted people to know that we embrace new technology in a myriad of forms, be it in social media or in medicine.” “According to our research, we are the only hospital in the region with a blog, Facebook site, a Twitter account, and YouTube channel.” stated Cheryl McGrattan Hospital Spokesperson. To date, the hospital also has the largest amount of “Friends” of any local hospital. Their findings are also supported by Ed Bennett who maintains a national website devoted to hospitals using social media. (www.ebennett.org). According to Ms. McGrattan, “It makes good sense to use these tools. All 14 hospitals listed on the 2010-2011 U.S. News Honor Roll are using social media. And 78% of the larger Best Hospitals List are also engaged on Facebook, Twitter and other social media sites.” (E. Bennett). The hospital also created a microsite using social media (radiologyrevolution.com) to highlight their diagnostic capabilities, a tool many large corporations use to promote a product. The hospital’s efforts recently caught the attention of social media guru Jason Falls who wrote about Nathan Littauer Hospital in his blog. (http://www.socialmediaexplorer.com/) . The blog is followed by 50,000 people. Jason Falls said, “Organizations like the Nathan Littauer Hospital are doing a great job of pushing media relations into a new era. While social media is often focused on serving the end consumer audience, Nathan Littauer’s communications team is using new media tools to continue to serve traditional media as well. They’re a good example of what the evolution of PR looks like in 2010.”To reach their social media goals, the hospital employed a Social Networking Technician, Sarah Katz. In five short months, Sarah has built a social media platform consisting of Facebook sites, videos on YouTube, Twitter and has created a network of devoted fans. She describes, “For a conservative industry like health care, Nathan Littauer did not have to be dragged kicking and screaming into the social media world.” She added, ‘For that I give Nathan Littauer a lot of credit”.“It seems to be working.” According to Sue Kiernan, “Social media is an additional touch point for Nathan Littauer.” She explained, “One afternoon we heard from a woman in Ohio on our Facebook site whose mother had been a resident in our nursing home. She wondered if anyone remembered her mom. We quickly contacted the nursing home and were able to get word to her that her mother was very well thought of and remembered by several staff. She was so touched by our response. That type of interaction is not seen in a mere website alone.”“Everyone here has really embraced this initiative” stated Sarah Katz. “Staff have submitted wellness tips which we post every week. We have posted videos of what our diagnostic testing is like, we created photo albums showing the construction progress of our new Emergency Center, and we have videos of physical therapists giving instruction on how to stretch before a round of golf.” The hospital also launched a Facebook campaign, “100 Reasons to get a Mammogram”, in which the hospital asked their Facebook fans to submit reasons why they or a loved one should get a mammogram. Sarah notes, “The campaign was extremely quick and successful. We had responses from politicians, local celebrities, doctors and business leaders.” We are also launching a YouTube series which demonstrates how to eat well on the run.What is next for the hospital? According to Sue Kiernan, “Right now we are completing a project in which we will try Tweeting births in our new Birthing Center. Beyond that I can only say, ‘Become a fan on our page and you will be the first to know about our plans for the future’.”xxx