VitalityHouse Health Articles

Stair lifts the Key to Regaining Your Freedom

Often as you get older or due to medical conditions, it can become harder to navigate staircases. This can greatly hinder your ability to fully enjoy and utilize your home. When it has become impossible or just unsafe to travel up and down the stairs it is no longer necessary to think about buying a new home or just not using part of your home.  Stair lifts can help you to regain your freedom and independence.

There are many different types of stairlifts. For most people the seated stair lift offers the best way to regain their freedom. A seated stair lift offers a 180 degree swivel seat with liftable armrests that allow the user to easily enter and exit the stair lift. A quality stair lift will also have a seat belt for added safety.

The installation of these products is generally simple and can be done in a few hours with common household tools. However, in instances where your staircase is unusually narrow or if you have a spiral staircase you should consider having the stair lift professionally installed. For heavy duty stairlifts intended for commercial use some states, like WA and CT, now have local code requirements when installing these devices.

Stars ride bikes to assist wounded veterans

I saw in interesting article today where star of the recent movie Cloverfield, Mike Vogel, and a group of pro cycling legends, veterans advocates and the Pentagon, are working to help wounded military heroes.

Vogel will serve as chairman of the Department of Veterans Affairs' National Salute to Hospitalized Veterans and is participating in a series of "Road 2 Recovery" bike rides across the country to assist wounded veterans as they leave the military and begin rehabilitation.

Vogel's need to help those serving our country comes after the recent death of a relative in Iraq. Vogel solicited the help of his Los Angeles neighbor, John Wordin, who is a former pro cyclist and team owner. Wordin was already working on a plan to help the VA improve its cycling facilities for disabled vets.

I think this is a great way to bring attention to the rising rate of military personnel returning home from Iraq wounded with traumatic brain injuries. You can read more on this story here.

The National TBI Caregivers Conference

The National Resource Center for TBI is proud and pleased to join with other leading organizations in presenting a national conference for caregivers of persons with Brain Injury. The National TBI Caregiver's Conference will be held Saturday June 7, 2008 at the Hospitality House Hotel in Williamsburg, Virginia.

Family members and caregivers who play a crucial role in helping survivors recover after and before discharge from health care settings. With the needs of caregivers in mind, this one-day national conference is designed to provide extensive practical information on achieving recovery. Panel presentations, lectures, discussion sessions, and workshops will cover a wide range of topics including community and home-based rehabilitation, finding and accessing services, recovery, avoiding burnout, and how the brain works. Conference presenters will include experienced caregivers, survivors and nationally known rehabilitation professionals.

For more information please contact Linda Lee, at 703.451.8881 or by email at llee@braininjurysvcs.org.

What is an ideal and healthy diet?

Nowadays our life is getting more and more tense. People live under constant stress of various problems, such as social, ecological, economic and etc. We constantly suffer from noise and dust in big cities, diseases and instability. To overcome all difficulties we should take care of our physical and mental health.To achieve this aim it’s better to keep to a balanced diet and take prescribed supplements from a vitamin store. To my mind there is no ideal diet for all people in general because our food needs differ according to age, sex and occupation. For instance, Women’s Health Magazine claims that the ideal diet contains different types of foods in such quantities and proportions that the need for calories, minerals, vitamins and other nutrients is adequately met in our bodies and provides them with energy for all life processes and for the growth, repair and maintenance of cells and tissues.

Fluid intake in the form of water based drinks is also essential for good health. Water is essential for the correct functioning of kidneys and bowels. The famous medical specialist Jacob Bogatin thinks that at least 6-8 glasses of plain water should be drunk each day, more in hot weather.

According to Women’s Diagnostic Center in Philadelphia: there are also various factors that need to be kept in mind while you are working out the ideal diet for yourself. They are: natural qualities of each food, places and climate where the food is grown prepared and consumed. You should not forget about the presence of artificial flavors, chemicals and preservatives.

In conclusion I’d like to say that following a well-balanced diet regularly and staying at your ideal weight are crucial factors in maintaining your emotional and physical well-being.

American Academy of Clinical Neuropsychology Files Amicus Brief in Support of the Use of Flexible Battery Approach in Neuropsychological Testing

Not long ago, a New Hampshire trial court barred the introduction of the Boston process testing approach in neuropsychological testing.  There, the trial court also found that while this flexible approach in clinical neuropsychology was scientifically valid in the clinical setting, it was not valid in the forensic context and that data-based clinical judgments do not meet legal admissibility standards.  The case is now before the New Hampshire Supreme Court.