LYONS – More than 30 million children (ages five to 17) are participating in organized sports in the US. This is great news as sports can be useful tools in helping children develop physically, mentally and socially. Unfortunately, there is also bad news; kids participating in sports are at risks for injuries. It is estimated that 20 percent of participants will sustain a sports related injury. While most injuries are minor, 20 to 25 percent are serious. Overuse injuries (injuries that occur from repetitive stress on the musculoskeletal system) are becoming more prevalent. These injuries are more complicated in a child and can affect normal growth and development.

LYONS – Walking briskly is the most efficient exercise we can do and is an exercise that can be done daily for our entire lives.

The Centers for Disease Control, CDC, said that brisk walking is moving at a pace of three miles per hour or more (but not race walking) or roughly 20 minutes per mile. However, fitter people still will not be in a moderately intense exercise zone at that pace. A pace of 15 minutes per mile, or four miles per hour, is more likely to put those people into a moderately intense exercise zone.

PINEWOOD SPRINGS – The Aging Well in Lyons: Community, Connections & Resources (AWIL) Conference held on May 14 at Lyons Elementary School drew enthusiastic participants interested in the idea of aging in their own homes.

LYONS – Everyone knows that exercise is good for you, but what happens when exercise starts to hurt? Should you keep exercising or should you stop? Recovery after exercise is essential to muscle and tissue repair, especially after weight training. Knowing if pain is from an injury or if it’s just from working out can help you manage your symptoms so you can keep moving.

LYONS – According the International Center for Reiki Training, ICR, “Reiki is a Japanese technique for stress reduction and relaxation that also promotes healing. It is administered by laying on hands and is based on the idea that an unseen life force energy flows through us and is what causes us to be alive.”

LYONS – There is no doubt that chemotherapy is literally toxic to the body. It is also currently one of the few treatments available that put cancer in remission.