In The Center

1 In The Center CWR @ The Fontana Center 709 Kaliste Saloom Rd. Lafayette, LA 70508 March / April 2012PH: 337-234-7018 Fax: 337-234-3347 Hear This! Billing UpdateJust a reminder that monthly fitness rates willbe changing effective April 1, 2012. Noticesstwent out explaining the change and included alisting on the new rates. If you are onautomatic credit card payment, our billingdepartment will be contacting you about fillingout a new auto-debit , please be reminded that we dooffer discounts for Senior Citizens andStudents.

2 If you think you might qualify forone of these rates, please contact the billingdepartment. Massage MemoMassage therapy is a great medicinalalternative to help heal what ails you! Typesof massage range from deep tissue to Swedishwith many variations in between. Our massagetherapist, JeanieChastant, is availableMonday - Friday for30, 60 and 90minute massageappointments. Callus to schedule withJeanie and startyour hands onhealing . Member SpotlightWe are beginning a series of articlesthat will allow us to share stories withyou that we feel are inspirational.

3 The stories will be those ofmembers we feel have dedicatedthemselves to a healthier lifestyle and have seenprogress and improvements in well-being. If youhave a member in mind and think they would liketo share their journey with us, please let usknow. This month, we will begin with PeggyGarrett:A Watershed MomentPeggy Garrett has been a fitness member at theFontana Center for almost 13 years. A lot hashappened since then, health-wise, in Peggy s life,but if she could pin down one pivotal personalmoment, it would be the decision to play in thewater, as her husband George so teasingly put.

4 What playing in the water is to one person canbe a life saver to another and that is exactlyhow Peggy pegged it, a life-saver. To understand Peggy s journey a little,you d have to go back to her twenties when shereceived a diagnosis of arthritis. Many healthrelated twists and turns have woven their waythrough her story as the years have gone by butone diagnosis was especially debilitating, that offibromyalgia, followed by several other auto-immune diagnoses. Fibromyalgia is a medicaldisorder characterized by widespreadmusculoskeletal pain, making it a trying task todo the simplest things, like get out of a chairor get out of bed in the , when Peggy heard about wateraerobics being a possible palliativeprescription, she dove right in.

5 Her decisionreaped benefits she could not have known, andthrew a little cold water on George s teasingtoo. So what is all the splash about? Thebenefits of exercising in the water are oftenmeasurable and fast acting, using the body snatural movements to ease pain. Less pain cantranslate into less medication, and possiblyless medicinal side effects. The psychologicalbenefits can be just as remarkable thereturn to one s activity level and pursuits andthe ability to say I told you so to George. George now encourages others to try waterexercise but he still prefers the , water acts as a cushion orshock absorber for muscles and joints duringexercise, decreasing the strain on them whilestill providing enough gentle resistance toincrease strength and mobility.

6 The increasedblood flow to muscles and tendons decreasespain. Blood flow to needed areas also beginsthe healing process by providing nourishmentto the cells. Less pain and more healingencourages more movement and the twoprocesses build upon each other. In addition,the buoyancy in water allows movements nototherwise attainable during land exercise. Thewell-being felt during swimming is the finalreward. Swimming with others who arebenefitting in similar ways adds a socialnetworking effect that has been found toalleviate anxiety, depression and the isolationthat can be felt during debilitation.

7 Sometimes, seeing others experience goodresults is just the incentive we need to keepgoing. Laughter, encouragement and sharingresults can be just as medicinal as a pill. (Laughter all by itself causes the release ofnatural painkillers called endorphins, moveslymph and oxygenates your organs!) Peggy likesthe organized water aerobic classes instead ofswimming on her own they encourageaccountability to go to class, the class membersare friendly and the instructors are great. The value of water exercise isn t limitedto fibromyalgia but includes arthritis, post-surgery joint replacement, back pain, heartbypass surgery (Peggy experienced this too butthat still didn t stop her) and many otherimpaired mobility to Peggy s results there was a timewhen getting out of a chair seemed monumental,getting out of bed even more so.

8 Now, Peggyhas no pain getting out of bed, at all! Sometimesshe still feels pain in the morning but it isgreatly reduced and not every morning, as itused to be. Peggy feels no pain in the water andcan be found in the pool several times a week,for about an hour or more. She reports that ofall the regimens she has tried, water exercise isthe most you are looking for Peggy, she movesquickly, but is easy to spot she is the one witha white robe, a water bottle around her neck, atwinkle in her eye, and a contagious positive aura a story with a great : Peggy Garrett is no pushoverwhen it comes to medical facts.

9 She is a who has done her homework in the area ofmedical conditions, their treatments and results. Her opinion is supported by personal experienceand a healthy dose of medical knowledge.