Great Strides, the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation’s largest fund raising event held a walk on the Ithaca College campus this morning at 10 a.m.
A large group of people gathered on campus and took the 10 kilometer walk to help cure Cystic Fibrosis.
The foundation plans to make several more walks throughout the next few weeks in the area.
To learn more about GREAT STRIDES, please click here.
SS
By Seth Schniebolk
For some older adults fighting chronic pain, treatment from gerontology professionals like Katherine Beissner can be as easy as imagining yourself in a relaxed state. She recounts what she says in a typical session with a patient struggling with persistent pain.
“Remember a time and place when you felt happy and pain free,” Beissner would say in a calm, monotone voice.
“Close your eyes and imagine you are on a white sandy beach,” she continues. “Do you smell the sand in the ocean? Focus on breathing slow and deep, in and out. Do you hear the sounds of the waves crashing? Lastly, what do you feel? Is there a breeze going across you, the warm sun on your back?”
The exercise is meant to make the patient feel at ease and give your mind a chance to let your body and muscles unwind.
It can be that easy for some, or it can be much more difficult
Beissner, a professor at Ithaca College for 23 years have studied Gerontology since 1980 and has focused her attention on chronic pain among older adults for the last 20.
According to gerontologist Mark Novak, author of Issues of Aging, a chronic illness is defined as a long-term illness or condition, often a life-long problem. Since there is no known cure for a life-long condition such as arthritis, gerontologists instead have to find a way to minimize the pain as best they can.
Beissner research team at the Visiting Nurse Service of New York has been working since January on the best way to help older adults cope with their persistent pain. Although some forms of medications such as pain killers and acupuncture have shown some help for chronic pain among older adults, Beissner’s research shows that to reach the patient on a deeper level psychology has to come into effect.
“There’s a good amount of research out there that shows that pain-self management strategies, cognitive behavioral strategies have been effective in reducing the impact of chronic pain,” Beissner said.
Cognitive behavioral strategies, in simpler terms, are ways for people to alleviate their chronic pain by using deep breathing exercises, muscle relaxation exercises, or visual imagery. Research has shown that these types of activities that helps your brain slow down it’s functioning will ultimately help with the discomfort.
Dr. John Krout, a professor at Ithaca College in the Gerontology department thinks there are other factors beyond cognitive behavioral strategies that help older adults with chronic pain. Krout is a firm believer of maintaining a person’s mental and physical health for helping with pain. Krout said if he were to begin a study on how to reduce chronic pain among older people he would break up test patients into several groups, all of whom would be given a different primary treatment.
“I would take a drug that basically stops some of the messages that the nerve are sending to the brain that says ‘I’m hurting’. It doesn’t actually do anything for the symptoms, but it disrupts the pain point to the brain,” Krout said. “How would that compare to someone who just uses meditation, or yoga. Someone who changes his or her diet. Someone who does core strengthening exercises or physical training.
By having three or four separate trials at the same time, Krout believes there could be a clearer solution to helping the chronic pain that comes with aging.
Claudia Stoscheck, a social worker at Longview, estimates that about 25% of the 175 residents living at Longview suffer from chronic pain. She added that the number could be higher, but some choose not to announce their pain for one reason or another.
Flora Schwartz, 84, says that she deals with her pain by slowing down her movements and thinking about the easiest way to get around.
“It’s only normal when you get older your body begins to have pain,” she said. “I have to step on every stair when I walk downstairs. I keep plates and glasses in easy reach. If I have to strain to do something there’s a good chance I’ll have pain later on, so I try to avoid it.”
Beissner’s group has found some very useful information, but nothing concrete yet. There are more scheduled test periods within the next two weeks, with a final conclusion for the study estimated for May.
Beissner hopes that with complete results and solid information, she can begin to make an impact on the community. With Longview, an older person care facility in Ithaca Beissner would like to eventually bring some of her students to help residents with their pain.
If everything goes to plan, Beissner says that the people of Longview could benefit tremendously.
“Once we have the facts, I would like to bring some of my physical training students to Longview and have them work with the people there. I estimate there are about 65% struggling with some kind of pain,” although she admits that number is not exact. “Nobody wants this for themselves. Nobody wants to stay at home. So my goal is just to see older people lead as active of a life as possible and be happy.”
I thought with it being Master’s Sunday and all, this would be a good time for this post…
As vice president of the Club Golf team at Ithaca College, I try to show respect to everyone. Whether it’s prospective teammates, current teammates, or members of the team’s home course at the Country Club of Ithaca.
Located on Pleasant Grove Road in Ithaca, minutes away from the Cornell University campus, CCI is a beautiful 18-hole golf course that is fun and challenging to players of any level. Recently, it came to my attention from a teammate that members of CCI are upset with having the IC golf team playing “their” course, especially with the rates the students are paying.
First I must say, I thoroughly enjoy playing at CCI. However, after living in Ithaca for two years, I expected more class out of the members of CCI. The IC team is not paying full membership rates, this is why:
– Club teams do not get much funding from the school. Our entire funds were spent on the first semester. Tournaments and membership for the second semester was made by fundraising and out-of-pocket.
– Most of the members of the golf team do not spend the majority of the season in Ithaca. From May to late August, students are home working or interning in their hometowns. Consequently, we pay for a portion of the season, sounds fair does it not?
This is not an attack of the people of CCI. From my experience with the country club over the last year, the people are kind and courteous, and perhaps a little timid. In golf the word etiquette is a word used frequently, and one the IC team tries to instill in all its players. I suggest the people of CCI ease of the students and show some of their own golf etiquette. After all, what really matters to all parties is being out on the course playing the game they love.
There are four new, great stories on my group’s class blog. The topic for this assignment was Sports/Entertainment, I chose to do a story on the Ithaca Adult Hockey Association, where young stars and old vets alike get together on the ice and have at each other. I was at Game 1 of the A/B Division’s championship series and I must say I was impressed with the quality of hockey. Maybe not Penguins/Caps, but still exciting, back and forth action. I highly recommend checking out the league, the info is on the group blog. Hope you enjoy the story…SGS
http://www.cnn.com/2010/TECH/03/01/tiger.woods.online.image/index.html?iref=allsearch
(CNN) — If Tiger Woods was hoping his public apology last month would help restore his damaged reputation, he may be disappointed.
I typed “Tiger Woods” into Google’s search field last week and at least three-fourths of the first page of results were negative — the most damning of which was The Onion’s spoof article, “Tiger Woods Announces Return to Sex.”
http://sports.espn.go.com/golf/usopen08/news/story?id=3446435
http://www.cnn.com/2010/US/02/24/killer.whale.trainer.death/index.html?hpt=T2
I was intrigued by this article. It’s amazing this doesn’t happen more often, in my opinion. Wild animals trying to be tamed– something doesn’t fit here.
Discuss this story and share your thoughts in Comments.
When I arrived at Ithaca College for the first time as an accepted student in July 2008 one of the first questions I asked my orientation leader was where to go to get delicious food. The orientation leader took no time replying, the Boatyard Grill, it’s my favorite restaurant in Ithaca, everything is amazing.
Well, after over a year and a half, and many disappointing nights of cafeteria food, I finally made the trip over to the Boatyard last Friday with my girlfriend, Lindsay. Since the Boatyard doesn’t take reservations, I “called ahead” (Boatyard’s clever twist on reservations) to decrease my wait time once I arrived at the restaurant.
After about a 20 minute wait – with all the delectable fragrances it felt much, much longer- we were seated. The table was located at the farthest section from the front door. Not more than 10 feet looking out the window was a boat deck and Lake Cayuga. I immediately visualized the beautiful sights that we would be able to see if it were a different time of year.
Our server for the night, Mika (pronounced like Mike with an “a” at the end) took our order and was a delight all evening. The food was as advertised, outstanding. The buffalo chicken egg rolls, what I found out is a Boatyard best-seller, were delicious with a perfect balance of sweet, spicy and savory. Lindsay ordered a salmon dish, which in her words was “sooo good”. I got the filet mignon medallions and jumbo shrimp with mashed potatoes and spinach. The wonderful flavors exploded on my palate, as pure enjoyment overtook my body. For dessert we ordered a piece of banana cream cheesecake, with two forks. I indulged on the cake, while Lindsay picked at the whipped cream suffocating the plate.
It was a great experience, one that will most definitely be duplicated in the near future. One thing is certain, it won’t be another year and a half before the Boatyard Grill gets my business again.
Talk about the Boatyard or other good eats Ithaca has to offer in Comments.
It’s 1 p.m. on a bitterly cold Saturday afternoon and the Ithaca Commons is serving up the perfect remedy for the frigid weather: warm, hearty chili. The 12th annual Great Downtown Chili Cook-Off and Winterfest is in full effect as bright white snowflakes fall every so often on wooden stands being tended by chefs and local restaurants from the Ithaca area.
As large clusters of people enter the Chilifest and proceed to purchase tickets to try different variations of the tailgating favorite, one group in particular stand out. Two couples with gray hair, bundled up in heavy jackets with Chili Cook-Off lapel pins attached pay for their daily passes and are ready to try the best chili Ithaca has to offer.
As the group approaches one stand, one man says to another, “Hey, didn’t this guy win the Cook-Off last year?”
“Yeah, I think it was,” the other elderly gentleman said.
“Do you want to wait on line?” one woman says to the group. “It looks as if it’s going to be quite a while.”
The men, hungry for a nice warm Styrofoam cup filled of chili, look at the line of people. They seem discouraged by the length queue, as upwards of 30 people wait patiently for the award-winning chili. Finally one of the men make a decision.
“What the hell, I’m starving!”
Several minutes later the group picks up the chili and moves on to their next destination, with satisfied grins and slightly fuller stomachs. For locals, Chilifest is a chance to experience the beauty and charm of Ithaca, even when the weather is freezing.
This semester, I will be finding stories in the wonderful town of Ithaca.
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