Exercise a key to OR nurses' physical health

Exercise a key to OR nurses' physical health

Editorial Exercise a key to OR nurses' physical healt h What do you do to stay healthy? We asked members of the Editorial Committee to ask their coll...

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Editorial

Exercise a key to OR nurses' physical healt h What do you do to stay healthy? We asked members of the Editorial Committee to ask their colleagues what they are doing to keep trim, healthy, and feeling great. This informal survey of about 100 nurses, most of them OR nurses, reveals that many rely on daily activities for exercise. I am basically a healthy person. I don't do anything specific to stay healthy. I eat well and exercise at work. Running up and down these halls five days a week is plenty of physical exercise. I walk my two dogs three times a day. I keep my exercise productivemow the lawn, weed flower beds, shovel snow, and get plenty of sleep. -doing a weeks housework in one day. -chasing after a five-year-old and a nine-year-old every day. A number of the nurses mentioned they do not smoke, and many said they rely on getting enough sleep, eating carefully and watching their weight, and having a yearly physical examination to keep them in good health. As one nurse put it, "I eat correctly and get adequate sleep. I have no set exercise pattern-I just keep going." Some nurses snatch opportunities at work to exercise. "I walk around the OR rather than sit on a stool," commented one. Several jog to and from the parking lot-"Quite a

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distance," one added. One nurse said she takes the stairs-at a run-instead of the elevator. Another takes the stairs two at a time. Where a racquetball court is nearby, many of the OR nurses play regularly. Several others play on basketball teams. Swimming, jogging, bicycling, horseback riding, hiking, skiing, golf, and tennis were other activities frequently mentioned. Other responses involved more unique activities. 0 I work out regularly on the universal gym. 0 I jump rope. I am trying to jump as the professional boxer does and reach his limit of 500. Right now I am up to 275. One nurse reported she had started belly dancing and another was into yoga. Although it lacks some of the fun, sociability, and competitiveness of sports, exercise routines, or calisthenics, have some distinct advantages. They can be done almost anytime, anyplace, and don't require expensive equipment or a partner. Several nurses have elected this regimen for exercise. 0 Winter is the time when physical fitness takes a downhill slide. A moderate program of a few evening sit-ups, a walk around the block in the fresh air, and a light meal makes one feel more alert. Exercise in the morning and at night is a routine I have recently established. I feel better since I have started these exercises. Blood circulates better and metabolism is improved. For those of you who may share these feelings but need some incentive, we have

AORN Journal, March 1977, V o l 2 5 , No 4

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included in this Journal, as part of the “Help yourself to a healthier life” series, an article on exercise entitled “Health and vitality throughout the day.” James E Delaney, who presents managerial physical fitness seminars throughout the country, tells how you can keep healthy with exercises you can do while at work, driving your car, or showering and toweling in the morning. You’ll find it hard to escape his enthusiasm. Are you ready for a “tiger press” or a “bear walk’? For your convenience, we have printed his exercise routines in boxes that you can conveniently cut out and tape to your mirror, the refrigerator door, or stick on the bulletin board in the nurses’ lounge. Perhaps you are thinking, “That Journal staff-I wonder if they ever do any of these things.” As we were working on this Journal in January, we had a bad case of the postChristmas blahs and felt about as energetic as hibernating bears. We tried some of Delaney’s exercises and found we felt more alert. You might try replacing your coffee break with an exercise break. You can accomplish a great deal in a regular five- or ten-minute program. An exercise break can pay off in better job performance. Many companies are recognizing that exercise breaks can relieve the stress or tension work often produces and increase productivity as a result. Exercise can be an antidote to irritability or impatience. Increased cardiovascular activity can stimulate a mind dulled by a morning of sitting in meetings or straining to finish a report. During their noon hour, many people are foresaking a lunch in favor of an hour at their local “ Y ’ or health spa where they jog, swim, lift weights, play racquetball or handball, or perhaps find a basketball game. If you are one of those nurses relying on your regular daily activities at work and at home for exercise, you might think about expanding your horizon through an exercise program or a new sport. You’ll have to excuse me now, it is time for some two-arm tension curls. Join me.

Liquid silicone risks high Risks of liquid silicone injections for merely cosmetic purposes-smoothing facial wrinkles or enlarging breasts-far outweigh any possible benefit. The serious medical problems and gross disfigurement of women who have had liquid silicone injected into their breasts is now well known. Similar problems also have arisen after silicone injections for cosmetic purposes into the face, hands, abdomen, and penis, writes Charles A Vinnik, MD, of Las Vegas, Nev in an editorial in the Journal of the American Medical Association. There are individuals with serious disfiguring facial conditions from accident or disease in which the benefit of silicone treatment outweighs the potential risks, says Dr Vinnik. In his Las Vegas practice, Dr Vinnik has found that breast complications occurred an average of 5 years after injection. The liquid migrates elsewhere in the body and causes serious medical problems. Facial problems for those who have had silicone injections for wrinkles occur 8 to 15 years after injection. Some individual plastic surgeons have been authorized by the US Food and Drug Administration to give silicone injections under carefully controlled and sharply limited circumstances for study purposes. These physicians are extremely conservative in their treatment, using only very small amounts of the substance. Thus far the number of problems in their patients has not been large. Silicone for injection offers benefits for certain rare and bizarre disfigurements and some benefit for cosmetic indications, but in the cosmetic area is the greatest danger for damage, Dr Vinnik says.

Elinor S Schrader Editor

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AORN Journal, March 1977, Vol 25, No 4