The brain continually changes its structure to meet the demands placed upon it. Cognitive rehabilitation is used to recover lost cognitive skills caused by brain damage. A recreation therapist uses a variety of approaches to promote cognitive abilities. Restoration or Development focuses on recovery of lost skills, the development of skills, or the refinement and maintenance of skills. Compensation focuses on adaptations and modification to compensate for cognitive dysfunction. Changes in the brain can occur over an extended period of time. The potential for further recovery is still there. Contact us to learn more about cognitive retraining and rehabilitation.

Pneumococcal Pneumonia, caused by the bacteria Streptococcus pneumoniae, is the most common bacterial type of pneumonia. It can be life-threatening and may require admission to hospital. Bacteria can be present in your nose and throat without symptoms however, you can still infect others. Like the flu, it can be passed on from person to person through talking, coughing and sneezing. Risk factors for Pneumococcal pneumoniae are *Increased age, *Medical conditions such as chronic lung, heart or liver disease, Diabetes, and cancer, *Lifestyle factors including smoking, alcoholism and living in long-term care facilities. If you are 50+, talk to your pharmacist about the Prevnar 13 vaccine.

It is January, often a difficult winter month, and we all may be feeling a bit sluggish. Along with eating a clean and balanced diet, getting daily exercise and doing things that make you happy, there are a few safe and healthful supplements you can add into your fitness and energy regimen. * Green tea extract to rev up your metabolism and energy *L-Carnitine for energy production and utilization of fat consumption *Chromium picolinate for help with blood sugar issues and appetite regulation *Green coffee bean extract to help lower blood sugar, burn and utilize fat and carbohydrates. Happy, healthy, and energetic New Year to you!

Hearing loss may be a risk factor for a huge public health problem: Falls. A study led by Frank Lin, an assistant professor at the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine found that people with a 25-decibel hearing loss, classified as mild, were nearly three times more likely to have a history of falling. Every additional 10-decibels of hearing loss increased the chances of falling by 1.4 fold. If you or a family member are concerned about hearing loss, visit NexGenHearing.com to take a free online hearing test.

Internal strategies are things we ‘do inside our brain’ to remember things. This includes paying attention by focusing on what is being said and reducing any background distractions. Another method is organizing information in small chunks of five or six ‘bits’ of information together. Making visual pictures is an effective strategy to remember things. ‘A picture is worth 1,000 words.’ We remember pictures and images better than words. Thinking of a picture activates the right hemisphere of the brain; just thinking of a word uses mainly your left brain.