Dr. Ando was a student-nominated ‘My Favorite Professor Nominee’ and was recognized at the
Chapman University 12th Annual Faculty Appreciation Reception – Creating a World of Difference
at the Sandhu Conference Center, Orange CA Thursday April 26, 2012. The student qoute submitted with the nomination was “He uses real-life examples in Anatomy class, I learn something new about my body every day”.

In academia, awards like these are cherished as they just don’t happen very often. Pretty much all of the 100 Faculty members similiarly recognized were in attendance at the reception. Besides that, it is just nice to be someone’s ‘Favorite’ …
- Dr. Art Ando

ALEXANDRIA, VA, APRIL 12, 2012 – The Prospective Surveillance Model, an innovative new model of breast cancer rehabilitation, is featured in a special supplement to the American Cancer Society’s journal, Cancer released on April 6, 2012. The model addresses the numerous physical issues faced by women with breast cancer and offers hope for an improved quality of life for all women with breast cancer through rehabilitation and exercise.

APTA members Nicole L. Stout, MPT, CLT-LANA, clinician and researcher at the Walter Reed National Military Medical Center in Bethesda, Maryland, and Jill Binkley, PT, MClSc, CLT, executive director of TurningPoint Women’s Healthcare, a nonprofit breast cancer rehabilitation organization in Atlanta, Georgia, were among a panel of internationally known experts who developed the model over the past year.

According to APTA spokesperson Stout, “This model is novel in that it takes a preventive approach to managing pathological conditions resulting from cancer by promoting early identification and treatment of known side effects of cancer treatment in an effort to preserve and restore function. It’s an ideal model for secondary prevention and an emerging standard of care.”

The goal of the Prospective Surveillance Model for cancer rehabilitation is to identify impairment at the earliest onset, to alleviate impairment, or prevent it from progressing. Soon after diagnosis, a physical therapist will perform a preoperative examination to establish a baseline level of function. Follow-up examinations are then conducted postoperatively at 1 month and then 3-month intervals, for up to 1 year.

An excerpt from the lead paper by Stout et al in this special supplement states, “The current medical model of care for breast cancer is focused on disease treatment followed by ongoing surveillance for local or regional recurrence. This approach lacks attention to the impact of treatment on patients’ physical and functional well-being. Breast cancer treatment can lead to physical impairments and functional limitations, including pain, fatigue, upper extremity dysfunction, lymphedema, weakness, joint arthralgia, neuropathy, weight gain, cardiovascular effects, and osteoporosis. A growing evidence base of scientific literature supports prospective surveillance, for early intervention and exercise to prevent or mitigate many of these concerns.”

The panel of experts and national organizations involved in developing the model will continue to raise awareness about the model, with the goal of increasing the number of women that receive rehabilitation and exercise in order to maximize quality of life for the one in eight women who will be diagnosed with breast cancer in their lifetime.

The full supplement is available online. The study, “Breast Cancer-related Lymphedema Comparing Direct Costs of a Prospective Surveillance Model and a Traditional Model of Care,” led by Stout, was published in the January issue of Physical Therapy (PTJ), the scientific journal of the American Physical Therapy Association (APTA).

The American Physical Therapy Association (APTA) represents more than 80,000 physical therapists, physical therapist assistants, and students of physical therapy nationwide. Learn more about conditions physical therapists can treat and find a physical therapist in your area at www.moveforwardpt.com. Consumers are encouraged to follow us on Twitter (@moveforwardpt) and Facebook.

COMMENTS FROM DR. ART ANDO, PHYSICAL THERAPIST: The Women’s Health Program at Ando & Aston Physical Wellness Therapy was started in 1996. Breakthroughs in evaluation, treatment and rehabilitation are what move our Women’s Health Program along. We will be monitoring this Prospective Surveillance Model closely and implementing recommendations as appropriate with the goal of increasing the number of women that receive rehabilitation and exercise in order to maximize quality of life for the one in eight women who will be diagnosed with breast cancer in their lifetime.

It’s now been a little over 4 months since I began physical therapy with Ando & Aston, and I can easily say that I’ve come farther than I thought I ever would.

The difference that Ando & Aston Physical Therapy has made is huge. I’m not exaggerating at all when I say that Dr. Ando & Mr. Aston gave me my life back, and I feel incredibly blessed to have found such amazing, skilled, and caring physical therapists.

Before going to Ando & Aston Physical Therapy, I’d seen countless health professionals, trying to find a solution to my never-ending, crippling back and hip pain. However, these health professionals were never able to find the true source of my pain, so I’d only find temporary (if any) relief.

On the other hand, Dr. Ando & Mr. Aston are so knowledgeable about the body that they were able to pinpoint (and FIX!) the source of my pain during my very first session with them- a misaligned tailbone & pelvis. I literally walked out having progressed more in ONE session with them than in THREE years with the others.

And as for how I am 4 months since that first session? Well, this is the best my body has been in years, and I’ve been able to sit, walk, and stand for hours without any pain at all! And after only three weeks of physical therapy, I went from being bedridden due to back and hip pain, to taking a full length ballet class! That ballet class was the best class I’ve had in my life, and I have Dr. Ando & Mr. Aston to thank for that.

I’m back at Ando & Aston Physical Therapy for women’s health issues now, and I’m excited for my physical health to progress even further.

And well, what can I say? I don’t think that I could ever truly express in words how grateful I am for everything that Dr. Ando, Mr. Aston, and the rest of the workers at Ando & Aston Physical Therapy have done for me.

All I can say is this:

Thank you, Ando & Aston Physical Therapy, for not just giving me back my life, but most of all, for blessing me with a future.
Michelle T.
Los Alamitos CA

If you want big muscles without working out, there’s hope. In the March 2012 print issue of the FASEB Journal, scientists from the University of Florida report that a family of protein transcription factors, called “Forkhead (Fox0)” plays a significant role in the regulation of skeletal muscle mass. Specifically, they found that interfering with the activity of these transcription factors prevents muscle wasting associated with cancer and sepsis, and even promotes muscle growth. This discovery is likely to be relevant to any disease, condition or lifestyle that leads to muscle wasting, including voluntary inactivity.
“The loss of muscle mass is a major contributor to disease-related deaths,” said Andrew R. Judge, Ph.D., a researcher involved in the work from the Department of Physical Therapy at the University of Florida in Gainesville. “FoxO proteins may provide a target for therapies aimed at reducing muscle wasting and thus improving the quality of life and survival rates for patients with many different diseases.”
“No one can deny that the human body was meant to move, and to move often,” said Gerald Weissmann, M.D., Editor-in-Chief of the FASEB Journal, “but the reality is that many of us don’t move enough, whether because of disease, injury, or simply a busy schedule. This discovery is another important step towards the treatment of muscle wasting in cancer, severe infection or aging — or to maintain our muscle mass to help face the slings and arrows of outrageous fortune.”
Go to ScienceDaily (Feb. 29, 2012) for more information.
COMMENT FROM DR. ART ANDO: My first job as a Physical Therapist was in a rehabilitation hospital taking care of the sickest of the sick suffering from CVA’s (strokes), head injuries, severe Parkinson’s disease and other devastating neurological conditions. As a young PT my estimations of a patient’s potential was based on 3 things. The amount of family support, the patient’s previous fitness and willingness to overcome adversity, and lastly the disease itself. This may seem a bit backwards, but we PTs were focused on function and outcome, not the disease itself. If we only had this type of interventions “Forkhead (Fox0)” proteins, the functional outcome for my patients may have been significantly different. It only takes a little more strength to avoid the next fall, a little more muscle power to be able to stay safely independent in one’s own home just a little longer. Best of luck to these researchers!
Dr. Art Ando
Ando & Aston Physical Wellness Therapy

I started my therapy with Dr. Arthur Ando, Physical Therapist, on January 16th 2012, and I felt immediate relief to the pain in the left side of my hip and leg. After dealing with it for more than 7 years, the pain was diminished about a third of what it was. On that first day he spotted the source of my body’s injuries as caused by a misalignment of the pelvis. He placed it back into alignment and gave me deep tissue manipulations of the pelvic and leg muscles. He then prescribed a series of home exercises to assist in the restructuring of the core and legs muscles.

I worked for Toyota installing automotive accessories for almost 21 years. I had a job injury in 2004 that resulted in L5-S1 disc damage with pain in the entire left side of my body. Two years ago surgery was recommended as a solution to my problem, to which I refused. Since then I have been treated by several orthopedists, physical therapists and chiropractors. Previous physical therapists gave me only a set of three exercises to do in the clinic and put me in a rolling massage table for 10 minutes. A chiropractor that never spent more than 3 minutes in my therapy used her little hammer to tap 4-5 spots on my back. These were my worst experiences with health care professionals.

I am now in my second week of therapy at Ando and Aston Physical Wellness Therapy. I continue to feel the improvement of my body with the treatments at the clinic. As I continue doing my home exercises, my body’s balance, strength and flexibility continues to improve. Dr. Ando’s team of professionals are highly trained and qualified, truly committed to their patient’s wellness.

This wellness center is the very best to visit for those that want to truly take full responsibility in their own healing process and perhaps in the process, with a well aligned body, leave behind the source of their physical pains.

Thank you Ando and Aston Physical Wellness Therapy!

Alberto H.
Long Beach, CA

ScienceDaily (Jan. 19, 2012) — Romauld Lepers and Thomas Cattagni, Inserm researchers at the Université de Bourgogone, have analysed changes in participation and performance of runners aged 20 to 80 in the New York marathon over the last 30 years. The results are largely unexpected: the best male marathon runners over 65 and the best female marathon runners over 45 have consistently improved their performance over the last 30 years. At the same time, the researchers also observed a strong increase in athletes over 40 participating in the New York marathon: from 36% of the total masculine runners between 1980-1989, to 53% between 2000-2009; and from 24 to 40% during the same periods for female runners.

Inserm researchers analysed the finish times of competitors in the New York marathon in accordance with age and sex over the 1980-2009 period. They classified runners who successfully completed he race into 10 separate age categories (20-29; 30-39; then every 5 years from between 40 and 79).

Although the average times achieved by the 10 best male and female athletes in age categories below 60-64 have not changed over the last 30 years, there was a sharp decrease in times for the senior age categories: for an average marathon time achieved of 3 hours and 50 minutes, men in the 65-69 age category improved by 8 minutes between 1980-1989 and 1990-1999, and 7 minutes between 1990-1999 and 2000-2009. Similarly, the average time achieved by women in age categories above 45-49 fell significantly. For example, the average performance for the 55-59 age category improved by 33 minutes between 1980-1989 and 1990-1999 (for an average race time of 4 hours and 20 minutes), and by 8 minutes between 1990-1999 and 2000-2009.

The researchers have thus concluded that, over the last two decades, the performances of the best male marathon runners over 65 and the best female marathon runners over 45 have particularly improved, whereas their younger counterparts have remained stable.

“The improved performances can be explained by the increased number of participants in these age categories, as well as the increased interest this age population has in terms of the benefits of physical activity on health and well being” says Romuald Lepers.

In recent years, the gap in performance between men and women has stabilized, in all age categories, suggesting that the decline in physiological functions with age is similar for both sexes. For the researchers, this initial data on athletes over 40, combined with new physiology and sociology data, will lead to improved understanding of the role physical exercise has in “aging well.”

Comments from Dr. Art Ando: Aging well means moving well, running is only an example. See the full story and related stories at sciencedaily.com

A new study by researchers at the Johns Hopkins Center for Injury Research and Policy and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) documents a need for increased injury prevention efforts in many of the most popular activities for kids (walking, bicycling, swimming, sports and playground use) in the United States. Injury is the leading cause of death for young people in the U.S., yet many public health efforts to promote physical activity in kids do not consider the numerous available strategies to incorporate injury prevention.

The report, published online in the journal Health and Place, outlines how injury prevention and child obesity professionals can work together to prevent injury while promoting active lifestyles in kids.

“Many of the activities currently recommended to reduce obesity in kids are also the leading causes of activity-related injury,” explained lead study author Keshia Pollack, PhD, an assistant professor with the Johns Hopkins Center for Injury Research and Policy. “There are many behavioral, environmental and policy approaches proven to make exercise activities safer for kids, which we outline in our study.”

For example, efforts are underway at the federal, state and local levels to increase the number of kids who walk to school; kids who walk to/from school each day are more likely to meet their daily recommended level of physical activity than kids who do not and, over time, walking or biking to school helps children develop an early habit of engaging in physical activity. The researchers note, however, that while pedestrian injury is the second leading cause of unintentional injury-related death among U.S. children ages 5 to 14, many effective interventions exist to improve pedestrian safety, particularly changes to the built environment such as traffic-calming measures (i.e., speed humps, traffic circles) and enforcement of traffic laws.

“The key is breaking down the silos so injury prevention is incorporated into strategies to increase physical activity,” said Pollack. “The goal should be to maximize the benefits of physical activity programs and avoid the possible unintended consequences of increased injury.”

The researchers cite Sweden as an example of such integration: In 1954, a national program for child safety was established. “Biking and walking provide great exercise and health benefits. We also know that wearing helmets while biking and building safe pedestrian paths can help prevent injuries,” said David Sleet, PhD, associate director of science, CDC Injury Center’s Division of Unintentional Injury Prevention. “It’s taking that one extra step to build safety into physical activity that helps reduce injury risks.”

Comments from Dr. Art Ando: I love reports such as this. Positive and helpful science. See the full story and related stories at sciencedaily.com

ScienceDaily (Nov. 29, 2011) – Women in their 40s with no family history of breast cancer are just as likely to develop invasive breast cancer as are women with a family history of the disease, according to a study presented November 29 at the annual meeting of the Radiological Society of North America (RSNA). These findings indicate that women in this age group would benefit from annual screening mammography.
The breast cancer screening guidelines issued by the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force in November 2009 sparked a controversy among physicians, patient advocacy groups and the media. Much of the debate centered on the recommendation against routine annual mammography screening for women in their 40s.

“We believe this study demonstrates the importance of mammography screening for women in this age group, which is in opposition to the recommendations issued by the task force,” said Stamatia V. Destounis, M.D., radiologist and managing partner of Elizabeth Wende Breast Care, LLC, in Rochester, N.Y.

For the study, Dr. Destounis and colleagues performed a retrospective review to identify the number and type of cancers diagnosed among women between the ages of 40 and 49 — with and without a family history of breast cancer — who underwent screening mammography at Elizabeth Wende Breast Care from 2000 to 2010. The researchers then compared the number of cancers, incidence of invasive disease and lymph node metastases between the two groups.

Of the 1,071 patients in the 40 — 49 age group with breast cancer, 373 were diagnosed as a result of screening. Of that 373, 39 percent had a family history of breast cancer, and 61 percent had no family history of breast cancer. In the family history group, 63.2 percent of the patients had invasive disease, and 36.8 percent had noninvasive disease. In the no family history group, 64 percent of the patients had invasive disease, and 36 percent had noninvasive disease. The respective lymph node metastatic rates were 31 percent and 29 percent.

“In the 40 — 49 age group, we found a significant rate of breast cancer and similar rates of invasive disease in women with and without family history,” Dr. Destounis said. “Additionally, we found the lymph node metastatic rate was similar.”

According to Dr. Destounis, these results underscore the importance of early detection and annual screening mammography for women between the ages of 40 and 49 whether or not they have a family history of breast cancer.

Coauthors are Jenny Song, M.D., Posy Seifert, D.O., Philip Murphy, M.D., Patricia Somerville, M.D., Wende Logan-Young, M.D., Andrea Arieno, B.S., and Renee Morgan, R.T.

ScienceDaily (Nov. 3, 2011) — A new study indicates that many patients undergoing spine surgery have low levels of vitamin D, which may delay their recovery.
In a study of 313 patients undergoing spinal fusion surgery, orthopaedic surgeons at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis found that more than half had inadequate levels of vitamin D, including one-fourth who were more severely deficient. The researchers report their findings at the 26th Annual Meeting of the North American Spine Society. The study was chosen as one of the meeting’s best papers.
“Our findings suggest it may be worthwhile to screen surgery patients for vitamin D,” says Jacob M. Buchowski, MD, the study’s principal investigator. “We think those with insufficient levels of vitamin D may benefit from taking 50,000 international units of the vitamin once a week for eight weeks before surgery as this may help the recovery after spinal fusion surgery.”
Vitamin D helps with calcium absorption, and patients with a deficiency can have difficulty producing new bone. They are at risk for a condition called osteomalacia. Unlike osteoporosis or osteopenia, which result from low bone mineral density, osteomalacia interferes with new bone formation.
All the patients in the study had spinal fusion surgery. In that procedure, surgeons remove discs between two or more vertebrae. The bones in the spine are then attached with hardware and treated with growth factors. As the spine heals, new bone begins to form, and the vertebrae fuse together.
Low vitamin D levels are known to be common in elderly patients. Surprisingly in this study, the patients most likely to have inadequate levels of the bone-building vitamin were younger.
“We rarely think about deficiency in younger patients,” Buchowski says. “More of the older patients in this study had a history of taking supplements, and as a result, they had less risk for vitamin D deficiency than younger patients.”
Although an earlier study had shown inadequate vitamin D levels in 43 percent of patients undergoing orthopedic procedures, this is the first look solely at spine surgery patients.
Sun exposure is one of the best ways to get the body to produce vitamin D. He also recommends that if they are not getting enough vitamin D, patients consume dairy products fortified with the vitamin and begin taking a vitamin D supplement prior to and following surgery.
To maintain bone health and normal calcium metabolism, the Institute of Medicine established a recommended daily allowance (RDA) for vitamin D of 600 international units. Buchowski says patients should work with their doctors to determine what supplemental level is appropriate for them.
Comments from Art: Complications from hardware failure are nightmares for all involved. We do see several spine surguries each month for post surgical rehabilitation that have hardware stabilization. I think such a simple screening and pre-surgical recommendation for Vitamin D management is an easy concept to embrace. Actual implementation by surgeons and patients will be the key.
Dr Art Ando
Comprehensive Physical Therapist

Hi All,
I get this great feed from Science Daily on Women’s Health, and I thought I would share. Please browse through the titles and go to the Science Daily site for the detailed articles:
http://www.sciencedaily.com/news/health_medicine/women’s_health/
Posted November 1-11, 2011
New Target Identified to Stop the Spread of Breast Cancer
Dairy Foods May Improve Bone Health During Diet and Exercise in Overweight Premenopausal Women
Novel Technique Switches Triple-Negative Breast Cancer Cells to Hormone-Receptor Positive Cells
Skin ‘Sees’ UV Light, Starts Producing Pigment
Low Vitamin D Common in Spine Surgery Patients; Deficiency May Hinder Recovery
Low Levels of Alcohol Consumption Associated With Small Increased Risk of Breast Cancer, Study Finds
Vitamin D Study Suggests No Mortality Benefit for Older Women
Depression Linked to Breast Cancer Outcomes
High Levels of Master Heat Shock Protein Linked to Poor Prognosis in Breast Cancer Patients
No Higher Risk of Breast Cancer for Women Who Don’t Have BRCA Mutation but Have Relatives Who Do
Best,
Dr. Art Ando
Comprehensive Physical Therapist
“The important thing is not to stop questioning. Curiosity has its own reason for existing.” – Albert Einstein