The Oklahoma 100

 

Engineering Students Give ALS Patients a Voice Again

Students at Oklahoma Christian University have developed a device allowing one man to tell his wife, “I love you” for the first time in months.

Carl suffers from amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), which affects motor skills and makes speaking difficult. A team of engineering seniors developed VisuALS to help. The eye-tracking software allows patients to “type” words and play them aloud. Users can email, browse the internet, control lights and sound alarms. VisuALS will sell for less than a quarter of the cost of similar devices.

We applaud these innovative students for bettering the lives of ALS patients everywhere.

– Tori Garrett, Jones PR

 

Deskercise and What You Should Do to Get on Board

Research suggests workday inactivity could detrimentally affect the long-term health of working professionals.

Research by the Mayo Clinic suggests inactivity at your desk job could be slowly killing you. Here are some insider tips to easily increase your activity around the office:

  • Get a stationary bike. You can score a stationary bike that fits under your desk on Amazon for as little as $26.
  • Stand up. Decrease your risk of obesity, diabetes and heart disease by spending part of your day standing.
  • Take the stairs. Take advantage of a few minutes of exercise.
  • Go for a walk. Instead of emailing your co-worker, make the short trek down the hall to their office.

– Kelly Hughes, Jones PR

 

Simple Hacks for Summertime Symptoms

Before your first weekend camping or trip to the beach, take note of these simple hacks to soothe common summertime health issues.

1. Sunburns

Hack: Aloe vera and ice are great for treating burns. Make aloe vera ice cubes and stock the freezer.

2. Bug bites

Hack: Toothpaste or baking soda. Create an anti-inch serum (one tablespoon of baking soda mixed with water). Rub on bite to reduce inflammation.

3. Poison ivy

Hack: Fruits and vegetables. A freshly cut onion reduces swelling, banana peels moisturize/reduce sting while lemon and lime have anti-itch/antibacterial properties.

4. Swimmer’s ear

Hack: Toynbee maneuver. Take a sip of water, pinch your nose and then swallow keeping your nose pinched. The pressure subsides immediately.

– Jake Pasdach, Jones PR

 

A Little Exercise Goes a Long Way

Don’t be afraid to take the stairs. Small changes in your routine can add up over time.

It’s easy to find excuses for why we couldn’t stick to our routine workout schedule — it was too hard, too much to do and we weren’t ready.

However, what if your commitment was to simply walk 15 extra minutes a day? Walk to work, walk during a lunch break, walk the block at night. It may seem like it’s not worth it, right? Wrong!

That small amount of exercise is the exact, constant gentle pressure that is needed to keep pushing yourself. It prepares you, so when the time is right you can make those major changes down the road.

– Emily Krueger, The Boston 100

 

Boost Creativity and Collaboration With Walking Meetings

Walking meetings don’t have to be power walks where you’re sweating in your dress clothes. Even a slow stroll has loads of benefits.

Sitting is the new smoking. Meetings are the biggest time-wasters at work. Studies show walking meetings boost creativity and collaboration when done in groups of 2-4 people.

Walk and talks are intimate, provoke honesty, reduce real or perceived hierarchies and decrease multitasking. If 92% of people admit to multitasking during a meeting, prevent it by combining it with a walk.

The health benefits are numerous. It’s a movement opportunity that increases alertness and energy levels and burns calories. See how many meetings you have on your calendar that can be good for your butt and your brain.

– Marcey Rader, Marcey Rader Coaching, LLC, Work Well. Play More! Institute

 

A New Year’s Boost From Revitalize

Revitalize hydrates and replenishes your body with essential vitamins to have you feeling your best.

Need a boost after the holidays? Revitalize is your answer.

Popular among athletes, marathon runners and cross-fit junkies, Revitalize uses intravenous therapy to replenish your body with essential vitamins and provide therapeutic-grade hydration. But you don’t have to be an athlete to feel the benefits.

Each infusion is packed with nutrients necessary for a healthy lifestyle such as:

– Anti-inflammatory medications

– Antioxidants

– Nausea relief

– Headache relief

– Energy-boosting B-vitamins

– Vitamin C

Each revitalizing treatment will have you feeling like new after 30-45 minutes. If you’re looking for something extra, Botox injections are available starting January 2017.

– Emily Long, Jones PR

 

Best Practices to Stay Healthy With a Desk Job

Being healthy is a lifestyle that begins with changing bad habits at work.

If the number on the scale won’t budge, your desk job might be to blame.

1. If you’re drinking anything besides water, you’re shooting yourself in the foot. Sodas and caffeinated drinks, including coffee, are not always your friend.

2. Instead of a meeting in the conference room, suggest a walking meeting. Walking 30 minutes daily reduces the risk for several diseases.

3. Bring your own food. Remove the temptation by bringing your own lunch and snacks, such as fruit, nuts and protein.

4. Team up. You’re probably not the only person in your office interested in a healthier lifestyle.

– Emily Wiley, Jones PR

 

Summer Sweat: Oklahoma Running Trails

With summer quickly approaching, here are some of the state's best running trails to break a sweat.

Whether you fancy a one-mile walk, 5K or full marathon, Oklahoma has several pleasant areas to put miles behind you.

The 9.4-mile Lake Hefner Trail – an Oklahoma favorite – is marked at each mile, creating a safe environment around the lake.

Get the most out of your training at the tree-lined Oklahoma River Trails, which offer scenic views of downtown without the inconvenience of stoplights. That’s right, the trails go underneath cross-streets.

Complete your weekend with hill training at Mitch Park in Edmond. The steep inclines will give you a competitive edge for your next race.

– Aubree Hughes, Jones PR

 

Tools for Marathon Training

Runners take off at the Memorial Marathon in downtown Oklahoma City.

Many big races are coming up in the next few months, including the Redbud Classic, April 8-9, and the Oklahoma City Memorial Marathon, April 30. The time to start training is now.

Apps like Nike+ keep track of progress and time for continued improvement, while MapMyRun provides new routes.

However, running shoes may be the single most important part of training for a big race. Red Coyote not only has a great shoe selection, but offers Oklahoma City’s only free slow-motion video gait analysis system to make sure customers buy the right shoe for their unique foot type.

– Emily Anderson, Jones PR

 

What You Don’t Know May Be Making You Sick

Improve your health in 2016 with "information therapy."

Each new year brings waves of health resolutions – losing weight, exercise regimens, diets and annual physicals. Consider adding one more – improving your health literacy.

MedEncentive is an Oklahoma City-based developer of a patented system proven to improve health and lower healthcare costs by means of “information therapy.” According to MedEncentive, studies show the single strongest determinant of your health and life expectancy is health literacy. Apparently the old adage that “what you don’t know could kill you” has some truth to it!

To keep your New Year’s resolutions in 2016, first start by committing to becoming more health knowledgable.

– Chip Carter, Jones PR

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Step it Up!

What if we labeled unwalkable neighborhoods “unsafe” like we do with cigarettes? Ten percent of preventable deaths are due to lack of physical activity, but cities still prioritize vehicles over pedestrians.

Fortunately, there’s a new government initiative working to end this. The U.S. Surgeon General recently launched the campaign “Step It Up!,” which encourages walking and includes a call to action to improve our neighborhoods’ walkability. Safer crosswalks, more sidewalks and improved green spaces are all on the agenda.

For the sake of public health, these kinds of initiatives are needed to reverse people’s automatic selection of cars for transportation.

– Amelia Kane, HGOR