Community Health Fair to Help People meet Wellness Goals
BLOOMINGTON, Minn. – Healthy living is not always simple. Individuals often feel overwhelmed by the amount of information available about health and wellness, and synthesizing that information and finding local resources to help meet wellness goals also can be a challenge. To assist the public in this task, Northwestern Health Sciences University is sponsoring a community health fair – "Catch the Wellness Wave: Natural Approaches to Health" – from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. on Saturday, Oct. 8.
The free event will take place on Northwestern’s campus on the corner of Penn Avenue and 84th Street in Bloomington.
Anne Fletcher, weight expert and author of the popular Thin for Life: 10 Keys to Success from People Who Have Lost Weight and Kept It Off, will be the keynote presenter at the fair. Fletcher, a nationally known health writer, will share motivational tips on beginning and maintaining a healthy lifestyle during her 1 p.m. presentation. Fletcher’s books have been lauded for revealing the secrets to maintaining a healthy weight.
"Anne Fletcher offers helpful and healthful tips for people interested in losing weight and keeping it off," says Nicky Simon, community relations coordinator at Northwestern. "Her presentation will give attendees the tools they need to address weight problems – and health problems in general."
In addition to Fletcher’s appearance, the health fair will include a number of activities, workshops and demonstrations for attendees. Interactive sessions on Yoga, Tai Chi, Pilates, balance training and the Nia technique will be presented. Each session will last about 15 minutes and will include opportunities for participants to try the different methods.
Attendees also will have the opportunity to hear two other lectures:
– Joseph Sweere, D.C., author of Golden Rules for Vibrant Health In Body, Mind and Spirit, will present "The Fundamentals of Chiropractic" at 10:30 a.m. He will describe how people can enhance their health with this safe, economic, whole-person, patient-centered approach.
– Paul Ratte, N.D., a naturopathic practitioner who leads regular four-week workshops on wellness, will dispel myths surrounding fad diets and help attendees gain a better understanding of healthy eating habits during his 11:15 a.m. talk.
Dozens of information booths, including vendors from various fitness centers, weight loss clinics and community organizations will be on display. Free postural assessments, thermal scans, pulmonary function testing, non-fasting glucose and cholesterol screenings, and blood pressure checks will be available at no charge.
"This event is a great opportunity for members of the community to take an active role in their health," Simon says. "This event will allow the community to have access to a large number of health and wellness resources at one, free event."
For more information about the event or to get free tickets, contact Simon at (952) 888-4777, ext. 169 or e-mail [email protected].
Northwestern Seeks Headache Sufferers For Pilot Study
BLOOMINGTON, Minn. – Northwestern Health Sciences University’s Wolfe-Harris Center for Clinical Studies has put out a call for sufferers of tension headaches so they can be part of a pilot study of massage and self-care for such headaches.
The center recently received a grant of $19,935 from the Massage Therapy Foundation for the study. This is the first grant for a massage therapy study at Northwestern.
Tension-type headaches affect 38 percent of the population each year, reports Roni Evans, D.C., dean of research at Northwestern. On any given day, about 16 percent of people suffer from headaches. Over-the-counter pain medications are commonly used by people suffering from headaches, however they are not universally effective and may have undesirable side effects. The pilot study is an effort to discover if massage therapy is a viable treatment option for tension-type headaches.
The study will include 38 participants between the ages of 21 and 65 who suffer from chronic or chronic episodic tension-type headaches. To qualify, patients may have either episodic or chronic headaches as defined by the International Headache Society. Chronic headache is defined as headaches that occur more than 15 days per month or 180 days per year. Episodic is classified as headaches that occur fewer than 15 days per month or 180 days per year. Study participants must have suffered from tension-type headaches for at least three months and must experience a headache at least once a week. To find out if you qualify, call (952) 886-7598.
The study will take approximately one year to complete.
Northwestern Health Sciences University offers a wide array of choices in natural health care and education including chiropractic, Oriental medicine, acupuncture, therapeutic massage, human biology, and integrative health and wellness. The University has 850 full-time students on a 25-acre campus in Bloomington.
