OPPORTUNITY

Living with animals: Put some animals in your life and rebalance your soul

By Peter Butler Redstone Review

LYONS – “Don’t touch it or you’ll get impetigo.” I don’t know how you are supposed to pronounce it, but my Mother always said “im – p’t – eye – go” in her Scottish lilt. I was 6 years old and was approaching a cat on the sidewalk outside my grandmother’s house. Even at that young age I sensed the joy of another species in your life. “You’re allergic and your eyes will water,” she insisted.

My family life growing up as a kid was idyllic, but sadly lacking animals. Unless you count Timmy. Timmy was a hamster: very cute and cuddly but not someone to go trail running with. Timmy lived in a pretty little blue cage. I think it was cerulean blue, as Meryl Streep declares in The Devil Wears Prada.

Also Timmy was nocturnal and my bedtime was a strict 8 p.m. That meant that I rarely witnessed the gleeful pounding in his little treadmill. He must have run miles on that wheel with only his self-motivation to drive him. No smart watch to tell him how far or how fast. I bet modern hamsters get a little display screen and subscription to Peloton so they can race against small rodents in other countries.

Once I escaped the embrace of maternal caution it didn’t take long for me to adopt a cat. In my sordid digs in Liverpool there was a very fluffy cat that I named Sibelius. I can’t remember ever buying cat food but I must have used some sort of bribery to gain his friendship. Eventually the medical student in the room next door re-adopted said feline and named them Sally. This might have been more gender correct but it hardly summoned the majesty of the Finnish maestro’s Karelia Suite or his Second Symphony –philistine.

As Deirdre and I started to create our family life more cats appeared, Omar and Jaco, then the triplets. When we lived in the north of England we frequented a pub called

The Sair, local dialect for sow/female pig. Ronnie the owner brewed his own beer, which tasted like heaven and acted like an anesthetic. Norman the cat lived in the brew house and one day Norman had kittens. The chalk board said “One Norman and two Norwomen.” “I would like to adopt them,” I explained to Ronnie’s spouse but added, “I would have to ask my wife.” Those were almost Butler the only words that could have snagged those three black kittens – Whammy, Bongo and Nimbus. A cat generation or two later, here we are in Lyons and the domestic menagerie has expanded to 18 chickens, 5 cats and 1 dog. It makes it hard to leave the house for long but the compensation is a full-immersion mood moderator and calming machine. Our locale has a rich fauna and we can receive visits from rabbits, foxes, deer, elk, bobcats and occasionally bears and lions. They give us a connection with nature but there is still a distance that we cannot cross. Mankind began to cross the divide with dogs and cats thousands of years ago after the first human settlements in the fertile crescent started to practice agriculture and its associated necessities of food storage. The unnatural accumulations of grain attracted rodents and eventually wild cats must have started to exploit the concentration of easy prey. Over hundreds of years there would have been increasing instances of closer contact between people and cats and the eventual first entry of a moggy into a household. Houston, the Bengal has landed.

PHOTO BY DEIRDRE BUTLER

Continue Animals on Page 9

Research shows physical therapy should be the first stop for people with back pain

By Bronwyn Muldoon Redstone Review

LYONS – Most people who end up seeing a physical therapist for back pain do so after seeing their family doctor, getting an x-ray or MRI, and maybe seeing an orthopedist. Current research says that this is the wrong order. People should be seeing a physical therapist first for back pain, as they are the musculo-skeletal (movement) experts in the medical field. Studies have shown that people who receive early physical therapy (PT) have better outcomes, lower costs, and are less likely to have surgery, use opioids or have unnecessary testing. Current clinical practice guidelines for treating low back pain support the use of manual therapy and exercise – two things that physical therapists specialize in.

Unfortunately, only 2 percent of people with back pain start with PT, and only 7 percent get to PT within 90 days. What’s wrong with the other options? Stories about the opioid epidemic that the country is currently experiencing are everywhere, and the number one reason for opioids prescriptions are back pain.

The Center for Disease Control (CDC) has recommended against the use of opioids for back pain since 2016, and supports the use of non-drug treatments like PT. Surgeries for back pain are common, but the outcomes aren’t always successful, and currently have an average 50 percent suc-

cess rate. A large study looking at worker’s comp patients with back pain found that people who have surgery have a 1 in 4 chance of having a repeat surgery, a 1 in 3 chance of a major complication, and a 1 in 3 chance of never returning to work again. Low back pain (LBP) is a leading cause Muldoon of disability in the United States, increasing by 50 percent since the 1990’s. To reverse these numbers, its crucial for everyone to start acknowledging that there are other options besides surgeries and drugs. Physical therapy is an excellent place to start when experiencing low back pain and is covered by insurance.

Bronwyn Muldoon has a doctorate in Physical Therapy, is a Sports Certified Specialist and opened Lyons Physical Therapy 24 years ago.

Jonelle Tucker

303-902-6250 jonelle.tucker@gmail.com tuckergroupinc.com REALTOR®

Wishing you peace and many joy filled moments this holiday season!

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223 4th Ave, Lyons $675,000

Peaceful location in the heart of Lyons! This absolutely charming, totally remodeled and updated 2BD/2BA home borders town open space and is a block from the Botanic Garden and Bohn Park. Gorgeous fireplace, wood floors, granite counters, stainless appliances, and a wonderful covered patio.

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