Author archives for Adam Naab

Run or Roll

Thursday, March 15th, 2012

We all know that exercise helps control weight and prevents illnesses such as diabetes and heart disease; but did you know that study after study has shown that exercise improves mental health and increases energy? My brother Lee and I love to exercise and compete in events such as the Big House Big Heart run, the Heart and Sole run, and various other 5k and 10k events around southeast Michigan. We both have a lot of fun and get great benefits from getting out with thousands of people to participate in these events; however, we participate in different ways.

My brother Lee has crossed many finish lines in his high tech, and might I add, very fast, wheel chair, which he has been in for most of his life. Lee, now 22, started racing in middle school in annual events at Hudson Mills Metro Park and loves to take daily walks up and down his street outside of Chelsea. His first experience with Big House Big Heart was when a friend of his asked him to be a guest of honor to ride shotgun in a customized racing chair in 2009. Lee had fun, but being a pushed passenger was not his style. So the next year, he rolled through the finish line on his own.

The reason I am writing this is to stress a couple of important points. First, sign up for these events! They support your health, they are fun, and they build a sense of community that I believe is being lost in the age of Facebook and cell phones. Secondly, encourage everyone to join. Just because Lee is not physically running does not mean he is not experiencing and benefiting from the event. In fact, study after study shows that physical activity, wheelchair bound or not, improves health . Lastly, don’t be afraid to come up and talk to those who simply travel by other means. I promise you as a Doctor of Physical Therapy and as a brother of someone in a wheelchair, the worst that will happen is you will learn something new about someone in your community and, more likely with Lee, you will gain a friend.