DCUM Weblog

By Elizabeth Polis, PT, DPT
Core Wellness & Physical Therapy

My physical therapy practice is full of mothers-to-be with similar complaints—leg and back aches, swelling, sciatica—and other painful issues common in mid to late pregnancy. Many of them are nearing or have entered their third trimester when both body and baby start to rapidly put on additional weight. The uterus has also fully expanded, putting a considerable amount of pressure on the diaphragm, causing shortness of breath and other discomforts for mom.

I’ve found that a simple, effective way to ease these common, yet often debilitating, pregnancy pains is through kinesiology taping. Also called simply “taping,” the process includes using cotton adhesive strips stretched around the skin or a particular muscle to provide a gentle pulling or lifting force. How and where the tape is applied and the direction of pull impacts how it will provide benefit to mom.

Tomorrow DC voters will go to the polls to elect an At Large Council Member. Even at this late date, the race appears wide open with four possible winners. Yesterday, a bit of controversy was provoked by an article in the Washington Post disclosing that the campaign of Democrat Elissa Silverman had approached fellow Democrat Matthew Frumin asking him to drop out of the campaign in order to unite the progressive vote. Frumin declined, rightly believing that he has a chance to win.

This campaign has been marked by the seemingly inability of candidates to avoid self-destructing. Indeed, one possible winner, Michael A. Brown, withdrew from the campaign. However, since his name will still appear the ballot, he could still affect the outcome.

Democrat Anita Bonds was plagued from the beginning by questions concerning her poor management of the DC Democratic State Committee which included getting appointed by that committee -- which she chairs -- to the interim At Large position. In addition to that conflict of interest, she is employed by one of the largest city contractors. But, most controversial is her suggestion that she thought it was a good thing for voters to choose candidates of their own race. As the only black Democrat in the race, Bonds would benefit from racially-aligned voting. However, one would hope that DC would move beyond this type of racial politics.

Estate planning needs a new name.When most people think of estate planning, words like elderly, wealthy, ordeath often come to mind. It also conjures images of vast tracks of landsurrounded by high fences and homes built in the image of Versailles, right? Oris that just me? However accurate the word associations that go with “estateplanning” may be, one thing is certain: Everyone needs some form of estateplanning, even the young, single, and broke. Bet those words didn’t come toyour mind though! 

Living Plans forthe Young

There are three essentialdocuments that everyone needs, whether you have a family with children or are asingle professional in the corporate fast lane.

April is election season in the District of Columbia. In April 2011, DC held a special election to fill the At Large Council seat vacated by Kwame Brown after he was elected Council Chairman. April 2012 witnessed the primary election to select candidates for the November general election. This April, DC will again be be filling a vacant At Large seat; this one left open by Phil Mendelson when he was elected to replace Brown as Chairman. Brown resigned after a bank fraud conviction and may hold the record for creating a need for special elections.

At least six, and possibly as many as eight, candidates will be on the April 23 ballot (the nominating petitions of two candidates have been challenged). This week I had the opportunity to sit down for a discussion with one of those candidates, Mathew Frumin. Frumin proved to be a thoughtful candidate with a somewhat unique take on the campaign. Where it is common for candidates to point out what is wrong with the city and explain how they plan to change it, Frumin prefers to describe what is going right and how he would like to continue it and widen its benefits. This positive outlook was clear throughout our discussion.

PEP offers DCUM readers a 20% discount on upcoming parenting talks.

By Katherine Reynolds Lewis

When I first heard that Dr. Kenneth Ginsburg was coming to speak in the Washington D.C. area, I thought: what can an expert on adolescents say that's relevant to me? My girls are barely 6 and 8 years old, and we're (I thought) far from needing a toolkit for parents of teens. But my favorite volunteer cause, the Parent Encouragement Program, is bringing him to town, so I picked up his book, "Letting Go With Love and Courage," and signed up to interview him for a Washington Parent Q&A on his advice for building resilience in children. 

Jessica McFadden of A Parent in Silver Spring recently had the opportunity to interview Susan Smith Blakely, the author of the new book Best Friends at the Bar: the New Balance for Today's Woman Lawyer. Blakely lives in Great Falls and has turned to writing after retiring as a law firm partner after 25 years of private and public practice.

A follow-up to her first book, Best Friends at the Bar: What Women Need to Know About a Career in the Law,