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The nicer spring and summer weather means you can relish spending time outside. You may even be motivated to – gasp! – finally pick up that gardening habit you’ve been meaning to get to ever since the latest episode of House Hunters. You would be doing your brain and body a service. According to Michigan State University, gardening can help clear your mind. Just like meditating, this can help you reduce stress by zoning out. It can also help you tone those triceps! And you even get food after all that effort. What could make you feel more accomplished? But how are you supposed to keep a garden when you’re constantly on the road? We’ve got you covered. Here are the top ways you can maintain a garden while working as a traveling therapist:

Zach, a physical therapist’s assistant currently on assignment in San Angelo, Texas, loves helping patients. When Zach first became a physical therapist’s assistant in 2009, he began his career as a Traveling PTA. It gave him the opportunity to pursue his passion, while also offering more employment options with benefits and giving him the ability to see different parts of the country. He joined Jackson Therapy in 2016 after partnering with Katie his recruiter, and began assisting patients in Texas in a nursing facility. In this facility, Zach focused on geriatric patients, which presented some challenges – as their age made it more difficult for them to progress past an injury.  Their slow progress can depress morale and cause patients to lose motivation. When they don’t believe in themselves, they heal at a slower rate. Building hope, one step at a time When Zach was first paired with a military veteran and ex-sniper

Dancers and athletes have long known the seemingly magical powers of foam rollers. They can help loosen tight hips or knotted quad muscles. Physical and occupational therapists also use them in a number of different ways during sessions with patients. Check out the list below for the clever ways you can use these rollers on your own: Work out shin splints If you feel a mild shooting pain in your shins after hitting the track or the trails, you may have shin splints. You can use your foam roller to work out the pain.  Simply kneel on your roller and slowly work it down to your ankle and back up. Make sure not to hit your knees! That could lead you to accidentally hurting yourself, noted Health magazine.

    It feels impossible to escape talking politics after the last election cycle. There may even be changes coming within the health care field, so it can feel top of mind when you’re at work or speaking with patients. However, in a survey of 500 employees from a range of workplaces, half of them saw discussions evolve into political arguments. We are, overall, consuming more information about politics and as a result, are finding ourselves eager to talk about them. If you’re tempted to take part in political discussions at work, try these tricks for avoiding these types of conversations: Keep conversations positive Making small talk about current events is one thing, but to prevent conversations from veering into politically charged topics (especially if it’s a patient that’s becoming impassioned) try to defuse the situation before it escalates. 

It’s easy to get a case of the blues in the midst of winter. Lucky for traveling therapists, you can escape to the beach on assignment! Whether you’re working at a hospital or an outpatient facility, you can help patients or clients while taking the time to enjoy the beach. While most people think of Hawaii when it comes to pristine beaches, we found you more places in the U.S. to explore. Here are the top locations around the U.S. if you’re hankering for some sunshine and waves: The Outer Banks, North Carolina U.S. News and World Report rated it as one the top 5 beaches in the U.S. And who could blame it?