Archive for January, 2008

Arthritis Hot and Cold Therapy Treatment for Joint Pain Relief

Arthritis literally means joint inflammation. It is that swelling, redness, heat, and pain caused by tissue injury or disease in the joint.

There are many different kinds of arthritis, from rheumatic to autoimmune diseases.

Hot and cold therapy treatments can be used to reduce the pain and inflammation of arthritis. Studies show that both therapies can be equally effective for reducing pain, except in the case of acute gout.

Applying heat increases your blood flow, tolerance for pain, and flexibility. Heat therapy can involve treatment with:

  • moist heat
  • ultrasound
  • microwaves
  • paraffin wax

Physical therapists are needed for all but the application of moist heat. Some ways to apply moist heat include:

  • moist heating pad
  • taking a warm bath or shower
  • placing warm towels or hot packs on the inflamed joint

Cold application numbs the nerves around the joint, which reduces pain, inflammation and muscle spasms. Examples of cold therapy include:

  • cold packs
  • ice massage
  • soaking in cold water
  • OTC sprays, ointments that cool skin & joints

In addition to hot and cold application for joint pain relief, your lifestyle must also include consuming a healthy diet, maintaining a healthy weight, plenty of rest and exercise.

Foot Care: When the Shoes Do Not Fit, Do Not Wear Them

When your shoes don’t fit properly your foot is adversely impacted, along with the rest your body. Joint injuries to your knees, hips and back can be a direct result of wearing ill-fitting shoes or inappropriately crafted shoes for the type of repetitive body movement.

Wearing appropriately comfortable shoes that fit well is a primary step to preventing many foot problems. Every time you purchase a new pair of shoes take into consideration these 12 aspects for making sure the shoes fit.

  1. Shoe size changes as you age and be sure to always remeasure your feet at the end of the day when your feet are largest.
  2. Most of us have one foot larger than the other, so fit your shoes to that larger foot.
  3. Don’t buy shoes before trying them on first, not all shoes are created equally.
  4. Walk in the shoes to make sure they feel right.
  5. Choose a shoe that is shaped like your foot.
  6. Stand up when trying on shoes to make sure there is about ½ inch between your toe and the end of the shoe.
  7. Make sure the ball of your foot fits comfortably into the widest part of the shoe.
  8. Don’t buy shoes that feel too tight and hope that they will stretch.
  9. The heel of the shoe should not slide up and down when walking.
  10. The upper part of the shoes should be made of a soft, bendable material.
  11. Soles should give solid footing and not slip, the thicker the sole the better to the cushion when walking on hard surfaces.
  12. Low-heeled rounded toed shoes are more comfortable, safer, and less damaging than high-heeled or pointed toed shoes.

Ladies ~ walking or standing in high heels for long periods of time negatively impacts your lower back. Get flat and always be prepared to get moving.

Common Causes of Sore, Swollen Feet and Foot Pain

It’s important to be good to your feet. They will experience years of hard wear and tear, and they can take you a long way if you treat them with tender care. Lack of care can lead to painful, swollen, sore feet and the rest of you immobilized .

Your feet have 26 bones, 33 joints, and more than 100 tendons, muscles and ligaments per foot. Many things can, and do, go wrong with all your weight impacting a relatively small area. Some common causes for your swollen, sore feet and/or foot pain:

Fungal Infections (athlete’s foot) grow on your feet because they are in the warm, dark, moisture of your shoes a percentage of the time. This is environment is a perfect place for it to grow.

This fungus will cause dry skin, redness, blisters, itching, and peeling. Over-the-counter anti-fungal powders or creams can help. To prevent fungal infections:

  • don’t wear tight shoes
  • change your shoes often
  • try dusting with foot powder
  • keep your feet clean and dry, especially between your toes

Corns and calluses are the thickening of skin caused by friction or pressure when the bony parts of your feet rub against your shoes. Wearing shoes that fit better or using insole pads can help.

Bunions develop when the joints in your big toe no longer fit together, and that area can become swollen and tender. Wear shoes that are cut wide around this joint are. Sometimes surgery is needed to repair this foot joint.

Ingrown toenails are painfully caused when part of your toe nail breaks the skin. This can happen if you don’t cut your toenails straight across so the corner of the nail can be seen above the skin. Ingrown toenails are very common in the large big toes.

Hammertoe is caused by a shortening of the tendons that control toe movements and this causes the toe to pull back. Over time, the joint gets bigger and stiffens, affecting your balance. Surgery is available to correct this problem.

Spurs are calcium buildup that grow on bones of your feet and can be extremely painful. They are caused by the stress of:

  • being overweight
  • wearing badly fitting shoes
  • standing for long periods of time

Treatments for spurs are using foot supports and heel pads or cups. And sometimes surgery.

Swollen feet may be a sign of more serious health problems, such as:

  • arthritis
  • diabetes
  • nerve or circulatory disorders

If you continuously have swollen feet and ankles, you need to discuss it with your doctor.

Too much salt in your diet may also contribute to foot swelling. Try cutting back and monitor results. Also, standing long periods of time may cause blood to pool in your feet. When this happens, elevate your feet above your heart to help reduce swelling.

Ill-fitting shoes is a major cause of many foot problems, along with aging and being overweight. Don’t force your feet to wear shoes that don’t fit for style purposes!

Practice good foot care routines by:

  • don’t sit for a long time
  • warm foot bath is helpful
  • avoid pressure from shoes that don’t fit
  • don’t keep your legs crossed for too long
  • putting your feet up when sitting helps keep blood moving
  • stretching, walking, or having a gentle foot massage helps foot circulation

Whenever your feet are sore, swollen or in pain the rest of your body will suffer. Do whatever it takes to keep your feet “pain, swollen and sore” free. Happy feet is a major step in keeping your body fitness healthy.

Four Key Components to Physical Health and Fitness

People of all ages who are inactive can improve their health, well-being and fitness by being more active regularly. However, for most it’s difficult to adopt new habits and routines. So start slowly and work your way up, and before long you will adopt a healthy new fitness routine.

Your overall fitness is made up of four key components. In order to assess your level of fitness, you must consider all of these components together. Here’s a blurb about each component.

Cardiorespiratory endurance is your body’s ability to supply fuel during sustained physical activity by way of your circulatory and respiratory systems. To improve it, try to keep your heart rate elevated for a sustained length of time such as walking, swimming, or bicycling. Remember that the cardiorespiratory activity you choose does not have to be strenuous. Start slowly and work your way up to a more intense pace.

Muscular strength is your muscle’s ability to exert force. You make your muscles stronger by working them against a resistance. Gravity offers a great source of resistance, so be creative.

Muscular endurance is your muscle’s ability to perform without fatigue for a period of time. Cardiorespiratory activities such as walking, jogging, bicycling, or dancing helps improve muscle endurance.

Flexibility refers to your joints range of motion. Joint flexibility helps prevent injuries, so adopt a basic stretching program. Remember that stretching can be done periodically throughout your day.

Get yourself moving with these four key components in mind, and get health and fitness on your side!

Reduce Stress Using Aromatherapy Essential Oils for Stress Management

Aromatherapy is an ideal compliment to other stress management regimes that improve quality of life by reducing stress and anxiety.

Aromatherapy uses plant oils that give off strong pleasant aromas to promote relaxation, a sense of well-being, and healing. Essential oils (volatile oils) are the basic materials used in aromatherapy, which are made from fragrant essences found in many plants.

The scented liquid is taken from certain plants by using steam or pressure. Essential oils contain the natural chemicals that give the plant its specific odor and flavor (essence).

Many different essential oils are used in aromatherapy, such as Roman chamomile, geranium, lavender, lemon, cedarwood and bergamot. Each type of essential oil has a different chemical structure that affects its smells, its absorption, and how it is used by the body.

There are different theories about how aromatherapy and essential oils work. One is that your nose’s smell receptors respond to the essential oils’ smell by sending chemical messages to your brain, which affects moods and emotions.

Another suggests that they have a life force or vitality that can affect the body in unique ways.

Matters not how, only that it does have the smell to help reduce your stress.

Aromatherapy is generally used via:

  • topical ~ applied to the surface of your body generally by massage, bathwater or lotions
  • inhalation~ taken into your body through breathing using a diffuser or placing drops of essential oils near your nose

Essential oils are rarely taken by mouth and studies have found that they have antibacterial effects when applied to the skin.

Allergic reactions and skin irritation may occur, especially when essential oils are left on the skin for a long period. Sun sensitivity may develop with some essential oils which are applied prior to your sun exposure.

Improve your fitness through stress reduction and management in your aromatherapy tub and let its essential oils aroma give your mind peace for a good night’s sleep followed by a quality fitness workout tomorrow.

Adverse Side Effects of Taking Anabolic Steroids

Anabolic steroids use has been linked to a wide range of adverse side effects. Most are reversible if the taking of the drug is stopped. However, some are permanent, such as voice deepening in females.

Mostly the long-term effects of anabolic steroids comes from case reports rather than formal epidemiological studies.

Anabolic steroids use disrupts your normal production of hormones, causing both reversible and irreversible changes. Changes that can be reversed include reduced sperm production and shrinking of the testicles. Irreversible changes include male-pattern baldness and breast development in men.

In the female body, anabolic steroids causes masculinization:

  • voice deepens
  • clitoris enlarges
  • body fat decrease
  • smaller breast size
  • skin becomes coarse

Women may experience excessive growth of body hair but lose scalp hair.

Anabolic steroids use has been associated with cardiovascular diseases by changing the levels of lipoproteins that carry cholesterol in your blood. In particular, oral steroids increase the level of low-density lipoprotein (LDL) and decrease the level of high-density lipoprotein (HDL).

High LDL and low HDL levels increase the risk of atherosclerosis, a condition in which fatty substances are deposited inside arteries and disrupt blood flow. If blood is prevented from reaching your heart or your brain, your are at risk for a heart attack or stroke.

Anabolic steroids also may increase your risk for damaging the heart muscle so that it does not effectively pump blood.

Steroid use may be involved with liver tumors, which can rupture and cause internal bleeding. It can also cause:

  • acne
  • cysts
  • oily hair & skin

Now let’s talk behavior. Increased irritability and aggression seems to be involved with high dose usage of anabolic steroids. Look to your significant other for the voice on this.

With all these adverse side effects, why risk it for a silly game or looking manly-man. Prevent the preventable by living a healthy lifestyle.

Anabolic Steroids: Why Illegal Drug of Choice for Some Athletes

Anabolic steroids are synthetic substances related to the male sex hormones. They promote skeletal muscle growth (anabolic effects) and development of male sexual characteristics (androgenic effects). The proper term for these compounds is “anabolic-androgenic steroids.”

Anabolic steroids were developed in the late 1930s primarily to treat hypogonadism. The primary medical use is to treat delayed puberty, some types of impotence, and wasting of the body caused by HIV infection or other diseases.

At that same time, scientists discovered that anabolic steroids could facilitate the growth of skeletal muscle in laboratory animals. This finding led to its first being used by bodybuilders and weightlifters, and then by athletes in other sports. Resulting in athletics illegal drug of choice by some athletes

The main reasons people give for using steroids is to improve their athletic performance. Another is to increase their muscle size or to reduce their body fat. All this desired enhancement use is contrary to law (illicit) and potentially contrary to health.

Most illicit (illegal) steroids are sold at gyms, competitions, and through mail order operations. They are smuggled in from countries that do not require a prescription, illegally diverted pharmacies or synthesized in clandestine laboratories.

Prior to 2004, supplements such as THG and “Andro” could be purchased legally without a prescription. The purchase of these supplements, with the exception of dehydroepiandrosterone (DHEA), are now illegal after the passage of amendments to the Controlled Substances Act.

These steroidal supplements can convert to testosterone or a similar compound in the body. Less is known about the side effects of steroidal supplements, but if large quantities of these compounds substantially increase testosterone levels in the body, then they also are likely to produce the same side effects as anabolic steroids themselves.

Steroid abuse has become so widespread in athletics that it can affect the outcome of sports contests. It is estimated that anabolic steroid abuse among athletes may range between one and six percent.

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