Wednesday, September 23, 2009

Five Tips for Flying Back Pain Free


If you have chronic back pain and want to fly for longer periods of time, here are some tips that can help you to keep away back pain or alleviate it while you are onboard.

Move as much as possible while you are flying. Walking and stretching are possible options in front of you to get yourself moving frequently. You can also do back bends or similar mild exercises at the back of the plane. If you have a doctor's note at your disposal, the flight crew can be informed before you get into the plane of your bad back. This will enable you to move more regularly than normal passengers without any security concerns.

If you are careful enough while booking your flight, you can escape from the discomfort provided by back pain while you are onboard. There are periods in days when the flights are usually empty and try booking a flight that runs during that time. You can also lie down across the seats to free your back of the strains. If you find an empty row, move to that row with the permission of the flight crew.

Keeping the right posture is very important to avoid chronic back pain. A back roll or a set of pillows can be helpful to keep your posture. If you do not have enough to support to keep your spine straight, bring something to keep your knees at a right angle.

Gel packs that can be frozen or heated can be very effective for giving relief if you are suffering from swelling, back pain, sore muscles and even headaches. A physician's note can help you solve any issues related with airport security. Items above the 3 oz. limit, which are used for medical purposes, are permitted.

Back pain medication could be quite handy while you are flying. Back pain medication like OTC pain killers or prescription drugs can help you cope with the suffering during and after the flight. A doctor's note can be of great use here as well. Always ensure that the medications are kept in their original bottles.

Friday, September 18, 2009

Exercises for Neck Pain


There may not be a lot of people around the world who have not experienced neck pain at some point in their lives. Neck pain can be quite harmful and severe neck pain will encroach into our daily activities with telling impact. It will keep annoying you and gradually you will be unable to get actively involved in any activity. This article intends to familiarize you with the most effective neck pain exercises that will help you to cut down the occurrences or severity of neck pain.

Sternocleidomastoid and splenius are the two main muscles of the neck that assist you to move your head up, down, right, left and at other angles. We usually do not include exercises that involve these muscles in our fitness programs. We resort to dong exercises that involve these muscles only when we suffer from any neck injury or chronic neck pain.

Remaining glued to computer screens for long hours or reading with head bent can develop strain in our neck. The exercises mentioned below can be useful both in preventing and relieving neck pain.

Cervical Retraction starts with you sitting up straight. Then, with the chin kept levelled gently pull it straight in. This makes the back of your neck to feel long. Be careful not to raise your head up or bend it down. This prevents moving on to a forward bend posture.

In Upper Cervical Nodding, the individual sits straight and in this position slowly nods his or her head in up and down motion for 3-5 times.

In Neck Stretching the individual sits straight and in this position slowly turns his or her head left and after this slowly turns it to the right side. One can also do this exercise by tilting his or her head towards one shoulder and after this towards the other. Repeat this exercise for 3-5 times.

Neck Flexion can be practiced in a sitting or standing posture. With a straight look, position one hand on your forehead. Perform forward bending of your head and then, resist this shift in head position by pressing on the forehead with the palm. Hold this position for sometime and after that get back to the initial position.

Tuesday, September 15, 2009

Options Available for Stretch Mark Removal


Stretch marks are kind of skin scarring that arises from pregnancy, obesity and puberty. It can also be associated with rapid increase of weight achieved through bodybuilding or any other similar physical activity. Among the various sources of stretch marks, pregnancy related stretch marks are most widely seen. They are usually found on the abdomen, breasts, thighs or buttocks. Despite its large scale of occurrence, many women feel ashamed of their stretch marks.

There are both natural and medical treatments for pregnancy stretch marks. You have to choose a treatment method that suits you and your baby. Another thing to remember is that, dieting is not going to do any good as far as stretch marks are concerned. You have to supply your body with a natural, healthy diet that is rich in antioxidants and healthy fats.

You can also depend on the various oils and creams that are available to get rid of your stretch marks. The com-pounds get absorbed much easily into the skin if you are opting for cream-type treatments. With cream-type treatments, the adjoining tissues and cells will get nourished as well. Cocoa butter cream or other natural vitamin E creams can enhance the flexibility of your skin. Vitamin A or AHAs creams boost cell regeneration.

Cocoa butter included creams are considered perfect for the complete disappearance of stretch marks. Creams having wheat germ oil, lavender oil, olive oil and lanolin as one of their ingredients are also found to be effective in the removal of stretch marks. Out of the stretch marks removal oils, Vitamin E oil can be used to keep stretch marks away during pregnancy. These stretch marks creams and oils maintains the firmness of your during pregnancy.

Surgical methods have proved to be extremely efficient in the treatment of stretch marks. Dermabrasion is one surgical method that has gained wide spread popularity as a cure for stretch marks. There also a handful of state of the art laser treatments, which have been highly potent in the removal of stretch marks.

Monday, September 14, 2009

Two Basic But Effective Things You Can Do For Back Pain-Self Care


There may not be a lot of people around the world who have not experienced back pain at sometime in their lives. Back pain can be quite harmful and severe back pain will encroach into our daily activities with telling impact. It will keep annoying you and gradually you will be unable to get actively involved in any activity. However, to the relief of all sufferers there are back pain treatments, which can be done at the comfort of your home.

This can be a boon for many people as it will be very stressful for them to travel to a clinic or hospital to receive treatment. The bedding you use and your sleeping positions can have a major say in the development of back pain. If you are waking up regularly with an intense back pain, then you will have to definitely consider your sleeping position and the mattress you use. If your mattress has remained untouched for longer periods of time, the best thing to do is to buy a new mattress.

Never mind even if your new mattress is expensive as you will only have to spend a comparatively small amount for undergoing treatment in addition to achieving increased productivity. Apart from the mattress, the way you sleep is also an important thing to consider. Experts recommend that to maintain correct posture throughout your sleep, you need to lie on your back with a pillow kept beneath your knees. Lying on your side with a pillow kept between your knees can give you relief if you are experiencing chronic back pain. You can also use body pillows while sleeping to alleviate the pain.

Sunday, September 13, 2009

Weight loss Surgery - Open Surgery vs. Laparoscopic Surgery


Surgeries intended for weight loss can be conducted either as a laparoscopic procedure or as an open procedure. There are several noticeable differences between a laparoscopic procedure and an open procedure. Multiple small incisions are made during a laparoscopic procedure, where as in an open procedure a single, long cut is made to gain entry into the abdomen. Surgeries conducted by following laparoscopic procedures are found to be less invasive as it eliminates the need for one long cut to access the abdomen.

The number of incisions made during a laparoscopic procedure varies with each surgery. For instance, usually five to six incisions are utilized in gastric bypass. Laparoscopic procedures are the most commonly employed procedures. Open procedures are less frequently used than laparoscopic procedures. A laparoscopic surgery involves a camera, which provides the view of the abdomen through the incisions made. These incisions are used as gateways for small instruments to get through to the abdomen and perform the surgery.

Laparoscopic procedures are usually the preferred option for conducting a weight loss surgery. This is because laparoscopic surgery has a lot of benefits over open procedures. One of the major benefits is that wound complications are much lesser with laparoscopic procedures. Since laparoscopic procedures are performed by making small incisions, patients undergoing this type of surgery will be less affected by the pain resulting from a surgery compared to an open procedure.

The operation lasts for more time if the operation is performed laparoscopically. A laparoscopic surgery leads to a shorter hospital stay compared to an open surgery. After a laparoscopic surgery is performed, patients typically spent 2 to 3 days in hospital. But, after an open surgery is performed, patients typically spent 4-5 days in hospital. Patients undergoing laparoscopic surgeries will return to full efficiency quicker than those undergoing open surgeries. Patients undergoing laparoscopic surgeries can start working after 2 to 3 weeks after the completion of the surgery. But, patients undergoing open surgeries can start working only after 4 to 6 weeks after the completion of the surgery.

Friday, September 11, 2009

Printable Food Pyramid

The food pyramid or formally, the food guide pyramid, was developed by United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) as a nutritional guide. The intention of a food pyramid is to provide comprehensive information regarding the types of food and the quantity of each type of food a person should consume every day for achieving optimal health standards. According to the food pyramid, there are five main food groups, which are bread and cereals, vegetables, fruits, dairy, and protein. In April 2005, the food pyramid got a makeover into "MyPyramid", the title of the new USDA nutrition advisory program. The newly introduced pyramid's appearance features a rainbow of vertical, colored stripes that is symbolic of the five major food groups, and fats and oils.

Each person can choose any one of the 12 pyramids that suits his or her dietary and health requirements. Each pyramid is designed considering your age, gender, level of physical activity and other relevant things. The different pyramids also offer you additional guidelines and suggestions. Each gives specific guidelines and suggestions as to the amount of oil you can consume, the number of servings of vegetables you will require etc. This way, each person is provided with a customized pyramid taking into account the particular person’s health needs. Exercise is also given paramount importance by the new pyramid and specifies the amount of exercise that is required for different individuals.

The new food pyramid was introduced with some much-needed changes incorporated to the older one. The new food pyramid guide is more specific when it comes to servings and age. The old food guide did not provide information regarding the servings of the constituents of the balanced diet according to the age of an individual. The old food guide adopted a generalized approach whereas the new guide is specific in terms of the dietary and exercise requirements of different people. The old food guide was less attractive to the children whereas the multi-colored approach of the new food pyramid guide makes it more appealing to children.

Thursday, September 10, 2009

Why Men Needs to Care Their Skin?

Skin care is not a big issue for most men. They do very little in this regard, which at best is applying a toning gel or moisturizer after shaving. The reality is that a healthy skin is vital for the overall health of a human being. Damages done to the natural barrier of the skin can permit micro-organisms and harmful substances to enter the blood stream. In fact, shaving is one process that can get rid of the protective outer layer thus inviting danger.

Damaging the natural barrier of the skin cam also permit harmful molecules to dig deep into your skin and possibly the bloodstream. Shaving also removes some superficial layers of the skin that includes some living layers of the skin cell, which can considerably expose the skin to external attacks. Using an effective skin care product can help you to protect your skin against such risks. Natural skin care products have been found to be user-friendly and free from side effects than chemical based skin care products.

Side-effects can include skin discoloration and allergic reactions. Skin care products containing essential oils and herbal extracts as their major ingredients have been able to provide powerful resistance against micro-organisms and harmful substances. The potent antiseptic effects of essential oils can assist in keeping micro-organisms at bay, which eliminates inflammation and infection of the skin. Also, the combination of essential oils and herbal extracts enhances the skin health and makes it softer and brighter. So, it is high time that men started protecting their skin.