Category Archives: Health

An Introduction to Cupping Therapy

cupping therapy 1

Ever wondered why some people have some strange marks on their back? Even during the recent Olympics, some people were surprised to see some round red things on the backs of well-known athletes. Well, I was also curious in the beginning so I began to read about it. Some questions crossed my mind like, will this improve my health? will this help remove my body aches? and so forth.

I learned that these were from undergoing cupping therapy, a traditional Chinese practice where suction is used to get rid of toxins. It is a form of deep tissue massage, which is great for those who are very active or have a lot of stiffness on their backs due to heavy lifting or stress. As an athlete myself, I became interested enough to see how it can benefit me. 

To try it out, I made an appointment at a cupping therapy clinic in Geelong. To prepare myself for the visit, I oriented myself on this practice to know what to expect. First of all, why do you end up with those marks on your back? I learned that this is because glasses create a partial vacuum through using heat or suction. The cup is left for a few minutes, so blood stasis forms and leaves the red round spots. Although it might look painful, it actually promotes healing in the area.

How do I benefit from this therapy? 

  1. Help Deal with Pain

The most common symptom that brings us to the massage clinic or other similar therapies is back pain. One of the causes of that throbbing in your back is the restriction of fascia or connective tissue. These tissues coat, connect and support muscles, bone, skin, tendons, and organs. They also work to reduce vibration within the muscles and other soft tissues when in motion. It becomes tight when it gets stuck to the muscle above or below it. It can then reduce the blood supply to your muscle. Because it is unlike muscle, the use of massage or trigger point therapy has little effect on restricted fascia. On the other hand, cupping can reduce aching and make it more flexible again. 

  1. Improve the Flow of Energy in the Body

Cupping therapy is a way to open your body’s “meridians”, which are conduits in the body. This is where energy flows to the different organs and tissue of the body. On our backs, there are 5 of these meridians. When they are opened, they allow invigorating energy to be able to travel all over your body. 

  1. Release Toxins

It has been discovered that cupping can affect your body for up to 4 inches, reaching tissues. This can activate the lymphatic system and the release of toxins. At the same time, blockages in your colon are cleared, as well as your veins and arteries. 

Your skin benefits as well because cupping activates it, clearing any stretch marks and even improve your varicose veins. In fact, your skin temperature will also rise and promote metabolism to improve sweat function.

  1. Promoting Blood Flow

As cupping drains stagnant blood, as well as toxins and lymph, fresh blood and nutrients flow to these tissues. 

  1. Treat Various Conditions

There are a few diseases or symptoms that can be improved by going for a session. This can include colds and lung infections. Even problems with internal organs are addressed, because of the better blood flow and the release of toxins.

  1. Increase Range of Movement

Because it addresses tightness of tissue, you can improve on your flexibility. At the same time, cupping activates muscle spindle reflexes which will relax contracted tissues. Even synovial fluids are secreted that will relieve the stiffness in the joints. In all, you will be able to move easier and better, and without any pain.

  1. Other Advantages

Cupping has also been said to reduce cellulite in the body.

These benefits are supported by results of various researches, proving the effectiveness of cupping therapy. Realizing these benefits made me surprised and excited to go through my first experience.

What to expect?

Your session will actually be comprised of massage and cupping. The suction itself can vary depending on the area of the body where you had the cupping and what symptoms you have. Redder marks can be said to happen when there is more tightness in the muscles or fascia. The massage and the suction will produce both stimulating and sedating effects in the skin where you had the treatment.

After my treatment, I felt much better, with less feeling of tightness on my back and usual parts of my body that are stiff after practicing my sport. In fact, I had just joined the millions of people who have, over centuries, experienced relief after a session of cupping. Its continued popularity and the many fans out there, like me, are a testament to its advantages. So if you are looking for experiencing some pain and want to find a way to feel better, go and try out this therapy!

Keeping Oneself Healthy and Fit at the Workplace

logisticsEmployees in the transport industry do not just have to endure long hours of driving and deal with heavy loads, they also have to accept the higher risks of health issues that are simply part of the job. Although these hazards are manageable and individuals can definitely maintain a good lifestyle, logistic companies still have to initiate programs to support their staff in staying fit for the job.

Not only do employers possibly have to deal with sick drivers, but there is also the possibility of not attracting new talent in this very critical business that brings goods to cities all over the country. This is why work health in transport industry is an issue that affects not just workers and bosses, but everyone else benefiting from these services.

Different aspects of the job bring peril to the employee:

Handling 

Before delivering goods to other cities, they have to be loaded into the trucks and then afterward unloaded in their destination. Heavy lifting due to manual handling of goods can be the cause of numerous injuries. In fact, around 30 of accidents happen in this stage. Even when using equipment, improper use can be hazardous to individuals.

Driving

When one is on the road, there is, of course, the probability of getting into accidents. For those who are in this industry, who have to drive long hours and even through the night, they are even more in jeopardy. All it takes is sleepiness, lack of concentration and/or a bit of distraction to make them more susceptible to road crashes. What’s worse is, when a truck is huge and fully loaded, other vehicles do not stand a chance during impact.

Other than that, drivers who in these conditions also have to deal with health issues like obesity and diabetes. Lack of exercise is common to those who work at a desk for 8 hours, but those who have to sit in a cab for even longer suffer even more. Steering and stepping on the gas and/or brake do not qualify as an adequate physical activity. Partner that with very unhealthy eating and the risks go even higher. Those who have to drive through isolated roads or at odd times of the day will have no chance to control their nutritional intake. Fast food is the easiest and most convenient for them so they are in fact eating the worst kind of nourishment there is. 

Sleeplessness or odd patterns of rest can also take its toll on the body. This can impair an individual on the road, and also lead to possible chronic conditions later in life. High blood pressure, cholesterol, diabetes and possibility of stroke can be common for those who work in the industry. 

Because of the high probability of disease and accidents, logistic companies have also begun to promote practices to protect and support their staff. Not only do they keep their valuable employees healthy and fit to work, they also save thousands of dollars on doctors’ fees and other hospital bills. 

First of all, more frequent checks on worker’s well-being can catch illnesses before they get worse. Monitoring blood pressure, sugar levels, and general fitness can inform employers whether more intervention is needed.

Should the individual show signs of risk, companies can contract the services of professionals to support them. Fitness and diet experts can teach drivers how to make better eating choices while on the road, and exercise regimens that can be done on the road or despite unpredictable work schedules. Some even partner with gyms that can give their staff access any time of the day and in different cities or towns. Even incentives to stay fit can motivate employees to lose weight or stay at the peak of health. At the same time, those who receive such support from their bosses feel more valued and encouraged to avoid illness.

Proper training and education can also avoid dangers of handling injuries. Standards and protocols exist to make sure that hazards are minimized, and workers should be informed and monitored to ensure that they are being followed religiously. After all, one accident can mean the difference between disability and full mobility for someone. 

In a critical industry such as this, everyone has a stake in employees’ health. Not only can the continuous and timely delivery of goods be ensured, but also roads can be kept safe for both truckers and private vehicles. Awareness of the risks is one thing, but employers’ steps to reduce them are necessary. 

Staying healthy and keeping a job is a goal for everyone, including truck drivers and other logistic workers. They should not have to accept working in such hazardous situations, but they do the job that someone has to do. The least that transport companies can do is to continue and even broaden these programs in the near future.

Acupuncture for Fertility – Is it Safe?

acupuncture for pregnancy2Many couples, both men and women, are turning to the traditional Chinese medical practice of acupuncture to help them conceive and bring life into this world. Unfortunately, there are those who remain skeptic both about the effectiveness of acupuncture for fertility and about the safety profile of undergoing acupuncture for fertility. According to Elaine Hickman, the acupuncturist of Freedom Chinese Medicinethis most likely stems from the belief that the needles used in acupuncture will naturally bring pain and discomfort and can affect the different physiologic and hormonal processes associated with fertility. It is feared that acupuncture will only bring more harm than good.

But nothing could be farther from the truth.

The Freedom Chinese Medicine FB page has several very interesting interactions with its many followers sharing the safety profile of fertility acupuncture. It would seem that the unfounded fears of many individuals is largely attributed to the unusually long acupuncture needles used in the treatment. In many instances, they equate it with the needles used in syringes usually in the administration of certain types of medications as well as in drawing blood for diagnostic purposes. Most people think that if a very small needle from a syringe can be that painful, what more a needle that is more than 5 times longer than average? While it is understandable that people will naturally think it is painful, acupuncturists and their respective clients are doing everything they can to spread the word that acupuncture is not painful and that it is safe. The most people will experience is a very slight, almost negligible, pinprick. In some cases, a little tingling sensation has been reported as well as a dull ache.

Now, is fertility acupuncture safe?

If improving blood flow to the ovaries so that it will continue to aid in the maturation of egg cells is considered not safe, then perhaps the more appropriate question is would you rather take medications with plenty of proven side effects instead? Acupuncture is all natural. You are not introducing anything into the body. No chemicals. No substances. No nothing. What the acupuncturist is only inserting is some very fine surgically sterile needles that are meant to stimulate certain nerve endings in your body. If you have already experienced getting a therapeutic massage before, then the effect is almost similar to that. The only difference is that instead of indirect stimulation of the nerves by deep palpation, the acupuncturist directly stimulates the nerve endings with the acupuncture needle.

To understand which is actually safer, here is an example. Clomiphene citrate is the medication that is often given to women who have problems with fertility. The idea is for clomiphene to stimulate the release of an egg cell from the ovaries in a process called ovulation. This is the period of time that the woman has the highest chance of getting pregnant. However, it should be noted that clomiphene citrate commonly produces abnormal vaginal bleeding, headache, breast tenderness or even discomfort, as well as nausea and vomiting. In severe cases of clomiphene adverse reactions, shortness of breath, chest pain, seizures, and stroke have also been reported. The question now is, do you get these from acupuncture?

Abnormal vaginal bleeding can lead to anemia which can significantly weaken you making you feel easily fatigued. Breast tenderness or discomfort can further aggravate the already splitting headache that you may have. Prolonged nausea and vomiting will lead to fluid and electrolyte imbalances. You will have heart palpitations. You will feel dizzy. You will feel muscle aches and pain. Of course, your doctor will give you medications for these side effects. But these medications will bring another set of entirely different side effects. And you are asking if fertility acupuncture is safe?

Given that the acupuncture pinprick is painful to some, does it result to abnormal vaginal bleeding? Does it lead to seizures, chest pain, and stroke? Does it make breathing difficult?

Additionally, even if acupuncture is painful, without it, clomiphene will simply not work. Why? Because clomiphene forces the ovaries into releasing egg cells. The question is are these egg cells healthy enough to be fertilized? Sure they can be released by the ovaries but will it be fertilized by a sperm cell? Acupuncture addresses this by making sure the egg cell gets plenty of oxygen and nutrients for its development. Fertility acupuncture helps ensure that the egg cells are fully mature and very healthy even before they are fertilized.

Given all these information, it would be helpful to know the answer to this question – is fertility acupuncture safe? It is not only safe but is also a very effective way to help you get pregnant. There is no need to fret about any dangerous invasive procedure. When carried by a professional acupuncturist, expect positive results after a number of required sessions.

3 Most Common Causes of Shoulder Pain

There are times when you know exactly what caused that pain in your shoulder like someone bumped hard into you during a rough game of Rugby in the afternoon and you felt it before dinner at night. There are times when you wake up in the morning, felt that stiffness but aren’t quite sure where this came from.

There are times when you do absolutely nothing, maybe a rub here and there every now and then and the pain goes away on its own. There are times when you pop a pill then it’s gone a few minutes later.

But there are times when you need to consult with an expert in Top physio in Prahran already because it has bothered you for weeks or, worse, has incapacitated you from doing your everyday chores.

What Causes Shoulder Pain?

This is one of the first questions which a physiotherapist will ask you when you do visit them because of your shoulder pain. It is so important since they will be able to figure out the right mode of treatment based on the cause. The existence of shoulder pain comes with a number of reasons. Depending on the cause, the physiotherapist will be able determine what method of treatment is best to treat the problem.

You should understand that pain and discomfort can be experienced during the treatment process however, physiotherapist will ensure that these fall within the boundaries of your tolerance to pain. From the onset of therapy up to the last session, you will experience healing and cure the pain gradually disappears. For as long as you are compliant to therapist’s advice, treatment can possibly take a shorter time frame.

Once they have an idea what went on before the symptoms arose, they will be able to figure out what anatomic part of the shoulder was affected. Here are examples of shoulder issues and their corresponding remedies:

Rotator Cuff

Due to: Overhead throwing, swimming, lifting

The Inconvenience:

When left untreated, it could lead to: Tendonitis or the inflammation of tendons, Bursitis or the inflammation of the shoulder bursa, muscle tears

The Remedy:

Application of cold packs three to four times a day is useful. NSAIDs like Naproxen and Ibuprofen can help. Massage treatment and physical therapy as carried out by a specialist will get rid of the pain most effectively.  In here, you must ensure to complete the given therapy sessions required to be able to reach full recovery.

Frozen Shoulder

Due to: Unknown, but usually arises after an injury or a post-surgical symptom

The Inconvenience:

The pain could last for months, graded very high during the first few weeks then gradually diminishes as the days go by.

The Remedy:

Pain relief is the number one goal during the early stage of the injury. Decreasing the inflammation is important too. Physical therapy is required to alleviate the pain through a number of sessions within a month.

Dislocated Shoulder

Due to: Here, the ball of the shoulder slipped out of its socket, usually due to sports injuries. It is quite similar to Separated Shoulder wherein the ligaments holding the collarbone and the shoulder are torn.

The Inconvenience:

You will need to go to the emergency room and have this fixed by the doctor. For the latter condition, a sling might have to be worn for a month.

The Remedy:

Immobilizing the shoulder is the first aid for this. Bringing them to the hospital is a must because no one else can really deal with this condition but a doctor. An orthopedic is a specialist who deals dislocated bone problem and various fracture issues. Hence, he or she is the best person to search in a hospital ER. Physical therapy comes after the treatment and this is usually recommended by the physician-in-charge.

Those are only some of the most common causes of Shoulder Pain. There are several others. As mentioned, there are times when an ice pack and a pain killer will do the job to ease the pain and there are instances wherein the experts should be consulted immediately.

Whatever it is, once the first aid remedy has been administered, it is essential that the patient undergoes physiotherapy. This won’t just get rid of the symptoms completely, it will also help restore the optimal functioning of the affected body part.

What You Can Expect From Health Tips

You’ve the right on whatever facet of life-you are studying on to determine your objectives. Therefore, it’s the situation when you’re looking to get the easiest way you are able to deal inside your common life with the demands of health. There are many assets that guarantee you health and you’ll have the ability to have this sort of health.

The different guidelines that are offered on health might assist you in just about all facets of health which you might think about. You may be sure they would be found by you up and really genuine to-date.

Health strategies for beauty

If you should be not ill and whatever you have an interest in would be to improve elegance or your looks, you’d need to find a very good guidelines that will assist you to possess the perfect beauty you want. The guidelines continue to be readily available for free. They’ll assist you in even cosmetic and terms of form and hair and skin beauty.

Health strategies for weight loss

The type of tips which you might get might even be referred to as health guidelines if you want to lose excess weight. You’d be balanced if you have the perfect weight and that’s why, you have to think about the guidelines acutely. When possible, it’s best that you simply make use them of all.

Daily Health Tips to Stay Fit Forever

Health must be the foremost and first concern of each person. Just like a healthy body just you are able to feel clean and lively constantly. Body and balanced mind boost your comfort to work better up. You can’t perform properly with no body.

Sustaining a great health isn’t whatsoever a simple work to complete. You have to take period out to concentrate in your health like by doing gym etc, exercises, correct diet.

You’ll find lots of sites on the web that keep you updated with everyday health guidelines. These sites supply you lots of details about to maintain the body fit-all the full time. You simply have to seek the web cautiously to seize best info that you may follow-on basis.

There are while you can several guidelines which can be helpful for one to maintain your wellbeing in tone that’s, beverage just as much water. Water makes up a lot of the body and mind. Therefore, it’s essential to keep moist and flush. Workout is lively and essential element or suggestion to maintain the body fit. The different kinds of bodily exercises produce power and freedom in the torso. You ought to eat. Greens and fruits would be the most significant meals to consume to maintain the body healthy. An effective diet program ought to be to supper that ought to have a healthy diet from breakfast.

Health Is Internal Beauty

health

Jean Kerr was nearer to the truth than she may have understood. Every external organ of the body is eligible to be called amazing, but they get excluded from the beauty contest because internal organs are usually seen by surgeons. We’d describe them in relation to attractiveness, if our internal organs were found, and contour and standard colour would be considered amazing. You need just compare images of ordinary healthy internal organs with images of diseased counterparts and their contaminated in the medical books to convince yourself that beauty and health are interchangeable.

A healthy colon looks like muscles that are equally braided. On the other hand, unhealthy colons are deformed: twisted and looped in some parts, engorged and ballooned in others, as shown by barium X rays. See with a colon therapist, if simply to watch the images of unhealthy colons and see for yourself how awful one can be on the interior.

The blood of a healthy individual is also amazing. The red blood cells are uniformly round. The blood of a body full of toxins is contaminated with abnormal proteins pathological bacteria, and parasites. When red blood corpuscles clump together, the illness is called Rouleau or “tacky” blood. This clumpy, Rouleau, unattractive blood, seems 5 to 20 years before symptoms of sickness present themselves. It’s an early messenger of hundreds of degenerative diseases. Conglomerates of red blood cells cannot get the fine capillaries of the body. Rouleau is very damaging to the organs of the head, specifically the eyes, ears, and scalp. A diet full of meat and dairy products increases the stickiness of your platelets. Blood that becomes tacky is a certain forerunner of heart attacks, strokes, and blood clots.

The arterial pipelines in a healthy circulatory system are clean and clear from obstructions. In healthy arteries, the inner lining, known as the intima, is smooth, supple, and without cracks. A cross section of a typical coronary artery reveals blood or no arterial thickening -obstructing plaque deposits.

An entirely different image is painted by an unhealthy circulatory system. The middle muscle layer of the artery can no longer completely recoil after the boat has enlarged. Elasticity of the artery walls is reduced, and hollows and cracks appear. They get bunches of platelets, cholesterol deposits, fat collections, and calcium. Cholesterol deposits roughen the interior surfaces and damage the walls of the arteries. Initially, plaque buildup doesn’t cause distress–it’s not simply beautiful. But afterwards, thick, clogged bloodstream leads to coronary arteries occluded with oily build-up, which effects circulation and causes deterioration of the connective tissues. Unusual and deterioration hardening of the arteries lead to a procedure called arteriosclerosis and can cause stroke, cardiovascular disease, and hypertension.