Make This The Year to Rid Yourself of Public Speaking Fears!

Have you ever thought that you would rather jump off a bridge than to get up and deliver a verbal presentation in front of your peers? If that thought ever entered your mind, relax. You are not alone. Studies show that the fear of public speaking ranks right up there!

The other studies show that the person who has the capability to deliver an effective verbal presentation will earn more money, advance faster and be highly recognized in the business field.

Regardless of how much training you have, it is natural to have a bit of fear.  Experts say that fear makes you more aware of your delivery, thus put more practice into the program to make it better!

It is important to realize that when you have the capability to get up in front of a crowd and speak intelligently that you instantly gain expert status. Why? Because you have the courage to state your convictions and be subject to scrutiny. Now, keep in mind that you do not need to be a world-wide expert on the topic, but if you know more than the others in the room, and can convey that knowledge properly, you at least are on your way to a higher degree of respect. Fear is common whenever you do something new for the first time. Your knees may even knock as mine once did, but at least you are beginning the process of conquering the fear.

Have the courage to be a speaker at the next public event that takes input from the audience. It's your first step.

4 Cheap Treatments for Arthritis Knee Pain

How to Read the Confusing Signs and Symptoms of Arthritis Knee Pain

Athletes, very active people and those of us who are overweight are usually the prime time people who will probably develop some type of arthritis knee pain in our life. The confusion begins with the signs and symptoms of any type of joint pain. Just remember that swelling, inflammation, point tenderness and stiffness are early warning signs that your knees could be heading towards arthritis.

If we have those signs and symptoms does that really mean we have arthritic knees? Not necessarily. The best way to determine if you have arthritis or rheumatoid arthritis or even osteoarthritis is to have your blood tested. If you have been suffering for a while it is best to visit your doctor soon and find out exactly what is going on.

Blood work can go a long way in helping you determine exactly what you have. Many of us, when pain persists in our knees, we just mutter: "I've got arthritis in my knees" but we really don't know. People who actually suffer from arthritis honestly can tell the difference between normal joint pains and arthritis joint pains.

Age Factors Can Help Sort out the confusion of arthritis knee pain:

Rheumatoid arthritis usually develops sooner than osteoarthritis, so you might want to take that into consideration. As you know, rhuematoid arthritis basically lost a couple of nuts along the way and starts attacking your body without any known cause.

Osteoarthritis on the other hand can be a direct result of the "old injury bug" that has been re-injured many times in your life. Heck it could be a meniscus that was torn when you were 18 years old and now that you are in your 40's that rubbing and irritation could lead to osteoarthritis. Osteoarthritis usually creaps into your world in the middle to upper years of your life.

Other factors that can lead to arthritis knee pain

• age


• genetics


• body weight


• diet -this is a biggy

This I know about arthritis knee pain. If you let it go long enough it will come back to bite you in the butt. Go see a doctor to determine if you have some loose objects floating around in your knee. It might require minor surgery to get it fixed and then you will be as good as new. If not, they will have some answers for you and so do we.

I know there are times when your knees really hurt when you are walking. Listen to your body and when the pain is present, don't be bull headed and think you can fight through the pain. You will probably win, but in the long run the arthritis will win.

There are tons of exercises you can do to help increase the blood flow through your knees. Follow those specific exercises and recommendations. Not only will your heart be happy but so will your knees with all that extra blood flowing through your knee joints.

Weight loss: I know how hard it is to lose weight when you can do much physically. But you always have a good part of the day when you could be doing some type of physical exercise. Follow the Nike slogan and "Just Do It".

Changing your eating habits: Fruits and vegetables are excellent sources of vitamins/minerals and they have a cleansing effect which allows your body to begin repairing itself. Instead of grabbing a bag of potato chips, start grabbing a bag of carrots. You'll be surprised when your body begins to respond favorably.

Supplementation: I'm such a firm believer in supplementation because I am living proof it works. Supplementing with the proper vitamins, minerals, amino acids and digestive enzymes is critical to your overall health, weight loss and arthritis pain. On the site, we have two excellent options for you that are specific to arthritis and joint pain. I can give you the number to a place that we purchase liquid vitamins from. We have drank this formula since 1998 and we don't see a need to stop it. It works.

In all honesty, I truly believe your body will heal itself from the inside out if you give it the proper ingredients. Specific arthritis knee pain is a sign that should not be ignored. Listen to your body, follow up with some type of treatment and exercise and over time you will find yourself in much better shape, you will be much happier and in less pain.

You can beat arthritis knee pain.

How To Look Sexy This Halloween

There are so many options open to individuals who are looking for something a little special and even daring this Halloween. Costumes are better than ever nowadays and many are made to fit in all the right places in order to make the most of your body and looks. If you have an invitation to a Halloween party this year then isn't it about time that you began to look at your options?

For ladies the sky really is the limit. Obviously there are the tried and tested old favourites such as the sexy witch costume. These come in many different sizes and there should be one to suit everyone. A popular way in which to wear the witch costume is with either a little fascinator type of hat or with a large velvet hat. Adding colour and texture to your accessories will make a good costume a knock out costume which everyone will notice. The addition of some fishnet or cobweb tights will make all the difference too. Why not add a pair of knee length leather boots as a finishing touch and remember to go all out smoky and dark on your make up and nail varnish too!

Another tried and tested old favourite for a Halloween party is the cat outfit. If you are young and confident then you could go all out with this and wear a body stocking or PVC cat suit and mask. If however you are not so confident then why not try a little black dress along with a cat mask and some bold make up. Don't forget the tail and ears and you will be well on your way to making a statement!

Not forgetting the men, why not wear a sexy fireman or policeman outfit to that Halloween night out? Ladies go weak at the knees for a man in uniform and all men look good in these styles of costume. You can buy these or even hire these from party and costume shops and you will be sure to be an 'arresting' sight!

Another classic outfit is to make like Richard Gere in An Officer and a Gentleman. Women cannot resist this outfit and white looks amazing on most skin tones. You will certainly be able to sweep the lady of your dreams off her feet in this get up.

It must be noted that lots of women are entranced by pirates after seeing Johnny Depp as Captain Jack Sparrow in Pirates of the Caribbean. Dress as a pirate at Halloween and you will have the women flocking round you. There are many complete outfits on the market and some even have fake boot toppers to give you that real seafaring look. Remember if you are dressing as a pirate that you will need a little black eyeliner to make you look the part.

All in all you need to wear a sexy Halloween costume which makes you feel confident and comfortable. Shop around and even try some on and see what makes you feel and look your best.

My Teenager Wants To Drive

Isn’t it amazing how fast our children grow up right before our eyes and yet sometimes we don’t even notice?

The early grade years seem to rush by all too quickly, and suddenly your little angel is transformed into a teenager. We all hope as parents that the time and patience that we have invested in our children while they were young, trying to guide them through life, hasn’t all suddenly gone out the window as soon as puberty walked through the door.

Teenagers have their own pressures to deal with and it sometimes feels like Moms and Dads just don’t have a clue about what they are going through.

For example the trend that seems to be going around at the moment with a lot of young people is, it’s cool to wear your pants down around the back of your knees and nearly trip over when you walk. Hey! I don’t knock it. I used to think it was cool to walk around in those bell bottom trousers, so who am I to talk. We as parents sometimes think that we are prepared to handle just about any situation that our teenagers are going to face. Besides, we were teenagers once. Right?

So are we as parents prepared for that question when it eventually comes?

Mom, Dad, can you teach me how to drive?

I have to say here folks. I have seen a lot of Moms and Dads driving and let me tell you. I would question whether Mom and Dad should teach son / daughter how to drive at all. So, here is a question to all of you parents who have managed to stay with me this far. Are you ready to teach your teenager to drive? Now lets be honest here. Do you think that you are a good driver? Do you think that you set a good example for your teenager, or anyone for that matter when you are behind the wheel?

The reason is that if Mom or Dad’s driving habits aren’t the best. What then do you expect to teach your teenager? If you are going to teach someone how to drive, the first thing that I would recommend you do, is sign up for a defensive driving course if you haven’t completed one for a while.

I recommend this because anyone can be a good driver, but bad habits have a way of creeping up on us and sticking. You don’t even realize it. So for the sake of your teenagers introduction to driving, why not give them the best possible start by tweaking your own driving habits.
There are a couple of good courses here that will help you on your way. See if you can find one that suits you and your timetable. [http://www.driving-defensive.com/defensivedriving.html]

Remember that completing one of these courses not only helps your son / daughter. It also helps Mom and Dad to identify any areas of driving that need addressing. It’s a win win situation. Now, back to teaching your teenager. This is going to take a lot of planning for you to be able to teach them effectively and safely. Here is a tip. Teach them one driving skill at a time whenever you have a lesson. It may be reversing, parking. You may want to teach them moving off skills. I have written some guidelines called defensive driving for parents which will help you organize lesson plans. Read this section carefully. It will help.

[http://www.driving-defensive.com/DefensiveDrivingforParents.html]

When teaching someone to drive, be prepared to nurture and guide them, and be patient. Don’t expect miracles and you won’t be disappointed. Teaching someone how to drive takes special skills. Have a look at the following questions and decide. Can I indeed teach my teenager how to drive? You will know the answer to that question after you answer these.

Am I a good example of how I want my teenager to drive?

Do I want my teenager to have the best possible driving tuition?

Can I stay calm when they don’t pick things up as quickly as I would like.

Am I the type of person who gets anxious when other people are driving?

Do I have the ability to guide my son / daughter through a potentially dangerous situation on the road using my voice?

Do I have the time that it takes to nurture and guide them?

Can I plan, the lessons as set out in the defensive driving for parents section?

Will I yell and lose my temper?

After reading and answering these questions, you should have no doubt whatsoever as to what you should now do when your teenager asks: Mom, Dad, can you teach me how to drive today? You and you alone know what the answer will be to that question.

Defensive driving saves lives, that’s a well known fact. Let’s use that knowledge and allow our teenagers the benefit of learning these new techniques and teach them how to drive to survive.

Happy Motoring

Timoti Petera

Rheumatoid Arthritis - Massages and Hydrotherapy For Pain Relief

Massages are known worldwide known for their multiple benefits. Depending on the receiver's need, massages can enhance muscle performance or relieve the deep tension that occurs mainly because of the stress. Recommended by doctors, massages have a strong therapeutic power and are integrated in the recovering process of many patients whether they suffer from osteoporosis, rheumatoid arthritis or need relief from an accident's post trauma.

The Swedish massage is being used worldwide where the patient receives because of the strokes used in it joint and tension relief. Having involved a rather gentle style with rubbing, tapping and kneading of the muscles, the Swedish massage is ideal for minimizing rheumatoid arthritis symptoms and because of that it is often prescribed in the rheumatoid arthritis treatments.

The deep tissue massage is a variation of the Swedish massage in which is more pressure applied to the tissues so that the massage effect will be felt on the deeper layer of muscles as well. Involving the use of fingertips and sometimes the elbows, the result of the deep tissue massage is stress relief and deep relaxation. However, more gentle massages like craniosacral therapy will also have as result the desired profound relief.

Hydrotherapy is an alternative for exercise therapy that can be painful for people that suffer from arthritis or osteoporosis and can not benefit from relieving pain and improving mobility because mobility causes pain to people having this autoimmune disease. Hydrotherapy offers the benefits of improving the body functions without putting stress on the joints or other body parts that are in pain because of the disease. Being especially useful for treating joint pain and stiffness, the common rheumatoid arthritis symptoms, hydrotherapy is a great way for patients to learn what exercises are helpful for their disease. The major benefit of the hydrotherapy is that patients do the exercises in warm water where the gravitational forces on the body are reduced and the joint mobility is considerably increased; also because of the water jets, the blood flow is increased as well improving the effective mobility in the entire body.

For people with osteoarthritis, hydrotherapy has been proved to be effective as well by improving the physical function and general health in the knees of the patients. Also, the benefit of having physical exercises impact free and with easier joint movement is a huge plus for people with osteoarthritis.

Combined with a healthy rheumatoid arthritis diet or a nourishing osteoarthritis diet, massages and therapies, especially hydrotherapy will help the suffering people of this disease make progress in recovering and get rid of the arthritis joint pain or knee pain and lack of strength. And for less pain in the joints, don't forget adding Omega 3 in your daily meals that will surely minimize your pain and joints inflammation!

Treatments For Knee Pain

"I use to do so much stuff but ever since I got this pain in my knee my life has been turned upside down." If this sounds like you then you are not alone as knee pain affects a significant portion of the population. Whether you may be 50 or 20, an athlete or a couch potato, it does not matter as knee pain affect individuals of all age and lifestyle, it has no favourites. Knee pain can be caused by increase tension on the knee brought on by extensive physical activity, or it may be a direct result of an injury to the knee. Knee pain can also be attributed to various diseases and infections. In treating knee pain a proper diagnosis is essential, treatment methods are tailored to the source of the problem and the severity of the pain.

Minor knee pain can be treated using conventional household methods, ice, rest, compression. Rest is vital to recovery, by staying away from activities that may aggravate the injury you give the body time to recover and prevent recurrence. The amount of time taken to recover is dependent on the severity of the injury.

Applying ice to the injured knee not only reduces inflammation but also relieves pain. Ice should be used in 15 to 20 minute intervals, as any longer periods may cause damage to nerve endings and affect circulation.

Compression prevents the build up of fluid in the knee joint, these fluids causes inflammation and may also lead to infections, making the affected joint tender to the touch. Compression bands can be acquired at almost any store. When using a compression band ensure that it is not too tight as this will affect circulation in the knee and only worsen the pain.

Other methods of treating knee pain include physiotherapy, bracing, use of medication (pain killers, corticosteroid, hyaluronic acid etc.) and surgery. These treatment methods should be implemented after consulting with a physician.

Physiotherapy helps to strengthen the muscles in and around the knee joint, particular the quadriceps and hamstring muscles. This helps to provide stability in the leg and increases the amount of tension the knee can endure before buckling. Good physiotherapy decreases chances of a recurrence of most injuries.
Bracing is a recent technique used by individuals who suffer from osteoarthritis. This fundamentally is the use of arch supports on the inner or outer section of the heel to shift pressure away from the part of the knee mostly affected by osteoarthritis, thus greatly reducing pain and discomfort.

The use of medication is still the most common and most effective means of treating knee pain. Most over the counter topical ointments and pain killers goes a long way in relieving minor pain issues. For more severe pain brought on by conditions such as arthritis or tendinitis, stronger prescribed medication is required. One such medication is corticosteroid which is injected into the knee joint to stop arthritis flares and provide a few months of welcomed relief.

Surgery while usually a last resort can provide long lasting and in some cases permanent relief from knee pain. Surgery is usually done to drain fluids, repair damage tissue, remove obstructions and in rare cases replace a portion or the entire knee joint. This can be very expensive and is usually followed by extensive physiotherapy.

No matter the cause of your knee pain there is always something that can be done, and even though complete relief is not guaranteed in cases of severe knee damage; the little relief is more than welcomed, after all how long does it take to lift your child or dance with that special someone. Good luck.

Bilateral Knee Replacement Surgery in India - Benefits, Risks and Costs

India is turning out to be a top destination for patients and travelers worldwide. With its state of the art hospitals and highly qualified UK and USA trained doctors, it will soon transform into the worldwide medical hub. This article gives information about the various aspects of getting the knee replacement surgery in India.

Bilateral knee replacement surgery:

Rheumatoid arthritis and Osteoarthritis commonly involve both the knees to a similar degree in the same person. Many such patients want a double knee replacement to revert back to normalcy as they can avoid another admission for the second knee replacement surgery at a later date.

A safe procedure of bilateral knee replacement surgery:

Many studies have vouched for the decreased morbidity after simultaneous replacement. Bilateral knee replacements are safe in young patients without cardiac problems. In older patients the risks may be higher. Here it is better to do a sequential TKR (replace one knee first and then replace the other after a gap of one to two months. This involves two periods of hospital stay.
Anesthesia is safely given by epidural catheters and postoperative pain relief is continued for 24- 48 hrs.

Costs for Bilateral knee replacement surgery:

The total cost will be very less in India, as there is only one hospitalization. The patient can go home by the 10th day in case of bilateral knee replacements. The cost is very less in India as compared to USA and UK.

Recovery period for bilateral knee replacement surgery:

This is shorter after double knee replacement surgery as the intervening period between sequential knee replacements is avoided.

The benefit of bilateral knee replacement surgery in India:

The time to full recovery is shorter. If that does not seem intuitive, think about it this way: If you figure it will take between 2-3 months to really start to feel right after a knee replacement, and you do that twice, that's 4-6 months of total recovery time. If you do them both the same day, you go through the experience once, and the whole thing is behind you in 2-3 months. Definitively, the biggest advantage is the cost of the Knee Replacement Surgery in India -which is very low in India.

The risks associated with bilateral knee replacement surgery in India:

The surgical risk appears to be increased. The types of complications that were more common in patients having the knees done together included: Temporary disorientation after surgery,
The need for blood transfusions, and Severe cardiac complications (which can be fatal).
If the complication rates were doubled in same-day both-knee surgery, we'd call that a tie, since you'd have to have the operation twice if you did it on separate surgical dates. However, the complication rates for all the complications listed above are more than double with same-day both-knee surgery. The absolute magnitude of the risk of heart attack is still not huge, but the difference was noticeable; the risk of needing a blood transfusion goes up considerably, though. So, in view of this, why would anyone want to do them both at once? My observation is there are two sets of feelings on the part of patients about this. Some people are risk-averse, and want to minimize the risk as completely as possible; clearly, they would want to do one knee at a time. Other people are what I call therapy-averse (or pain-averse), meaning they want to minimize the overall length of time they are either in physical therapy (perhaps for work reasons) and the overall length of time they are uncomfortable from the surgery. Provided they don't mind the increase in risk, these are good candidates for same-day both-knee surgery.

Now, getting the Knee Replacement Surgery in India could be highly beneficial due to highly reduced costs and extremely good medical care available. Medical tourism is the term coined which covers patients traveling across the globe for tourism purposes clubbing their requirements for treatment of acute illness, elective surgeries such as cardiology, hip replacement, knee replacement, etc. The government is taking serious initiatives in this regards and plans to start overseas marketing of India as a medical tourism destination. The government of India is of the opinion that by marketing India as a global medical tourism destination, it could capitalize on the low-cost, high-quality medical care available in the country.