Monday, February 24, 2014

The Importance Of Knee Pain Remedies and Relief


For any individual who is affected with knee pain suffering, obtaining comfort and effective knee pain remedies is important. Chronic knee suffering can certainly have an impact on your lifestyle. This kind of suffering which is more often than not taken for granted makes it tough for people to do activities. Even the uncomplicated act of standing up and moving can be distressing; making the trouble worse considering that the area around the tissue becomes weakened from lack of use, thus causing more suffering.

It is important to have effective solutions or treatments that will offer sufficient comfort and make it possible for normal movements. Apart from some certain conditions that the doctor allows for, keeping the knee motionless due to injury or chronic pain may be required.

Knee treatment is very important and it comes in numerous different forms, a few of which tend not to require products or solutions. The application of ice and heat operate properly in getting rid of suffering and keeping the irritation down. There are also products for muscle mass that are used topically on the region to unwind the muscle and assist the components of the ligament and structures. Successful knee treatment could be accomplished by using these solutions and resting the affected area; on the other hand these products usually do not operate well to take care of bone suffering. Flexible bandages or what we call "ace bandages" and other assistance systems might take some pressure off the knee joint. Most healthcare doctors advise to keep the knee immobilized. Taking Tylenol together with Advil or Aspirin, along with these other described techniques will offer significant comfort.

Sometimes herbal remedies are not effective in the instances that the suffering is bad enough and they don't show any signs of comfort. In such instances, the doctor may recommend other medicines, for example, non steroidal anti-inflammatory medication or other medication that addresses the suffering and the primary source of the trouble too.

These above described techniques should offer some comfort. However in extraordinary instances, surgical treatment is needed to deal with the trouble that has resulted from prolonged suffering. This more often than not happens if the products purchased cannot cure the pain. Just in case this happens, surgical treatment is carried out to repair the knee or to change the entire joint. A healthcare doctor will perform the kind of surgical treatment required depending on the damage done to the knee.

These knee pain remedies together with proper treatment play a huge role in a person's life because they enable them to function effectively each day.

Sunday, February 23, 2014

Which Knee Brace Size is Best For You? - Knee Bracing Overview


Have you ever wondered how to get the best one for your needs? - Well we will discuss that here, so read on for more free information on the subject.

In this article we will describe how a knee brace should feel when you got the right size and then at the very end we will discuss how to get the right one for your knee (or knees).

The Best Size For You

Many times people will need to take three measurements to get the right size knee brace for their needs. We will discuss that here first:

1.) Take a circumference measurement 6" proximal, or above your knee center (6" = 15cm).
2.) Next take the same type of circumference measurement at your knee center.
3.) Lastly, take a circumference measurement 6" below your knee center.

These are the three basic measurements. However, if you are getting a custom knee support (expensive) you will need to seek the help of a professional orthopedist to take an impression (or a cast) of your leg, and then you will have to wait for it to be fabricated and then arrive for your second appointment. What this usually means is that you will have to spend a lot of time waiting.

How Does The Best Knee Brace Size Feel?

Braces are to be worn snug. Not tight. There is a difference. Usually, when you first get a support you should be able to monitor the way it feels naturally. If for some reason your sensation is impaired you should also monitor your skin because it will tell you how you are feeling. Either way, it is best to monitor your skin when you put a brace on. Not because you are destined to get a rash, but it is always good to know if you are wearing it too tight or not. Your skin won't lie to you.

Your New Brace Provider

When you have questions either before or after the purchase of your new brace you should always be able to speak with a person about them. You do not want to waste money on shipping and find out you could have gotten a better brace. - If a knee brace provider really cares about your well being, and is concerned about you they will make it obvious on their site, offering to answer any of your questions. If they do not;run!

Understanding How to Conquer Knee Joint Pain


As we grow older the body begins to develop aches and pains, especially in the area of the knees. Knee joint pain can be the result of arthritis that forms after years of abuse to the joints, inflammation caused by bursitis or a sudden injury to the knee. In a moment we will discuss how to conquer the pain in your knees.

Most people know to apply an ice pack to the sore knee. If an ice pack is not handy then it is easy to make one by freezing some water in a Styrofoam cup one uses for coffee. At least four times a day for about ten minutes will help the soreness of the joints. Using the makeshift cup with frozen water works well and as the ice melts down the cup can be peeled away.

Taking an over-the-counter remedy will also help like ibuprofen. The only problem is the tablets you can get at the drug store are only 200 milligrams and to control the pain you will need at least four times that much. This has to be given as a prescription.

You have seen the knee braces. These really do help as they offer support to the knee and also maintain the knee in a stable condition keeping it from twisting as you walk. The brace offers warmth to the joint as well and these factors will help in the healing of the injury to the joint.

It may not be an obvious thing but your feet have a lot to do with your knee joints. If your feet are not protected, this translates to problems with the knee. Often the feet are out of alignment and this is apparent if you look at the wear on your shoes. If one side is broken down then you may be suffering from pronation or it may mean you are turning your feet as you walk. Both will through your body off balance and cause unnecessary pressure to your knee joints. Pronation is a condition where the bones of the feet are actually turned and throwing the weight of the body to the inside of the foot which makes the body off center.

Being over weight is really hard on your knees. The knees take most of the weight that the body carries and this is just way too much pressure and stress on the joints, especially the knees. If you will take off just a little of the extra pounds this will decrease the pressure greatly.

Doing exercises to build up the muscles of the thighs will help the knee joints as this will help to give support to the knees. This may help to overcome that knee joint pain of yours. You might not think that walking is a good thing for a sore knee but actually it does help it because it cause the joints to be lubricated as you walk. The only thing is you must wear proper walking shoes that have cushioned soles to absorb a lot of the shock to the bones that walking creates.

Glucosamine and Chondroitin Side Effects - Results From 5 Scientific Studies


Are there any side effects of glucosamine and chondroitin?

Do glucosamine and chondroitin supplements cause any adverse reactions?

Is there anything unpleasant about taking this supplement?

I have been looking into these questions for the past 3 years or so. That's how long I've been taking glucosamine and chondroitin for my formerly-aching knees.

Recently I updated my research on the subject, and I am very glad to be able to say that expert studies are still finding no serious side effects from taking glucosamine and chondroitin.

Five of the larger studies and their results are:


1 - GAIT -The Glucosamine/Chondroitin sulfate Arthritis Intervention Trial, a $12.5 million National Institutes of Health study, found that adverse events were generally mild and evenly distributed among the glucosamine, chondroitin, glucosamine and chondroitin, placebo, and celecoxib groups.

In essence, the GAIT report, through the American College of Rheumatology (2005), says that the same number of participants reported mild side effects regardless of whether they were taking sugar pills, the G/CS supplement, or the medication.



2 - The Osteoarthritis Research Society International studied one specific formula of glucosamine and chondroitin in the management of knee osteoarthritis.


What they determined was that adverse events such as constipation, indigestion, gas, bad taste, and fatigue were equally reported by those receiving the placebo and by those receiving glucosamine and chondroitin.

They noted that the studied combination of glucosamine and chondroitin have no known serious side effects.

3 - An American Diabetes Association study found that glucosamine, at typical doses, does not effect blood sugar control in those with diabetes.

4 - Published in 2003, an exhaustive systematic research of clinical assessments of glucosamine and chondroitin, performed between 1980 and 2002, found that safety was excellent for both compounds.

5 - A 2003 study showed that FCHG49 glucosamine hcl does not effect blood sugar control in people with Type II Diabetes Mellitus.

In summary, among the people taking glucosamine and chondroitin in 5 scientific studies:


  • No serious side effects occurred.

  • No adverse reactions were found.

  • Among participants with Diabetes, blood sugar control was not effected.

  • Reports of any unpleasant effects were as likely to be reported by those receiving the placebo as by those actually receiving the glucosamine and chondroitin.

Top 10 Reasons to Have Professional Boudoir Photos Taken


There are many reasons to have boudoir photographs taken. Each women has her own special combination of reasons that inspire her to take that leap of faith to do these photographs... but to help you with your decision we have compiled a "Top Ten" list to help get you excited and understand just what boudoir is, and what it can do for you and your significant other!

Top 10 Reasons to Have Boudoir Photographs Taken

10. Celebrate a milestone. Getting married? 5, 10, 25 year anniversary? Just turn 25, 30, 40? Just enter into a relationship? Just end one? Hit a goal weight? All perfect reasons to have A M A Z I N G boudoir photographs done. A boudoir photography session will make you feel amazing about yourself in this moment right now, whatever milestone you may be celebrating.

9. It will shock your friends! They are going to see the images of you looking incredible, and be insanely jealous. Most likely they are going to have their own session done too after they see your photos and how it made you feel. You may even start a movement of women who are incredibly sexy and have the photos to prove it.

8. Every woman should have at least one photo (or a whole set of them) that makes them feel so gorgeous that they just get giddy inside!

7. Putting together the outfits is a blast. Sneaking away your man's sports jersey, buying lacy, frilly, pretty new lingerie, or maybe even a costume. Coming up with looks that you love is a really fun part of the whole experience.

6. Because he won't be able to pick his jaw up off the ground! Trust us, speechless won't even begin to describe it. Seeing the woman he loves all done up glamorous and gorgeous is enough to bring any man to his knees. Plus, do you think he would rather have another new tie or shirt... or pictures of you wearing that shirt... or maybe just the tie...

5. To reconnect with the more intimate parts of yourself. Life happens... between school, jobs, kids, husbands, families, friends, volunteering, etc... its EASY to lose sight of the intimate parts of ourselves and our relationships. What better way to rediscover that fire than with a boudoir session?

4. Its about feeling sexy... not getting naked. There are few feelings more powerful than feeling sexy. That can be done a myriad of ways. From barely there lingerie or nothing at all, to shorts and a camisole and sports socks or a football jersey, all can create incredibly fun, flirty, and sexy images. The point is, that decision is up to you! Some girls want to bare it all, some want to bare a little, just remember you are in control. The amount of clothes isn't whats important, its the feeling of being Sexy that we are after. If you feel it, you will look like it!

3. You don't have to do it alone! Everybody is different, some women will want to bring their friends for support, others will want to share the whole experience with somebody and do a dual shoot, still others will want the whole experience to be about them. Whatever the case, we will make it happen. If you have a friend that wants to come along for moral support, bring them! We will give them a comfy place to sit, watch, and comment, and may even have them hold a light, or a reflector, or fan your hair, or something! Heck, even better, book a dual session and share the whole experience. The only thing we discourage is bringing husbands, boyfriends, or otherwise significant others. Half the point of doing this for them, and keeping things under wraps until the images are finished is the best way to really knock their socks off!

2. Because professionals will make you look gorgeous! Ever wonder how the girls in the magazines look SO amazing??? Teams of professionals, that's how! With our most popular packages, from the moment you step in our studio you are being pampered, cared for, coached, primped, plucked, and polished. We work with some of the premier makeup artists and hair stylists in the Hays Kansas and Central Kansas areas. We are familiar with their boudoir work, and its incredible. As a professional boudoir photographer, its our job to take your new glam look to the next level. We will coach your posing and expression until its perfect, and lighting will be done just right to accentuate your best features while diminishing anything you are self conscious about. Full professional retouching is also done to every photograph before you ever see it. We don't change who you are, but we do nip, tuck, smooth, and polish the image to the level you see every day on billboards and magazines. As a husband and wife team who do this for a living, professionalism is paramount to us. We have different viewpoints, and a male and female eye at each session is somewhat unique to us in the boudoir photography profession. We are complete goofballs, and the mood in the studio will be fun and light, and your nervousness will turn into confidence and you will be hamming it up before you know it. We guarantee you will have good time!

1. For YOU! These photographs and this boudoir experience will make you feel amazing about yourself. Its as simple as that.

Knee Pain Relief - Knee Braces For High Impact Sports


Do you like playing high impact sports?

If so, you may have unfortunately experienced a knee injury or have knee pain that has kept you out of the game and away from the sport you enjoy.

Fortunately there is a way that you can help support your knees. There are various knee braces specifically designed to help protect your knees structural integrity and a well designed knee brace can help keep your knee injury from getting worse. - All too often people in contact sports people suffer an ACL tear, MCL tear, or meniscus tear (and sometimes all of the above at the same time).

You may be under the assumption that only expensive, customized knee braces are the only ones that can help keep your knee stable You may have heard from someone that this is the only and best kind of knee brace... Besides being much more costly, customized knee braces do not necessarily offer you any more protection from knee injury or protection than a non custom knee support. There are many non custom knee braces, which have been specially designed for use with high impact sports. Not only will you save some hard earned cash with his style of non custom knee brace, over that of a custom knee brace, but they are usually just as effective. - Typically, the only time you will have to think about getting a custom knee brace is if you are different than almost everyone else anatomically. This, of course, is usually not the case.

If you have suffered a knee injury or have had surgery, it is very important that you consider wearing a knee brace that is going to assist in stabilizing and protecting the knee from further injury or discomfort. If you continue to play a high impact sport such as hockey, football, or rugby that is great, but without having the proper support for your knee, you may unfortunately have some regrets down the road.

The longer you continue to put extreme pressure on your knees without having an adequate support can make any injury get worse or possibly make a previous injury re-occur. We do not want this to happen for you, but it is something that you should really think about, especially on a knee that is still in the process of recovering.

You need to take good care of your knees, in order to take part in your favorite sport as long as you can. One of the the best ways to help ensure that you are going to be able to do so is to find a proper knee brace. Well designed knee braces which are designed for sports are a great way to help keep your knee protected, and can help reduce pain/discomfort and help prevent future knee injuries from happening. Investing in a proper knee brace now would be a wise decision, because it may save you a lot of money in the long run, in case you would happen to damage your knees seriously and require surgery. Not only would surgery be costly, but it would also mean you would be missing time from playing the sport you like best and you can not put a price on that.

What Does The Research On TENS Units Show?


TENS units are small battery operated devices that deliver an electrical current to the skin by way of surface electrodes. These units are inexpensive (usually less than $100), safe, and are non-invasive.

In 1965 Melzack and Wall published their pain gate theory which proposed that a gate existed in part of the spinal cord which could regulate the traffic of painful sensations. When administering the current with TENS, the objective is to activate the non-painful fibres which can then inhibit transmission of painful information. TENS modulates the method by which patients process the pain sensations from the anatomical area, and potentially help release endorphins that act as natural painkillers.

With regards to adverse effects of TENS units, most studies show no adverse effects at all. Some, however, showed an incidence of nausea, bradycardia, and dizziness. Some patients experienced pain, burning, and tingling at the electrode site. It does not interact with medications, and it does not make people drowsy. It is easy to put on, and can be worn during most physical activities. One contraindication is pregnancy, and another one is if the person has a pacemaker.

In a comprehensive review of published studies on TENS units, it has been shown that the quality of research over the past 2 decades has overall been poorly done. So it is difficult to make scientific conclusions. There have been well over 100 studies performed looking at the efficacy of TENS units, however, very few actually contained sufficient numbers to achieve any sort of statistical significance.

Even though most of the studies were of poor quality that were looked at, some showed excellent results for low back pain, arthritis pain, postsurgical pain, neurogenic pain, and sympathetically medicated pain.

There was one study looking at TENS usage after surgery in the 2003 Journal of Pain. It showed excellent results utilizing TENS after abdominal surgery. TENS allowed increased activity and decreased pain during patient's walking and breathing exercises. A lot of studies have shown no statistical difference between TENS unit effects and placebo.

The Osteoarthritis Research Society International recommends TENS units for short term pain relief of hip and knee osteoarthritis. They looked at seven research trials prior to making this recommendation.

When practitioners are asked how well TENS works for patients with musculoskeletal pain, the anecdotal reports are very promising. With it being so low-risk, it is a very prominent treatment option that gets utilized frequently for acute and chronic painful issues.