Lose Weight For Back Pain Relief

It is found that people who are overweight generally face back pain problems. Nearly 60% of people in America are categorized under the group of overweight because they have a body mass index of more than 25%. It is noticed that chronic back pain is common problem in people who are overweight. You may find it difficult to start an exercise program suddenly when you are already in pain. So here we are focusing on how to loose weight to obtain complete back pain relief.

One may wonder how overweight can cause back pain. The spine supports the entire body so when you are overweight it adds pressure to the spine to carry the extra weight which in turn results to back pain. Can you think how it would relief the spine if you shed out a few extra pounds! In this article we shall deal with weight loss to settle your back pain problems.

A person suffering from chronic pain will know that it takes long to get the situation in control like it happens in case of dieters. One must remember that chronic pain can be for lifetime but obesity does not have to be the same. When you lose weight you tend to look good and fit, it reduces cholesterol, blood pressure, heart problems, makes you more active, overall it makes you feel better physically and emotionally. So you will have back pain relief, if you loose some of those extra pounds.

Obesity causes back pain problems when unnecessary fat puts pressure on the spine. For example high heels sandals puts pressure on the knees and toes causing osteoarthritis similarly obesity causes wear out of joints before time. Back pain related to obesity occurs because of the undue stress excess fat places on the supportive spine. Just as high heeled shoes can cause knee osteoarthritis due to the weight of the body being placing too much pressure on the knees and toes, obesity causes strain to all the joints and wears them down before their time. The best way to achieve back pain relief is to get rid of those pounds yourself.

Back Pain Relief: Get Rid of your Back Pain for Good.

1/3rd of all American population is reported to have musculoskeletal pain which also causes fatigue and breathlessness. All this causes inactivity which in turn causes weight increase hence it is essential to get up to fitness. A five minute walk twice or thrice a day can cause a lot of benefit to health.

One should also decrease calorie intake. You can consult your doctor for extreme diet plans. Less risky diet plans include taking six small meals a day, exercise regularly, check thyroid to cancel any illness that can cause weight gain and last but not the least drink lots of water. If you follow a healthy lifestyle you can achieve back pain relief due to obesity. This will ensure you get permanent relief, cure your back pain and live a happy, joyful life.

Runner Beware Of Knee Pain - Get Rid Of It With One Stretch!

Running is one of the most popular and easiest sports to participate in. All you need is a pair (of decent) running shoes a t-shirt and a pair of shorts and you're ready to go. However, it's not that easy all the time and many runners complain of being injured during either competition or training.

The source of the injuries can be wide and varied but we will look at one area in particular.

Hands up if you run and have suffered from knee pain at some time or another!!

Don't worry you are not on your own as I alluded to above, many people who are runners struggle with injury's that stop them running or competing at some point.

What that means is that you are not able to do what you love or need to do (especially if you're training for an event)!

Most people tell themselves they're just being 'wimps' and run through it. Fortunately (for them) some people stay injury free for quite a while. This all changes when years of compensation and altered mechanics leads to a breakdown...at some point!!

Hip extension is essential for good running mechanics.

If you are not sure what hip extension is then stand up, with your feet together. Lift one foot off the floor and with a straight (or bent) knee push that foot back so that your thigh moves backwards...that's hip extension.

If you don't have enough hip extension then you'll have to compensate for it some where else in the body (usually the low back, but that's for another day).

If you are lacking hip extension then you end up overworking your muscles around the knee.

When you start to overuse any muscles you put the body in a position where it changes the balance. Joints need balance between the muscles in order to make sure that they stay in the right alignment and no undue 'stresses' are placed into the joint.

I work in a busy sports injuries clinic and I would have to say that the physiotherapists I work with tell me that in 90% of cases knee pain, that people report, has nothing to do with any degenerative problems around the ligaments, tendons or cartilage.

Most of these 'presenting' knee pain patients are actually people who have massively got their muscle balance out of kilter.

So what can you do about it?

As well as a complete corrective exercise plan, one of the first things we work on is hip range of motion.

I know, you hate stretching!!

That's because human beings tend to gravitate towards the things they like doing most and avoid the things they like doing least.

If you don't stretch it's probably because you find stretching hard and painful. The tighter you and more painful you find it the more essential it is for you to do.

So the key is to put the muscles like the quadriceps and hip flexors in a position that will maximally get them to stretch and relax.

This is my absolute favorite hip flexor stretch and an essential for all runners to do.

I've put it on you tube so that you can see it:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H5uz3DE-FEc

Just in case you can't get on there, here's a brief description:

1. Place your foot on a bench or a Swiss ball so that your laces are in contact with the surface, and the knee of that leg is on the floor (your leg will have a V angle).

2. The other leg should be in front of you with the foot on the floor so that you are in a lunge like position.

3. Keep the back straight and the buttock on the same side (leg that is being stretched) clenched.

4. You should feel a stretch stating at the knee and moving all the way up to the front of the hip or anywhere in between, it depends where you lack the flexibility.

5. Make sure that you are 'tipping' the pelvis (tuck your bum under your body) so that you are stretching the thigh and not compensating for the movement in your low back. You will know you are doing this if you have a big low back curve.

6. The low back should be relatively flat or slightly rounded.

7. Hold for 30 to 60 seconds.

One of my clients called Rachel was suffering with some really bad knee pain. She was referred to me by a sports physician because she was suffering from patellar tendinitis.

One of the first things I got her to do was this exact stretch. She now does this on a daily basis; in fact she should be doing it at least twice a day. That's because she works all day sat at a desk.

This means that not only have her muscles adapted to the lack of flexibility at her hip, but she gets the double whammy of making them tight and short all day long at work.

You don't need to do this stretch for hours on end simply complete it a couple of times a day to really get the muscles up the front of the leg relaxed and lengthened. You should start to feel some of the pressure and tension in the knee releasing the more you do it.

This obviously is not a panacea for knee pain but is definitely one of the easiest and simplest places to start.

Popular Places For Medical Tourism

Medical tourists from different countries travel for health care purposes to those countries having quality healthcare services at reasonable prices. So they spend extra money on travel, health care and accommodations on the places of treatment. Medical tourism is an old concept because thousands of years ago people traveled for medical purposes or for spiritual treatments to different countries. Many factors are considered while choosing a destination place for medical tourism such as high healthcare services and costs, waiting for certain procedures, availability and affordability of international travel, quality and latest technology used in the treatment.

Some of the most popular places include Europe, Japan, Middle East, UK, United States, Canada and Costa Rica. These places are popular due to the quality of their health care services, technology and competency of physicians. The hospitals of Bolivia, Colombia, Brazil, Argentina, Costa Rica, Mexico, Cuba and Turkey are popular for Cosmetic surgery treatments. Surgeons of South American countries like Bolivia, Brazil, Colombia and Argentine lead in plastic surgery due to their experience and knowledge. Plastic surgery is very common in Argentina, Bolivia, Mexico, Colombia and US. Slovakia, Belgium and Poland are entering in the business of health care.

A large number of Americans are going abroad for health care although the facilities of health in US are also available. There are many intermediary companies which provide help in medical tourism. These companies offer global health care at reasonable costs. There are different commissions and societies which care for the quality and standards of the hospitals available for medical tourism. Countries such as Malaysia, Thailand, India and Costa Rica have many infectious diseases as compare to North America and Europe . So medical tourists need to stay for some time in the country which they choose for health care because travel soon after surgery can create many complexities. Tourists having breath and heart related problems avoid long flights and combine their vacation tours with medical tours.

North American Places

The quality of healthcare in Canada is not less than that of America but medical tourists can save 30 to 60 percent of their costs as compare to America. Medical tourists can save up to 80 on healthcare services in Costa Rica as compare to US. Costa Rica is popular for cosmetic procedure, dental, weight-loss and orthopedic surgeries. Knee replacement surgery is very cheap so patients travel to Costa Rica for medical tourism. Patients from all over the world travel to Cuba for the best quality of healthcare services and fine reputation of their doctors. Medical tourists of Europe and Latin America travel to this destination because of its situation and save up to 60 to 80 percent as compare to the charges in US. The hospitals of Cuba are best known for cancer treatment, cosmetic surgery, joint replacement, eye surgery and addictions rehabilitations. the government of Cuba has taken many steps to increase income from medical tourism and patients of US, Canada and UK visit Cuba for medical treatments. Dominican Republic is very popular destination for hip replacement, bariatric surgeries, plastic surgeries, knee replacement, eye surgeries and all other medical treatments. Medical tourists can save from 50 to 75 percent as compare to the costs in US. The plastic surgery and dentistry healthcare services of Mexico are appreciated by all the world. The costs of these treatments are one-fourth to one-fifth of American costs. The quality of health care services in Mexico is very high and medical tourists are satisfied.

Quality health services, location and dollar as the official currency are the reasons that Panama is famous for its medical services. The medical professionals of Panama are trained by US and use the latest technology to provide quality healthcare services. Medical tourists can save more than 50 percent of healthcare costs as compare to Europe and US. Dental implants, assisted reproduction, cosmetic dentistry, plastic surgery, cardiology, orthopedics and pulmonology are the popular procedures in medical treatments. Surgeons of Brazil have gained world wide fame in cosmetic surgery.

South American Places

Orthopedic surgeries , Cosmetic surgery, transplant surgery, eye surgery and cardiovascular are popular procedures in Colombia. Healthcare services in Colombia are cheap and foreigners can get human organs from Colombia. The doctors of Colombia are experienced and have worked in many countries of Europe and US.

Asian Places

China has gained popularity in stem cell treatments. The medical professionals of India are popular for hip resurfacing, heart surgery and areas of advanced medicine. The treatment costs in India are very low which is nearly one-tenth to the treatment costs of US. The healthcare service in Malaysia are also very popular and the doctors of Malaysia are trained in the hospitals of US and UK. New Zealand is a popular medical tourism destination for fertility treatments and non-acture surgical procedures. The doctors are trained in the hospitals of UK and US. The costs of healthcare services are very low as compared to US. Thailand is popular in organ transplant and cardiac surgery at lower prices.

Europe

Moreover British and Canadian medical tourists don't wait long and travel to Germany for medical treatments. Novel cancer and spine surgery are well treated in Germany at lower prices. Dentistry services in Ukraine are provided at lower costs. High class material and equipment is used in dental clinics and hospitals. There are many suitable places for medical tourism but a medical tourist chooses according to his own choice and affordability.

Insanity Workout Aches and Pains - Should You Continue to Exercise?

Perhaps you have been doing an extended round of P90X and you have a aching shoulder. Or you have been doing the Insanity workout and your knees are sore. Maybe you added running to your routine and feel shin splints coming on.

Is it time to visit the doctor's office or dial it back a notch and keep up the good fight?

There are a few things to consider before you rush off to see the good doctor. Many general doctors do not know a lot about specific sports injuries. Even if you go to a reputable sports doc, he or she will just tell you to stop doing whatever workout program you are involved in. If you want to see the doctor, you may as well save yourself some time and just stop doing your workout until you've fully recovered. Most likely, they will prescribe rest as the solution.

The aches and pains we are talking about are the normal aches and pains that most every person who exercises regularly experiences. There are certain types of pain or injury that should receive medical attention. If you have joint swelling, pain when you rest or sleep, pain that progressively gets worse or bruises that do not heal. Also, if any of your joints feel unstable or lock , you should seek out a good doctor.

Unless you are under the age of 25, the Insanity workout is going to cause a few aches and pains and it's expected. After a week that has several Insanity Plyometric workouts, my knees ache. By following the 60 day workout schedule, I move on to different workouts and my knees get a chance to recover and the pain goes away. As long as you know your body and know how you typically recover, you should be ok. When your body is not recovering as it normally does, you should see a specialist.

The typical sports injury involves pain or soreness in muscles or tendons and there is little doctors can prescribe for treatment and nothing that will make them heal faster. Ibuprofen and rest is the usual prescription or cortisone shots for pain which can actually make the healing period longer.

If you are feeling aches and pains from your P90X or Insanity Workout, understand that it is normal and expect to get sore from these high intensity workouts. Usually the workouts vary enough to give over worked muscles a break long enough to recover. In the fifth week of Insanity, you get a much need recovery week which allows you to recharge and hit the second month hard again.

If you do feel like you are not getting enough recovery time, go back to the recovery workout DVDs for a few days until the soreness has passed.

Practicing these sensible guidelines and learning how your body recovers is key to getting through the Insanity or P90X workout successfully. Most experienced athletes know their bodies and know how their body responds to injury. If your body is responding normally, you can avoid a visit to the doctors office.

How Corporate Greed Caused the Economic Turmoil

United States of America is the financial hub of the world operating with capitalistic approach driven by the Laissez-faire principle. Being a member and a dominant force in WTO and NAFTA, it propelled the world markets to be more open, more integrated and more accessible to drive global competition. America connected the global business to business partners with rich infrastructure and a world class SCM for importing and exporting of goods for the benefit of consumers.

With consumers at the center of attraction and housing market at boom trade flourished across all sectors pushing the Dow Jones to highest ever of 14,111 points in October 1st, 2007. Innovation peaked and capital markets confidence increased tremendously during this period and corporations started to relax the rules of trade in the absence of regulations to book record quarterly profits. Each and every country, small and big, powerful and powerless, social and economic looked up to USA for direction, opportunity and leadership in trade.

Asia witnessed some of the biggest booms in history lead by China and India. Europe stock index rose as well due to global competition. Early part of 21st century witnessed unprecedented growth in the domestic housing market of United States where the prices of the houses that were bought in 2002, 2003 increased a record 50% by 2006. As per the data released by Office of Federal Housing Enterprise Oversight, the HPI (House Pricing Index) increased by 12% each year 2004, 2005 and 2006 and started to decline starting 2007 ("OFHEO", 2006). When everything was looking rosy and green, greediness took over the corporate America sending the domestic economy to a free-fall and creating global crises.

As corporations got greedy they started lending money to people who were less than qualified to own homes. While they might have increased the customer base, the number of clients and gained in the short run, the long run yielded troubled results. Many dedicated and good citizens lost their homes and life long savings as they became prey to unethical marketers and salesmen forcing them to declare bankruptcy as the payments after ARM increased beyond what they could pay for. There were schemes designed to pay just the interest and no principle for few years to get more people to buy the real-estate. In some instances people bought more than one home out of greediness so they can make money out of price increase. Land and homes which were traditionally treated as assets were treated as liquidity items and people started investing along the lines of day trading.

As they declared bankruptcy, they lost everything including their nest egg too. Corporations on the other side started to report record losses in later part of 2008 due to increased foreclosures. Each and every foreclosure started to impact the corporate finances and with house prices dropping corporations had to sell the foreclosed homes for way less worth only to book losses. These losses were in the billions and as companies couldn't sustain the losses they started to go either bankrupt or knock the doors of government for help to stay afloat. This was all a scheme of predatory lending or Sub Prime mortgage caused by unethical and socially irresponsible corporate executives with greed as their core business model.

Corporations in United States of America along with legislative council appear to be following the mantra of socializing the losses and privatizing the profits. Never in the history of America has the government considered stepping into market economy to use tax payers' money to bail out private sector of a large magnitude. The much failed policies of corporations seem to be getting a second chance to charter new course. While the congress debates on how to effectively use the tax payer's money to help the struggling companies, no one ever seems to ask what the social responsibility of these organizations is when they are profitable, rich and blooming?

The greediness of the corporations to hoard money under any circumstances got the economy to its knees leaving the responsible citizens to suffer. The CEOs always seem to make the big bucks in millions irrespective of the results posted by the company. Though it's nice to see a responsive government that is reacting to the market and trying to avoid a financial crisis of great depression in nature, the questions still remains to the extent the government should involve in the capitalistic market and how it can be accountable to make sure tax payers money is recovered with interest.

The ethical and social responsibility of the corporations towards their shareholders, community and country has faded away when they got involved with predatory lending. Tricking the innocent citizens to deeper problems by luring them to short term gains for long term losses for their bonuses is a sickening and unethical business practice. Clearly these corporations did not have any true governance embedded into the culture. These unethical business practices that started with the housing market has now sneaked to the financial sector, banking sector, automobile sector and may even to services sector creating a big uncontrollable ripple effect.

Corporations need to understand that their role is much larger than they realize in the in the world of economy. It is the responsibility of these corporations' executives to lay down a road map for their share holders to create innovative products in a cost efficient manner while enriching the infrastructure and careers of their employees. They share greater responsibility to their communities than they realize and they need to look after those communities and not vice versa.

While the CEOs are called upon to the capitol for hearings on why they should be bailed out, there should be separate meetings from House of Representatives on what regulations to be enforced to avoid these situations from occurring again. Only way to put a tab on unethical practices is by regulating the ethical principles of public sector. While some critics might argue that it is not the responsibility of the government to monitor ethical responsibility element of what private and public corporations do, then the same argument holds true for bailing them out as well. There is no middle ground, either government gets fully involved or steps aside for organizations to navigate their future.

Every company, every state, every school and every church that is in trouble is now looking for the government for financial assistance to bail them out. United States of America is in the verge of becoming a socialist country. While bail out may be a temporary solution, the government needs to look harder for permanent solutions so that the corrupt CEOs are put on the hook through regulations. Corporations on the other hand need should learn to be better "corporate citizens"

(Cutter Consortium and USAID, 2002, p. 6).

Recovery Time For Double Knee Replacement

In knee replacement surgeries, the ends of the damaged thigh, lower leg bones, and kneecaps are capped with artificial surfaces lined with plastic and metal. Before, doctors replace the entire surface at the ends of the thigh and lower leg bones. Nowadays, it is now popular to replace just the inner or outer knee surfaces, depending on the location of the damage. Doctors usually put together knee joint components to the bones with cement. After the procedure, though, you may be interested on the recovery time for double knee replacement.

How Long Is the Recovery Period?

There is no specific amount of downtime in total knee replacement surgeries. For most of the patients who have no complications or other health issues, the main part of the recovery is done after eight weeks. Recovery depends not only on the success of the surgery but also on the patient's ability and willingness to follow post-surgical rehabilitation procedures and doctor's orders.

A few hours after the surgery, one will be hooked to intravenous antibiotics. Medications in controlling pain and preventing blood clots will also be given. It is not alarming to have an upset stomach or to be constipated after surgery; this could be effects of anesthesia. Bandages, urinary catheter, and a compression pump may be present. Simple breathing exercises may be advised to help prevent congestion in the lungs. One should also learn to move the feet up and down to flex the muscles and maintain proper blood circulation.

Recovery in the Hospital

The patient will be advised to stay in the hospital for three to five days. Patients are already advised to stand up a day after the surgery. They are even allowed to walk with a walker and crutches if they can already bear weight on their knees. A few days after, exercises are recommended to strengthen the leg muscles.

Rehabilitation is intensive after a total knee replacement. The main goal of rehab is to make sure that the patient can bend the knees at least ninety-degrees to do walking, climbing stairs, sitting and getting up from chairs, getting in and out of the car, and other daily activities. A factor that affects a patient's ability to bend after surgery is the extent of bending the patient can do before surgery.

Recovery at Home

When the patient is sent home for recovery, he or she must be following a graduated walking program with a physical therapist. This is done from simple walking to climbing the stairs. Strength building exercises should also be followed religiously every day. If soreness in the affected area is noted, a cold pack can be applied, and a decrease in the activity is recommended. However, activities should not be stopped completely.

Riding on a stationary bicycle is also recommended to strengthen leg muscles and improve knee bending. Swimming is also good after knee surgery, but this can be done after sutures and staples are removed.

Physical ability and fitness of the patient, as well as commitment to the exercise program, are the main factors affecting recovery period. Once recovery is complete, some activities may not be allowed anymore like those that involve running, jumping, and landing hard on the knee or both knees.

While there have been great advances in medical technology, a successful outcome is determined by the patient's attitude and willingness to do the necessary therapy. Based on their experience, many doctors have somewhat low expectations for recovery and may not be very encouraging. It is up to the patient to find and follow an exercise program that has already shown proven results. Equally important is finding a trainer or mentor who has a positive attitude toward recovery from knee surgery and who can teach anyone the same mindset. Believing it can be done and working with someone who has already achieved the desired results is the key to returning to normal activities and remaining free from pain.

A Tennis Knee Brace For Pain Issues and Instability Problems - Finding the Right One Matters!

Introduction: Do you enjoy playing tennis, but there are those times that your knees really bother you? - Maybe you have tried other measures, but they have not worked. - Now, is the time to read this free information to see what kind of knee brace can work for you.

Scenarios That Create Pain On The Court

A.) Coming to a quick halt, after chasing down a ball at the net or elsewhere on the court

B.) A quick stop and back peddle

C.) Squatting and standing with repetition

What A Knee Brace Can Do

When you are on the court and pain or instability start to kick in, then you are going to have to come up with something to help augment your stability and reduce your pain.

Rest, Ice & Elevation Procedures

Sure you can leave and go rest your knee, but you never know how much rest is enough to make the problem completely go away, right? - Maybe ice and elevation have appeal to you, but this is more likely a situation that you will use off the court.

What about on the court!?

A knee brace on the court can really help to provide stability when you need it. Side to side movements, sudden stops, and front to back movements can really spark instability and pain issues. This is where a knee brace can help!

- These excessive and painful movements can be limited with the use of a well designed knee support.

Knee Braces For Different Levels of Pain & Instability

1.) Elastic Knee Sleeves: Usually made from drtyex or neoprene, these braces can add a little extra support and can act as a reminder not to make certain movements on the court. This can be helpful, but purely elastic knee sleeves should not be considered for major knee problems. You will need more support for more serious conditions.

2.) Hinged Knee Braces: There are two different kinds. One for mild to moderate issues, and then another for moderate to severe knee instability and pain. Just remember, the bigger the knee joints and uprights the more serious the knee condition. - Many times, (but not all the time) you will find that a brace for mild instability costs under $50, while moderate to severe knee supports are more expensive...

The Bottom Line

In the end it is your choice to use a knee brace or not. It will save you a ton of money if you help support your knee now, before something really bad happens and you need to get serious medical treatment.

(*This is health information. Speak to your physician about medical advice.)