Category: Wellness Programs

Purpose of the American College of Sports Medicine

The American College of Sports Medicine is more than just a nifty name; they are the main organization that is working towards improving the entire field of sports medicine with the overall health of athletes in mind. By taking the ideas and advances in sports medicine and combining them together with the best training and developmental research, the American College of Sports Medicine aims to help as many people as possible regardless of location.

Developed in 1954, the ACSM has more than 20,000 members currently amongst its ranks with members coming from all around the world. The American College of Sports Medicine is working in several ways to help improve the overall treatment options that are available to athletes around the world, including the use of their certification programs that range from the type of specialty. It is always recommended to select a sports medicine professional who is certified in the area in which they practice to ensure they have received the best training possible.

In addition to the certification programs that are offered the ACSM offers several conferences through out the year in various locations that are geared towards specific specialties. Professionals who are associated with the ACSM are highly encouraged to attend these conferences to help them stay up to date on the latest developments in the field of sports medicine.

In addition to working with professionals who are already practicing a specialty in the sports medicine field, the ACSM also encourages students who are still in school and those involved in their residency to start getting involved to ensure they are expanding their education as much as possible. While some may think that the ACSM is useless, many also agree that there are numerous benefits of having a specific group responsible for giving the certifications.

Most patients prefer working with doctors who are well qualified, and the American College of Sports Medicine offers numerous benefits because of the continued research in the field as well as extensive developmental opportunities that it offers. In addition, the ACSM is dedicated to helping professionals develop as much as possible simply by making it convenient, with a mixture of campus and online programs offered there is almost no reason why every sports medicine professional cannot be involved in continuing their educational goals.

Athletes themselves find the ACSM to be a great resource to them. It provides them a way of measuring various sports medicine professionals to help them determine which is the best provider for their individual needs. By ensuring that a certification method is in place, it allows most athletes and coaches alike to separate the dedicated sports medicine providers from those who are not as experienced and knowledgeable in the field.

As each individual provider grows and expands their knowledge of the field, they are usually welcomed to join the ACSM and ensure that they continue to stay at the top of their field. Various methods are always in place for most fields to keep professionals well trained and the ACSM provides this for the sports medicine field. Despite continuous improvements in treatment options available, the American College of Sports Medicine encourages professionals to continue to be the best in their field.

However, important to note is that aside from the ACSM encouraging doctors and other sports medicine professionals to continuously further their education it also encourages advances in the field to help new treatment methods develop faster, as well as helping ensure that all treatment methods have the best interests of the athletes in mind whom they are designed to help.

Further helping the ACSM is the fact that there are so many resources that are used to help ensure that certified professionals in the sports medicine field stay up to date on all pressing technology changes and new developments. Rather than allowing, all of the professionals to allow their education to take a backseat to their practice professionals are highly encouraged to continue learning as much as possible.

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Adolescent Pregnancy

Adolescent pregnancy in ninety nine percent of the cases is unwanted and is the major consequence of adolescent sexual activity, other than STDs. This issue has affected youth, families, educators, health care professionals, and government official. A study on the high school adolescents has concluded that forty eight percent of the males and forty five percent of the females are sexually active. One fourth of the high school students had sexual contact by fifteen years of age. The average age of boys is sixteen and a girl is seventeen, who have had intercourse. Ninety percent of adolescents, in the age range of fifteen to nineteen, say their pregnancy is unintended.

Seventy four percent of females above fourteen years and sixty percent of females below fifteen years have reported to have involuntary sex. Fifty percent of the adolescent pregnancies are within the time period of six months after the initial sexual intercourse. More than nine hundred thousand teenagers are reported to have become pregnant every year in the United States. Fifty one percent of the adolescent pregnancies result in live birth, thirty five percent result in induced abortion and fourteen percent result in stillbirths or miscarriages. Four out of ten adolescent females get pregnant, before they turn twenty, at least once. Twenty five percent of adolescent deliveries arent the mothers first child. When a teenager gives birth to her first child, she increases the risk of begetting another child. One third of the adolescent parents are themselves result of adolescent pregnancies.

There are many reasons why adolescents choose to become sexually active at an early stage in life. The reasons can be early pubertal development, poverty, sexual abuse in childhood, lack of parents attention, lack of career goals, family and cultural patterns of early sex, substance abuse, dropping out from school and poor school performance. Factors which discourage an adolescent to become sexually active are stable family environment, parental supervision, good family income, regular prayers, connectedness with parents and living with complete family and both the parents. The factors which are responsible for the consistent use of contraceptive among adolescents are academic success, anticipation for successful future, and involvement in a stable relationship.

There are many medical risks associated with adolescent pregnancies. Adolescents who are less than seventeen years are at a greater risk of developing medical complications, when compared to adult females. The risk is even more in teenagers below seventeen. The weight of the child, given birth by an adolescent, is very low in these pregnancies. It is usually below 2.5 kilogram. The rate of neonatal birth is also three times greater in adolescents, when compared to adults. Other problems caused by adolescent pregnancies are prematurity of the child, birth of underweight child, poor maternal weight gain, poor nutritional status, anemia, STDs and hypertension induced due to pregnancy.

Although there is an increase in the use of contraceptive methods by adolescents during their first sexual contact, only sixty three percent of the high school students have said to use condom while having sex previously. Adolescents, who use prescription contraceptives, delay their doctors visit until the time they become sexually active for over a year.

According to a research, youngsters who have participated in sex education programs which gave them knowledge about contraception methods, abstinence, sexually transmitted diseases and youngsters who involved in discussions in order to get a clear picture, used contraceptives and condoms effectively without any increase in sexual activity. The Center for Disease Control & Prevention has said that the solution for unwanted adolescent pregnancies and STDs are barrier contraceptive use and abstinence.

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Arthritis Pain Relief : Questions To Ask Your Healthcare Provider

Arthritis Pain Relief : Questions To Ask Your Healthcare Provider
Priya Shah

Copyright 2005 Priya ShahA great place to begin taking charge of you arthritis pain relief and prevention planning is by making an appointment with your healthcare provider and finding out more about your condition and treatment options. Make sure to jot down questions ahead of time, and take them along in your journal or notebook, armed with a pencil to fill in his or her replies. Some questions to begin with may be centered around these:1. Do I have a form of arthritis? If not, what is wrong & what do I do next?2. If so, which type is it? And what can I expect short-term and long-term?3. What pain relief treatments are available? Which have side affects & what are they?4. What self-care solutions do you advise?5. Are there any limitations I should know about; i.e. special dietary issues, special activities to avoid, any OTC meds to NOT mix, etc.?6. What resources do you have to help with my diet and exercise planning?7. What other arthritic and other health resources do you have for my family and me?When you take in your questions, also take in a description of your symptoms so that your doctor can help better understand your situation and health. Make sure to note:- Where you have pain (same joint both limbs?)- When you feel pain – with certain activities, in the morning, when it rains, etc.- How long you have had the pain- If the pain increases or decreases, comes and goes, etc.- The type & intensity level of pain – stabbing, dull, cramping, stiffness – and low, mild or high pain- Note any limitations – can’t bend over too far without pain, can’t get out of car, etc.- Share any family history of arthritis- Tell about any OTC or prescription medications or other treatments you currently take or use.- Discuss any special diet you are on and exercise programs So try the different options available for arthritis pain relief and prevention.Give your joints a break as soon as possible from any excess weight they’re hauling around, even if it’s the weight of excess stress.Lighten up and make pain relief and prevention care part of your normal, everyday routine.For a comprehensive report on arthritis, visit Arthritis Remedies http://www.arthritisremedies.org About the Author
Priya Shah is the editor of The Glutathione Report andHealth Naturale. This article may be reprinted as long as the resource box is left intact and all links are hyperlinked.

Keeping people with Alzheimer’s busy

Alzheimer’s disease is considered the 7th leading cause of death in the United States in 2004. The death toll continues to rise every year. The disease is the third most costly in the U.S. Heart disease and cancer are the first and second most costly respectively. It is recorded that there 24 million people with dementia worldwide, the figure will more than double by 2040.

Alzheimer’s is a progressive disease that is irreversible with no known cause or cure. The disease affects two major types of abilities. Alzheimer’s affects the very simple everyday activities such as dressing, eating, bathing, dressing, using the toilet, and even walking. One needs to be assisted in order to accomplish such tasks.

The other ability affected by the disease are the performance of more complex tasks like managing finances, driving a car, preparing and cooking meals and working in a job. It is normal for people with the disease to experience problems with complex tasks first which later on move to the more simple everyday jobs as the disease progresses.

Treatment is vital for people with Alzheimer’s disease. Treating a patient requires the conglomeration of the expertise of a family doctor and various medical specialists like psychiatrists or neurologists, psychologists, therapists, nurses, social workers, and counselors. Because the disease affects not only the patient but the whole family as well.

It is very important that family members work closely with the doctors in administering the treatment. The family should be informed of activities that are dangerous for people with Alzheimer’s disease. Some of these activities include driving or cooking.

Treating dementia related symptoms of Alzheimer’s vary. But such treatments can only be effective if the dementia is caused by factors like medications, alcohol, delirium, tumors, depression, head injury and infections. There are, however, some treatments that are being used to “cure” the well being of a person afflicted with the disease.

Activities like playing music, personal interactions, playing videotapes of family members, walking and light exercise and pet therapy have been found to be successful in helping people develop friendship, mutual support and spiritual connectedness with the people around them.

However, one should remember that such activities can be beneficial to one but could be detrimental to another patient. The best activity for a person with Alzheimer’s varies. Former hobbies or points of interest of a person could also be used to help people with the disease and their families to cope.

One could assist the person to engage in activities like supervised gardening, singing, cooking, painting and drawing as long as routine is established. It is very important to engage in these activities on a regular basis for this could help the person establish a sense of stability.

Some therapies combine various activities and have proved to be fairly successful and garnered some favorable results. Such programs combine music, exercise, crafts and relaxation which obtained the best results.

Some even add various structured sessions like meditations, sensory awareness and guided imagery in their attempts to calm and pacify the already unstable behaviors of patients with Alzheimer’s.

Aside from daily physical exercise and social activities, some of the things that you also need to consider in treating a patient are proper nutrition and health maintenance; daily activities that will give the feelings of accomplishment for the individual; keeping the patient out of harm’s way; and knowing the physical and emotional limitations of the patient, the care giver team and the family.