Do You Have Arthritis?

Do You Have Arthritis?
Lambert Klein

Do you have arthritis? If so you are not alone. 66,000,000 people do almost 1 in 3 adults.
Arthritis is second only to heart disease as a cause of work disability. Besides limiting daily activities arthritis can cause many lifestyle problems. You may assume there’s nothing you can do that will help. Don’t believe that. There are steps including supplements and lifestyle changes you can make to significantly improve your life.
Your doctor may ask a few of these questions:
Where is your pain
When does it hurt
How long have you had it
Any swelling or redness
Family history of arthritis
He may wish to perform a movement test and have some x-rays taken.
Inflammation from your arthritis is a significant source of pain. Your physician may recommend OTC medicines or a prescription.
You should be aware of alternatives such as natural supplements and physical exercise.
Nettle Leaf Extract This supplement appears to suppress TNF-alpha and IL-1-beta. Nettle leaf may inhibit inflammatory cascade in rheumatoid arthritis. Also joint protection is assisted with nettle leaf.
MSM: Msm contain Sulfur and anti-inflammatory properties
Glucosamine Sulfate/Chondroitin: Reduces joint pain and may substantially rebuild cartilage. This may take a while to see results.
Fish Oil: DHA, EPA and Omega 3 found in quality fish oil. Reduces painful inflammation and may promote joint lubrication. Look for a high quality, low mercury supplements like Carlson’s fish oils. Flax seed is another practical choice.
Try high quality multivitamins such as Purity’s Perfect Multi Super Greens.
Vitamin E: Use a natural product like Vitamin E-8 daily.
Cherries: Recent research has shown that tart cherries contain powerful antioxidants that may help relieve the pain of arthritis and gout and also protect the body against cardiovascular disease and inhibit cancer tumors.
There is also a cherry capsule that is very good named Fruit Advantage.
Exercise: Exercise is important not only for arthritis but your overall health.
Weight Control: Even modest weight loss will bring healthy results. Start slow if you need to, and then try to reach your target weight.
Stress: Ah Stress. This one unnecessarily causes us so many health concerns. It practically seems to be the source of most health problems.
There are many options to help deal with excess stress. Exercise is one of these. Even if you begin by walking to the corner and back, then around the block pretty soon you will be walking a mile or more.
Other things you may consider are Yoga, Meditation, Music and a new hobby.
There is a rather unique procedure I came across a while back called Emotional Freedom Technique or EFT for short. This works on the principles of Acupressure and Acupuncture.
Wait! Don’t let that intimidate you. Even though EFT is a remarkable tool it is actually easy to grasp. I personally have seen significant results. You won’t have to poke yourself at all. It just basically requires limited number of words and some tapping on certain key points.
So don’t give up. There are many options for you to vastly improve your health.
Copyright 2005 Lambert Klein

About The Author

Lambert Klein is the owner of Think Healthy supplements and products.
Arthritis supplements can be found at Think Healthy.
http://www.coral-cure.com/Arthritis-Supplements.html

Massage Therapy Risks – Fact or Fiction?

True enough, some critics believe that there are also risks involved in massage as a therapeutic technique. Life is not a bed of roses and it follows that for every advantage there is an equivalent disadvantage. How real can the massage therapy risks be? What impact will they pose on the human health? While there are folks who ring the bell to the benefits of massage as a form of therapy, there are likewise those individuals who contest them.

Clear enough, it is safe to assume that there is typically an exception to every rule. Simply put, there are several other health conditions which are not to be addressed by massage alone. There is a much better medical solution that is apt for them.

Explaining the other Side

In several articles, you surely have read about the various kinds of massage therapy. They come in different names and are done in different fashions too. At the same time, they are comprised of different techniques. The point that is being driven is the fact that if massage therapy is applied to a serious medical circumstance such as cancer, the tendency is for the situation to get even worse. In fact, the individual’s life may be actually threatened. Doctors often advice that their attention should be called for prior to taking things further. Any type of massage therapy has to be pre-approved by them. Of course, the patient needs to go through an extensive test to ensure that no sort of danger will get inflicted on him.

A Threat for Cancer Patients

Studies show how this kind of therapy can truly endanger the life of a cancer patient. Cancer is a serious illness that should be addressed following the right healthcare precautions. Some of the risks involve the following:

Bone fractures. Cancer treatments often lead to the weakness of the bones. There is a tendency that during the massage, the application of some pressure may cause the bones to break.

Bleeding. Cancer-afflicted individuals often bleed profusely. For one, the deep tissue massage may cause them the life-threatening internal bleeding.

Spread of the cancer tumors. While this is yet being taken under a heated debate, there are some specialists who claim that a strong pressure on the tumor area will lead it towards metastasis. This may not yet be proven but it still calls for an extreme form of caution.

Lymphedema. This is the term used to refer to the buildup of the lymph in the soft tissues which therefore causes the soreness of the limbs. Some forms of massage therapy can cause this condition especially to someone who has just had the cancerous lymph nodes removed.

Symptoms of flu. Those who have been taking up chemotherapy sessions and at the same time the massage therapy are likely to develop the symptoms of flu.

Pains. Unbearable pains often come after the treatment which nonetheless heightens the patient’s suffering.

Post-surgery effect. Someone who is yet recuperating from a surgery should not get exposed to this kind of therapy since it may lead to the reopening of the incision and the provoking of the internal or external bleeding.

These are just some of the prime massage therapy risks known to the public. Sure enough, some other dangers may surface later on. Thus be very careful and seek for your doctor’s advice prior to consenting to this kind of healing procedure.