Tag: Lack Of Exercise

Male Menopause Mystery: Unraveling the Truth about Andropause

For years, people have been hearing and learning about menopause and how to deal with it. Men and women are educated about this natural condition that affects women when they reach a certain age in order to properly cope with it and accept it as a natural condition.

However, another particular condition similar to menopause affects men and is a mystery on why this condition happens. This male menopause condition is called the andropause. Andropause is a condition that affects men that is very similar to women’s menopause.

This condition is caused by low testosterone level in men and is considered as the male menopause condition that is affecting men when they reach a certain age. In the early 50s, andropause is defined as the natural cessation of sexual function in older men.

The symptoms of andropause relates very closely to menopause. It will include fatigue, depression, decreased sexual activity, and irritability. Surprisingly, this change has been always ignored and is considered as a normal phase in a man’s life. It may be a normal thing, but it doesnt mean that men should suffer greatly from this condition.

Researchers suggest that andropause is caused by excess alcohol intake, stress, overweight, vasectomy, lack of exercise and ageing. Because of this, researchers have also begun to seek treatment methods to reduce the effects of andropause.

One solution to the problem is the Testosterone Replacement Therapy or TRT. This treatment showed promising results in effectively relieving symptoms of andropause. Adding to that, it also restores health, sex drive, and potency. It will also include a sense of renewed vitality and virility when it is given to the right patient, at the right time and at the right doses.

You have to realize the fact that the natural tendencies of men in the early years of his life are concerned primarily on their career, money and power. Often, men ignore and neglect family and friends to focus more on career. However, in the later years when andropause sets in, men becomes more maternal, as if the men changes role from being fatherly to becoming motherly. Surprisingly, men dont even sense the changes themselves and women notice it more. Women often tell doctors about this condition that their husbands are going through.

In response to the falling testosterone levels in the body, andropausal men will experience night sweats, and palpitations.

When men who experiences the mentioned symptoms and visits their doctor, the doctor will usually check for andropause by examining the following:

Loss of hair in the armpits and axilla
Low sex drive
Erectile dysfunction or impotence
Shrinkage of testicles
Decreased muscle strength
Depression
Constant fatigue or tiredness
Low sperm count
Decreased bone density

Aside from the testosterone treatment, men should take the necessary steps in order to decrease the overall effects of andropause. The first step in treatment is to accept the condition. Once men accepted the condition it will be easier for them to treat it.

The next step is to exercise, and teach them to control themselves by quitting smoking and not abuse alcohol. Since, the body is changing while people age, men who are andropausal should also learn to relax and rest well.

These are the things that men should do when they reach the andropausal phase in life. This condition is inevitable and will affect men as they reach a certain age. Better to accept it and live life to the fullest rather than complain of not looking good anymore or being unable to have sex anymore.

Learning the Proper Diet to Lower Cholesterol

Cholesterol is one of the major substances that cause heart attacks, high blood cholesterol levels, and weight problems. Despite its bad guy image, this waxy, fat-like substances made in the body by the persons own liver serves a number of vital functions unknown to many.

Basically, there are two types of cholesterol: the Low-Density Lipoprotein (LDL) and the High-Density Lipoprotein (HDL). The former refers to the bad type of cholesterol that is known to clog the persons blood vessels, thus, increasing the risk for a heart attack or a heart disease. Studies show that a diet that is high in saturated fat is a main dietary cause of a raised LDL cholesterol level. The latter, on the other hand, is the good type of cholesterol that helps clear LDL cholesterol out of the blood stream, thus, reducing the risk for any heart illness. Researches have shown that a diet rich in fruit and vegetables along with average levels of omega-3 from fish oil greatly helps raise HDL cholesterol levels.

Although diet is the major reason for having high cholesterol levels, experts agree that factors such as genetics, lack of exercise or regular physical activity, obesity, unhealthy lifestyle such as excessive drinking and smoking, hormones, and varying high and low cholesterol levels can trigger the sudden increase of cholesterol levels in the body.

GETTING STARTED

Indeed, cholesterol is a growing problem in the health of many people in the world. Experts say that people over 20 years of age should be more concerned about their cholesterol levels; thus, they should start doing everything they can to lower LDL cholesterol. Although it is quite hard to stick to the needed requirements and regiments to combat the growing problem, experts say that it can be controlled with the proper diet to lower cholesterol.

Studies show that a good diet to lower cholesterol can reduce a persons risk for heart diseases while getting rid of bad fats because this diet to emphasizes on eating heart-healthy foods. But, aside from using the proper and proven low cholesterol diets available today, the most important thing is that knowing and taking in the right foods and effective cholesterol formulas to assist in lowering cholesterol levels.

Experts say that a diet to lower cholesterol includes good foods like grainsespecially whole grain products and cerealsfish rich in omega3 such as salmon and tune, a variety of fruits and leafy vegetables, nuts, juices, and the like. Here are other effective means of lowering cholesterol level through diet:

1. Make sure that you visit your attending physician first before trying out any low cholesterol diets so he/she could administer the proper examinations and access your general health status.

2. You can lower your cholesterol levels by replacing saturated fat with polyunsaturated fat in meat, chicken, and whole milk products.

3. Refrain from eating refined carbohydrates contained by bakery products, pastas, and sugary or sugar-added foods.

4. When eating out, makes sure that you ask the waiter to make serving substitutions like steamed or boiled food preparations. If possible, also pick lean meat, fish, or skinless chicken that is broiled, baked, grilled, steamed, or poached instead of being fried and ask for lots of vegetable side dishes and fresh fruit desserts.

5. Cutting down on eggs, margarine, or butter out of your daily diet.

6. Use natural-based oils such as vegetable, corn, and olive oils when cooking instead of the usual cooking oil.

7. Load up on a lot of garlic when youre preparing dishes because it contains substances that help lower HDL cholesterol.

8. Take in high quality daily vitamin mineral supplements like Vitamin E to improve blood circulation, and Vitamin C and vitamin B3 to lower your high cholesterol levels.

What Spinal Cord Injury Patients Can Accomplish with Physiotherapy

Sports injuries and car accidents, among other injuries, can cause spinal cord injury. The range of spinal cord injury is wide. Some of these injuries are fairly minor and will heal well with a limited amount of physiotherapy, while others need physiotherapy for the rest of their lives.

As always with physiotherapy, the first step is evaluation. A plan is formulated that will include therapies specific to the kind of spinal cord injury the patient has. Neck injuries can cause quadriplegia, which requires special treatments.

An important issue in spinal cord injury is the level of the damage. If a physiotherapy program is not followed faithfully, the spine will begin to atrophy below the level of the spinal cord injury. The spine will shrink and the whole body below that point will become weaker as time goes by.

It is important that spinal cord injury patients get exercise of some form. They are prone to osteoporosis and heart problems, among other conditions. If there is a total lack of exercise, these risk factors become even more pronounced.

Physiotherapy for spinal cord injury involves exercising and stimulating the nerves and muscles below the level of the damage. This will allow patients with spinal cord injury to stay in good physical condition where they can. That way, if a cure becomes available, they will not be too weakened to benefit from it.

Every exercise the physiotherapy personnel go through with the spinal cord injury patient should be video-taped. This allows work to go on at home with an example of each exercise. Range-of-motion exercises are done by a caregiver, who moves the limbs so that they will not become set in one position.

For spinal cord injury patients who are not quadriplegics, there is physiotherapy using mats. These mats are raised off the floor, and can be operated by a hand crank or a power system. The physiotherapist will give exercises where the patient lies on the side, back, or stomach and works out or sits up and works out.

There are many restorative therapies in physiotherapy for spinal cord injury patients. These include electrical stimulation, biofeedback, vibrational therapy, laser therapy and other stimulation activities. Aqua therapy is also a physiotherapy method that is conducive to progress in spinal cord injury patients.

With all these therapies, spinal cord injury patients can sometimes restore themselves to earlier functioning. Other times, they can simply keep their bodies from deteriorating as they wait for a cure.

Spinal cord injury research is being conducted constantly. Physiotherapy is one of the fields that are being explored. One study is putting spinal cord injury patients in harnesses over treadmills stimulating walking. They are trying to find a way to help people walk again who had given up hope of doing so.

Physiotherapy gives hope for spinal cord injury patients. It allows them to have the most normal functioning that they are currently able to have. Perhaps when a cure comes outcomes will be even better. However, physiotherapy will probably always be needed for spinal cord injury patients.

Proper Causes of Back Pain

Back pain may strike anyone. It can affect younger people but is more prevalent during adulthood especially those aged between 45 and 59 years old.

The spine is comprised of small bones known as vertebrae. These are normally good structures, which are separated by discs that allow free mobility. Muscles and ligaments further support these vertebrae.

Close to one hundred percent of all complaints with regards to back pain is directly linked to improper coordination and workings of these components. The cause of back pain may be sudden rather than what is usually perceived as the result of overworking for a single period of time. However, during tests abnormal conditions on the back may not be identified using x-rays and typically, nothing in the back is mildly or severely damaged.

The majority of cases of back pain documented occur to people aged 55 and above and nearly all of them show signs of being with good health. So this means that the cause of back pain is not or may be minimally affected by the health of the sufferer. This pain is often felt in the lower section of the spine and cases of upper and middle back pain is rare. Additionally, some people may also experience coexisting pains such those felt at the thighs and the legs. These are separated cases that may be triggered by several sets of complex sets symptoms.

Simple back pain may be caused by the following:

poor posture

lack of exercise

long periods of bending and standing

sitting on a chair that lacks supports for the back, especially for the lumbar area

sleeping on a mattress that lacks support for the back

lifting, pushing or pulling loads, carrying objects that are typically heavy or doing tasks the wrong way

a trip or fall

There are other causes that may be associated with back pain but cases like these appear on minimal basis. Around 5% of all sufferers experience back pain due to nerve root problems. The compression of the nerve root, which is triggered by the bulging, or displacement of the vertebral disc normally brings about the pain. This irregularity of the vertebral disc is called a slipped disc.

It must be noted that the back bone structure is especially adopted to carrying loads and carrying the whole body weight if need be. But there are certain conditions that may affect its performance. These generally cause back pain and the intensity of the pain produced depends on the rigidity of the activity.