Tag: Muscles

Exercising is the Best Way to Lower Cholesterol

Cholesterol is something that is in every human being. This is just one of the many things that are produced by the person in order to function properly.

Unfortunately, eating food and drinking alcohol that is high in sugar, fat and oil may do more harm than good to a person. The individual will soon suffer from high blood pressure, diabetes, heart attack or a stroke.

The good news is there is a way to prevent this before it happens. It will take a lot of sacrifice and hard work on the part of the individual because the body will not be able to sustain the effects because of aging.

Apart from eating less and making changes in the diet, the best way to lower cholesterol is by exercising. This will increase the heart rate and metabolism in the body allowing it to expel the harmful oils, which are detrimental to ones health.

Those who have not exercised before should first consult with a physician to find out which is safe. Those who have a heart condition may not do something rigorous and will have to rely on something that is low impact such as walking, weight lifting or stretching.

Should the physician say the patient can participate in high impact exercises; there is running, swimming, aerobics and bicycling. The type of exercise will depend on several factors and not only medical history. This will also depend on gender, age and weight.

The doctor can make a plan then the person should relay this to the fitness instructor as to what is safe or not. From there, an exercise program can be made and all the patient has to do is follow it.

After a week or two, there will be improvements in the levels of good and bad cholesterol in the body as well as reduction in the current weight of the person.

Exercising is also considered to be the best way because the use of drugs has known to cause side effects when the person takes this.

If the individual does not have time to enroll in a gym, there are other ways to pump those muscles and increase the heart rate. For starters, men and women can go brisk walking early in the morning or before going to work.

Some offices and hospitals encourage people to walk up one or two flights of stairs instead of using the elevator to go up or down a few floors. If the company where one works in has a big parking lot, the individual can try walking a few yards more instead of taking the space near the door.

During any exercise, it is best to drink lots of water. This will prevent the body from dehydration that often leads to exhaustion. Instead of going to the fountain every few minutes, it is best to bring a water bottle.

This will save a lot of time and keep the person at pace with the group activity or the work being done on the machine.

Someone once said that health is wealth. By exercising, one will be able to lower the bad cholesterol in the body and live longer than those who choose to do nothing but are aware of the dangers of not making some lifestyle changes.

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.

What Happens After Physiotherapy?

Physiotherapy can be a long, hard road. It takes willpower and endurance to keep at it. The mere act of keeping appointments can be grueling at times. One may feel like celebrating when it is all over; but what comes after physiotherapy?

The physiotherapist will leave you with words of advice to follow after your physiology is over. One important thing to keep in mind is that any exercises you are doing should be remembered for relapses.

For example, if you have a problem with a vertebra in your neck, physical therapy can often help. After physiotherapy, though, the neck might start getting stiff and painful again. Remembering and doing the physical therapy exercises may stop the condition from getting any worse, and may in fact alleviate it completely.

You will also be instructed on the proper use of heat packs and ice packs. It will be a refresher course for you, but you will be on your own, so you need to pay attention. You will be told to go to the doctor at the first sign of relapse after physiotherapy.

Prevention will be an important concern after physiotherapy. The last thing you need is to have to go through the process again. You can take certain steps to avoid physical injuries that would require you to go back.

Aerobic exercise is very beneficial both during and after physiotherapy. It strengthens the muscles, increases oxygen to the muscles, and helps you lose weight. Aerobic exercises you can do include walking, running, swimming, or bicycling. Any exercise that gets you breathing heavily and your heart rate up will do.

In injuries like low back pain, weight loss can be a factor. It can mean less stress on your bones and muscles. Therefore, diet can play an important role in prevention after physiotherapy. It does not have to be an elaborate diet; just a simple diet that limits foods, especially the carbohydrates and fats.

Other preventative features of life after physiotherapy involve the workplace. One needs to learn the proper movements to get the job done. If it seems that it is impossible, it is a legal right to call for an ergonomics study. Another thing to consider is to make sure you use all the ergonomic equipment that is already available in your office or workplace. There may be ergonomic keyboards in a storage room, if you would only ask.

One also needs to learn one’s limitations. No more trying to lift a two-hundred pound object by yourself. After physiotherapy one knows what can happen when one does not take care of one’s body properly. It only makes sense to stay away from anything that can harm you in the way you were hurt before.

Life after physiotherapy may be a more cautious affair than is was before. One may have to think before acting. No matter what one does, it is possible that a return to physiotherapy will take place. The best thing to do is to do your best to make all the right moves after physiotherapy.

The Types of Neurological Conditions and Physiotherapy Used

Neurological conditions may be very severe. They can be life-threatening at times, and they can certainly affect the quality of the patient’s life. There are many neurological conditions and physiotherapy can help many of them.

Alzheimer’s disease takes away the declining years of many older people. It is surprising to note that it can occur in people 40 years old or younger. ALS or Lou Gehrig’s disease is a disease that robs the brain and spinal cord of the ability to move. Both of these are neurological diseases that can be helped by physiotherapy.

MS, another of the neurological conditions that affects the brain and spinal cord, can lead to a long, slow decline. Parkinson’s disease is another of the neurological conditions of the brain. This one can cause shaking and loss of coordination, and problems moving and walking. Physiotherapy offers some relief to these patients.

Guillain Barre Syndrome is one of the types of neurological conditions that affect the brain and spinal cord too. It is a case of the person’s own immune system attacking outside these areas. It can be severe enough to require emergency hospitalization. Physiotherapy offers help with regaining strength and adapting to life with the disease.

Neurological conditions that are autoimmune diseases are difficult to treat. Myasthenia Gravis is one such illness. It causes muscular weakness because of a lack of communication between nerves and muscles. Like other neurological conditions, it can be very debilitating.

A great amount of physiotherapy is needed to help Myasthenia Gravis patients to live with their neurological conditions. This includes strength training, training in the use of supportive devices, and help with common tasks. One problem physiotherapists face when working with MG patients is that too much exercise will make their condition worse and not better.

Many of the patients with neurological conditions cannot carry on daily functions such as caring for themselves and their homes. It is not uncommon for these people to be unable to work. They may even have trouble walking or getting up and down stairs at all.

Difficulty swallowing or breathing; dizziness, poor balance and falls, and a total lack of endurance plague many of these patients who have neurological conditions. Medications or surgeries can help with some of their problems, but many problems are ones they will have to abide. Physiotherapy can offer solutions that other branches of medicine cannot.

Exercises, as in most physiotherapy, include strengthening and stretching exercises. In whatever way is possible, patients with neurological conditions need to get aerobic exercise. Physiotherapists may be able to make a plan so that this is possible.

Part of this plan for patients with neurological conditions would include balance training and coordination training. With these two skills in place, the patient will have a more advanced ability to do aerobic and other exercises. Aquatic exercise is also used.

Patients with neurological conditions must live with many problems of lack of movement and function. Physiotherapy can help them to overcome some of these problems. It can make their lives easier and more pleasant, besides.