Healthy Living

Being well into the year, there are many people that have discarded their New Year’s resolutions. If you have lost sight of your resolution to be healthier, it may be time to revisit and revive your goal.

This is to be commended. Both practices, if honored, will lead the individual to an overall healthier physical state and, if studies on the subject are accurate, an overall healthier mental state as well.

One physical training machine that is popular among persons returning to the gym or for those who want an effective cardio workout without the harsh impact of running is the elliptical trainer machine. The elliptical trainer machine, or simply the elliptical, is the ideal cardio training machine for those persons who are otherwise unable to perform cardio workouts due to failing or hurt joints and knees as the elliptical is a low impact machine that will not further damage the knees.

If you do not want to make a visit to a knee replacement surgeon, an elliptical can be a great exercise option. Running consistently may warrant that visit to a knee replacement surgeon, but by starting yourself off on the elliptical, you can avoid a lot of joint problems.

For whatever reasons this rumor of gluteus shaping elliptical misuse has grown in popularity and subsequent practice but is nonetheless erroneous. In fact, pedaling the elliptical backwards can be harder on the knees of a person than pedaling forward and for this reason pedaling backwards should be limited if not avoided completely.

Instead of misusing or improperly using the elliptical to gain a harder or more effective workout, simply use the machine’s built in versatilities. Almost every elliptical will have the ability to increase the workout work load by upping the resistance, changing the speed, or raising the incline of the pedaling.

These three modes of variation when used in combination should provide the user with enough of a challenge to keep their cardio workouts effective and fresh. One safety tip that a person should try to remember while exercising is to not lock your knees while on the elliptical.

Doing so will affect the circulation in the body and can lead to fainting or dizziness. Instead, a person should remember to keep their knees slightly bent during the entire workout.

This practice will also enable the exerciser to keep up an effective fluid motion while working out on the machine. In addition to keeping the knees slightly bent at all times to enable the machine to work best for its user, it is also important to remember that while an elliptical is designed to maintain the proper posture of the user during an exercise, slouching or slumping while exercising on this machine is still detrimental.

Two common mistakes that persons make in posture while using an elliptical is by leaning too far forward or hanging on to and hugging the console of the machine. Both missuses of the machine will result in a less effective workout and will develop poor training habits in the exerciser.

With this basic knowledge of how to start using an elliptical, a New Year’s resolution may finally be accomplished.

For decades the recommended daily amount of vitamin D for an adult was set at 400 IU. Doctors and nutritionists were taught that this level was enough for good health.

Then researchers all across the globe started reporting widespread deficiency of the sunshine vitamin, vitamin D. Physician conferences started focusing on the effects of this vitamin on health, bringing much revelation to the old thought that vitamin D was only important to prevent rickets.

Vitamin D Deficiency is Clearly Related to Pain

One of the findings about vitamin D actually pertains to the amount of pain in the body that people have when there’s a deficiency. This pain is in the muscles and in the bones.

One study, performed in Iran at the Department of Medicine, Division of Rheumatology, at Rouhani Hospital at the Babol University of Medical Sciences, evaluated 276 patients who had pain in different parts of their body – in their legs, joints, ribs, back, pain everywhere and fibromyalgia for their vitamin D status.

They compared the results of these patients with 202 patients without the pain, but with similar vitamin D levels.

What Level of Vitamin D is Considered Deficient?

The doctors considered a level of vitamin D less than 20 ng/ml deficient. The “normal” range seen on blood tests from the laboratory is 30 to 100 ng/ml here in the United States.

Researchers discovered that when someone had pain in their legs, ribs, joints or everywhere, they usually also had a vitamin D deficiency.

In fact, the two types of pain that were highly correlated to a vitamin D deficiency were leg pain and joint pain, such as arthritis. They also found that women had a greater correlation of pain with a vitamin D deficiency. (Source: Int J Rheum Dis 2010 Oct;13(4).)

What this study means to you is to get your vitamin D levels checked, and if they’re low, raising them could significantly lessen your pain levels. You could be a lot happier with less pain, right?

Does Age or Type of Disease Affect Vitamin D Levels?

Another study that appeared in a medical journal called Clinical Rheumatology discussed what the correlation was between vitamin D and pain in the joints in 231 patients at the Arthritis and Osteoporosis Center at the South Infirmary-Victoria University Hospital in Ireland.

This time the doctors wanted to see if age or diagnosis affected probability of having low vitamin D levels.

Different Standards for Determining Deficiency

Interestingly, these doctors considered a vitamin D deficiency of less than or equal to 53 ng/ml. This level actually makes more sense since you should never be at the bottom of any ranges for vitamins and minerals.

Over Two-Thirds of Them Were Deficient

The researchers discovered that 70% of the patients had a deficiency, and 26% had a severe deficiency (defined as less than 25 ng/ml). The patients who had rheumatoid arthritis were deficient 77% of the time.

Those with connective tissue diseases or inflammatory joint disease were deficient 69% of the time, and those with osteoarthritis 62% of the time. If patients had bone or muscle/joint pain in their back or osteoporosis, the deficiency rate was at 75% and 71% respectively.

Age Didn’t Really Matter

They also discovered that age affected vitamin D status. You might think that if someone is young, they have more opportunity to go out in the sunshine more often and thus, should have higher levels of vitamin D.

Well, the research revealed that 65% of patients who were 65 or older and 78% of those who were 30 years old or less were deficient in vitamin D. (Source: Clin Rheumatol, 2011 June; 30(6).)

This gives us the clue that really, anyone can be deficient. Get your levels tested soon and take any appropriate actions right away. And do hold yourself to the higher standards of vitamin A deficiency levels as in Ireland. Don’t just get by when it comes to your vitamin D levels. Your bones and joints will appreciate you all the more when you do!

Treatment of osteoarthritis in the knee with acupuncture instead of surgery not only gives good clinical results, but it is non-invasive and painless procedure, according to researchers.

With the help of acupuncture reduces pain and stiffness characteristic of osteoarthritis and improves the functional capacity of the knee after a month long its application.

The procedure is also the much cheaper alternative to treat people with osteoarthritis.

These statements are based on a study involving 90 people with osteoarthritis of the knee who were treated with acupuncture for two years in a clinic in St Albans, UK, between 2008 and 2013.

Before treatment, all patients had severe symptoms of pain, inability to walk long etc.

After the first month of sessions incidence of pain in patients is significantly reduced and mobility – improved.

Acupuncture is a type of medical treatment, wherein the special pins are placed at specific points in the body. Therapy that originated in traditional Chinese medicine, now gaining more and more popularity.

Acupuncture stimulates different parts of the human body for therapeutic purposes – restores health and general health and removes the accumulated pain.

When using special acupuncture fine needles must be sterile. Needles are different from the standard medical – their ends are sharp and smooth. Patients report that the procedures are painless with them.

Creaky knees, joint pain are not necessarily signs of normal aging. This can be caused by arthritis. Fortunately medicine has many suggestions for arthritis sufferers – from gymnastics and alternative medicine to medicine, and placing artificial joints.

You would think that it is a pain , it won’t kill you when the first signs of joint pain? But it is not. Very often consider this as normal signs of aging and try to live with that thought and pain. But experts do not think so. They offer us a number of options for dealing with this medical condition – joint pain.

This is a serious problem that should not be underestimated, because it affects all of our lives. “Your pain in the joints are not only pain, but something prevents you from living normally prevents your relationships with family and friends,” said Dr. Raymond Gaeta from Stanford University.

Dr. Gaeta recently published their telephone survey, which shows great results: nearly one in five people have ever suffered from chronic joint pain caused by arthritis, half of them did not know what caused this condition. And the rest of those suffering from joint pain are healing.

When joint pain to get proper diagnosis

We have joint pain, you should definitely go to the doctor to get us diagnose and thus begin treatment for it adequately. This has to do with any such symptoms.

It is our joint pain due to arthritis, which simply means inflammation of the joints, but it is not so easy to diagnose. Modern medicine now over 100 different types of arthritis. So placing the correct diagnosis is crucial for further implementation of treatment.

I’ll mention one more good reason to visit a doctor if you suffer from joint pain. It is your arthritis progresses rapidly and deteriorate.

For example, gout is also a form of arthritis that can lead to osteoarthritis, a genetic disease in which is abnormally high amount of iron in the body. This, in turn, can cause heart disease, diabetes or arthritis. Untreated joint pain can also result from the developing bone cancer. Therefore, we must determine the cause of your joint pain and to conduct appropriate and effective treatment.

According to Dr. Gaeta’s problem is that we used our own body to fight disease and expect this to happen and joint pain, so many people do not visit a doctor for such complaints and this is the issue. People should consult a specialist for chronic joint pain.