Arthritis is a disease that affects the body’s joints, making them painful to move or to put force onto. There are over 150 different types of arthritis but the most common types are Osteoarthritis and Rheumatoid Arthritis.

Osteoarthritis occurs when the cartilage in the joint breaks down and causes the bones to rub together. There is generally little inflammation but the joint loses shape and the bone ends thicken and develop bony growths that rub against each other. Osteoarthritis normally develops in weight-bearing joints like the hips, knees, spine, or feet.

Rheumatoid Arthritis occurs when the synovial lining of the joint becomes inflamed and causes damage to the bone and cartilage. The joints lose shape and can vary from slight inflammation to gross deformation of the joint. Fingers, knees, wrists, and shoulders are the most common sites to be affected.

Arthritis is common as a person ages and their joints naturally degenerate and break down. It is common in obese individuals as added stress is placed on their joints. It is also common in past sports people, especially those who played high impact sports such as football or basketball where repeated stress is placed on the joints.

Exercise Tips

– Exercise will not cure arthritis but it can slow the process down a lot.
– Spend large amounts of time warming up and cooling down. Spend at least ten minutes slowly warming the joints with gentle movements.
– Use isometric exercises when first starting. These are exercises that do not require any movement, such as pushing against a brick wall. After a few weeks, introduce exercises that require movement.
– Use machine weights instead of free weights when in the gym. Machine weights place less stress on the joints.
– Do not lift weights that are too heavy.
– Aerobic exercises, such as swimming and cycling, are best as they are low impact exercises that do not place much strain on the joints.
– Rest during periods of severe flaring in the joints. Working through the pain does not help and will cause further pain and discomfort.

With arthritis there is a fine line between the right amount of exercise and doing too much. If any pain is experienced while exercising reduce the intensity of the workout and do what is possible. A light exercise workout is more beneficial than a hard one that leaves you in agony for a few weeks.

Bone spurs often develop as a normal result of aging, but other risk factors include: genetics, accidents, sports injuries, nutrition, poor posture, and congenital structural disorders.In addition, several specific conditions such as arthritis, osteoarthritis, plantar fasciitis, and rotator-cuff disorders are also known to increase risk for developing bone spur. Bone spur, or osteophyte, is bony growth sprouting from a normal bone, causing extreme pain and discomfort when pressing against other bone and/or soft tissue.

Symptoms of Bone Spurs in most cases are asymptomatic, meaning they do not show any symptoms that may suggest the presence of the bone formation. However, some cases wherein rubbing in some areas may result to swelling and pain while corns and calluses may be present in the foot due to tissue build up. Bone Spurs Treatment Generally there is no specific treatment for bone spurs especially if they are not presenting any symptoms of pain and swelling .

This is crucial, because ones we know how they form, we’ll know how to prevent them, and how to get rid of them. It’s the excess calcium in out bodies that makes these formations, today medicine claims. If this is true, how do they form.There is no tubes and channels in our body for this calcium to move. Calcium, or any other alkaline mineral, cannot move through our bodies as solids, they move as energy.

Plantar faschitis pain can become serious enough to be disabling. There are natural ways to treat heel and foot pain without resorting to foot surgery, which should be considered the very last option for foot pain and heel bone spurs. Learn about the things you can do to treat plantar faschitis and reduce heel pain.

Keep inflammation in check with daily heat applications. Hold a heating pad or a hot-water bottle, as warm as can be tolerated and wrapped in a towel, on the affected area for 10 to 15 minutes four to five times a day. Acute pain can be reduced by applying ice to the inflamed area four to five times a day. Hold an ice pack wrapped in a towel or cloth on the area for 10 minutes, then remove the pack for another 10 minutes. Repeat this procedure several times, or until the throbbing subsides.

Osteophytes, the medical term for bone spurs, means an enlargement of the normal bony structure. As we age it is common to find the growth of bone spurs due to degeneration of the spine. Adults over the age of 60 are in a high risk bracket for the growth of Oseteophytes.It is common for some degree of spinal degeneration to occur in everyone as they age. At least 42% of the population will develop bone spurs in their lifetime which can eventually lead to severe symptoms, such as pain to the neck, back and limbs.

The main cause of heel spurs is when the Plantar Fascia, the thick connective tissue that attaches the toes to the heel, becomes inflamed. This abnormal stress on the heel causes calcification of the soft tissue in the foot, creating the conditions for plantar fasciitis. Factors that can lead to this condition include abnormal stress, excessive weight, aging, or poor foot function.

For many people, the winter months can bring on bouts of seasonal depression disorder. You can’t change the weather or climate, but you can take some steps to alleviate those gloomy winter blues.

Also known as seasonal affective disorder, or SAD, winter depression can affect people in varying degrees of severity. Some individuals feel only mind symptoms of depression; for others, SAD may be extreme enough to require hospitalization.

And in a number of people, seasonal affective disorder affects not their mood, but their energy level. They are unable to successfully do the things they want to do because of lack of energy.

Well, guess what. Life is too short and precious to waste even one single day on dreariness and depression. If you are suffering from seasonal depression disorder, you might find the following tips helpful.

1. Get yourself some SAD lights. Health experts believe that exposure to additional light helps improve the moods of people suffering from the winter blues. SAD lights are devices specially designed to simulate the brightness of natural sunlight, but with no side effects.

2. Avoid caffeine and alcohol. Caffeine can contribute to feelings of anxiety, tension, and gastrointestinal system problems. Alcohol can make mood swings even worse, something you don’t want if you are at risk for SAD or are already suffering from it.

3. Escape winter — literally. If you can, move away for a few weeks or months to a warmer climate where there is plenty of natural sunshine. A beach vacation somewhere with temperate weather will do wonders when it comes to eliminating your SAD symptoms.

When viruses from common ailments such as the cold or the flu start causing asthma symptoms that is then called viral induced asthma. According to research there are two ways that viruses can set up the whole stage for triggering asthma attacks. There are actually two categories which can be considered when looking at viral induced asthma.

The first type affects people who literally have had no experience or history of asthma but begins to develop symptoms such as coughing and wheezing which begins after a viral illness like a cold or flu for example. The second type or viral-induced asthma has been known to affect children and adults who already have persistent asthma thereby worsening the already present symptoms associated with the condition. Survey shows that about 40% of asthma attacks in adults are caused by viral illness.

Several viruses can be blamed for triggering viral induced asthma but the two most common causes would be the Rhinovirus which causes colds and Influenza A which causes the flu. Respiratory Syncytial Virus or RSV is a virus that causes respiratory has also been found to cause respiratory infections in adults as well as children and infants. While RSV can pose great risks to adults it has been found to have a more significant impact on infants as getting this type of respiratory infection at a younger age would be likely to cause asthma and the symptoms associated with it until the age of 6.

There also seems to be a correlation between the severity of the respiratory infections, allergies in the child or parent, and the chance of having airway sensitivity that is very similar to asthma. The main reason as to why viruses cause asthma it seems lie within our own body’s defence mechanism. Under normal circumstances, when faced with a viral infection, our body triggers and inflammatory response to attack the virus and defend our body. During this phase, our body has increased sensitivity or airway cells, excessive mucus production and can cause swelling.

The problem starts when the virus starts to progress to the lower airway directly because our body start defending it from there causing asthma symptoms to occur or worsen in return. Inflammation can make it difficult for air to pass in and out freely, mucus can also add to the problem by blocking the already inflamed passages.

As of the moment there is no effective means being offered which can directly deal with the condition. The best advice that can be given would be prevention by getting flu shots yearly. Along with practice of proper hygiene and limited contact with those who have flu or colds can help.

If you have muscle aches all over your body accompanied by fatigue and a general feeling of tiredness, it is an indication that you are suffering from a disorder known as fibromyalgia. Due to the effects of female hormones, women are at a greater risk than men of contracting this disease. Hormonal fluctuations in women are another factor that aggravate the symptoms of this disorder. The symptoms of this disorder develop over time and may not be noticed until several weeks from the onset of this disease.

The pain in the muscles is felt all over the body and the sufferer finds it difficult to perform daily activities at home or at work as the feeling of tiredness is felt early in the morning. A feeling of abdominal bloating is also sometimes experienced by those suffering from fibromyalgia.

People are often unable to understand the difficulties that fibromyalgia can cause to the sufferers. This is because, in all outward appearances, the people suffering from this disease look as if they are normal and do not have any physical symptoms like droopy eyelids etc.

Allergies, infection and overexertion are sometimes found to be the leading causes of fibromyalgia. The sufferer experiences tenderness in the muscles and disrupted sleep. It is this inability to get proper rest that compounds the symptoms of those suffering from this incapacitating disease. The muscle pain is usually felt in the neck before being experienced in the other parts of the body. The sufferer becomes easily irritable and is bound to feel depressed. Mild headaches and abdominal discomfort causes uneasiness and these symptoms become worse if the sufferer leads a stressful life.

If the symptoms associated with fibromyalgia prevent you from performing your daily activities smoothly, you must seek the help of your medical practitioner who will describe a course of pain relieving medicines and anti inflammatory drugs to relieve the muscle pain. Your physiotherapist may recommend relaxation techniques and aerobic exercises to relieve the symptoms and help the patient get a good sleep every night.

This will help those suffering from fibromyalgia to cope with the tiredness and effectively meet the challenges of daily life. Taking a break between hectic work schedules lessens the body ache due to muscular tension and helps you to perform your daily chores easily. This disorder is curable and you can lead a productive life if you take steps to counter the condition immediately after experiencing the symptoms.

The three factors that influence the immune system of a human is calm, nutrition, and age. Certain activities and outside influences can contribute to the added pressure on the immune system.

The immune system, with its innate part, is our first line of defense. So our natural barriers and nonspecific mechanisms are responsible for arresting the attackers who seek to invade our bodies. The skin and mucous membranes are the first barriers that the invaders must confront in seeking to enter. But within these ancient structures are also mechanisms that are responsible for eliminating pathogens, and which act as natural antibacterial.

Nutrition is by far the most important thing when it comes to the task of supporting the equine immune system. Human being and animal need different levels of food and nutrition in their diet depending on age, current weight, activity level and overall health. The diet asset should be a delicate balance of protein, grain, hay, minerals, vitamins, supplements and proper digestion of these substances. Dry food should be high in quality and portion control should be stay to.

Even so, large numbers of microorganisms able finally to penetrate the body and are capable of causing disease. Most of the time however, a competent immune system can eliminate these incursions. In cases in which our immune system is unable to do so, that’s when we’re in trouble.

Previously the result was almost always the same: death. However, since the discovery of penicillin in 1942, we were able to kill microorganisms using exogenous substances.
The advent of penicillin has allowed human beings that we achieve will survive previously fatal infections by necessity in most cases. However, the use of antibiotics has led to another serious problem for us: resistance to antibiotics. This phenomenon occurs when some microorganisms survive the administration of antibiotics. These survivors develop genetic mutations that allow them to evade the effect of antibiotics. The trouble is that this information may be shared with other organisms, including different species, which allows the display antibiotic resistance among previously susceptible microorganisms.

We must consider the indiscriminate use of antibiotics and that antibiotics are emerging increasingly seeking to use new mechanisms of action in order to avoid the phenomenon of resistance. So more and more in the world are being found strains of organisms that are now resistant to antibiotics that were previously considered first-line. There is even talk that currently there are already some organisms that are resistant to all existing antibiotics.

Now, contrary to popular belief that they are antibiotics that kill the microorganisms, it is actually our own immune system which is responsible for removing them. So, after a course of antibiotics, what we do in fact decrease the bacterial load is enough for our immune system can eliminate those remaining. This is how our immune system also becomes the last line of defense.

Given the above, the question arises: would it not be better to try to boost the immune response instead of finding new antibiotics?
But … Is there a way to enhance our immune response?
Maybe …
It does tell the next…

Low back pain is a common healthcare and social problem associated with disability and absence from work. One 2005 medical study of chronic spinal pain stated that the lifetime prevalence of spinal pain has been reported as 54% to 80%, with as many as 60% of patients continuing to have chronic pain five years or longer after the initial episode. The long-term and disabling conditions of chronic and recurrent low-back problems are of major concern, from both costs and morbidity aspects.

Chiropractic care has been shown to compare favorably to medical care with respect to long-term pain and disability outcomes in many cases, but the chiropractor should carefully consider the optimum treatment plan for each patient on an individual basis. For most cases of chronic low-back pain, I recommend a three-step program of spinal adjustments, postural stabilization, and rehabilitative exercise. Combining these three elements can make the difference between a successful care program and a lingering, recurring low back condition.

Spinal Adjustments
As far back as 1985, medical research was reporting that a two to three week regimen of daily spinal manipulations by an experienced chiropractor brought significant improvement in 81% of totally disabled patients with chronic low back and referred leg pain. The patients in the study were from a university back pain clinic for patients who had failed to respond to previous conservative or surgical treatment. The researchers stated that anything less than two weeks of daily manipulation is inadequate for chronic back pain patients.

Postural Stabilization
A significant factor in reducing excessive biomechanical forces on the lumbar spine is frequently overlooked by practitioners – the use of external supports to decrease external forces. Positioning aids such as sitting postural supports (examples are postural back rests or ischial lifts for chairs and car seats), standing postural supports (such as foot orthotics and heel lifts), and sleeping postural supports (such as mattresses and pillows) can all greatly assist in the long-term management of painful lumbar spine conditions.

Rehabilitative Exercises
Corrective exercises done at home to strengthen supporting muscles are recommended as an adjunct to chiropractic adjustments and postural stabilization. Active involvement of the chronic low back patient in an appropriate exercise program has been found to be very beneficial, even for patients with herniated discs. Flexibility and strength exercises can bring about rapid improvements in lumbar spinal function as well as decreases in pain levels. Activity should focus on developing strength in the abdominals and supporting pelvic and low-back muscles.

Inflammation is known to be a big problem in chronic illness. Inflammation is always a problem in degenerative conditions we see in our country like diabetes, heart disease, arthritis, autoimmune disorders, and cancer, and it is even more problematic when the inflammation is chronic. We also see a problem with inflammation in Autism, especially neurological inflammation. There are several markers that can indicate inflammation that may be impacting these kids neurologically, tumor necrosis factor and interferon gamma are two.

Many children with Autism can have an issue with digestive inflammation and particularly, inflammatory bowel disease. But any type of inflammation whether it is in the gut, the blood stream, whether it is from a virus or a vaccine reaction or food sensitivities, it can negatively impact the brain. Inflammation in the brain can affect kids both globally and locally too, and can be particularly impactful on the temporal lobes. The temporal lobes are found on the side of the head and the left side is where some of the language areas are. When you have inflammation in those areas, blood flow can be decreased which hampers the ability for the blood to deliver oxygen. You can see that can be very problematic.

But the good news is there are many remedies that have been implemented that can have a positive change on neurological inflammation. Actos is a medication that have been used on individuals with Autism with fairly good success to help reduce neurological inflammation. Actos was originally a medication to control blood sugar for diabetics and then it was discovered that it could positively impact the way the cells in the body produce inflammation. Spironolactone is another medication to aid in controlling inflammation, also used at first to treat other conditions. It can be used to treat hirsutism which is an overproduction of testosterone in women and can regulate potassium and sodium which is useful in edema or swelling, especially of the lower extremities. Hyperbaric oxygen therapy is also an effective treatment for inflammation in Autism and it helps in two different ways. It increases blood flow and thereby oxygenation to the brain but the pressure of the chamber also seems to be helpful in treating inflammation as well. Turmeric is a very interesting herbal remedy for inflammation. It is an Indian spice with the active ingredient called curcumin. It is showing good results in children with Autism for both gut and neurological inflammation. As you do more research you will certainly hear more about inflammation, not only as a big problem in chronic illness today but also in the Autism community. But, as discussed in this article, there are remedies that can help.

Swine flu, which is also known as H1N1, is a flu-like virus that can spread from person to person. It is different from the regular flu because it is affecting many young healthy adults and kids and the number of people getting hospitalized is larger. It is called swine flu because the same virus has also been seen in pigs.

Back in April 2009, the number of people catching the swine flu virus started to become concerning. World health organization got involved and decided to assess the situation. Many people were getting sick with flu like symptoms and what made it odd was that it was happening outside of flu season. It was also not affecting the typical people who would normally catch it. A third of people over 65 had immunity to it and young babies were not suffering as much as the older kids were. It was striking healthy young people and making them very sick.

It also spread from country to country very fast and started sending healthy people to the hospital. Although many people have only suffered mild cases there were still higher than normal amounts seen in the hospital and even suffering death. Most people who died from swine flu, died from the result of an illness associated with it.

Not only were healthy young people catching swine flu and having a hard time with it, so were people in the high risk groups. These groups include; pregnant women, people with asthma, kidney disease, lowered immune systems and people with diabetes.

Symptoms of the disease include but are not limited to; fever, sore throat, stuffy nose, body aches, headache, chills, and fatigue. Vomiting and loose bowel movements have been noted but are not in every case. A person could have one of these symptoms or all of them. It also has been reported that in many of the deaths that people seemed to be getting better when their fever returns making them very ill.

It was advised that immediate help should be sought if any of the following symptoms happen, in kids; fast and trouble breathing, bluish, not waking up, fever with rash, not wanting to be held and irritable, and not wanting to drink. In adults the list include; breathing trouble, pain in chest, dizziness and confusion, and vomiting that doesn`t seem to stop.

Swine flu germs seem to stay on surfaces for two to eight hours and someone infected with swine flu is contagious one day before and up to seven days after.

The best way to prevent swine flu is to wash hands frequently and not put hands up to the face in public. If a family member is sick, try to keep everything clean and stay away from that person as well as keeping hands washed. A vaccine has also been developed and is available for everyone to take.

Swine flu is spread by either touching a contaminated surface and then touching your mouth or nose or eyes, or it can be spread by breathing in the air of someone infected, since it is also air born. Not everyone is catching it, and the duration of sickness in people is different, it is also striking hard on people randomly.

Many people know about hemorrhoids and they know that these are not good as the problem of hemorrhoids makes the life very painful. There are many types of hemorrhoids about which many people are not aware. They know only one thing that hemorrhoids are very painful diseases where a patient deals with the formation of hemorrhoids and pain. One of the least talked about types of hemorrhoids is a thrombosed hemorrhoid. Thrombosed hemorrhoids are very bad and painful which no one wants to suffer with them. However, if you think you that you have them then you should look them at right away and at least go to the doctor for their treatment.

The first thing that you should know is that what thromboseds hemorrhoids are. These hemorrhoids are clotted inside the anus thus they are very painful. The actual meaning of thrombosed is on the inside. Generally these hemorrhoids form on the veins in your rectum which is present just under the skin. There are also external thrombosed hemorrhoids that can be easily seen and felt. If you are able to see them, then you will realize that they may be hard or soft in touch. Many times you will notice that the color of a thrombosed hemorrhoid is going to be blue which makes you sure that these are external thrombosed hemorrhoids. If you are still not sure about it then you should concern about them with your doctor.

The bad thing about these types of hemorrhoids is that they are extremely painful in comparison of all other types of hemorrhoids. But the good news about them is they do not require any kind of surgery in their treatment. You should try not to annoy or inflame these hemorrhoids by messing with them. Many times these types of hemorrhoids get treated just by only taking the warm baths. You can also use creams that are available for their treatment in the medical stores. According to the suggestion of most of the doctors, you should include more fiber to your diet in order to treat a thrombosed hemorrhoid.

However if above mentioned things do not work at all then the final thing to treat these types of hemorrhoids is to do the surgery. Surgery is the last option that is adopted by the doctors for their patient if all other things fail in order to treat these hemorrhoids. However you should not worry or get panic in these cases. Whenever you feel that you have these types of hemorrhoids, you should directly bring it up with your doctor.

Throughout the ages, no matter what medical problem a patient suffered from, whether caused by illness or injury, one common factor always prevailed and this was pain. The only difference was the degree and intensity of the pain experienced by the patient.

Pain is the oldest medical problem and even before a medical profession existed, and the cause of the problem was not understood, the “patient” understood the pain he was experiencing. Within the medical profession, pain is always the common element that must always be addressed today.

The sense of pain has an essential protective value in that it serves to warn the body of damaging stimuli like tissue damage or an inflammatory process or reaction. Examples of such damage and inflammation include acute and chronic trauma, arthritis, osteoporosis and infections (bacterial and viral) amongst many others.

According to The International Association for the Study of Pain:

Pain is “an unpleasant and emotionally charged experience, associated with the actual or potential existence of tissue damage, or described in terms of such damage.”( IASP, 1986). Linton (2005) added that pain is “expressed in behaviour.”

But what was done to relieve pain in decades gone by? Drugs were used for this: Opium after 1680, Laudanum which is a combination of Opium and Sherry after 1680 and Chloroform after 1830. Then after 1846 Anesthesia with ether was used. Prior to drug use for many injuries and infections, the life changing action of amputation was used, which often in itself caused a whole new set of problems, including chronic pain, for the patient.

And of course today, our pharmacies are filled with all sorts of pain killers, many with side effects that can cause other medical problems, including death, and in the long term are often addictive.

In recent years pain, its symptoms and causes, has become much better understood by medical professionals. Research has shown that pain can be relieved by using drug free, non-invasive pain relief therapy which is safe and simple, highly effective and non-addictive.

Millions of people throughout the world are dependent on pharmaceutical drugs and other forms of patented medication for the relief of pain which often result in serious side effects, which in many cases prove to be fatal. In the United States alone 300 000, a staggering number of people, die each year from the use of prescription drugs. [Null, et al 2003)

Now we have bio medical therapeutics – technology meets biology and with the new understanding of how pain works, pain is now able to be relieved by digitally generating specialised waveform to simulate action potentials for the relief of pain and inflammation and to repair and heal tissues.

No longer do patients have to suffer unnecessary pain or use drugs that can cause a whole new set of medical problems!

Bleeding hemorrhoids usually occur within the anal canal or rectum and are caused by putting too much pressure while bearing down during defecation. The veins in the rectum tend to become overstretched or enlarged due to too much blood accumulation. Whenever we put force on a certain part of the body, blood rushes to it in order to provide the cells in that area with oxygen to accommodate the workload. In bleeding hemorrhoids, the dilated veins tend to bulge out. The initial visible sign of bleeding hemorrhoids would be blood streaks in the stools. It is greatly advised that you should have a check-up with your physician as soon as blood is present in your stools. One of the main reasons why it is necessary to have an urgent consultation is to check if the blood streaks are indicative of hemorrhoids or of other digestive tract related ailments such as colon cancer. Take note that the blood streaks from hemorrhoids are bright red in color; whereas in other digestive health problems, it is usually darker.

Patients who never heard of bleeding hemorrhoids would be startled at first and some would even panic. Bleeding hemorrhoids is very scary, this condition could become worse if the patient is constipated due to the fact that the more pressure you put to the anal canal due to hardened stools, the more blood would come out. There are even instances that the toilet will be filled with blood. One health problem associated with bleeding hemorrhoids would be anemia because of blood loss. Immediate replacement therapy is needed when anemia becomes severe.

There are several reasons why bleeding hemorrhoid occurs:

Weak veins – frail veins can have the tendency to collapse when there is a huge amount of blood flow to the veins in the rectum while straining. When straining, these veins tend to stretch themselves up to its limit especially in constipated patients.
Pregnancy and Obesity- being overweight means more effort while straining.
Wrong posture while defecating – although this may sound a bit awkward to some, the best way to defecate is by squatting. The digestive tract is like a tube where food enters and feces goes out. When a person is in sitting position, the passage way of the stools tend to bend which makes it harder for excretion and more effort is required. Whereas in a squat position, the passageway of stools is not bent or curved, thus there is an easier way for stools to pass through. There is minimal effort in squatting position compared to sitting position Lesser effort in straining means lesser pressure on the veins; lesser pressure on the veins means lesser chance of having hemorrhoids.
Too much caffeine and alcohol intake- Drinks high in caffeine such as coffee, cola and alcoholic drinks cause dehydration. When a person has very amount of fluids in his body, the stools tend to harden which makes it more difficult to excrete.

There are so many ways to cure bleeding hemorrhoids but the best way to avoid them is through knowing what it is and by finding ways to prevent it.