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The workplace has, in recent years for some become one of the unhealthiest environments in which to operate. Employees find themselves in pressure situations where they may be unclear of their job definition other than to appear busy and create a positive impression.

Motivation levels are very low and workers do what is necessary by agreeing, smiling and nodding heads in order to climb the corporate ladder. Employees in the United Kingdom work on average the longest hours per week in their main job (compared with the rest of the EU) and this holds for both men and women. Men’s hours range from 39 per week in Belgium and the Netherlands to 42 in Greece and 45 in the United Kingdom. Women’s hours all fall in the range 36 hours (Italy) to 41 hours (United Kingdom).

This issue needs to be addressed in order to improve the state of “corporate health”. According to statistics, over 2 million people are suffering from an illness or injury which they believe is caused or made worse by their current or past work (Health and Occupation Reporting Network).

An overwhelming 97% of senior HR professionals believe that stress at work is the biggest threat to the future health of the UK workforce.

Stress and musculoskeletal injuries are the most common cause of absence in business, and according to the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development, staff on average cost an employer £567 EACH per year in lost earnings through absence, although this figure could actually be tripled when the indirect costs of sickness in loss of sales, reduced customer service and lower productivity are taken into account.

Some 32.9 million working days are lost annually from people taking time off due to their illnesses.

The Cost of Back Pain: Over 1.1 million people in the UK experience musculoskeletal disorders caused by work, with an estimated 12.3 million days lost annually because of this.

The Cost of Work Related Stress: Stress is a natural reaction people have to excessive pressures placed upon them. While not an illness itself, if it is prolonged or intense it can lead to mental and physical ill health. This can include depression, back pain or heart disease.

In the United Kingdom as many as one in five people are suffering form high levels of work related stress (that’s around 5 million workers). Around half a million individuals report experiencing stress at a level they believe made them ill. This results in approximately 13.4 million working days lost per year.

What Can Be Done? Studies have shown that not only does exercise keep you looking and feeling your best, it helps boost energy and concentration, therefore making you much more productive at work. According to an MSNBC report, 60% of workers that participated in a recent British study indicated that taking an “exercise break” during the day boosted their time management, mental performance, and ability to meet deadlines. Researchers found that exercise provided a performance boost of up to 15%. It also improved worker’s overall mood at the end of the day. The type of exercise, the duration, and the intensity didn’t seem to matter. The effect was observed over a wide range of activities including yoga, strength training, and aerobics. We recommend taking a couple of small 15-30 minute breaks during the day is a great way to renew your focus, concentration, and energy. This is especially true for creative knowledge workers who have to concentrate intensely for long periods of time over the course of a typical workday. Exercise is a great activity for break time because it not only gives you an immediate energy boost, but it also helps you release stress and deal with job pressures. Some activities to consider during your breaks include light stretching or talking a stroll outside. If you’d rather not sweat too much while at work, you can save more intense physical activity for lunchtime (when you can shower) or after work.

“Corporate wellness” programmes are a growing sector within many businesses to promote the physical health of employees for the purposes of increasing productivity and reducing absenteeism.

The format of most programmes usually involves health checks, seminars and cut priced gym memberships. This service is a huge step in the right direction and should be promoted to all businesses. Although this alone may make an employee feel upbeat about their job for a little longer it doesn’t really address the real issues.

Research has suggested that nearly half of all Brits blame the demands of the workplace for preventing them from getting to the gym, so what use is a cut price membership if you can’t find the time to exercise??

Technorati Tags: Health, Workplace

The Nintendo Wii Fit was released to the public recently with much ballyhoo. If you haven’t seen the Nintendo Wii game system, it is the latest evolution in video game playing where players use the remote to mimic real-life actions such as a tennis forehand. The players’ physical actions are then played out on the screen.

The Wii Fit is a “game” that according to the Nintendo website can increase your fitness levels. “By playing Wii Fit a little every day, you, your friends, and your family can work towards personal goals of better health and fitness,” the site claims. While I have yet to use the game at all, I can say that I am highly skeptical that this will make a dent into America’s growing obesity problem.

The Wii Fit comes with a balance board that the player uses to interact with the game. When you first start the game, the Wii Fit assesses your balance – which is important in your overall health, but is usually not a concern to anyone who is not a senior citizen or recovering from injury.

It then moves on to perform the Body Test, which is more balance assessment, followed by the calculation of Body Mass Index (or BMI). BMI is a very flawed measure of one’s fitness, as it measures the ratio of one’s scale weight to one’s height. So, on the BMI scale, the following people are considered Overweight or Obese:

- Alex Rodriguez of the New York Yankees
- Tom Brady of the New England Patriots
- Lance Armstrong of cycling fame
- Arnold Schwarzenegger
- Sylvester Stallone

See where I’m going with this? Scale weight does not account for the amount of lean body mass someone is carrying. That is why body fat percentage is the gold standard for measuring one’s fitness.

Also, measuring BMI on anyone under 19 is very inaccurate. This already has become an issue for Nintendo, as a 10-year old athletic British girl was assessed as being Fat by the game. Obesity experts jumped on Nintendo immediately, rightfully stating that the game could cause irreparable harm to a child’s body image. Nintendo has since added a disclaimer that the BMI feature is meant for adults only, but hasn’t taken the step of deactivating it in the game for child users.

The game goes on to calculate a Wii Fit Age for the user based on your balance test results, actual age, etc. Again, this is a very shaky measure of one’s fitness that could mislead people.

The Training section of the game is broken down into four sections: Yoga, Balance Games, Strength Training and Aerobics, all of which can be done without spending the $89.95 suggested retail price for Wii Fit.

Let’s break down the Strength Training section as an example of some of the flaws in this game. The first exercise is a Single Leg Extension, which is more of an exercise in balance than a strength training exercise. Also, leg extensions do not mimic a real life use of the leg, and the leg extension machine is perhaps one of the worst machines in the gym.

The next exercise is torso twists, which is more of a dynamic stretch than a strength building exercise, especially in the absence of any weighted bar or dumbbells. That is followed by the push-up and side plank. Now, I’m a big fan of both of these exercises, but they are not for the de-conditioned. Most men are not capable of doing pushups with correct form, and women usually start out with the modified push-up until they have the strength to do regular form.

The next exercise, jack-knifes, is for people who are advanced in their training. It violates one of the basic principles of fitness professionals around the world – never put a de-conditioned person on their back on the floor for anything. Lastly, the game makes the user perform lunges, which are great muscle builders. However, like stated before, you don’t need to buy a game system to do them.

Overall, I give Nintendo credit for trying to make a game that tries to get people to be more active, which is more than can be said for other video game manufacturers. However, this will not do anything in terms of chipping away at the American obesity problem. In fact, I’ll go out on a limb and say that the video game industry needs to follow the route of the tobacco and alcohol manufacturers, and state that excessive use of their product could lead to inactivity and obesity, rather than try to make a half-hearted effort at increasing American activity levels.

Rather than letting your kids play Wii Fit while you watch TV in the other room, here are some things that you can do together:

- Go for a brisk walk
- Group session with a personal trainer
- Navigate a confidence course
- Play catch with a football or baseball
- Kick a soccer ball around
- One-one-one basketball
- Walk and play a par 3 golf course
- Family yard work or snow shoveling!

You’ll save money on electricity and form stronger bonds with your kids as you increase your fitness levels together.

Technorati Tags: Kidding, Ourselves

As we age, we have higher tendencies of getting weak quickly and our tolerance drops down. But the mature crowd has coped with the evolving fitness world. Men and women who are in their 50’s to 70’s are also learning the secrets of shaping up and getting strong.

Who says working out is exclusively for the young generation? It’s either an understatement or an assumption that doesn’t make sense. Exercising is for everybody regardless of age only that the intensity and strength level the mature or so-called boomers undertake is a bit less intensive than the ones in their 20’s to 40’s.

Fitness doesn’t make a biggie about age here. It’s even a greater concern to encourage fiftyish to seventyish peeps to execute exercises that can take them out of getting ill quickly. Lack of exercise can increase the risks of having bone loss, increased blood pressure, slow metabolism and bad appetite which are common among the seniors. If you’re among the mature crowd who want to get started with a fitness program, you can consider these 4 convenient routines for the aged:

1.Stretching. Older tendons, joints and bones need to be flexed and firmed up. As you get old, your muscles tend to stiffen up and lose its flexibility. Stretching exercises intended for areas like arms, shoulders, chest, back, chest, stomach and thighs can be done through several routines. Among them are knee and shoulder rotation, leg raise, neck rotation, arm stretching, etc.

2.Strength Training. Of course, you can do strength training by lifting some light dumbbells. The muscles in your upper and lower body can also be trained by using machines, free weights, fitness balls and barbells. You can do this for 30 minutes twice or thrice a week making sure that you allow your muscles to enjoy downtimes. Plantar Flexion that targets to strengthen your calves and ankles is a common exercise you can engage in. Another one is the arm raise that strengthens your triceps, biceps and shoulder muscles.

3.Endurance Training. For a stronger endurance, you should undertake some heart-rate-improving and muscle-activating routines like jogging, running, aerobic dance or elliptical machine training. Be able to manage your breathing mechanism appropriately as you do your cardio routine.

4.Back Strengthening. It’s common among the aged to experience back pains. To get you off some, you can try sitting with your back being straightened upright and feet on the floor. Bend your arms and draw your shoulders behind as far as you can. In this exercise, you will be the stretch on our back.

No matter how much you think you’re old, you are still capable of undertaking stretching, strengthening and body resistance training at the gym. Make sure you are guided by a professional trainer so that you don’t lose your sense of appropriateness and safety.

Technorati Tags: Aged, Convenient, Routines

We all look for the easy way out when it comes to burning tummy fat, losing weight or losing fat. All the scams out there want to cheat you of your hard earned cash for this “promise”. But there is a way you can literally burn fat in your sleep!

We are going to go a bit physiologically nerdy here (but don’t worry, I will try to make this as simple as I can).

First you need to understand that hard tough training beats low intensity, relaxing training. Hard is of course relative, for my clients who are senior citizens, hard may be brisk walking. But for my national level athletes, hard could be repeated 200m sprints.

The main thing is that hard training is the best kind. We are already sedentary in most of our jobs and city lifestyles. Does it make sense if we do minimal work during our exercise time as well? That makes no sense.

EPOC is one of the coolest things about hard, intense training. It stands for “Excess-Post-exercise-Oxygen-Consumption”.

When we train hard, we use energy faster than we can get it form oxygen in the air. This creates a “debt” in our energy system that will eventually need to be repaid. Sounds fair? Yup, all that energy came from somewhere! That somewhere is our anaerobic (no oxygen needed) sources that are already present in our cells.

So what have we just done? We have used energy beyond what we can sustain. If we were doing low intensity work, we could just breathe and get all the energy we need from our aerobic (oxygen needed) source. But no! We have exceeded that source and have tapped into other sources beyond what we can sustain.

It’s payback time. Once the intense activity stops, the body starts to recover from that activity. During this time many things are happening to get the body back to a “normal” state. All these things use CALORIES! In fact the above-normal calorie usage can last 30 or more HOURS after the end of the hard training session.

Like I have always said, hard training is like putting money in a growth fund which makes money while you do nothing! With EPOC you literally burn calories in your sleep (just like many of the scam products out there claim) the only difference is that this is real!

Here is a short list and description of what your body is doing to get back to a rested, normal state. This is quite a long list of items and you will soon see why and how EPOC has the ability to help you burn lots of calories.

Restore ATP-PC: In simple terms, this means that we need to replenish the anaerobic sources in the body that we tapped into during the intense training

Restore Oxygen Stores: This gets our blood oxygen levels back to normal

Restore Heart and Breathing Rates to Normal: When a hard, intense exercise session stops, your heart rate, breathing and other functions do not suddenly go back to normal. This of course requires energy as well as time, because they are both needed to restore the body back to its regular functioning.

Restore Hormone Levels: There are several hormones (ok fellow nerds – epinephrine, norepinephrine, thyroxine, cortisol) that are increased. To clear the excess hormones out, the body has a chemical “pump” that needs energy to function.

Restore Body Temperature: During exercise, heat production is likely to excede heat removal. That means increased body temperature. For each degree celcius above normal, a 13-15% rise in calorie usage is needed for recovery.

Remove Lactate: Lactate is a by-product of exercise and it accumulates in muscles. It also takes energy to remove.

That’s why all good fat loss programs make full use of the EPOC property. That means weight training with low rest periods, exercises that use the whole body and interval training as opposed to long slow endurance type activity which only burns calories during the exercise session.

Technorati Tags: Burn, Explains, personal, Singapore, Sleep, trainer

Elderly in home care can cause caregiver stress.Caregivers are expected to be strong and healthy, but what happens if the caregiver gets sick? As the Marketing Officer of a web based business that assists families to find care for their loved ones, I can always tell when a caregiver who is calling is at a breaking point. Their voices are very stressed amd they are almost in a panic. Often, as they describe their situation, I can hear the tears welling up inside of them. unfortunately, some people wait too long and the stress of being a caregiver has already taken its toll, but it does not have to be that way.
If you are the primary caregiver of a person with Alzheimer’s,dementia,or other serious illness, you need to be very careful not to let the situation overwhelm you. While this sounds easier said than done, there are steps you can take to prevent burnout. Here are a few points that can help.
1.Look for help.Allow others to help and don’t feel that you have to be the one to do everything. There are numerous ways to get help for your loved one depending on your needs,location and financial situation. Here are a few:
a.Contact the Office on Aging and ask about respite programs. Most counties have programs that will pay for a limited number of hours of home care services, free of charge. These types of programs are designed to give you a break and allow you to get out of the house.
b.If your loved one qualifies for Medicaid, there may be programs available which would pay for either home care or adult day care services.
c.If your loved one has a serious illness, consider using hospice. You don’t have to wait until the illness is at the ends stages to get help.
d.Ask relative or close friends to help you out.
2.Get some exercise.Exercse can help you reduce stress, keep your body strong, strengthen your immune system and simply make you feel good. Some of the best exercises are walking or biking. These are easy to do, get your heart rate into the aerobic zone, burn calories and give you a chance to clear your head. Some excellent mind/body exercises include yoga, tai chi and Qi gong. Make time to exercise and you will reap the rewards.
3.Eat well.Like exercise, eating a well balanced diet helps you feel good, helps avoid being sick and gives you the energy you need to be a caregiver.
4.Learn relaxation techniques.Deep breathing, meditation and some of the mind/body exercises mentioned above can be tremendously helpful. An easy breathing technique is to inhale through your nose for a count of four,filling your belly with air, not your chest.Hold your breath for a count of seven and then exhale through your mouth for a count of eight.This can really help calm the nerves when practiced regularly.
5.Get an adequate amount of sleep.The fastest way to get run down is never getting enough sleep. If you find you are caring for your loved one at night, try to hire a person for overnight if this is possible. If you have siblings, ask them to chip in financially if they are not able to share some of the actual hands-on care.
While it can be very difficult to do many of the suggestions listed above, you must understant that if you get run down and sick, the problem is greatly magnified. You must be firm in demanding time to care for yourself and most importantly, you must not feel guilty. You are doing a great and honorable thing by being a caregiver, but it must not completely take over your life.
If you don’t know where to turn, consider hiring a professional geriatric care manager. While they can be a bit costly, it is often money well spent, as their years of experience are focused on helping seniors and their families when in nee

Technorati Tags: care, Caregiver, elderly, home, stress

Bones provide the overall structure and connective tissue that keeps your skin and other organs intact. Without bones, you are unable to lead a physically active life. Fractured bones are always extremely painful, and they compromise quality of life until they are repaired. It is then exceedingly important to maintain healthy bones throughout your lives. The care begins from the time you are young and continuing through the senior years.

A person’s bones are at their strongest at ages of 20 to 30 years old. After that, you lose bone continuously for the rest of your lives. Any activity helps keep bones strong, but exercises that put extra pressure on specific areas can give extra benefits. Weightlifting is a very good exercise for strengthening bones. You are never too old to start an exercise program that includes weight training to strengthen your bones. Aim to get 30 minutes daily of moderate exercise like walking, aerobics, or jogging to promote bone health and strengthen them. When you exercise, muscles move against your bones and this will make them both stronger. It does this because it causes new bone tissue to form.

Your bones are constantly changing. Doctors don’t understand or know why bone remodeling happens. It takes about 2 to 3 months for a full cycle of bone remodeling to complete. When you are young, your body builds faster. By the time reach your mid 30′s, you reach your peak bone mass. Bone remodeling doesn’t stop, however. It simply slows down after your peak.

Keeping your bones healthy is a must. It is just as important to starts as soon as you can so that you can prevent any problems later in life. Aside from exercise and weight training, you also need to take in a lot of calcium. By the age of 17, most people have about 90% of their adult bone mass built. As you age, your body will gradually remove and replace small increments of calcium from your bones. If your body can’t replace all the calcium it took, then your bones will become weaker. After the age of 18, your body stops taking in calcium. The only way to move forward is to maintain the supply that is already there.

As you all well know, the best source of calcium is milk and dairy products. These products are easy for the body to absorb. Vitamin D helps the body absorb the calcium. Dark green veggies such as broccoli and spinach have a lot of calcium in them as well.

Bones just really need calcium and other nutrients to become and remain strong. Lacking proper nutrition makes everything go downhill. Eventually the bones will begin to decay. This, of course, can lead to serious problems like fractures, falls, and immobility. As the medical community becomes more knowledgeable, they will keep informing people about simple but basic lifestyle changes that can have a positive impact on your skeletal framework.

Ask your doctor what you can do at whatever stage of life you are at to protect and preserve your bones. Following a general plan should have a good effect on your bones. Avoid osteoporosis and take care of what you have before it’s too late.

Technorati Tags: Bones, strengthening

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, stroke is the number one cause of serious, long-term disability in the United States. Over the course of a lifetime, stroke affects an estimated four out of five families. Although these statistics sound dire, take heart: With these strategies, you can help your parents reduce their risk — and reduce your own at the same time.

Control blood pressure.

High blood pressure means a high risk of stroke. If one of your parents has been diagnosed with prehypertension (120/80 to 139/89) or hypertension (140/90 mm Hg or higher), his blood pressure should be treated. The doctor will prescribe the appropriate medications, but your parent’s blood pressure needs regular monitoring. Although it can be a bit tricky to use, an inexpensive manual cuff (starting at about $12 at your local drugstore) is a great way to monitor blood pressure at home. But if you can’t get the hang of using it, you may want to consider investing in a blood pressure machine, which is a bit more expensive (between $70 and $150); it’s also available at your local drugstore.

Depression, medication, and other medical conditions

Manage stress and depression.

A parent’s emotional and psychological state can have a very real effect on his physical health. Minimizing stress, anger, and depression is an important aspect of maintaining good cardiovascular health and avoiding a stroke. If your parent lives by himself, he may feel disconnected and alone. Even if your parents still have each other, sitting around the house can lead to boredom and unhappiness. Help your parents get out, make new friends, or simply engage in stimulating activities. Their local church or community center is an excellent place to connect with other seniors.

Perhaps your parent is already a social butterfly but still seems to be having difficulty with his mood. Encourage him to try these stress-busting strategies:

- Cut back on caffeinated beverages and alcohol.
– Try meditation or yoga.
– Play relaxing music.
– Go for a walk outdoors.
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If you’ve tried everything and still feel concerned about your parent’s mood, talk to his doctor. Depression is a serious but treatable illness.

Reduce the risk of blood clots.

Ask your parents’ doctor about medications that can reduce their risk of developing blood clots. The most commonly recommended medication is aspirin, which is inexpensive and can be taken at a low dose (81 milligrams is the usual recommended dose). If your parents have other medical issues, the doctor may prescribe a more potent drug.
Control other medical conditions.

If your parents have atrial fibrillation (an abnormal rhythm involving the upper two chambers of the heart), diabetes, heart valve disease, or vascular disease, they have a much greater risk of stroke. These medical conditions require careful management. Make sure their doctor knows about any such conditions and is treating them appropriately.
Talk to the doctor about medications that might increase your parents’ risk.

Hormone replacement therapy (HRT), rosiglitazone (for diabetes), and COX-2 inhibitors (for controlling arthritis pain) are all examples of medications that may increase your parents’ risk of stroke. Review their medications with their doctor and ask if there are less risky alternatives.

Know the early warning signs and seek treatment to prevent a stroke.

According to the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke, one out of three people who have a transient ischemic attack (TIA) will suffer an acute stroke. Signs of a TIA, or ministroke, include:

- Sudden numbness or weakness of the face, arm, or leg — especially on one side of the body
– Sudden confusion, trouble speaking or understanding
– Sudden trouble seeing out of one or both eyes
– Sudden difficulty walking, loss of balance or coordination, dizziness
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For more detailed information, see What You Should Know About TIA If Your Parents Are at Risk for a Stroke. If you think your parent has suffered a TIA, notify his doctor right away so that he can be treated.

Diet, exercise, and smoking

Keep “bad” cholesterol levels low.

One of the major risk factors for stroke is a high bloodstream level of LDL, or “bad” cholesterol. Ideally, your parent’s total cholesterol should be no more than 200 mg/dL (milligrams per deciliter) and no more than five times the level of HDL or “good” cholesterol; his LDL levels should be below 70 mg/dL. Make sure his cholesterol levels are checked regularly and treated if necessary. Following a low-fat diet and exercising regularly may help, but it might not be enough. If his cholesterol levels don’t respond to lifestyle changes, his doctor may prescribe medication.

Follow a heart-healthy diet.

The best diet for preventing stroke is the one recommended by the American Heart Association. Choose a diet rich in whole grains, vegetables, fruits, fish, poultry, lean meats, and low-fat or fat-free dairy products.Your parent should limit intake of fat (total fat between 25 and 35 percent of daily calories, saturated fat less than 7 percent, and trans fat less than 1 percent), cholesterol (less than 200 milligrams per day if LDL levels are high, less than 300 milligrams per day if they aren’t), and sodium (less than 1,500 milligrams per day for high blood pressure, less than 2,300 milligrams per day otherwise). Your mother should consume no more than one alcoholic beverage per day, your father no more than two. And they should each eat 25 to 30 grams of dietary fiber every day.

Encourage regular exercise.

Exercise is essential for general cardiovascular health and is key to preventing a stroke. But how much exercise is enough? The Centers for Disease Control and the American Heart Association recommend accumulating at least 30 minutes of moderate-intensity physical activity at least five days a week on most days. This doesn’t mean your parents need to do half an hour of aerobics five days a week; instead, you can encourage short bursts of activity throughout the day. Just parking farther away from the store and walking the extra distance, or taking the stairs instead of the elevator, can quickly add up. But before your parents begin any exercise program, they should talk to their doctor about any restrictions they might have.

Help them stop smoking.

Smoking is one of the biggest risk factors for stroke. If your parents or anyone who lives in their home smokes, quitting is essential to good health. Just living with a smoker increases the risk of stroke by almost 30 percent. But recognize that stopping smoking isn’t easy. Here are a few ways you can help:

- Ask your parents what they think would make it easier for them. They may have suggestions you haven’t thought of.
– Encourage them to talk about their feelings and what they’re going through. Smoking may be a comforting lifelong habit; let them mourn a little.
– You may be tempted to nag or yell if they slip up, but it’s more effective to remind them that you love them no matter what. Be positive and encouraging — and vent your frustration to a friend instead.
– Help them avoid situations that trigger the desire for a smoke. If they’re used to enjoying a cigarette after meals, try going for a short walk outside instead.
– Be understanding as they go through withdrawal symptoms. Try not to take it personally if they’re especially irritable, short-tempered, and tired.
– Quit smoking yourself. If you must smoke, don’t smoke around your parents. Not only will it make quitting more difficult for them, but the secondhand smoke will increase their risk of heart attack.

If your parents find it too difficult to quit on their own, talk to their doctor. Nicotine replacement therapy, support groups, and counseling may all be helpful.

Technorati Tags: Prevent, stroke, Ways

Exercise is essential for people with the joint inflammation known as arthritis. Increasing strength, flexibility and mobility is achieved through the repeated stretching and strengthening of muscles, which support the joints. For many arthritis pain sufferers, the task seems insurmountable.

Even the walk from the house to the car is unbearable. However, starting with aquatic exercises can prevent you from becoming completely immobile. Exercise can help you sleep better, make you feel more energized throughout the day, strengthen bones and muscle tissue, help you lose weight and give you a better self-opinion.

Many patients are asking, “How can I prevent the joint deformity associated with arthritis?” It’s bad enough that you’re suffering the pain on the inside, let alone exhibiting the unsightly bumps and crooked, protruding lumps associated with arthritic hands. One study (Scott J. Zashin, M.D., 1998) indicates that TNF Blockers, such as Enbrel, Remicade and Humira, are most effective at halting the progression of arthritis.

Researchers found that while 25% of patients on Methotrexate achieved clinical remission, 70% of the patients who did not respond to Methotrexate had success with the other three drugs. Of course, the drugs are far from a cure, but rather serve as a pain management tool for those who suffer most.

If you are afflicted with arthritic pain, then there are ways of exercising the joint(s) without injuring yourself. Range-of-motion exercises, like raising your arms over your head, rolling your shoulders in circles and stretching can be effective if done daily. Strengthening exercises, like light weight training will help build muscles, taking a load off strained joints.

Aerobic/endurance exercises improve overall fitness, controls weight and moves joints in natural motions, so consider walking, bike riding and swimming for 20 – 30 minutes/day, 3 times/week. The most important thing is to find something you like to do and regularly incorporate it into your life. If you question your motivation, then you may find a yoga or tai chi class to be the best pain management solution.

There are over 100 medical conditions known to cause the joint pain and inflammation associated with arthritis. Many times, inflammation of the joints comes along with an injury, disease or other ailment as well.

For seniors health, it is imperative that you try your hardest to remain fully mobile. If you need drugs or a low impact exercise routine to help you get past that initial hurdle of chronic pain, then ask your doctor what kind of options are available to you.

Technorati Tags: arthritis, Associated, Deformity, Joint

Here are more ways to control hypertension without the use of drugs. These guidelines were issued by the Department of Health (DOH) in Manila and are recommended for those with mild hypertension (those with a reading of 140/90) who have no underlying disease.

EXERCISE REGULARLY. Exercise leads to weight loss which, in turn, lowers your blood pressure. So if you’re hypertensive and are overweight, a little exercise can solve both problems.

If you haven’t been exercising for a long time now, have a medical checkup before you embark on a fitness program. Begin gradually and work your way up to a level that’s not too taxing for you.

Contrary to popular belief, you don’t have to use expensive equipment or join a marathon to benefit from exercise. Neither should exercise leave you out of breath and close to a heart attack.

Walking is simple yet it is a good exercise for most people. So is swimming, jogging, or aerobic dancing. Proceed at your own pace and you’ll be surprised at the results.

“You should exercise at least three times a week. That will keep you in good shape and lower your blood pressure,” said Dr. Desiree M. Narvaez, a medical specialist formerly with the DOH Non-Communicable Disease Control Service.

REDUCE SALT INTAKE. People with hypertension think they’re doomed to a life without salt. This is impossible since salt is found in all plants and animals and is required for the normal functioning of the body. Salt restriction – not the avoidance of salt – applies mainly to hypertensive individuals who are “sodium-sensitive” or those whose readings soar whenever they take excessive salt.

“It’s not true that everyone with hypertension must follow a salt-free diet. Only certain individuals need to reduce their intake appreciably. You can determine if you’re one of them by going on a strict low-salt diet for a few weeks. If your blood pressure doesn’t drop much, then you are probably not salt-sensitive and can enjoy the health advantages (and pleasures) of moderate salt intake without risk,” revealed Dr. Isadore Rosenfeld of the New York Hospital – Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center in “The Best Treatment.”

If you happen to salt-sensitive, decrease your total salt intake to less than one teaspoon a day to reduce hyperten­sion. The body’s daily requirement is half a grain (or a quarter teaspoon), but many people consume three to four teaspoons of salt daily.

“For people trying to cut back on sodium, hiding the salt shaker won’t do the job. About 70 percent of our sodium intake comes from processed foods, so it’s important to read ingredient labels. Foods notoriously high in sodium include salted pretzels, sausages, pickles, tomato juice and canned vegetables,” said Larry Katzenstein, senior editor of American Health magazine.

Other high-salt goodies include bacon and ham, luncheon meats, and cheese and cheese products. Hold the ketchup, mustard and soy sauce as well or your blood pressure could shoot up like a rocket.

LAST BUT NOT THE LEAST, HAVE YOUR BLOOD PRESSURE CHECKED REGULARLY. Visit your doctor regularly to have your blood pressure checked. It’s also wise to invest in a sphygmomanometer and learn to take your own blood pressure at home. Various devices are available. Your physician can advice you on which model to buy. (Next: When to treat hypertension.)

Since obesity is a factor in hypertension, it pays to lose weight. To help you shed those unwanted pounds, take Zyroxin, a safe and natural supplement that will maximize your weight loss through its unique fat-burning ingredients. For details, visit http://www.zyroxin.com.

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The condition known as sarcopenia derived from the Greek words for vanishing flesh is the gradual wasting away of lean muscle tissue of one’s body. Twenty years ago this condition did not even have a name, but now is well on the way to becoming a household word like osteoporosis.

Responsible for robbing both women and men of their strength, health, mobility and independence in their senior years, sarcopenia is a significant global health problem and is one of the most serious long term threats to being able to remain healthy as adult’s age.

Usually seen in physically inactive people, sarcopenia exerts its debilitating effects in a slow, sneaky fashion over a period of decades. This loss of muscle begins at around the age of 30 at the rate of 10% per decade increasing to 15 % per decade in the 60′s and 70′s then about 30% per decade thereafter.

This insidious and crippling process not only robs people of their functional health and mobility but further pushes them into unhealthy and inactive lifestyles. This vicious cycle continues with increased risk of other diseases associated with a sedentary lifestyle such as cancer, diabetes and heart disease.

Research in the anti aging field is finding ways to prevent and treat muscle loss in aging adults and concludes that strength training exercise has a remarkable effect on recovering lost strength.
The negative attitude towards strength training by older adults has changed over time as they are learning how they can benefit from this old but proven form of exercise.

Strength training is exercise that uses resistance – to strengthen and condition the muscular system. This can be achieved with resistance training machines or free weights found in your local gym. The amount of resistance a muscle has to work against determines how strong it will get.

Strength training is not running on a treadmill, riding a stationary bike, or using an elliptical machine. Although those types of aerobic machines use “resistance” to increase your workout intensity, it’s not the same as strength training and will not strengthen muscles.

Any exercise that involves contracting your muscles many times with little or no resistance such as walking or cycling doesn’t prevent loss of muscle mass. Runners still lose muscle mass even if they’re highly active. When challenged by strength training exercise your muscles and bones are continually forced to renew themselves, sweeping out old, degenerated cells and rebuilding new tissue that is younger, stronger, and healthier.

To get started a properly prescribed exercise program should be set up and the initial sessions monitored by an Exercise Professional at your local gym or health club. This program should include both strength training and cardiovascular exercise at about a 60/40 ratio.

If you risk losing your functional health and mobility as you get older, you risk losing your precious independence – and your dignity along with it. The good news is, as a health-conscious adult you can take immediate steps to get started on a strength training program to ensure this will never happen to you.

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