Combat Lower Back Pain Stiffness After Sitting

Sitting down whenever we have the opportunity to do so can help us feel more relaxed and settled. But cozying up for hours on a couch or on a chair all day long causes more problems than just an ordinary stiff neck, tight shoulder and back pain.

According to Joan Vernikos, a published author and former NASA scientist, people are not designed to stay and hold one position for any length of time. Eventually, doing so causes discomfort and pain.

She said that prolonged sitting can lead to health problems like back soreness, bone and muscle degeneration. In fact, this is a problem most astronauts suffer from after spending quite some time in microgravity.

Most people today are sitting down daily for ten hours or more. This stems from the fact that most of the working class citizens today, especially in the U.S. in Chicago and elsewhere are seated behind a desk, in front of a computer for eight hours. Unless you are a Chicago real estate broker that is, in which case you will often have the opportunity to walk during working hours when you make your clients visit flats or houses.

After work, the same people go home, prepare their dinners and sit down once again to enjoy their TV shows or read a good book. The illnesses that we have come to recognize today, such as obesity, diabetes, stroke, and cancer are caused by this kind of passive lifestyle.

Though these take years to develop, the back pain caused by sitting too much can immediately be felt, especially when you attempts to get up. So unless you are a Chicago real estate agent or an active worker in contruction or Phoenix waste disposal services, read on to see how you can reduce your back pain. Aside from the lifestyle diseases, here are other problems caused by chronic sitting down.

Pinched Nerve

Sitting for hours does help relax your body, but it does nothing for your nerves. It is not normal for the body to stay immobile for hours.

Because it is not normal for the body to stay immobile for hours, sitting down does nothing for your nerves. It can make you feel relaxed now, but this causes muscle strains and pinched nerves later on.

A “pinched nerve” occurs when too much compression is applied to a nerve root by its surrounding tissues. In this case, a herniated spinal disc can compress a nerve.

The good news is, a nerve that is pinched for a short time will leave no lasting damage. However, prolonged pressure on your nerves can cause permanent damage.

Kills Your Hip Function

Have you noticed that the longer you sit down, the more difficult it is to get back up? For you to stand, your muscles need to extend. But prolonged sitting places your hip joints into “flexion”. And because the muscles do not get enough movement, they remain locked.

Sitting down for many hours unfortunately kills the life of your muscles by shortening them. This means it makes it more difficult for your muscles to extend and flex, and in return, your back and hip muscles become stiff.

When your hip extensors are stiff and shortened, it locks the muscles located in front of your hips called the hip flexors. If you allow this to happen, you are basically causing yourself back pain and disrupting your hip’s full range of motion.

Slouching And Poor Posture

Your body is in a proper posture when it follows the spine’s natural inward curve. But sitting down causes you to unconsciously slouch. Your spine will start to curve the wrong way and cause back pain.

But your body will unconsciously slouch and the spine will start to curve in the wrong direction. Staying seated for many hours with a poor posture will eventually cause lower back pain.

Try to keep your spine healthy while sitting down by minding your posture. Consider gravity as an invisible force that pulls in a downward direction, like a vertical rod and align your body vertically to spare your back from all this pain.

Try to maintain your spine’s natural curve by standing for every 45 minutes of sitting down. Mind your posture and try not to slouch. Put a pillow at your back to support your back.

Squeezes Your Lumbar Discs

When your body is in an upright position, it puts your spine in proper alignment. This minimizes the pressure it would normally endure. Sitting down on the other hand forces your spine to compress. This compression in your vertebrae causes your discs to squeeze.

A compressed spine is one of the biggest culprits of chronic back pain because it damages the cartilage that cushions your vertebrae. When the discs are damaged, your spine cannot withstand the shock it normally can easily endure.

According to Vernikos, the reason behind our body’s response to prolonged sitting down is due to our natural instinct to move. Prehistorically, we moved a lot to hunt for food and to seek shelter. The pain is caused by our body’s innate need to survive from injuries.

6 Ways That Sleep Improves Your Health

sleeping well Did you know that people are supposed to have at least seven hours of sleep every night in order to stay healthy? Most of us do not get this much sleep regularly. In fact, by sleeping 7 to 9 hours every night, you can experience outstanding health related benefits.

Once you understand what these benefits are, you may be more motivated to get this much sleep on a nightly basis. Here are six ways that sleep improves your health substantially.

Improves Your Health

Studies have shown that one of the most prominent benefits of sleeping is that you can avoid chronic problems that so many people have. A lack of sleep has been associated with obesity, heart attacks, and diabetes just to name a few of the problems. Those that do not get enough sleep, or that work all night, are likely to experience these problems in their life. A comfortable mattress can be a huge help, use the layla mattress coupons to get the best price.

Reduces Physical Bodily Pain

The reason that sleep can help minimize the amount of pain that you feel each day is that it gives your body time to recover. You may work at a job which is very physical, and your muscles will need time to recover, which can only be done if you are sleeping enough.

Improves Your Sex Life

Although there are pharmaceutical drugs, as well as natural remedies, for improving your libido, sleep is much more effective. People that do not sleep enough are not able to have good sex. For men, it improves their ability to achieve and maintain erections. For women, it allows them to enjoy sex more and experience more orgasms.

Helps You Prevent Accidents

When you are tired, your ability to be aware of your surroundings is greatly diminished. Your brain is not going to function at an optimal level. Therefore, your ability to make mistakes is going to be enhanced. This is true for almost any activity which could include walking, working, or driving.

Improves Your Mood

If you have ever encountered someone that is not happy, they are more than likely tired. Although they may have other things going on in their life, the stress in their life is likely causing them not to sleep. If you are able to sleep more, this actually helps your body and mind recover, allowing you to feel much better throughout the day.

Can Help You Lose Weight

People that are obese, or noticing that they are gaining weight, should sleep as much as possible. When your body is able to rest for an average of eight hours, you will actually lose weight as a byproduct of getting enough rest.

Additional Reasons That You Need to Sleep So Much

There are a few other reasons that getting a minimum of seven hours of sleep at night is essential. First, your ability to process information will be enhanced. If you are going to school, or simply trying to do your job at work, if you are sleep deprived, processing information will not be easy. Getting plenty of rest is also mandatory if you are working out regularly.

It will give you the energy that you need to do your exercises, and also recover from what you are doing. Finally, sleep helps you look younger, and also feel rejuvenated, benefits that can be yours if you get enough rest.

These are just six of the many different reasons that sleep can improve your life. If you are working full-time, going to school, and raising a family simultaneously, it will be difficult for you to find the time to get plenty of rest. However, if you can somehow augment your schedule so that you can sleep at least seven hours a night, you will see dramatic improvements.

If possible, find a way to get as much sleep as you can so that you can experience the many benefits that are associated with those that sleep enough each night.

The Main Types of Sports Injuries for Women

Women today are much more active with sports than they used to be in the past, almost as much as men.

Although some reports show that female athlete expected to prepare at lower levels of strength than male athletes, it gives the idea this was more of a social than a physiological issue. Today, female athletes can prepare and contend at levels similar to male athletes.

In spite of the fact that there are dissimilarities in the performance that are related to gender, athletic injuries are connected more to the player’s game than sex.

Nonetheless, a few games related injuries, for example, fractures and ACL tears, are more typical in ladies. Gender-based contrasts in human anatomy and physiology, and then training may add to these expanded rates.
The following are the common types of sports injuries for women:

ACL – Anterior cruciate tendon (ACL) injuries happen most every now and again in turning and cutting games, for example, ball games, soccer, and volleyball. The more striking occurrence of ACL injuries in ladies most likely originates from mind-boggling, interrelated components, conceivably including hamstring-quadriceps quality uneven characters, joint laxity and the utilization of lower leg props. Fruitful treatment regularly incorporates sophisticated medical procedure to solve this issue.

Stress Fractures – There are many contributing components to the more noteworthy recurrence of stress fractures in ladies. Male athletes may have more noteworthy bulk, which ingests stun better. In an investigation of female athletes, diminished calf circumference was an indicator of stress fractures of the tibia. The bigger width of male bones may likewise assimilate stun better.

Bone mass and bone mineral thickness can fluctuate broadly in females because of a few components, including hormonal impacts and menstrual abnormalities. Low calcium intake and dietary problems may add to the improvement of stress fractures. On the other hand, oral preventative pills seem to help forestall stress fractures in female athletes.

For the two people, an inflexible, high-angled foot ingests less stress and transmits more force to the leg bones, which may build the risk of stress fracture. Also, investigations of female athletes have demonstrated that having one leg somewhat longer than the other can expand the danger of stress fractures.

The Female Athlete Triad – is characterized as the blend of disordered eating, amenorrhea and osteoporosis. This issue regularly goes unrecognized. The outcomes of lost bone mineral thickness can be disturbing for the female athlete.

Untimely osteoporotic cracks can happen and lost bone mineral thickness may never be recaptured. Early acknowledgment of the female athlete triad can be accomplished by the family doctor through screening questions. Organizing a suitable eating regimen and directing the recurrence of activity may result in the characteristic return of menses.

Hormone replacement therapy ought to be viewed as right on time to keep the loss of bone thickness. A collaborative effort among mentors, athletic coaches, parents, athletes, and doctors is ideal for the acknowledgment and counteractive action of the group of three diseases. Expanded training of parents, mentors, and athletes in the well being dangers of the female athlete group of three can keep a conceivably perilous ailment at bay.

Physical activity is an essential piece of keeping up overall health. But there are definite precautions that need to be considered to lessen the risk of having these sports-related injuries. Utilizing the right gear and keeping up hardware can help anticipate sports injuries. Wearing the suggested defensive apparatus like a form of ankle support for example can help shield the body against injury.

Resting between exercises gives the body time to rest and repair. But there are definite precautions that need to be considered to lessen the risk of having these sports-related injuries. At long last, tuning in to the body and sponsorship off at the principal indications of torment, inconvenience, stress, or overheating will help decrease the danger of games injuries.

Common Injuries That Causes Hip Pain

The hips can withstand repetitive motions and fair numbers of wear and tear. The ball and socket joint in the hips are the largest in the body, and it is with good reason – this anatomical space allows fluid movement.

When you try to move your hips (for example by walking, running or dancing), the cartilage in the ball and socket prevents friction and cushions some of the shock that the hips encounter.

Despite how strong your hip muscles and bones are, they are not indestructible. As you age, the cartilage can wear down to the point of damage. When it happens. you can easily fall out of balance and most likely get injured.

Other age-related conditions and physical issues contribute to the pain as well. For younger people, hip pains are usually injury-related or caused by overuse of the muscles.

Here is a rundown on the hip problems that a persona can experience in his or her lifetime.

Hip Flexor Strain

The hip flexors are a group of muscles that work together to lift your thighs upward. These collective of muscles also contribute to lifting your trunk while in a lying down position, especially during sit ups.

A hip flexor strain is associated with tightness or pain at the hips and is usually caused by poor physical fitness, excessive and repetitive hip motions, or tears to the acetabulum – the cartilage lining that cushions the joint.

Osteoarthritis in the Hip

Osteoarthritis is a degenerative condition resulting from the wear and tear of the muscles and ligaments in the hips. As this disease progresses, the cartilage in the hips become thinner and inflammation occurs.

In some cases, the protective cartilage wears down altogether to the point of inflicting excruciating pain to the person. The symptoms of osteoarthritis will develop slowly over the number of years. One possible natural solution to remedy this pain is to use dietary supplements like the turmeric curcumin by earthwell, which has been shown to produce good results.

Rectus Femoris Tendon Rupture

The rectus femoris is one of the powerful quadriceps muscles in your body. This tendon rupture at the top of the muscle near the hips is a result of explosive movements or overuse.

The rectus femoris is a muscle that crosses two joints and is used to lift up and extend the knees. As the main cause of this problem is excessive use of the muscle, many professional football players and runners suffer from this problem.

Hip Sprain

For those who had a dreaded experience with a so-called hip sprain, they know this type of injury occurs when one of your ligaments surrounding the hip joint gets too stretched or extended. Thank God this type of accident very rarely happens but it can occur to people who experience a powerful pull on the leg (likely caused by accident or trauma), forcing the ligaments to overstretch.

The pain is always evident at the front part of the hips and this is due to the thigh bone being forced backwards. You can differentiate hip strain between hip flexor strain by lifting the thigh forward. If there is absence of pain, then you are experiencing hip strain.

Hip Tendonitis

Hip tendonitis is the inflammation of the tendons in the hips. This condition usually occurs when the hip tendons are in a lot of strain, either caused by abrupt physical activity or biochemical problems.

The first symptom is some tenderness on the specific point of the hips where the tendon originates. The hips may also feel tight, especially in the mornings after you wake up.

Ilium Apophysitis

Ilium Apophysitis is an injury that results to a dull pain at the front of the hips. This usually occurs among children and adolescents who still have underdeveloped and soft apophysis in the hips.

Younger people involved in sports usually suffer from this, especially those who suffer with tight hip muscles. If the muscles keep on pulling on the apophysis this can result in irritation or inflammation on this area.

People who are suffering from hip pain may be experiencing a simple muscle strain that can be relieved by stretching. But it could also be caused by serious injuries that would possibly require surgery. Call your doctor if you are experiencing hip pains that are associated with redness, swelling and warmth around the joints for more than two weeks.

Relationship between posture, mobility and stability

The human body is a complex system of systems stacked upon each other, each relying on the other. It is important to know that when one area of the body is in pain, the surrounding parts are also likely to develop a problem. This means when one body part is in pain, it is very likely that its surrounding areas are also experiencing a problem.

In this article, let us talk about lower back pain. What exactly causes it?

There are many reasons why your back is prone to pain. Back pain happens when there is a problem in your spinal joints, muscles, discs or nerves. Sometimes, the issue may start with a simple muscle tightness which then radiates to spinal problem.

The back is supposed to stay steady while the hips remain mobile. But when a person experiences lower back pain due to poor hip flexor muscles, they also suffer from tightness resulting to less movements and unstable spine. This means when dealing with a problem such as back pain, we need to think of it as an integrated system.

To prevent the back from flexing or extending and keep it steady, the hips should be mobile enough to withstand our movements. If the hips are mobile and flexible, the spine will stop wobbling from trying to carry your weight and it will remain stable.

Why is mobility and flexibility important in preventing pain? Let us first define what mobility and flexibility means and how important they are to our health.

Mobility usually happens because of the existence of your joints. It is the area where two bones meet and it is the space where surrounding tissues, muscles, tendons and ligaments are out of the way. Think of mobility as the range of unhibited motion happening in the joint. When a person has a good mobility, he or she can perform any movement without restrictions.

Flexibility on the other hand is the range of motion in a joint or the distance and direction that the joint can move. It directly correlates with range of motion and mobility, but does not directly correlate with balance, strength and coordination.

In contrast, mobility requires coordination, balance and strength to perform a certain movement. Flexibility on the other hand may not require the same factors as mobility does. This means a person who is flexible does not automatically mean that he or she has great mobility.

Knowing which area in the body that needs the right approach is a massive step towards getting out of pain and improving movement. When there are tight muscles, there are also weak muscles. One big mistake people make when trying to alleviate back pain is that they immediately address the weakness of their back by trying to slowly incorporate strength training.

While building muscle strength is important in preventing pain, the back will never be fully restored to its optimal health when its lack of motion (caused by tightness of the muscle, in this case tight hip flexors) is not addressed.

The key to addressing back pain is to identify the tight areas first and apply corrective strategies next. After these steps are taken, you can now work on strengthening the muscles to prevent the pain from coming back.

Many therapist will work on your mobility first for one reason only – the joints are restricted (at the thoracic spine) it will be difficult to stretch the muscles. This can be easily identified by a chiropractor or a massage therapist.

When back pain has already progressed, it is important to see a practitioner and join a treatment program. Although there are many remedies to back pain, your case might already require mobility drills and extensive muscle stretching.

Are Tooth Implants For You

Since the early 1960s, dental implants have been used to replace missing teeth. This medical procedure has become even more popular and widespread nowadays as as crown support for bridges and dentures grow in demand.

Implants are made out of titanium, a metal that can bond with adjacent bone healing. It is also very compatible with body tissues and is safe to use as teeth-replacements. Many studies and clinical experiments also showed that titanium is the best metal to use as it fuses around the jawbone that serves as the base for the replacement tooth.

According to the Academy of General Dentistry, dental implants are “tooth roots” artificially placed in your gums to support crowns, bridges, dentures and other dental prostheses. It is also deemed presently as the best and only long-term choice for tooth replacement. The question now is, are dental implants right for you?

Prior to this procedure, you will need to submit yourself to some oral and dental examination to determine if you are a good candidate for this operation. The dentist will assess how much bone volume and density you have in the area where the tooth is missing. That is a vital process as the implant will need sufficient bone structure to support the metal that will get inserted in it.

Here are more facts you must know before getting started.

Dental Implants Have A High Success Rate

A significant factor in the success rate of dental implant procedures depends on the patient’s dental health. Documented research and clinical studies state that the success rate of dental implants is over 95%, this includes the areas of the jaw where there is low bone density. Once a dentist integrates an implant, this can last a lifetime.

Dental Implants Look and Feel Natural

According to the patients, the only difference between their real teeth and their implant is that their implants are artificial. As they are customized to feel, look and fit like an authentic tooth, you will not notice that it is even there.

These are all credited to the fact that the implant is fused to the bone. Furthermore, specialist takes the extra time and effort to design your crown to ensure that it looks incredibly similar to the rest of your teeth.

Implants Allow You To Eat Easier

There are other dental procedures to address tooth loss. However, only dental implants can enable you to enjoy chewing your food like you used to. You do not need to take extra precaution or care when eating; just chew like you used to.

Unlike traditional dentures that often slide and make it difficult for you to bite and even nibble, dental implants act and serve as your natural teeth. This allows you to enjoy any food at any time of the day without the sensation of sensitivity or pain.

Implants Do Not Require Extensive After Care

Apart from the regular brushing and flossing, implants do not require any specialized attention. The only real concern one might have is when they apply too much pressure on it during teeth grinding habits or jaw clenching.

If you have these problems, talk to your dentist about it as there are remedies and solutions for these issues. An example of it is wearing a nightguard when you sleep.

Do not forget to get your teeth professionally cleaned every three to four months as well. This keeps your teeth and gums healthy. It is also an opportunity for your dentist to exam your implants and makes sure it remains healthy.

What causes dental implants to fail?

There are general health influences that cause dental implants to fail. One example is uncontrolled diabetes. People with diabetes experience problems in tissue healing. In turn, it affects the osseointegration process of the implant. It means that the fusing of the implant to your jaw is continuously disrupted.

Drugs taken by patients with osteoporosis can also compromise healing of the bones, and the condition itself directly affects the patient’s bone density. As a result, the implants may not be able to handle the stresses associated with chewing or biting firmly.

Another reason for an implant to fail is when you pay no heed to remove food particles. This causes plaque formations to start and eventually affect the implant by causing the bacterial infection known as peri-implantitis, which destroys your jaw bone and loosens the implant.

It is the dental specialist who places the implants. If you do not know any practitioner that is specially trained for implantology, you can always ask your family dentist for a referral. He or she can forward you to a periodontist or another general dentist who have undertaken specialized education and training for this field of practice.

How To Avoid Osteoporosis

Those people with rheumatoid arthritis who take corticosteroids, even at low doses, are at risk for osteoporosis, the thinning of our bones that can make them crumble or break. Steroids diminish your body’s ability to absorb calcium from the intestines and hamper the manufacture of new bone.

Osteoporosis primarily affects the bones of the hip, wrists, and spine. It results in about 1.3 million fractures a year, including spinal fractures in one-third of women older than 65. Preventive measures are particularly important because there are no early warning signs of osteoporosis: The first indications may be a decrease in height or the formation of a dowager’s hump as bone in the spine collapses.

Your body borrows calcium daily from your bones for your blood to use. But it also redeposits calcium regularly from the food you eat, so new bone is continually being formed. Around age 40 to 44, the regrowth begins to slow down, and we begin to lose more bone than we manufacture. Add steroids to the mix, and the loss accelerates.

To make matters worse, as we get older, it also gets harder for our bodies to absorb calcium just when we tend to be eating less and in general taking in less calcium in our diets.

Extra vitamin D and calcium, however, can prevent or slow osteoporosis. Most women need 1,500 milligrams of calcium per day, and men need 1,000. The daily requirement for vitamin D is 400 international units (IU), but double that for people older than 50. (Based on blood tests, however, your doctor may recommend a higher dose.)

In a study on rheumatoid arthritis, people on corticosteroids who took supplements of 1,000 milligrams of calcium and 500 IU of vitamin D daily had an increase in bone mineral thickness in their lower spines. Those who didn’t get the supplements had a 3 percent bone loss each year. (The supplements had no effect on bone thickness in people who didn’t take corticosteroids.)

Nutritionists generally recommend trying to get your nutrients through food rather than supplements, however. This is both because you’re less likely to overdose on foods and because nutrients may work better when they’re in a “package deal” all wrapped up with other essential nutrients in healthy food. Here are good dietary ways to shore up your stores of calcium and its vital bone-building partner, vitamin D.

Eye Problems Related To Type 2 Diabetes

There are millions of Americans today who are suffering from prediabetes and diabetes. The fluctuations of the blood sugar levels often lead to many health complications including eye problems.

If it is not controlled properly, diabetes can lead to eye different eye diseases that can leave you blind. According to the National Institutes of Health, diabetes is one of the primary contributing factors of blindness among adults between the age range of 20 to 74.

There are several eye problems caused by high blood sugar but below are the most common:

Cataracts

Patients with diabetes are susceptible to cataracts due to the fluctuations of their blood sugar levels. It is an eye disease characterized by the cloudy formations in the lens which causes blurry vision. Cataract is a common eye diseases typically plaguing older adults. However, diabetics are at a higher risk of developing this problem.

During your annual eye exam, your optometrist will screen for cataracts. If necessary, he or she will refer you to an ophthalmologist for a surgery – a procedure that removes the cloudy area around the lens.

Glaucoma

High blood sugar levels can cause the blood vessels in your eyes to leak. The pressure from the excess fluid in the eyes are responsible for the vision loss associated with the disease glaucoma.

Because glaucoma does not have any serious symptoms (usually discomfort and blurry vision only), a patient can gradually lose his or her vision without even knowing they have this illness.

Majority of glaucoma sufferers already experience the symptoms in the late stage of the disease or if the eye pressure is already causing pain and halo effects in their vision. If left untreated, glaucoma can damage your optic nerve and potentially cause permanent blindness.

Eye drops can usually alleviate its symptoms and can easily be thought of as dry eyes. So if you are suffering from high blood sugar levels, blurry vision that comes and goes, it is best to get your eye checked immediately.

Knowing the severity of your case will determine the care and treatment you need. Consult with an eye specialist right away to determine what kind of treatment you need.

Diabetic Retinopathy

The most serious visual complications caused by diabetes is diabetic retinopathy, or also called microvascular complication. This disease affects both type 1 and type 2 diabetes sufferers.

Diabetic retinopathy causes bulges in the tiny blood vessels that serve nutrients to the retina. Over time, these bulges will eventually break and burst, causing fluids to leak into the retina. There are two types of retinopathy: non-proliferative and proliferative.

Non-proliferative retinopathy causes blindness but not as a result of abnormal growth of blood vessels in the retina. Proliferative retinopathy by contrast is caused by the growth of new blood vessels in the retina that can burst and cause scar tissues to form. This is considered as the most serious type.

Each of these types can pose serious damage to your eyes. If you are diabetic and you are already noticing issues regarding your vision, visit your doctor right away. If caught early on, retinopathy is preventable. Treatments for retinopathy typically include laser procedures or eye surgery.

Prevention and Treatment

As diabetes is the root cause of these eye problems, make sure that you keep your blood glucose levels as normal as possible.

If the eye problems are still at the earlier stages, your doctor might suggest laser treatments. This is a procedure wherein a light beam is aimed into the retina of the damaged eye. The beams helps close off the leaking vessels and slows down the loss of sight.

If your eye care provider sees blood leaking into your retina, he will most likely suggest that you take the surgery called vitrectomy. It is a procedure that removes the fluids and blood from your vitreous and replace clean fluid back into your eye.

As soon as you get diagnosed of diabetes, get your eyes checked even before any symptom shows. Your eye care professional can already determine whether or not your eyes are starting to get damaged.