Treating Restless Leg Syndrome With Acupuncture

Restless Leg Syndrome (RLS) is an uneasiness that persists in the legs at nighttime or during prolonged periods of rest. Patients suffering from RLS often experience involuntary movements of the legs along with irritable cramping. During these periods of uneasiness, individuals experience an irresistible urge to get up and walk around. Although walking may temporarily relieve symptoms, it fails to provide permanent relief.
The following symptoms in patients indicate Restless Leg Syndrome:
• Extreme discomfort in the legs
• Irresistible urge to move the affected limb(s)
• Cramping of legs; tingling feeling in the legs
• Symptoms that become aggravated at night when lying down
• Symptoms that present themselves during long periods of rest, i.e. long car ride, long-distance flights, sitting in movie theaters
Research shows that Restless Leg Syndrome is caused by the chemical imbalance of dopamine in the body. Dopamine is a chemical that functions by transmitting signals between nerve cells in the brain. RLS is primarily a genetic disorder and it often affects adults over 50 years of age, particularly women. In fact, more than 40% expectant mothers complain of leg cramping during the night and while sitting for extended periods of time. Symptoms of Restless Leg Syndrome are more apparent during the third trimester of the pregnancy.
There are a variety of lifestyle treatments that may be adopted to relieve the pain caused by RLS. These often include: adhering to a bedtime routine, engaging in regular exercise, losing weight, lowering intake of caffeine and practicing relaxation techniques such as yoga. However, many patients seek chiropractic treatment because it is more suited to alleviating symptoms of RLS. This is because the condition is believed to stem from structural problems. Dr. Howard Loomis points out in his article Restless Leg Syndrome in The Chiropractic Journal that patients suffering from RLS should seek chiropractic care to correct their structural problems as opposed to seeking pharmaceutical treatment. This is because Restless Leg Syndrome may stem from numerous underlying causes and chiropractic treatment can accurately identify and treat those causes to relieve the pain suffered by patients. Moreover many patients feel that medication that may seem effective at first begins to lose its potency and becomes ineffective in the long run.
Chiropractic treatment of RLS involves acupuncture along with stretches and moderate exercise to treat Restless Leg Syndrome.
The most effective acupuncture techniques in the treatment of RLS are detailed as follows:
1. Kidney essence deficiency
2. Spleen Qi deficiency which irritates the Liver
3. Qi flow disharmony in the Yin/Yang superficial meridian of the lower limbs (It is believed that Yang does not move and Yin persists in the lower body thereby causing Restless Leg Syndrome.)
Many insurance companies are now beginning to include acupuncture in their coverage plans. Policy makers believe that by providing insurance for acupuncture treatments, they are making it easier for patients to access a treatment option that they might not be able to afford otherwise.

The Long Term Advantages of Using a Chiropractor

There are a couple of you who have considered making use of a chiropractor, however have your doubts about it. You want to know how this is going to work for you. The first thing that you should recognize is that there are a lot of perks you can easily get from utilizing this therapy technique. Chiropractic therapy is long term which means that you will see these long lasting perks for a while. Right here are merely a couple of things that you might want to know about before getting the services of a chiropractor.
The first thing that numerous notice is that you see a reduction in pain. There are many people who find that the method that the chiropractic practitioners manipulate the skeletal system actually assists to take pressure off the nerves. This assists to acquire a sense of balance too. Many people desire treatment because they cannot handle the pain that they were living with. With chiropractic therapy, you do not have to think about this complication any longer.
An other long term perk that you can discover when you make use of a chiropractor would certainly be that you get even more range of movement. Those of you who are feeling rigid and cannot move your body parts freely will have no more complications after several sessions with the chiropractor. You will certainly be able to move in ways that you thought you might never relocate once again. It resembles taking twenty years of your life. You will feel years more youthful.
With all of this, you will certainly find that you have a far better quality of life. You will certainly have the ability to do the things that you used to enjoy doing and thought that you would never be able to do again. Chiropractic therapy makes it simple for you. It will provide you back a life that you have been dreaming about. Prior to you understand it, you might be asking why you didn't do this faster. No matter what condition that you have, you will certainly find that chiropractic doctors will certainly have the ability to assist you with regaining a sense of living without the discomfort that used to surround you when you exert your body or make abrupt motions. Individuals around you will certainly see the distinction treatment makes, even if you do not see it at all. And this is why numerous patients discover that they enhance their wellness and their everyday activities after a couple of trips with a respectable chiropractor. We hope you consider a chiropractor to help you with your condition.

More About Antioxidants

Lutein belongs to the carotenoid family of antioxidants. It is found mostly in dark green leafy vegetables including spinach, broccoli, kale and cabbage. So the advice of our grandmothers to eat these pungent vegetables was worth heeding! And it is also found in red peppers, tomatoes, red, blue and purple fruits and egg yolks!
What are some of the major benefits of lutein?
1. It plays a major role in eye health.
Our current understanding is that lutein provides a filter that absorbs harmful UVB light and dangerous free radicals, preventing them from reaching the retina where they can cause great damage.
Eating diets rich in lutein-containing foods (or taking supplements) results in improved colour vision, sharper vision as well as being less susceptible to glare in normal-sighted people. (Save Your Sight by Drs Michael R and Marc R Rose).
Of particular interest, though, is that it can help to prevent serious eye disease and loss of sight in at-risk groups, for example, people from families with a strong history of macular degeneration as well as other vision loss problems including cataracts.
Dr. Mark Grossman of the Integral Health Center in Rye and New Paltz, New York, advises that everyone over the age of 50 should be taking supplements with lutein. And even people who are already suffering from macular degeneration or other vision problems can benefit since lutein has been shown to increase the density of the macular pigment. This would at least prevent further deterioration, and the reversal of the condition is not impossible.
One further point: it is often better to take a supplement that contains a wide variety of carotenoids rather than a single component. This is because the compounds often act synergistically, meaning that the combined effect of all is greater than the effect of just one component. As an example, the carotenoid, zeaxanthin, is very important for eye protection together with lutein.
2. It supports a healthy immune system.
This has far-reaching benefits including a protective effect against certain cancers.
Lutein protects cells against free radicals. It also improves cell-to-cell communication which is important in maintaining healthy tissue. One of the distinguishing features of tumours is that the cell-to-cell communication is no longer functioning properly. Over 250 published scientific papers attest to lutein's protective role, even although the exact mechanisms by which it achieves this are not clear. Cancers that have been studied include colon, lung and breast cancers.
3. It protects against cardiovascular disease.
Studies have shown that people who eat diets rich in antioxidants, and therefore have higher levels of lutein in the blood than those who do not, do not suffer from thickening of the walls of the arteries. This is most likely due to the fact that LDL (low density lipoprotein), or 'bad cholesterol' is not oxidized and so it is unable to deposit in the vessel walls as plaque.
The protective effect from lutein has even been shown in smokers who are notoriously at risk of developing heart disease.
The case for a diet rich in fresh fruits and vegetables grows stronger with each passing day as research uncovers the myriad benefits to be had from the nutrients that they supply!

Chiropractor Will It Take To Treat Back Pain

Back pain is among the things that a chiropractor can assist to lessen and fix. Nevertheless, this isn't going to be a very easy fix. Some people think that they can easily go in one time and that their problem will be resolved. Nevertheless, that isn't really the case at all. It will certainly take even more than one session before a physician can successfully reduce the discomfort. So just how many trips will it take, you ask?
The answer to this question is that the number of trips you have to have may not be the exact same as someone else. There isn't any sort of definitive solution that we can give right off the bat as to just how many you sessions you can anticipate to need to take. However, there are means to estimate when you may be nearing the end of therapy. A couple of you will think that we are informing you that you will certainly have to remain under treatment for long period of time, but that's not the situation at all. You will find that there are many patients who understand simply what those signs are. When you can understand those signs, you can then estimate exactly how far you are from ending your therapy. Some of you won't know, however the physician can advise and you simply have to rely on the professional.
For those of you who don't understand just what those signs might be, you might want to know how a chiropractor could recognize this. There are lots of different methods that they arrive at this conclusion. The first thing is that they consider the x-rays. The professionals will do this periodically to see exactly what distinction there is in your bone structure. The other thing about this is that they will certainly do medical examinations of their own and confer with your primary care physician. They should observe some change over time also. You will certainly see that they will re-examine you quite frequently to ensure that you are consistently healing.
Some individuals choose about five to 10 sessions. Others have had sessions twice a week for a couple of months. So, when you do the mathematics, you can see that it builds up to many sessions over time. The thing with this is to remember that there are numerous factors that affect the speed of your recovery. There are some of you who may have gone to the chiropractor early on. Others might find that they let this complication go for a little too far, for that reason needing more sessions to reverse the damage. You should ask the chiropractor about the seriousness of your issue on your first trips. And this is just how you can easily get this question exactly responded to according to your needs as there are a lot of factors that influence the length of your therapy.

Benefits Of A Medspa And Its Many Services

A medspa is a variation of the regular spa in the sense that it offers services that are medically based instead of purely aesthetically based. These services are not just aimed at healing the beauty craving of the individual, but also healing the body.

Common Services

Among the more common services that a medspa might have to offer are those that are based on dermatological medicine and administered by qualified dermatologists. Treatment for conditions that plague people's skin are among the most sought after in these places. One example is the treatment of acne and pimples. While pimples are skin breakouts that happen when a series of events lead to it, acne is a condition that needs to be treated for an extended period of time. A facial can be performed to prick the pimple and treat it to prevent it from growing any bigger and getting infected. It is important that trained experts do the facial to prevent any more growths and to prevent an infection. Acne, on the other hand, has several avenues of treatments to go through. Some of the milder cases can be managed and controlled with the topical application of prescribed medication, while more severe ones may need injections and oral medications to control it. Some of the treatments work for some individuals, while other people may need to go for other means that suit them better.

Another common service in a medspa is hair and body treatment, which might need to use medicines to stimulate hair growth and to clean the body from toxins through cleansing treatments. Hair treatments are often aimed to encourage the growth of healthy hair in the individual. Many of the places that offer these treatments also offer alternative means to care for baldness or thinning hair. Examples of these are hair transplants and the application of medication to stimulate hair growth. While massages are often done in spas, specific massages can actually be beneficial for the spirit, mind and the body. Many are based on physical therapy, which can ease tense and sore muscles as well as relieve muscles pain and other discomfort. These massages need to be administered by trained individuals who are certified and qualified to administer them. Some massages hit specific points in the body that stimulate the wellness of corresponding organs and areas.

Slimming services are also among the most sought after. A medspa will benefit greatly from investing in equipment and machines that will help people attain a slimmer and leaner body. Liposuction without the invasive measures is fast becoming a legitimate trend for those who want to lose weight easily. Body-sculpturing procedures with the use of non-invasive techniques are very popular and have become increasingly safe. Although these are quite expensive, they usually work and give the patients a very satisfactory result.

Simple Fitness Tips to Accommodate All Lifestyles

An area that every single person should be concerned with is their fitness. When it comes to this, it's important that your decisions are sound. If you are struggling to maintain a good fitness routine, read the following article for some ideas.
First, it is important to incorporate some cardiovascular exercises into your fitness regimen. This is important for numerous reasons. First, it ensures that your heart remains strong and healthy. Second, it helps you lose fat or maintain your current weight. Because your heart rate is elevated with cardio exercise, it is proven to be of the best weight-loss methods. You may think that cardio is simply running outside or on a treadmill, but the truth is there are so many other things you can do to get a good cardio workout. For instance, you could try riding a bike outside, playing a sport, or even just dancing to your favorite songs. All can help elevate your heart rate, increasing your metabolism. If you have bad joints, you should consider using an elliptical machine, which has been proven to be one of the best weight-loss machines for those with weak joints. Cardio workouts can be accomplished virtually anytime and anywhere.
Although cardio exercise is extremely important, you should not forget to include some resistance training as well. This is important for building lean muscle, which helps to keep your metabolism high and burn off fat. Although you may be afraid of resistance training because you do not want to get bulky, you should not let this stop you. Although it is true that resistance training can do this to you, it won't if you maintain a healthy diet and incorporate some cardio workouts as well. In fact, if you don't do resistance training, you could end up burning a lot of muscle as well as fat, which can cause you to look deathly sick. If you are prone to injury, you don't even have to use weights. You can use your own body weight, such as push-ups or pull-ups, to do resistance training.
Make sure you don't forget to workout the lower back. Many weightlifters focus on the "mirror muscles", such as the chest, shoulders, and biceps. However, all parts of the body should be worked out, and that includes your lower back. If you fail to workout this part of your body, it will get weak. When you have a weak lower back, you are prone to serious injury. Lower back injury is a very serious matter that can be prevented by working it out. Try doing some superman's and lat pull-downs to workout this muscle.
Whenever you workout regularly, it's important that you eat right. This includes eating before and after your workout. About an hour before your workout, you should consume a light snack that contains long-lasting carbohydrates, such as brown rice, oatmeal, or a whole-wheat bagel. Include some protein as well. After your workout, you should consume foods with a higher glycemic index because your body needs fast-absorbing carbohydrates during this time, especially if your workout was intense. These foods include white rice, mashed potatoes, and cereal. Also, make sure you include protein. Protein is an important macronutrient for a healthy body.
When working out, it's important not to just do a workout whenever you have free time. If you are a busy person, you will probably struggle to find free time and make an excuse that you're too busy. Instead, set a time for your workouts and stick with them, no matter what. It really doesn't matter what time of the day you workout, just as long as you actually do it. If you workout best in the early morning before work, do it. If the best time for you to workout is after work, then do that. Just make sure you incorporate a workout into your day somewhere.
Finally, keep in mind the golden rule whenever you are in the middle of your workout: always breathe. Never hold your breath. This is important for many reasons. First, you can get dizzy and faint if you do not breathe. Second, your muscles require oxygen in order to function. In order to receive oxygen, you have to breathe. Breathing deeply can actually help you get through extremely difficult workouts. Remember to breathe in through the nose and out through the mouth.
Living a healthy lifestyle does not have to be difficult. Utilize the tips provided above, and you can plan out your fitness regime with success.

Stair Lift Installed by a Company That Values Safety

If you plan to get a stair lift installed in your home, you should make sure the company you choose has a track record of holding safety and quality in high regard. Otherwise, you could end up injured, or at least having to pay for a product that does not work properly. Get to know the reasons why you should only select a high quality business for this job.
Safety should be your number one priority when selecting the business to install your new stair lift. As you can imagine, you could be badly injured if the product was not installed correctly, since it could fall the minute you reach the top of the stairs. Even if the entire product doesn't fall, parts of it could malfunction or break off, putting you at risk of falling or being cut by sharp parts. This is why you need to make sure the company you choose has no pending lawsuits or any history of customers being injured due to a bad installation.
Even if you do not get hurt while using your new stair lift, you could be inconvenienced if it stops working. You do not want to be stuck on the stairs, especially if you live alone, since you would be unable to reach a phone to call for help. Even if you are able to get off the broken product after it malfunctions, you would need to get it fixed before you could use it again, leaving you without an easy way to get up and down the stairs.
Not only would you be unable to use the stairs when you have a broken stair lift, you would also have to pay to get it repaired. If your budget is already tight, this can be an issue, leaving you with a broken item you cannot afford to fix. This is why you need to not only make sure the business you choose will the item properly, but can also affordably service it if it breaks in the future. Many companies offer a warranty, which means they will fix the issue for free, or even give you a replacement so you never have to worry about not having the money to repair it.
Fortunately, there should be a few companies near you that can install a stair lift carefully, as well as giving you the peace of mind that a warranty brings. You might have to research a bit to find such a company, but the result will be worth your time.

Think Your Spinal Surgeon Is Wrong

There are all kinds of injuries and diseases of the spine that can warrant having a surgical procedure done. There are also many non-surgical options for those who are not experiencing dramatic issues. There are times when an injury or disease lies right in between, and often two different doctors will have differing opinions regarding the best course of action.
Surgical procedures for the spine can include implants, which are often used to produce a natural effect of the area in question. There is a potential for a life long benefit when you replace defective or deteriorating discs with implants. There is also a risk that the spine and surrounding tissue will never really be the same or fully recover.
Because the back is such an intricate place to tend to, many patients are highly fearful of having any kind of surgical procedure done on the spine. Even those in pain severe enough to reduce the quality of life to a rather minimal level are often unable to really feel comfortable with the idea. It may be necessary for patients to become entirely disabled before relenting to implants because of this fear.
If you are not sure whether or not such an option is really right for you the emotional turmoil can become overwhelming. You do not wish to live in pain. You also do not wish to have surgery unless there is no other way to get relief.
Advances in technology and science have merged to create optimal conditions for patients who may qualify for other types of relief. The regenerative medicine field is exploding with opportunities for physicians as well as patients to experience a more comfortable transition into disc replacement and other aspects of spinal pain relief.
The reproduction of actual human tissue taken directly from the intended patient can be the best option. Of course, this would mean that you have to be willing to see a surgeon that offers regenerative medicine and discuss the potential benefits. This might mean traveling, and in some cases you may risk losing your primary doctor on the case.
Adult stem cells and neck surgery or spinal surgery can come together to create a good option for those who are eligible. The idea is to use minimal surgical techniques and use the cells that come from the patient to have the body work through its own healing process. If you believe or even think your surgeon is acting too quickly you should see a physician that offers such advanced techniques.

Fruits for Fatty Liver

We all know that fruits are healthy in many ways, and that's the main reason we encourage our children as well as the elderly to consume a lot of fruits. They're rich in fiber, minerals, vitamins as well as possess various other qualities such as antioxidant properties and more.

How fruits help with your liver

Fruits are perfect if you're looking for a healthy liver because they help in liver regeneration and also with the replacement of damaged cells. But, are all fruits good for people suffering from liver problems? Well, the simple answer would be NO; but, what exactly should you avoid?

First and foremost before we begin mentioning names, you should know why some fruits need to be avoided. If at all the fruits contain a high level of glucose, even though it's perfect for a healthy individual, it's not going to be the best option for people with liver problems. Banana for instance is really high in glucose and you could easily determine other fruits based on their sweetness.

Of course you can still enjoy eating bananas if you love them; but, you should only have a little of them rather than feasting on the fruit.

Some recommended Fruits for fatty liver

There are plenty of fruits that are exceptionally great for fatty liver and some of them include:

Prunes - Prunes are not only delicious, they're also some of the finest fruits for fatty liver. The presence of high levels of antioxidants and fiber makes them an ideal fruit.

Blueberries - Just like Prunes, blueberries too contain an exceptionally high level of antioxidants and dietary fiber. However, another added bonus that they possess is the presence of Anthocyanins and various other substances.

Oranges - Oranges don't just contain the properties of the above mentioned fruits; but in addition to those amazing benefits, they would also help prevent early aging. Therefore, if you love oranges they're not just good for your liver but overall health and beauty.

You should know that fruits are also a rich source of energy and sugars and even though they're really good for your health, too much fruit too isn't recommended. As you know, anything in excess is always bad and that's the reason you should limit yourself to a few fruits each day.

If at all you happen to make fruit juice, try to consume it within an hour as stale juice isn't as good as when it's freshly prepared.

About Brian Berger's Triglycerides

Today as I was driving and running some errands for the clinic I was listening to my favorite: Sports Radio (750 AM). Brian Berger was the radio host and he runs a segment where he has a sports medicine doc on to discuss various injuries to players. At the end of the segment Brian said he was going to get selfish for a moment and as about a personal health issue. Of course I perked up. He had just gone in for a physical and everything was good except for a report of high triglycerides in his blood work. His questions were naturally: 1. What is a triglyceride? and 2. How do you reduce them?. The doc on the radio was obviously caught off guard. He deals with strains, sprains and other sports injuries most of the time. Players aren't asking about triglycerides much. But he did really well describing the problem and offered some info. I thought that there was more to add so I hit up Mr. Berger on Twitter. He said he would be interested in more info so I thought I would share this with anybody who may have a question about triglycerides.
First... I must say that it is very cool that Mr. Berger responds so quickly to his listening audience. Consider me an even bigger fan now.
Now to the triglycerides... This is a fancy word we doctors use to refer to fat that travels in the bloodstream. This is an important measure of health because elevated triglycerides are associated with an increased risk of heart attack, stroke and other nasty things. You might be surprised to know that triglycerides don't necessarily come from eating fatty foods. The bigger culprits are actually sugar and alcohol. By sugars I mean table sugar, brown sugar, organic sugar cane, evaporated cane juice, corn syrup, high-fructose corn syrup, fructose and anything else that sounds like sugar (regardless of the fancy names). You can also add to this list any refined grains such as white flour, bread flour, bleached flour... you get the idea. I'm pretty sure you get what alcohol is too.
"Well wait a minute... What about cutting out fats?" you might ask. After all if you are trying to reduce the level of "fatty acid" in the blood shouldn't you limit the fat? Good question. It turns out that if you are overweight and have extremely high triglyceride levels then reducing fat intake helps. Otherwise it doesn't make a huge difference. If you only have moderatly elevated triglycerides (150 mg/dl-400 mg/dl) then a very low fat diet will probably actually increase trigylcerides! This will also decrease the amount of "healthy" cholesterol (HDLs) in your blood.
Are you a coffee drinker or do you drink caffeinated soda? Cutting back on caffeine has also been shown to decrease triglycerides by about 25% in some cases.
Another good thing you can do to help reduce triglycerides is to be sure to get a good multivitamin/multimineral supplement and Fish Oil. It is almost impossible to get all of the nutrients we need to be as healthy as possible in food these days. Fish Oil helps boost our HDLs. Getting all of the essential vitamins and minerals helps to make sure that your metabolism is working well enough to deal with the triglyceride burden. Another supplement that has been shown in research studies to help is L-Carnitine. Using garlic in your food or taking garlic pills boosts your immune system and... you guessed it... reduces your triglycerides.
On the radio Mr. Berger commented that he was thinking about boosting the intensity of his workouts to help drop triglyceride levels. That's a good move. Exercise is a great way to improve your cardiovascular and heart health. Of course it helps control blood pressure, weight, metabolism and I could go on all day.
So there it is... limit your carbohydrates (sugars), limit your alcohol, take your vitamins, and hit the gym. Trust me. This is the way you want to lower your triglycerides. There are no side effects unless you count all of the other added benefits of getting healthy. To you Mr. Berger and all of those like you, BEST OF HEALTH! (and GO BLAZERS!)

ABOUT THE AUTHOR:
Dr. Jason Young, DC is the founder and chiropractor of Body of Health Chiropractic and Wellness Center in Corvallils, OR. Dr. Young is also a Certified Strength and Conditioning Specialist and enjoys treating and training athletes of all sports and skill levels. Body of Health is a high quality wellness center which focuses on treating families, athletes, and people with a wide variety of conditions and attitudes about health. Using some of the latest techniques in chiropractic, massage and evidence based care Body of Health is a one-stop solution to your health needs because YOUR Health Matters!.