Sprains are often a result of a stretched ligament, usually caused by a twisted or pulled joint, such as an ankle or wrist. Sprains can be painful and will often cause bruising because of the small blood vessel and fiber damage. The injury will continue to worsen unless it is kept immobile. However, there are some things you can do to help keep the sprain from progressing to a more difficult to manage state.

Rest

It seems obvious, but you should keep your injured joint as still as possible. Internal bleeding could continue for up to 24 hours so you should keep the joint as rested as possible for first 48 hours after the injury. Try to keep the injured area from adjusting at all. Prop it on a pillow or keep it in a sling while sleeping, etc.

Protection

Keep the spot protected by a wrap, brace, splint or sling.

Ice

Limit the bleeding and therefore bruising by applying ice. Put ice cubes in a freezer bag and place on the strained area. You should wrap the bag with a light towel before placing on your injury to avoid skin damage. Remove the ice long before the skin becomes white or hard. Suggestions include applying ice in 15 minute intervals. 15 on, 15 off, etc.

Compression

To help protect the injury, compress it with a bandage. Be sure to monitor the area around the bandage. Remove and contact your doctor if it becomes blue or icy.

Elevation

Keep the injured area pointing upwards instead of downwards. Pointing it downwards may cause fluid buildup and clotting to occur.

If the pain does not subside you can take over-the-counter pain medications, such as Ibuprofen or Advil for extra relief. If swelling and pain does not subside after a few days you should contact your physician and see additional medical assistance.

Did you know that bad posture is one of the leading reasons of lower back aches, pains and even headaches? The way you hold yourself can have a significant influence on injuries as well as overall wellness and reduction of aches and pains.

Exercises to Improve Posture

There are some exercise routines that you can do to improve your posture and overall well-being.

Pilates – this exercise routine is all about using your core to improve the way you hold yourself. Using the stomach, back and pelvis to improve strength and overall posture can significantly reduce pain in your lower back and spine.

Pilates can also help to reduce stress placed on the legs, hips and feet incorrect movement. Additionally, Pilates helps to take unnecessary pressure off of your internal organs.

Yoga – It does not matter which style of yoga you wish to pursue because all types of yoga help to improve posture and flexibility. This is because all types of yoga help to stretch muscles and relieve tension.

Alexander Technique – This uncommon technique was developed to free the body of formed habits that cause it to move more slowly and inefficiently by re-teaching the essentials of movement. This will not be a quick fix, seeing as you are rel-learning habits, but it can lead to a better, more healthy life and should definitely be considered.

Feldenkrais – An even less common method is the Feldenkrais technique. This technique helps to create an awareness of movement patterns. Students are taught to constantly recognize and adjust body positioning. Energy, vitality and flexibility are thought to increase with just one session.

In addition to understanding how to get a perfect posture, it is important to know what a good posture is.
Here are a few easy steps to understand how to have a better posture so that you can understand what you are working towards.

A Good Desk Posture

1. While standing, place your thumbs on your hip bones and your forefingers on your pubic bone and tilt your pelvis so that the bones are level.
2. Sit down while maintaining this posture as best you can. Keep a small curve at the base of your spine.
3. While sitting, place your feet flat on the floor, shoulder width apart ,facing exactly forward. Your hips and knees should be bent at a 90 degree angle
4. Roll your shoulders back and down. You should feel your chest becoming broad and your shoulder blades roll slowly down your back.
5. The head is the last part. Make sure your ears are positioned directly over your shoulders and that your head can move freely. There should be a slight curve at the top of your spine.

When you consistently practice good posture you should quickly notice an improvement in both back and neck pain and headaches may disperse. Having a good posture should help you have improved overall health as well.

Everyone suffers from aches and pains occasionally while they are are sleeping. Whether it be from stress, an extra hard workout or an accident, chances are that sometime soon you will suffer from some kind of soreness while you are trying to sleep.

Even if pain doesn’t keep you awake at night, it can pull you in and out of REM sleep without you knowing it, leaving you feeling unrested in the morning, even if you don’t remember waking in the middle of the night.

There are a number of things you can do to help ease the pain you experience, especially if it is an ongoing problem.

Sleep Aids

Some of these solutions may be harder for you to get the hang of than others, but they will all help you get a better night’s sleep as well as reduce aches and pain.

Get Rid of Caffeine Even if you feel like you need that extra jump to make it through your day, caffeine is harmful to your sleep. Try to avoid it for a few days and see if you notice a difference.

No More Naps Napping throughout the day can cause you to sleep worse at night because you have already got some of your recommended daily sleep.

Exercise, Don’t OVERexercise Intense exercises, especially late at night will stimulate your body and you will have a hard time falling asleep.

Don’t Overfeed Yourself It may seem at times that you feel content and ready to fall asleep after a large meal, however this is not good, AT ALL, for your body and may actually end up keeping you awake throughout the night.

Go to Your Quiet Place Before Bed Relax before going to bed. Make your bedroom part of that calming experience. Clear your mind and focus on deep breathing.

Get up at the Same Time Everyday No matter how much you want to sleep in, don’t do it. Getting up at the same time everyday will get your body into a rhythm. This will help you to naturally become tired at the right times and fall asleep when your body needs to sleep.

Following these few simple rules should help you get a more restful night’s sleep free of pain.

Contrary to popularly held belief, there are many reasons a person may experience chest pains.  Though heart attack is one of, if not the most serious reason for chest pain, there are many other reasons you may be experiencing pain in this area, some of which may indeed be life threatening.

Common Causes of Chest Pain

Angina: Angina is caused by constricted blood flow in the blood vessels located in the heart muscle. This often comes in the form of tightness, pressure, crushing or squeezing pain.

Pneumonia: Pneumonia is an inflammation in the lungs, often worsened by a bout of coughing or heavy breathing.

Heart Attack: Heart attack is one of the most well-known results of chest pain. Pain usually occurs on the left side and is a result of blocked blood flow to the heart.

Digestive Problems: Problems with digestion may often cause dull pain in the chest, often described by doctors as heartburn, or indigestion.

Less Common Causes of Chest Pain

Shingles: Shingles often comes in the form of a rash and is a cousin of chicken pox. Pain usually starts as a tingling on one side of the chest and continues to move around the chest to the back.

Pericarditis: Also known as inflammation of the membranes around the heart. This condition seems to improve when leaning forward.

Aortic Dissection: An aortic dissection is a life threatening condition that comes on very quickly and is often described as a ripping or tearing pain in the back or between shoulder blades. This occurs when layers in the aorta for some reason become separated, causing blood to flow into areas outside of the circulatory sytem. This condition often causes extreme pain and should be taken care of immediately.

A dull chest ache can also be caused by lung cancer. Many people with lung cancer are diagnosed when receiving or seeking treatment regarding other more serious symptoms.

If you ever experience any type of searing, stabbing, or throbbing chest pain, it is important that you seek medical care immediately.

Do you often experience hunger pangs, back aches, headaches or even muscle cramps? You may simply be dehydrated. Your body is constantly sending you signals whether you know it or not.

75% of the body is water and keeping your body hydrated is one of the most important things you can do for your health and pain relief. You are constantly losing water through urination, sweating and even breathing. This is why it is so important to keep your body hydrated.

Important Symptoms of Dehydration

We have already mentioned a few of thea symptoms of dehydration including hunger, headaches, back aches and muscle cramps, but there are many more that you should be aware of. Other symptoms include dry mouth, the eyes stop making tears, reduce sweating, nausea and vomiting, heart palpitations, lightheadedness, weakness and decreased urine output.

How to Hydrate

Stay away from soda, beer, coffee, tea and even juice. These liquids act as a diuretic, removing water from the body faster than normal. If possible, purchase a water filter which will act as a cleansing agent ensuring you are drinking safe water.

In addition, try to drink from glass instead of plastic. Water often soaks up the chemicals in plastic water bottles. Be sure to drink at least 32 ounces of water a day!

The Water Fix

If you are experiencing any of these symptoms, try drinking a full glass of water and wait just a few minutes. Many times the fix is simple, water. Eliminating many refined foods, which are loaded with salt, will also help your body become hydrated again and help you feel good every day.

If you are bored with water, try adding a squeeze of lemon, lime, watermelon or even cucumber to add flavor without harming your body further.

Living with the painful and sometimes overwhelming symptoms of Fibromyalgia can seem like too much. With your body constantly hurting and no real hope of an end to your suffering, it’s no wonder Fibromyalgia is often associated with depression and anxiety.

But instead of trying to cure your pain, depression, and tiredness, with a pill, there are some homeopathic remedies that will help ease the pain, and soothe your mind and body.

If you’ve ever thought that Fire Hydrant, and Downward Facing Dog were just names to snigger at or even turn your nose to, it’s time to eat a bit of crow.

Yoga is full of physical, mental, and spiritual movements and postures which brings together a balance of all three of these elemental parts of human life. Yoga is believed by many to have several different benefits such as improving balance, breathing, circulation, mental clarity, and flexibility.

What it does for the Fibromyalgia sufferer, though, goes even further. The gentle and subtle movements provide low impact poses which can improve flexibility, ease and stretch tense and sore muscles, and enhance strength and balance.

Many different yoga classes are targeted specifically for fibromyalgia sufferers, so finding a class right for you is not only possible, but somewhat easy. By getting a class meant for fibromyalgia sufferers, you get a better idea of the postures and poses, what they’re there for, and how they can help improve your symptoms.

Low impact yoga helps soothe tensions and helps your body stay calm. Yoga can even help the way your body responds to pain. By doing the stretching and muscle enhancing exercises it’s a great way for your body to get and stay moving.

The more you move with fibromyalgia, the less tense your muscles become, and the less pain you have to deal with.

Yoga isn’t just about stretches. It’s also about breathing. It’s amazing what focusing on your breathing can do for your whole body. It’s mostly used a stress-reducer. Plus getting proper oxygen in your lungs helps you breathe better which then transfers to all your organs and muscles, so they get more oxygen as well.

Instead of trying to combat the pain, try to reduce it instead with Yoga. It’s a much healthier, more cost-effective way to deal with the pain and stress of fibromyalgia than having to constantly take pain medications.

Am I Having an Appendicitis?

Appendicitis can be very traumatic and dangerous if the symptoms go unnoticed or ignored. If you are familiar with your body, and know what to look for, you can avoid the most serious outcomes of undetected appendicitis.

Symptoms of Appendicitis

- The most common symptom of appendicitis is abdominal pain. Appendicitis pain often starts right near the belly button area, but then moves down to your right side.
- If your abdominal pain doesn’t subside, or it gets worse when you move, walk, or cough, then it’s a good indication that something might be wrong.
- Any part of your belly or side may begin to hurt and not let up.
- You may feel nauseous and throw up a few times.
- You may lose your appetite.
- Be aware if you are constipated, or if your belly starts to become swollen.
- Back pain and slight fever are also common.

Exceptions

Often times, children under age 2, older people, and pregnant women do not feel abdominal pain in the lower right quadrant of their belly. Some people also experience side pain because their appendix isn’t in the usual spot in the body.

What to Do

The symptoms of appendicitis aren’t exclusive to the condition, so just because you suffer from some of the above symptoms necessarily mean that you are having an appendicitis. But you should always call your doctor in the event of these symptoms. Appendicitis can get bad quickly, and the whole thing gets messier and more painful (literally) if you wait too long, and your appendix bursts. Call a doctor, and get an appendectomy (if needed) before things get too bad.

Sunburn and You

It is summertime again. The sun is shining brighter and longer than any other time of the year, which is leaving your skin more susceptible to damaging ultraviolet rays from the sun. To prevent sunburn and sun damage, always wear a sunblock when you go outside. Higher SPFs protect you better and longer in the sun, but be sure to reapply sunblock at least once during the day, especially if you are spending the majority of your day outside, or if you’re at a beach. Sunlight can bounce off the water and off the sand, increasing your chances of sunburn.

Ingredients to Look For

Here’s a list some ingredients commonly found in skin healing ointments:
Aloe vera
Coconut oil
Plantain herb
White Oak bark
Black Walnut hull
Marshmallow root
Gravel root
White Willow bark
Wormwood herb
Lobelia herb & seed
Mullein herb & flower
Olive Oil
Horsetail herb
St. John’s Wort flowering top
Scullcap herb
Beeswax

Look for these ingredients as you buy or create your own remedies is a good idea. Other lists of products can be found online, and you may find some of those home remedies and products useful.

Once when I was about 8 years old, my sister and I got really bad sunburn. So my mom suggested that we put some plain yogurt on our faces to relieve the pain a little bit. Our faces were so warm and red that wiping fresh from the fridge yogurt on our faces was nearly impossible at first, just because it was just so cold. We got used to it and the yogurt also quickly warmed up once it hit our damaged skin, but the yogurt did seem to alleviate the pain a little. Our only mistake was this: We left the yogurt on our faces too long, and it dried. Now before us was the disastrous and painful task of wiping dried yogurt off of our sunburnt faces.

Home remedies can be very good for you. Some alleviate symptoms temporarily, and some can actually help heal your skin. Let’s hope that you won’t even have to use any skin remedies this summer. If we all protect ourselves with sunblock and hats, and shade, we can hopefully keep our skin healthy this summer.