Reflex Sympathetic Dystrophy – RSD
Reflex Sympathetic Dystrophy, or RSD, is a neurological disorder that causes millions of people to suffer a deep burning sensation in the muscles, skin, bones, and joints. The cause often baffles doctors and scientists, but most people that suffer from RSD have had pervious immobilizations, heart attacks, sprains, head injuries, or sports injuries that ended with broken bones.
The main symptoms of RSD differ from individual to individual. In addition to the burning in the joints, limbs and extremities, many victims of this sometimes debilitating disease often develop sensitivity to touch, excessive sweating, and severe swelling. Most perplexing to doctors and victims alike, the symptoms of RSD do not always match with complete consistency the injuries that caused them. A minor injury may cause incredibly intense pain, although this degree can shift from constant to intermittent.
Reflex Sympathetic Disorder can strike anyone at any age, from the elderly to children. Most of the victims are between the ages of 40 and 60, for the people at these ages are the most likely to sustain injuries that can lead to RSD. Men and women are equally susceptible to this condition, and if the disease is caught in the earliest stages medical science can usually find a way to battle the symptoms in order to allow the victim to live a healthy and productive life.
There are three stages of RSD. Stage 1 causes intense and swelling in the joints and extremities. Stage 2 results in symptoms that expand to include stiffness, hair loss, dry hands, and more intense pain. Stage 3 causes ever increasing pain, irreversible tissue damage, and thinning of skin tissues.
Because there is so little understanding of the physiology of RSD, and indeed little consensus of what exactly constitutes this condition, doctors are often at a complete loss to attempt to treat it. The standard treatments for Reflect Sympathetic Disorder include topical analgesics, spinal cord stimulation, antidepressants, and physical therapy. The prestigious National Institute of Health is currently working hard to find a universal treatment for RSD, but as of yet there is no standard guidebook for doctors to follow to help victims of this condition.
To learn more about resource4rsd.com reflex sympathetic dystrophy or how to hire an resource4rsd.com RSD lawyer, please visit our website at resource4rsd.com resource4rsd.com This article may be freely reprinted as long as this resource box is included and all links stay intact as hyperlinks.
Neck Pain – Trapezius
Neck pain is very commonly shown by most people to be in the region of the back of the neck and between the base of the neck to the shoulder, primarily indicating the region of the trapezius muscle.
Trapezius is a big diamond shaped muscle with 3 parts: the upper, middle and lower portions. Trapezius forms the slope of the shoulder. It arises from the back of the skull and from the spines of the C7 to T2 vertebrae. It attaches to the outer one third of the collarbone and acromion and the spine of the shoulder blade. It receives nerve supply from the accessory nerve and the C1 to C4 cervical nerve roots.
The trapezius functions to bring the 2 shoulder blades together toward the midline, draws the acromion backward and rotates the shoulder blade upward. It functions to shrug the shoulder, pull the head and neck backward, bend the neck sideways and also to turn the neck to the opposite side. Therefore with pain and spasm of the right trapezius, the patient will have difficulty bending the neck sideways to the right side. The patient will also have difficulty turning the face (rotation) to the opposite side.
Most patients who complain of neck pain or shoulder pain will be invariably show the pain to be at slope between the base of the neck and the shoulder, in the region of upper trapezius.
With pain and tightness in the trapezius, patients may have symptoms of headaches, dizziness, neck pain and midback pain.
When the latissimus dorsi (C6-C8 roots) and the deltoid (C5, C6 roots) have pain or spasm and/or weakness, the trapezius will help in lifting by shoulder shrug. Similarly, the trapezius will shrug the shoulder for maintaining the arm out in space.
To properly release the tightness in the trapezius, the entire spine muscles from the skull to the lower back, the latissimus dorsi and the gluteus muscles have to be treated.
Trapezius muscle is usually so tight that it is very difficult to treat and to find motor points, especially in the lower trapezius.
© 2007 copyright
How to Clean Your Mineral Makeup Brushes
If you use mineral foundation or any other mineral makeup it is very important for you to clean your brushes at least once every week, you will also need to make sure that you clean your mineral makeup brushes the right way so they do not become misshapen or start to loose hair. If you apply your mineral foundation powder time after time with the same brush without ever washing it you are in danger of suffering from breakouts associated with bacterial build up and a dull looking skin.
You might not see it, but dead skin and oil builds up on your brushes each time you use them, oily old brushes will make your mineral foundation powder and other mineral powders look pasty.
The best brush for applying your mineral foundation is a kabuki brush, these brushes are made from sable hair, squirrel hair, goat hair etc. The dome shaped hairs in the brushes hold the minerals better for a more even application. The animals are groomed to get the hairs, this way there is usually no cruelty to the animal. Not all kabuki brushes are made from animal hair though; some are made from taklon and a few other synthetic materials, it is important to know the material from which your kabuki brush is made as this will help to determine the method to use when washing.
To wash your natural bristle mineral makeup brush, pour a little shampoo, hand wash soap or any antibacterial in a bowl and add some warm water. Then swirl the soap and water together before swirling your bristles in the soapy water, take care not to wet the handle or soak the handle. Keep swirling your bristles in the soapy water for about 2 minutes. Empty the bowl and add some warm clean water then swirl your bristles in the water for about a minute repeating the process and changing the water until it is devoid of bubbles (you need to make sure you use only a little soap in the first process or else you would find that it is soapier than you wanted and would need a lot more rinsing!). Shake off the excess water and lie flat on a clean surface (do not stand your brush on the handle when wet as water might loosen the glue holding the bristles in place).
If your brush is made from a synthetic material you will need to be careful when washing as they easily get misshapen, you will need to hold the bristles (lightly) with a rubber band before following the process above this will ensure the bristles keep their shape. Take off rubber band when dry.
Doja is an experienced makeup artist and she provides deals on
Hope for Autism – The Concept of Symptom Free
I first developed the concept of becoming symptom-free of disability when I was working on my Career Development Award from The National Institutes of Health. As a brain scientist working for the most rigorous medical research facility in the world, I discovered that many disorders thought to be due to permanent brain malfunction could actually be improved to a symptom-free status.
Brain Based Communication Disorders
At this time, many years before my own autistic son, Whitney was born, I was studying 4 populations:
1. Preschool Children With Language Disorders
My staff and I evaluated 600 Head Start children per year for 12 years and provided a multiple therapy approach to help children become ready for school. Our average Headstart child was 2 years behind and was within normal range after 20 sessions.
2. School Age Speech-Language impaired Children
We evaluated thousands of children as an outreach program to private schools and offered hospital based outpatient treatment for children who were having trouble at school due to language processing disorders.
3. Stutterers
I treated thousands of stutterers world-wide and wrote Stutter-Free Speech (Charles Merrill Publishers), which lead to awards from The White House and an Oprah interview.
4. Brain Damaged Hospital Patients
I provided rehabilitation team services to in-patients and out-patients with brain injuries and strokes. My work was honored by many federal agencies, and featured on the cover of USA today. My articles are recommended by The American Speech & Hearing Association as examples of Best Practices.
Changing the Brain
All of these populations have symptoms in attention, memory, listening, reading, writing or speaking. At the time of our research in stuttering for example, this disorder was thought to be a chronic life long disability. Therapy was organized around support groups to manage living with the problem or therapy to desensitize you so you did not feel as bad when you stuttered. I headed a research team working on helping stutterers become symptom free which resulted in changing how therapists view stuttering world wide. As a result, I began to see other populations of the communication-impaired differently and started setting goals for symptom free with all of my patient groups. From this research we learned how to make step by step plans to change the brain to reduce or eliminate symptoms.
Turning Disability to Ability
We found that the fastest way to reach a symptom free goal is to evaluate and train positive behaviors. With stutterers for example, instead of working on getting the stuttering to stop, we worked on teaching the behaviors that would compete with stuttering and replace the behavior. Now we do that with the symptoms of autism. We teach the attention, memory and communication skills that compete with autism to replace the symptoms. As a result, we are able to turn severe disability into life long ability.
Dr. Cheri Florance is a brain scientist with training and clinical experience in how to teach the brain to replace symptoms of communication and language disorders. In her books, Maverick Mind, (www.penquinputnam.com ) and A Boy Beyond Reach (www.simonschuster.com ), she describes how she taught her own autistic son, Whitney to replace disability with ability and become symptom-free. To learn more about her own personal journey and successful methods visit her complimentary Learning Library at ebrainlabs.com ebrainlabs.com
The Power of Eating Disorders
I want to get close
I am afraid.
Afraid of what you might see.
My eyes.
My thoughts.
My dreams.
My heart.
My soul.
Everything that makes me who I am.
My feelings.
My emotions.
The truth of my own reality.
The reality that I am scared.
Every second.
Every minute.
Every hour.
Every day.
Scared of not being perfect.
Scared of looking stupid.
Scared of being in the way.
Scared of getting comfortable.
Getting comfortable means stability,
Stability means forever.
I dread forever.
So, I am ready,
to move on,
to continue my journey,
To continue my life….
I AM READY!
Mary Pat is a published author whose book “Reflecting Grace” can be found on Amazon.com. She is also a dynamic speaker and workshop leader. She is an speaker on Eating Disorder Prevention, Education and Awareness. Mary Pat holds a Masters in Experiential Education and she is currently working towards her Masters in Spiritual Psychology. Her Eating Disorder Education program can be found on her website at authenticallyme.com. authenticallyme.com.
Bowen Therapy – Tom Bowen’s Legacy
Tom Bowen’s collaboration with Oswald (Ossie) Rentsch.
Working closely with Tom Bowen, Ossie began documenting Mr. Bowen’s technique. Diligently Ossie took notes and sketched diagrams to correctly reflect the work he saw being performed.
Progress was painstakingly slow. Often what Ossie thought he’d seen turned out to be an inaccurate interpretation of Tom Bowen’s work.
Eventually all of the moves and procedures were approved by Tom Bowen and compiled into a manual.
During Tom Bowen’s life he only instructed four other people, besides Ossie Rentsch, in his technique.
Before his death Tom Bowen gave his blessings to Ossie for teaching the technique. Ossie promised him, “Before I die, your name will be known around the world.”
After Tom Bowen’s passing in 1982 Ossie kept his promise, teaching the first seminar of Bowen’s technique in 1986. Since then trainings have been conducted around the world with more than 10,000 practitioners, representing over 25 countries.
As of 2006 Bowen Therapy as developed from the work of Tom Bowen by Ossie and Elaine Rentsch of Victoria, Australia is now a nationally recognized training in Australia. It’s registerd name is Bowtech and the Trademark designation for the work is Bowenwork.
Please join me for the next segment of my article about Bowen Therapy – Description of the technique.
Holistic MindBody Therapy, including pure essential oils, are gentle, noninvasive complementary forms of health care for balancing and synchronizing your body, mind and spirit and a natural, safe and effective way to enhance your health and well-being. Holistic health care often produces satisfying results where other methods have failed. Please consult with your physician regarding serious health concerns and do not attempt to self diagnose.
KG has developed massage training and holistic health programs for the spa industry, health clubs and clinics, schools, resorts, as well as for individual clients. She is a MindBody Therapist and Health Educator with advanced certification and training in Bowen Therapy, BodyTalk and Aromatherapy. She is the owner of Springhill Wellness Center and the founder & director of PurePlant Essentials aromatherapy products. Click to learn about
Dieting
Everyone is in competition nowadays to look good and live healthy.
So to look good usually they go for dieting with the aim of losing weight as personality with overweight is not pleasing.
People diet for many reasons. Some are at an unhealthy weight and need to pay closer attention to their eating and exercise habits. Some play sports and want to be in top physical condition. Others may think they would look and feel better if they lost a few pounds.
Lots of people feel pressured to lose weight and try different types of diets. But if you really need to lose weight, improving your eating habits and exercising will help you more than any diet.
Dieting could be a solution if done in a right manner.
Unhealthy Dieting, especially extreme food-intake reduction and rapid weight loss, can have the following side effects:
Enjoy The Holidays Healthfully
How To Have A Healthy Thanksgiving
End of the year holidays are a time when our eyes
are often bigger than our stomach! Many of us wonder how we
will get through them without gaining 5 or 10 pounds. So how
can you feel great after parties and meals instead of overstuffed and
uncomfortable?
Your stomach cannot miraculously hold more food just because it’s the holidays.
First, remember that the amount of food your stomach can
hold did not change between yesterday and today. Remember
how uncomfortable you feel after you have eaten too much
and how long it takes to start feeling better again.
Do you want to be able to enjoy your food, and enjoy your
time after eating as well?
Smaller portions, lot’s of variety
If there’s a lot of food that you want to try, serve yourself
smaller portions. This way you can get a variety of everything.
Chew your food and eat slowly. Savor!
When you’re trying to control your food intake, one of the most
difficult things is when you feel satisfied, but everyone else is
going for seconds. You feel out of place to just sit there. What
can you do? Try to be the last one to begin eating your first
plate and chew each bite thoroughly. That way you are eating
more slowly and you won’t actually be finished by the time
everyone else is getting a second plate. Chew about 50 times
for each bite of food and set your fork down between bites.
Make a plate for yourself for later…
If the food is amazing and you don’t want to miss out on having
a second or third serving, but your stomach is actually
comfortably full, go ahead and make a plate for yourself, put
Saran Wrap over it and stick it in the fridge. That way you will
feel that you have a “treat” for later when you are hungry.
The food will taste much better if you eat it when you are hungry!
Split the desserts or cut them in half
There are often lots of desserts to choose from and
sometimes it’s hard to pick one. So take a smaller slice of
two so that you can get the equivalent of one dessert but
the ability to try both.
Respect what your body is saying to you
Many times are loved ones will put the pressure on for you to
eat more. They are not in your body though so they can’t
possibly know how you feel. I encourage you to respect
yourself and respect your body. It is not an insult to not eat
more. No one would put more cookies in a cookie jar than
could fit. If you did, what would happen when you put the
top on? They would smush and crumble.
This is not the last time you will eat…the opportunity will
come again
Most of all remember this is not the last time you will ever eat…and
there will most likely be leftovers. You will get hungry again
and you will be able to eat great food again….you don’t have
to do it all in one meal!
Check out the recipe below for a healthy dish you can make
this year.
Melissa King
Certified Holistic Health Counselor
myheartdances.com myheartdances.com
Meditation on Heart Chakra
There are many different approaches to meditation but the aim of each meditation is to enable the practitioner to develop a calm and quiet mind. One of the safest and most effective ways to meditate is through meditation on the spiritual heart. The spiritual heart is an energy centre called the anaharta charka; it is here where we can experience the qualities of love, sympathy, purity and oneness. Because of these qualities it makes it an ideal place to meditate. Many spiritual and religious traditions have also taught that it is in the heart where we can experience our own soul.
Ancient and modern yoga teaching systems describe 7 main Chakras or energy centres. These chakras have a particular quality and have a certain location in the body, when we meditate we can become aware of these different energy centers. In some forms of meditation people may meditate on the third eye (Ajna charka). When meditating on the path of the heart we focus all our meditation on the heart center or anahata charka. The heart centre can be felt in the middle of the chest in close proximity to the physical heart.
Benefits to meditating on the heart.
1. When we try to meditate in the mind it is difficult to distance ourselves from our thoughts. It is the nature of the mind to welcome thoughts, either good or bad thoughts. It is these thoughts that make meditation difficult and unproductive.
2. By meditating on our heart center we feel our sense of awareness is leaving the mind and entering into the heart. When we become fully immersed in the consciousness of the heart, thoughts lose their power over us; it becomes much easier to meditate free of thought.
3. The qualities of the heart embody oneness, identification and a sense of vastness. Real meditation invokes inner freedom; in meditation we feel that there are no limits, but a sense of infinity. This experience we can get most easily in the heart.
4. By contrast the nature of the mind is limited; the mind is apt to judge and deal in finite qualities. It is much more difficult to experience a sense of expansion when meditating in the mind. If we can shift our consciousness into our heart then we will not confined by the limitations of the intellectual mind.
5. The heart Chakra embodies purity. If we meditate on other chakras then problems, the heart chakra is said to be the safest place to meditate because it embodies purity. Sri Chinmoy says of the heart center.
“If you want to grow into something infinite, divine, eternal and immortal, then the heart chakra is by far the best. There you are always safe.” (1)
(1) Sri Chinmoy, Excerpt from Fifty Freedom-Boats To One Golden Shore, Part 2 by Sri Chinmoy.
Tejvan became interested in meditation and eastern spirituality whilst studying at University in Oxford. After studying various spiritual traditions he became a meditation student of writespirit.net/sri_chinmoy Sri Chinmoy. Tejvan now offers meditation classes on behalf of the Sri Chinmoy Centre in Oxford.
Enjoy Avocados
*Even though avocados are high in calories, they help fight obesity because they give you a sense of fullness/satiety.
*Avocados are high in monounsaturated fats and research shows that exercise burns this type of fat a lot better than saturated fat.
*Avocados help fight prostate cancer since they are high in the carotenoid luetin, as well as other carotenoids and tocopherols that inhibit the growth of prostate cancer cells.
*Avocados are one of the most nutrient-dense foods. They are high in fiber, folate, magnesium, potassium, and vitamin E.
*Avocados are high in magnesium. They provide more magnesium than the 20 most commonly eaten foods, with the banana in second place and the kiwi in third. Magnesium is essential for healthy bones, helps regulate blood pressure and cardiac rhythms, helps prevent migraines and helps prevent diabetes-II.
*Avocados are high in potassium. Potassium also helps regulate blood pressure, and helps prevent stroke and heart disease.
*Avocados are a powerful “nutrient booster”, which means that it helps the body absorb the nutrients in foods. It’s important to remember that it’s not just the presence of nutrients in the food that matters, it is also our body’s ability to absorb these nutrients. Research has shown that avocados aid in this process.
So, even though avocados may be high in calories, it’s important that you eat some avocado everyday. It will help your satiety level so you won’t eat so much, it will provide some wonderful nutrients for your body, and best of all, it will help your body absorb the nutrients from other foods.
Enjoy an avocado today! Here are some ways of doing so:
-Substitute the mayo on your turkey sandwich by spreading a bit of mashed avocado on it
-Dice some avocado on your green leafy salad
-Make a guacamole dip and enjoy it with a few corn chips or with a low-fat cheese quesadilla
-Garnish your tacos with some chopped avocado or freshly made guacamole.
Enjoy eating avocados! They are truly good for you.
Mirdza
Helping people lead healthier lives
Watkinsmom.com Watkinsmom.com
*For more on avocados and other great foods to eat, read the book “Superfoods Healthstyle”, by Steven G. Pratt, M.D. and Kathy Matthews.