Did you know that approximately 70 million Americans may have arthritis in one form or another, and that you may be one of them? Think theres nothing you can do about it? Well, heres some great news! You can act right now to lessen the incidence of arthritis or to reduce the pain and discomfort that typically accompanies the disease. Here are ten simple steps that can improve your health, emotional outlook, and pain level, and generally make it easier to cope with arthritis.

1. Pay attention to symptoms and see your doctor. If you have pain, stiffness or swelling in or around a joint for more than two weeks, it’s time to see your doctor. Only a doctor can tell if it’s arthritis. Write down observations and symptoms as they occur. Put them in your purse or wallet before your next doctors visit. That way, youll have them with you when you see the doctor.

2. Get an accurate diagnosis. You have arthritis” is not a diagnosis. Ask for a specific diagnosis of the type of arthritis you have. There are more than 100 types, and each one requires different treatments. Getting the right treatment requires getting the right diagnosis.

3. Start early. The earlier, the better. Early diagnosis and treatment can often mean less joint damage and less pain.

4. Avoid Excess Stress on Joints. Exercise to reduce pain and fatigue and to increase range of motion. It relieves stress and can help enable you to maintain your daily activities. Use simple stretching techniques to keep joints and muscles flexible. Exercising in the water can build strength and increase range of motion while the waters buoyancy reduces wear and tear on sore joints. Use assistive devices to make tasks easier.

5. Watch your weight. Try to maintain the recommended weight for your age and body type. Every extra pound means added stress to your knees and hips. Excess weight can mean more pain, contribute to and aggravate osteoarthritis, and increase your risk of gout. Follow a healthy diet regimen. Research has shown the importance of antioxidants in reducing the risk of osteoarthritis and its progression.

6. Take your medication just as your doctor prescribes. If youre tempted to stop because you feel its not working or you believe its causing side effects, call your doctor first. It can take weeks, or even months, for the full benefits of a medication to become apparent, and some side effects ease over time. Stopping a medication abruptly may not only cause you to miss out on its benefits, it can be downright dangerous. Be sure to tell your doctor about all the medications youre taking, both prescription and over the counter.

7. Protect yourself when you go out into the sun. Some forms of arthritis, as well as certain medications, can leave you more vulnerable to the suns harmful rays. At a minimum, use sunglasses, sunscreen, and a hat for protection.

8. Talk to Someone About Arthritis. Each week, commit to learning something new about arthritis and sharing it with others. Understanding your disease is an important step in managing it. Talk with family, friends, and co-workers. A support group is important and the more they understand about how arthritis affects your life, the more theyll be able to help you get through the hard times.

9. Relax. Pain can cause both physical and emotional stress. Pain and stress have similar effects on the body, e.g. increased heart rate and blood pressure; fast, shallow breathing; and muscle cramps. Relaxation can help you reverse these effects, give you a sense of well being, and make it easier to manage your pain.

10. Consider taking a nutritional supplement. If your current medication isnt working as well as youd like, or if its causing unacceptable side effects, ask your doctor about other treatment options. There are several all-natural functional health beverages available that have desirable anti-inflammatory properties. Check them out online.

Of course, there are many other ways to lessen the pain and discomfort of arthritis, but these ten are an excellent place to start. Most importantly, while arthritis may limit some of the things you can do, it doesn’t have to control your life. Build your life around wellness, and think of pain as a signal to take positive action to help you manage your condition. Think positively, eat well, and exercise regularly.

Lastly, resolve to enjoy our beautiful world. As the old saying goes, Live like theres no tomorrow; love like youve never been hurt; dance like no-one is watching.

Bruce Bailey, Ph.D.

All of us from time to time have experienced muscle cramps. Muscle cramps occur when the muscles tighten due to overexertion and dehydration. When the body does not have enough fluids in the system, it can lead to an electrolyte imbalance that can cause muscle cramps.
People often get cramps in their calves, thighs, hamstrings, quadriceps, feet, and just about every muscle. Cramps may also occur after inactivity, such as sitting too long in one place without moving any muscle. A person can get a cramp even when lying in bed. A cramp can last a few seconds to 15 minutes or longer. it might recur multiple times before it actually goes away. Muscle cramps can happen anytime of the day, even during when a person is fast asleep. This condition is referred to as night leg cramps.
Night leg cramps are a sudden painful cramp in the leg. It can be very painful. This happens because the leg muscles contracts, which usually happens in the back of the lower leg or calf. Most of the time they usually occur while a person is asleep or sometimes when a person is about to wake up.
Doctors also believe that abnormal processing of electrolytes lead to such cramp attacks. Electrolytes such as salt and minerals are essential elements that our body needs for the maintenance of the basic functions of muscles. Other factors that contribute to cramping include inadequate stretching and muscle fatigue. Calcium deficiency also cause leg cramps at night, especially among women. If a woman is post-menopausal, trying to lose weight, or does not consume enough calcium, she is susceptible to developing night leg cramps.
To alleviate leg cramps, one must have an adequate level of calcium consumption. This can also prevent other problems associated with calcium deficiency like osteoporosis. Calcium supplements may also help relieve a person from leg cramps, if taken on a regular basis.
Decrease potassium levels, neuromuscular disorders such as Paskinson’s disease and alcohol use are also some of the causes of leg cramps. Certain medications, such as albuterol, niacin, diuretics, and some calcium channel blockers and antipsychotic medications can also cause night leg cramps. Partially obstructed flow of blood to the legs and abnormal mineral or hormone levels can also be the causes for painful muscle cramps at night.
If a person suffers form night leg cramps, there are some practical pain relief methods to make this annoying condition go away. Try massaging the area with ice for no more than ten minutes or until the area is bright red, which indicates that blood cells have returned to heat the cramped muscle. If ice is too uncomfortable, try heat. Heat improves blood circulation and makes muscles more flexible. Some people find that heat is more soothing for muscle cramps than ice. Try a heating pad for 20 minutes at a time or even a warm shower or bath. Make sure to massage the muscle following the application of ice or heat on the affected area.
Doctors may prescribe muscle relaxants, Benadryl, or vitamin E for the treatment of leg cramps. These drugs are safe but it is best to first consult a physician before taking them. If a person is frequently suffering from leg cramps at night, it is still best to consult a doctor to get rid of this nocturnal problem that’s creeping and twitching our legs and disturbs people from their good night sleep.

People get sick, catch diseases, get infected by pathogens, and just have moments when they don’t feel well. For the most part, there can be any number of reasons for this sort of thing to be real. Viruses, bacteria, neurological agents, chemical imbalances in the body, and over-straining the body both physically and mentally can all be named causes. It is therefore natural that people feel apprehension and anxiety when faced with the thought of disease and sickness. However, to allow oneself to be so caught up in the possibility of getting sick, to the point that even the slightest changes in the body are interpreted as an illness, is an illness in itself.

Hypochondria is a disorder that is characterized by excessive anxiety over the possibility of illness, usually with a specific illness in mind. This problem can also cause someone to consult with multiple doctors, switching from one to another. Such behavior can sometimes stem from the belief that the hypochondriac has contracted an illness, interpreting even minutiae as symptoms. However, the reality is that the body has not contracted an illness, so no doctor would be able to find the signs of the disease that the hypochondriac claims he’s contracted. Of course, when confronted with this diagnosis, the hypochondriac finds it unacceptable and moves on to another doctor, in the hopes that the next one will recognize his problem and prescribe the appropriate treatment.

This excessive medical anxiety, of course, brings with it a number of side effects, a large number of which are unpleasant. Strained relationships can be particularly prominent in some cases, especially if the hypochondriac in question believes that others around him are potential carriers for the pathogens he is worried about. Social interaction can also prove to be a problem if this fear becomes prevalent, due largely to the fact that the hypochondriac becomes increasingly unwilling to engage in physical contact and may sometimes exhibit extreme anxiety at the prospect of close contact with another human being. Many of them develop the inability to accept the fact that they aren’t actually ill, even when reassured by several medical professionals that such is the case. In others, they experience such anxiety at the prospect of discovering their worries to be true that they don’t visit doctors to avoid such.

The side effects and intensity of hypochondria can vary from patient to patient, however. Some of these patients can display the behavior mentioned above, shifting from doctor to doctor, in the hopes of finding one willing to confirm their worries. Others live in fear of the possibility of being told that they are sick, and avoid having to visit any sort of medical office whenever possible. Some can be relieved by being given a placebo that appears similar to the actual medication used for whatever pathogen they fear they’ve contracted. Finally, others have low-intensity cases, where the worrying and anxiety is more covert, relegated to being little more than a lingering worry in the back of their minds. Regardless of the intensity, hypochondria is a serious condition that can cause a person to do things or take medication that they would not take otherwise.

Have you ever woken up with a neck so painful you can’t even move it to look to the side? Ever worked for long periods of time that you notice your neck muscles already stiffening up due the stress and strain? You may already be manifesting signs of having a stiff neck.

Thanks to our extremely fast-paced and bustling lifestyles paired with lack of rest and poor body posture, stick neck has become pretty normal for the average American. It is considered harmless as pain relief follows pretty quickly after having rested the neck stiffness for a couple of days or so. But if it persists for a longer time that the usual two to three day recuperation window, then it could be a manifestation or warning for an existed medical condition.

Clinically referred to as a cervical spasm, stiff neck pain is often the result of sore neck muscles. Although it is generally non-alarming, having a stiff neck can be an indication of an underlying medical condition that you may not be aware of. So it is best to consult a physician if you have chronic stiff neck pains.

Like what was mentioned above, stiff neck can develop from poor body posture or because of too much stress, however there are other causes that can cause having a cervical spasm or a stiff neck

l Trauma or injury. Concussions or injuries to the head and neck may cause the neck muscles to spasm and start to stiffen and hurt.

l Underlying medical conditions. Meningitis and high blood pressure are two of the most common health complications that are manifested by having tensed, painful, and stiff necks. Brain inflammation can also cause stiff necks paired with nausea and vomiting.

People who’ve experienced having this condition know how difficult it is to function with a painful neck, and so neck pain relief is the common refuge. A variety of prescription and over-the-counter pain relief medication can be used to relieve the discomfort brought about by having a stiff neck. It is best to consult a physician once you’ve started feeling pain in the neck region to know whether or not it is a simple case of stiff neck or if it is caused by something else.

Nobody wants to bear the discomfort of stiff neck, not only is it difficult to move around, it also makes concentrating more difficult as the pain will always distract you. Here are some helpful tips to avoid having a recurring stiff neck

l Avoid too much stress. Too much physical and emotional stress can cause strain on the neck muscles which can eventually lead to a stiff neck.

l Check the bed and the pillow. Make sure that your head is ergonomically situated on the pillow and that the bed is leveled just right so that it supports your entire body and it does not to put any strain on your neck and upper body.

l Perform isotonic exercise. Isotonic exercises are aimed at strengthening the neck and the back muscles. Having a strong neck and back muscle diminishes chances of having an injury in this region.

Fibromyalgia syndrome FMS is a chronic disease that affects the musculoskeletal system. Symptoms vary widely among sufferers, but generally include muscle and joint aches, chronic fatigue, irritable bowel syndrome, headaches and tenderness in several of eighteen specific areas, or trigger points on the body. Fibromyalgia is often overlooked by sufferers as the inevitable result of a busy schedule and everyday stress. When patients do seek treatment, doctors often misdiagnose fibromyalgia as rheumatoid arthritis, chronic fatigue syndrome, or another musculoskeletal condition. It affects women far more often than men, at a ratio of about ten to one. While some cases result from a specific trauma, more often the exact cause is unknown.

The first step to fibromyalgia pain relief is being properly diagnosed. The condition is not completely understood by the medical community, and there is no specific course of treatment. Most advice given to patients reads like a weight-loss program, recommending low-intensity exercise, drinking lots of water, and reducing mental and physical stresses such as those caused by saturated fats, caffeine, alcohol, nicotine, meat and sugar.

Anti-depressants are often prescribed as part of the treatment, which elevate the mood of the patient. Muscle relaxants and sleep aids may also be recommended. Since fibromyalgia sufferers are often found to be low in manganese and magnesium, both of which help balance thyroid function, nutritional supplements may prove beneficial as well.

Physical therapy is another essential component for fibromyalgia pain relief, as it teaches patients methods of walking, stretching, and exercise that reduce muscle tension and fatigue. A physical therapist will also teach patients how to make use of ergonomic tools in their daily life, like padded chairs and special keyboards designed to minimize muscle strain.

Some patients choose to incorporate alternative treatments such as acupuncture, chiropractic, and massage therapy into their treatment. While the efficacy of these natural treatments has not been carefully studied and quantified, testimonials of fibromyalgia sufferers indicate that all of these alternative treatments may help alleviate symptoms of the disease. Whatever patients decide upon, it must be remembered that there is no simple cure for fibromyalgia, and a comprehensive plan that address mental and psychological symptoms and promotes healthy lifestyle habits is the most direct method of obtaining fibromyalgia pain relief.