Saturday, June 25, 2011
Wednesday, June 22, 2011
EXERCISES FOR CARPAL TUNNEL SYNDROME
What is that ... tingly numb pain feeling in my hand and wrist? More than likely it is your median nerve, which controls sensations for the palm side of your thumb and fingers (except the pinkie) runs from your wrist to your forearm. It is encapsulated within the carpal tunnel, which is comprised of small bones. (Carpal comes from carpus, the Latin word for wrist.) Carpal tunnel syndrome occurs when this nerve becomes impinged, pressed, or squeezed within this bony tunnel. This can cause various symptoms including numbness, pain, tingling or a "funny feeling" in the fingers, hand, and/or wrist. Other classic symptoms include:
- Burning, tingling, or itching numbness in the palm of the hand and fingers, especially the thumb, index, and middle fingers
- Fingers that feel useless and swollen with little or no apparent swelling
- The need to "shake out" the hand or wrist upon waking
- Decreased grip strength
- Inability to grasp small objects
- Inability to distinguish between hot and cold to the touch
Carpal Tunnel Exercises
Carpal tunnel exercises can help prevent and ease the pain of carpal tunnel syndrome. While these exercises alone are not substitute for treatment and ergonomic positioning, they may offer some relief.
You can try this movement series at the start and end of your work shift, as well as during any breaks you take throughout the day.
Carpal tunnel exercises can help prevent and ease the pain of carpal tunnel syndrome. While these exercises alone are not substitute for treatment and ergonomic positioning, they may offer some relief.
You can try this movement series at the start and end of your work shift, as well as during any breaks you take throughout the day.
- Stand up straight and extend both arms straight out in front of you.
- Extend your wrists and fingers acutely as if they were giving a "stop" signal. Hold this position for 5 seconds.
- Now straighten your wrists while relaxing your fingers.
- Keeping your wrists straight, make a fist and squeeze it tightly. Hold for 5 seconds.
- Keeping your fists clenched, bend your wrists down. Hold this position for 5 seconds.
- Straighten both wrists and relax your fingers again.
- Repeat this series 5-10 times, then relax your arms by your sides.
Even if you haven't experienced the symptoms of carpal tunnel syndrome, these exercises are simple, easy and feel great for anyone who uses the computers, works with hand tools, sews, plays an instrument or does other repetitive hand/finger tasks. Don't wait until your hands and wrists cause you pain—take proactive steps today.
Blessed for your highest good!
><> Sherry Perkins
Personal Fitness Training and Certified Raindrop Therapy Practitioner
Empowered Fitness and Holistic Health
Website: www.EmpoweredHealthFitness.com
Website: www.raindroptherapy.net
PH: 734-646-5582
Friday, June 17, 2011
ARE YOU GETTING YOUR DAILY DOSE OF COLOR?
Worldwide research has demonstrated that a diet rich in phytonutrients (available in the full color range of fruits and vegetables) is essential to optimum health.
About Vegetable Intake To get all you need, you should be eating fruits and vegetables from 5 different color categories. The link below is a fun way to gauge your daily intake of fruits and vegetables, give it a try:
Phytonutrients:
- serve as antioxidants
- enhance immune response
- enhance cell-to-cell communication
- alter estrogen metabolism
- convert to vitamin A (beta-carotene is metabolized to vitamin A)
- cause cancer cells to die (apoptosis)
- repair DNA damage caused by smoking and other toxic exposures
- detoxify carcinogens through the activation of the cytocrome P450 and Phase II enzyme systems
Fruits and vegetables that are high in carotenoids appear to protect humans against certain cancers, heart disease and age related macular degeneration.
Food sources rich in polyphenols include onion, apple, tea, red wine, red grapes, grape juice, strawberries, raspberries, blueberries, cranberries, and certain nuts.
Nonflavonoids
Sources
Flavonoids
Sources
Fruit and vegetable consumption has been linked to decreased risk of stroke -- both hemorrhagic and ischemic stroke. Each increment of three daily servings of fruits and vegetables equated to a 22% decrease in risk of stroke, including transient ischemic attack (Gillman et al. Journal of the American Medical Association. 1995;273;1113).
Elderly men whose intake of dark green and deep yellow vegetable put them in the highest quartile for consumption of these vegetables had about a 46% decrease in risk of heart disease relative to men who ranked in the lowest quartile.
Men in the highest quintile had about a 70% lower risk of cancer than did their counterparts in the lowest quintile. Men in the highest quartile or quintile consumed more than two (>2.05 and >2.2) servings of dark green or deep yellow vegetable a day; those in the lowest quartile or quintile consumed less than one serving daily (<0.8 and <0.7). Suggesting that small, consistent changes in vegetable consumption can make important changes in health outcomes.
Consumption of tomato products has been linked to decreased risk of prostate cancer. Men in the highest quintile for consumption of tomato products (10 or more servings a week) had about a 35% decrease in risk of prostate cancer compared to counterparts whose consumption put them in the lowest quintile (1.5 or fewer servings of tomato products a week.
People in the highest quintile for consumption of spinach or collard greens, plants high in the carotenoid lutein, had a 46% decrease in risk of age-related macular degeneration compared to those in the lowest quintile who consumed these vegetables less than once per month.
About Vegetable Intake To get all you need, you should be eating fruits and vegetables from 5 different color categories. The link below is a fun way to gauge your daily intake of fruits and vegetables, give it a try:
Of course, you should eat whole fresh fruits and vegetables from the 5 color categories whenever possible, but how often is it possible to eat the full range? I highly recommend NUTRILITE® supplements specifically to provide you with a wide array of phytonutrients to fill the gap between the fruits and veggies you should eat and what you actually eat.
Blessed for your highest good!
><> Sherry Perkins
Personal Fitness Training and Certified Raindrop Therapy Practitioner
Empowered Fitness and Holistic Health
Website: www.EmpoweredHealthFitness.com
Website: www.raindroptherapy.net
PH: 734-646-5582
Wednesday, June 8, 2011
STAYING SAFE IN THE SUMMER HEAT
Now that summer has finally arrived, I wanted to give you a reminder of preventing and handling heat-related illness. There can be a bit of confusion about the two most common heat-related illnesses - "heat exhaustion" and "heat stroke".
Heat exhaustion is a series of symptoms caused by a combination of lack of proper and adequate hydration and exertion often in hot, humid weather. If these symptoms are not noticed and handled they could become "Heat Stroke" which is a total failure of the body's ability to regulate its temperature. It is a medical emergency and should be handled as such.
Symptoms of Heat Exhaustion are: headaches, heavy sweating, paleness, muscle cramps, tiredness, weakness, dizziness, nausea or vomiting and fainting. The skin may also be cool and moist. If heat exhaustion is untreated, it may progress to heat stroke, when the person stops sweating completely. That is an emergency.
The best prevention against heat-related illness is staying hydrated with water and electrolytes especially during extended outdoor activities. Water is not enough, the body also needs to replace electrolytes. Putting 1/4 to 1/2 tsp. of Celtic Sea Salt in water will replace necessary minerals and without the high fructose corn syrup, sugar and chemicals you get from sports drinks.
If you find you regularly have trouble with these symptoms when the temperature rises, and staying hydrated isn't helping, there may be other body situations that can be at play in your body. Mineral deficiencies, adrenal fatigue, circulatory problems or thyroid imbalance have all been seen to cause these issues. Please be sure to see a Dr. if you're having problems with the increasing temperatures so you can enjoy the beautiful (and hot!) Michigan summer!
RESOURCE: The American Red Cross gives a full description of emergency actions to take for heat stroke.
Blessed for your highest good!
Heat exhaustion is a series of symptoms caused by a combination of lack of proper and adequate hydration and exertion often in hot, humid weather. If these symptoms are not noticed and handled they could become "Heat Stroke" which is a total failure of the body's ability to regulate its temperature. It is a medical emergency and should be handled as such.
Symptoms of Heat Exhaustion are: headaches, heavy sweating, paleness, muscle cramps, tiredness, weakness, dizziness, nausea or vomiting and fainting. The skin may also be cool and moist. If heat exhaustion is untreated, it may progress to heat stroke, when the person stops sweating completely. That is an emergency.
The best prevention against heat-related illness is staying hydrated with water and electrolytes especially during extended outdoor activities. Water is not enough, the body also needs to replace electrolytes. Putting 1/4 to 1/2 tsp. of Celtic Sea Salt in water will replace necessary minerals and without the high fructose corn syrup, sugar and chemicals you get from sports drinks.
If you find you regularly have trouble with these symptoms when the temperature rises, and staying hydrated isn't helping, there may be other body situations that can be at play in your body. Mineral deficiencies, adrenal fatigue, circulatory problems or thyroid imbalance have all been seen to cause these issues. Please be sure to see a Dr. if you're having problems with the increasing temperatures so you can enjoy the beautiful (and hot!) Michigan summer!
RESOURCE: The American Red Cross gives a full description of emergency actions to take for heat stroke.
Blessed for your highest good!
><> Sherry Perkins
Personal Fitness Training and Certified Raindrop Therapy Practitioner
Empowered Fitness and Holistic Health
Website: www.EmpoweredHealthFitness.com
Website: www.raindroptherapy.net
PH: 734-646-5582
Sunday, June 5, 2011
RUN LIKE A GIRL
TODAY'S MOTIVATION AND INSPIRATION:
“Run Like a Girl” shows how women can use sports to gain confidence and strength to overcome life’s challenges.
Click here and take a look and a smile:
http://today.msnbc.msn.com/id/43186255/ns/today-books/
http://today.msnbc.msn.com/id/43186255/ns/today-books/
Blessed for your highest good!
><> Sherry Perkins
Personal Fitness Training and Certified Raindrop Therapy Practitioner
Empowered Fitness and Holistic Health
Website: www.EmpoweredHealthFitness.com
Website: www.raindroptherapy.net
PH: 734-646-5582
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