Arthritis Pain? Try These Ideas For Fighting Back

It's hard to appreciate how significant the burden of arthritis is unless you've had to live with it. The pain can be excruciating, and it can feel as though it effects your life endlessly. Luckily, many people have learned ways to better manage arthritis. Here are some of the tips that they've shared.

• Take your time with major clean up tasks if arthritis is a part of your life. Major cleaning tasks, like mopping and changing bed sheets, put a strain on your body. They involve the use, and sometimes over use, of several different muscles and joints. Take a break when you can or better yet, ask for help. You don't have to do it all in one day.
• If you have rheumatoid arthritis, measure your pain. Use a scale of one to ten to let yourself know how difficult a new task is for you to accomplish. Take a measurement before the task, and again after. This will let you know how that task is effecting your body, and your life.
• Watch out for co-morbid condition, especially depression. Arthritis and depression can lock you into a feedback loop: you're tired and in pain, so you can't do the things you love, which makes you more upset. Being upset then leads to symptom flare-ups. If you think you are depressed, speak with your pain management doctor about a referral to a psychiatrist.
• When you have osteoarthritis, exercising your joints is an essential part of managing your condition. Experts have found that exercise helps relieve stiffness and keeps your joints more flexible. Stretching exercises along with light weight training can also improve your endurance and help you sleep more soundly, leading to less pain and a better quality of life.
• Take control of the situation by educating yourself about your condition. There are a host of useful resources covering everything from nutrition to pain management for arthritis sufferers. As long as you seek out the information, you are likely to find many treatments and techniques to keep pain under control.
• Look into alternative methods of pain relief treatment such as PRP Therapy and regenerative medicine. These advanced medical techniques are less invasive than traditional surgery and have helped countless people minimize or eliminate their arthritis pain. 
• See a doctor to find out exactly what type of arthritis you have if you feel you are suffering from arthritic symptoms. There are over one hundred different types of arthritis and knowing your specific type can help you learn how to help take care of yourself more effectively.
• Find a support group. Suffering from arthritis can make you feel like an invisible and lonely victim, even when you are not. Joining a support group of others who have the same condition can help you feel better about it, as well as give you a way to share ideas for coping.
• Take advantage of physical therapy. A physical therapist can develop workout routines with you that will improve joint flexibly and reduce the pain and inflammation associated with arthritis. Adhere to the plan provided and get your life back on course.
• Use light exercises and stretching to prevent further joint damage and pain from arthritis. light exercise avoids excess strain on the joints and you will find that it creates more limber and flexible joints that are conditioned for healthier activity. With stretching, you are giving yourself more flexibility for common activities you will encounter without causing pain from inflamed joints.

Those without arthritis may not understand what you're going through, but plenty of others do. Be sure to take full advantage of the advice available. While nothing can completely eliminate your problems, you'll be amazed at how much some of these tips can help. Use this shared knowledge to make your burden a little bit lighter.

If you're in North Texas, connect with the Dallas PRP Therapy and Dallas Prolotherapy experts at Pegasus Spine and Joint Institute to get the pain relief you need.

Breast Cancer Isn't The End: Keep Fighting By Using These Tips

The effects of breast cancer can be devastating. Whether you have a loved one suffering from breast cancer, or are dealing with the disease yourself, you need to do everything you can do to cope. This article will give you some advice on how to deal with the effects of cancer and to minimize your suffering.

• It is quite normal for breast cancer patients to feel unattractive. Self-esteem is at an all-time low and nothing seems to be right. This is a great time to pamper yourself! When you are feeling well enough, take a friend and go out to lunch. Get your nails done, or shop for a new outfit. Doing normal, everyday activities can make you feel like part of life again and change your whole attitude!
• Keeping your weight down, eating a healthy diet and getting enough exercise can not only make you feel great every day, but can also reduce your risk of cancer. Be sure to drink lots of fresh, purified water, eat a great deal of fresh fruits and veggies and get half an hour of moderate exercise daily. This will improve the quality of your life and help you avoid cancer.
• One of the most important tips to remember after being diagnosed with breast cancer is to maintain a healthy life style. Maintaining a healthy lifestyle will give you more energy, which you will need during the treatment process. A healthy lifestyle consists of eating healthy foods and doing regular exercise.
• Filter any tap water that you plan on consuming. Tap water may contain many carcinogens, such as arsenic. A carbon filter attached to the faucet or a filter pitcher can remove these carcinogens from the water before you consume them, leaving you healthy.
• Don't change your life drastically. It may be better if you try to maintain your lifestyle as it was while introducing necessary modifications. A big change can increase your stress level and confuse the people around you. Take every day at a time and make changes to your life as is needed.
• Being diagnosed with breast cancer can be an incredibly traumatic experience, but it is important that you keep communication open with your doctors and your loved ones. Shutting yourself off from the world of self pity is not how you will beat the illness. Keep your loved ones close to you for support and keep your physicians available.
• Make it a priority to sit down and really listen to the feelings and concerns of anyone close to you who has received a cancer diagnosis. It may be a difficult thing to do at times, but your friend or family member needs to have the opportunity to express their feelings. Give them the opportunity for free expression without interjecting your own thoughts and opinions.
• Prepare yourself and your family for the worst if you have breast cancer. You always want to remain optimistic, but you also have to be realistic. You should have everything planned should the worst happen and you not recover. It's depressing and incredibly sad, but it is a possible truth you are facing and it needs to be dealt with.

Right now, there's nothing that will make living with the effects of breast cancer easy. However, the advice given in this article will help ease the burden. As always, talk to your breast cancer doctor about anything you read online, and about the various types of breast cancer treatments available to you.

Tap the Brakes on Aging With These Tips

Aging is not fun for anyone, but some people do manage to do it better than others. If you are wondering how they do it, read on for thoughtful tips and tricks that will help you age, as gracefully as possible. It really isn't difficult when you have the right knowledge.

• Consider adding resveratrol as a nutritional supplement. There is evidence that people who eat very few calories can extend their lives. It may be possible to instead get some of those benefits from resveratrol, which is naturally found in nuts and grapes. You can also find it within the roots of a plant called the Japanese Knotweed, this is commonly used in supplements. Resveratrol is found within the roots of the South American shrub, the Senna quinquanqulata.
• To slow down the aging process, do some aerobic exercise everyday mixed with occasional light weight training. Numerous scientific studies have shown that exercise improves muscle strength, stamina, bone density and balance. As these four things deteriorate with age, regular exercise could help keep your body in good condition well into your 80s and beyond.
• All women over 65 should be tested for bone density since this is the only way to diagnose osteoporosis. Some doctors recommend baseline bone density scans at menopause and at regular intervals after. Predicting fracture risk and determining rate of bone loss can help in the monitoring and prevention of osteoporosis.
• If you are still smoking, quit now! Smoking is never good for you, but it is even more important to quit as you age. Smoking breaks down your skin's collagen leading to premature wrinkles. Smoking is also directly linked to increased risks of cardiac problems and cancers, and the risks only multiply with age. Quit now, no matter what your age, to help your body have a healthy aging process.
• As the years pass, your home becomes more of a place of refuge and security. Take the time to turn your home into a comfortable refuge, so that you know you have a place of rest if the rigors of the outside world have been too much for you. Your home will comfort you.
• Understand the stress triggers in your life and manage them. As you age it's as important to take care of your mind as it is your body. Your mind and body are linked to the point that the health of one can severely affect the health of the other. Take the time to proactively approach your stress triggers and reduce them or even get rid of them! Your body will thank you for it!
• Stay active during the aging process. Staying active helps your body, mind, and soul. It will help you to age gracefully. Many studies also show that remaining active can have a positive effect on your mental capacity, and may help to keep diseases like Alzheimer's at bay. Try to include activity as part of your daily routine.
• If you make sure to have money to live on in your old age, you'll reduce the amount of stress you'll be under, and maintain your quality of life. Take some time to analyze your finances, and see if you can prepare for some of the eventualities associated with aging. If you do, you'll be able to better afford medical care, food, housing, etc.

Now that you have the knowledge that you need to stay healthy and beautiful through all phases of your life, you can relax and enjoy every single moment. Aging well is not hard when you know how. Apply what you've learned here and a longer, healthier life is in store for you.

8 Ways to Get Your Anxiety Under Control

Some anxiety is normal in everyone's life. But if anxiety is threatening to take over your life, you need to fix it. You don't need to try to live with anxiety on your own, and there are great remedies to help get rid of it. The information that follows will help you find ways to deal with anxiety while making it part of your past.

1. Breathe easy. When you start to feel anxious, try to concentrate on breathing correctly. Inhale through your nostrils for about two seconds, and then exhale through parted lips for four seconds. Continue this routine for a full minute. Once your breathing gets back to normal, follow it up with a couple of minutes of soothing, positive self-talk.
2. Think happy thoughts. If you have problems falling asleep at night because of anxiety, think about everything good in your life and the positive things you are going to do the next day. While it may seem hard to do at first, the more you do it, the more you will get used to it.
3. A good way to get rid of your anxiety is to treat yourself to a snack that you like. When you start to feel a bit anxious, one of the best ways to calm yourself, is to make your taste buds happy. When you make your taste buds happy, your stomach is happy, and then you're happy.
4. Don't forget to play. With the hustle and bustle of your busy life, taking the time to play a sport, a game or an instrument might seem frivolous. Taking an hour to let your hair down and have fun can do wonders for your stress and anxiety levels, though.
5. A balanced and healthy diet is important for everyone, and this goes double for those who suffer from anxiety. In contrast to junk food, a balanced diet provides you with the vitamins and other nutrients your body requires to remain healthy.
6. Do not feel embarrassed or ashamed to seek professional help if your anxiety has become something that you cannot effectively deal with on your own. It will help you to talk to a doctor and let those feelings out. They will then, be able to prescribe you something that can help you, if that is what is needed.
7. Try creating your own anxious worrying period. Choose a single or two 10 minute spots each day where you can worry and just feel anxious. During this worry period, try focusing only on the anxious, negative thoughts without trying to correct them. The rest of the day should remain anxiety-free.
8. Don't bottle up your feelings of anxiety; talk to somebody - a doctor, a friend, or a family member - about your troubles. Bottling up your thoughts and emotions will only contribute to your problems. Expressing your feeling will allow you to feel better and will reduce your anxiety.

Mild anxiety is a part of many people's lives regularly. Anxiety that prevents you from living your life and stops you from functioning from day to day needs your attention. The advice and suggestions above should help you along those lines.