Archive for October, 2008
Wrong Diagnosis of Multiple Sclerosis
I have to quote a passage that I read from the book The British Holistic Medical Association: Beating Back Pain by Dr John Tanner. What I like about Dr John Tanner’s book is that he is a qualified practioner in orthopedic medicine and psychology. He goes into in depth discussion on matters related to back pain- from diagnosis, clear description of various causes and the role of holistic cures in relieving the conditions.
In one of the chapters, he related psychological factors as one of the possible reasons of back pain. He told a story of a patient who was wrongly misdiagnosed as having multiple sclerosis but it was actually due to years of repressed emotions:
How to Relieve Pain in Joints and Body
Do you suffer from pain in the joints and body that you can’t seemed to explain? Perhaps you have already been diagnosed with having osteoarthritis, or rhemautoid arthritis and wanting to find other ways to relieve the condition. Or you don’t have these conditions but wondering why you seemed to have chronic aches in the body.
If you suffer from any medical condition, please seek appropiate treatment from the doctors. However, I would like to recommend some holistic methods that may help you to relieve your discomfort:
Theory of Inflammation
Due to unsuited diet and inactive lifestyle, the body- fascias, joints and muscles may be inflamed. You could have eaten something that results an allergic reaction to your body- and that could escalate or cause the onset of autoimmunity diseases such as RA.
There are 4 lifestyle changes you can make to reduce pain and inflammation on your body:
1. Drink lots and lots of water
2. Reduce sugar intake as much as you can
3. Reduce intake of deep fried (even BBQ) food (especially meat)
4. Take fish oil tablets/supplements
5. Adequate exercise
6. Reduce caffeine like coffee/ tea.
Happy Deepavali to all celebrants :)
I would like to wish all celebrants a Happy Deepavali/ Divali to all. The festive session falls on Monday, 27 October 08 this year. For those going back to hometowns, have a safe and pleasant journey.
One of my favourite things about Deepavali is of course the food- I had especially loved the ghee balls. Previously, my boss used to make and she will take for us after coming back from Deepavali. Now that I am not working with her, I will surely miss all her ghee balls (for your information, ghee balls are made of ghee and sugar- very high in fat and sugar content but it taste nice nevertheless). Of course, there are the muruku and other ’sinful’ food.
As we only get the enjoy these delicious home made goodies once a year, we need not totally abstain ourselves from these goodies. With a few wise adaptations, we can prevent lots of weight gain during festive sessions.
Here are some past articles I have writen on subjects on eating during festive sessions. Hope it is useful for you when you get back after the holidays 
1. So you have sinned in a big meal, what to do next?
Relieve Running Nose/ Sinus with Acupressure
From young, I had always suffer from sinusitis. When I was schooling, I used to wake up with running nose and I remembered my mom will take some cold medication back for me. After feeling very sleepy and struggling hard to stay awake (as the effect of some of the medication), I’ve decided to stop taking it and use tissues instead.
I’ve constantly have recurring episodes of sinus, especially during house cleaning. And I’ve learned to use the more expensive durable 3 layer tissue instead of the customarily 2 ply for my running nose. About 2 weeks ago, I was suffering from constant occurances of the running nose and my dustin was fast filling up with wet tissues (and I refused medication)- so I decided to do a few experiment myself:
1. Drink lots of water
I drank insanely lots of water- gulping down about 2 glasses of water in one sitting. I did it from morning till evening.
2. Acupressure
I did some research to find out the acupressure points to clear the ‘wind’ and damp elements from my nose. Refer to the picture below-not my face but it’s taken from a photo from the net
Body Pain may be due to Chronic Sinus
Reuters published an article “Body Pain may be due to Sinus Trouble” with the title above dated 22 September 08 linking the connection between ongoing sinus inflammation in relation to body pains. It is said that especially on older adults, conditions may be diagnosed as arthritis, depression, fibromyalgia or chronic fatigue syndrome- is relieved once the patients undergo the sinus surgery.
Endoscopic sinus surgery is being recommended. Refer to ehealthMD for a better description about endoscopic sinus surgery whereby the possible advantages & complications are explained in brief.
Even though the study gives a ray of hope to those who are suffering from sinus AND body pains, I would not think it is a good idea to jump straight into the surgery because:
1. Effectiveness of sinus surgery in permanently curing sinus
2. Sinus happens when there is an allergic reaction- is our body’s way of warning us
Strength training- danger of overtraining one muscle group and ignoring the rest
Many gym goers focus on only certain particular part of their bodies during strength training. This is very dangerous because it will result in muscle imbalance- and on the long run, increases the risk of injury on other underdeveloped muscles. Example:
1. Focusing on the biceps and ignoring other parts such as shoulders (deltoids), chest (pectorals) and back (trapezius). The aim is for a muscular looking arms.
2. Focusing on the stomach by doing a zillion push ups either on the floor, using the weight machine or a stability ball but ignoring the back muscles and lower back (erector spinae)- dangers of lower back injuries because push ups will strain the lower back (the bending and impact) and a weak lower backs make it very susceptible to injuries
3. Focusing on the pectorals (chest) but ignoring the shoulders and back muscles- ever notice guys that seemed to have defined chest muscles but is hunched in a very funny way? And their shoulders form a reversed “V” shape? This is because the focus is too much on the pects and ignoring the back/shoulder muscles. But ignoring those muscles, the person will be more prone to getting his rotator cuff (back joints) and shoulder muscles injured when he keep lifting those heavy weights.
For purpose of illustration, let me focus more on how dangerous it is to focus on bicep muscles and igoring other part. I will use a real life example- my own brother.
Seniors Can Exercise Without the Gym Too!
Exercising in a non gym environment
There are also many who opt to exercise in the outdoors such as parks or in the neighbourhood. Or exercising in the privacy of one’s own home. Gym is not for everyone and should not be the only solution to get active.
With determination, motivation and creativity, one can maintain a great fitness program by oneself. Don’t be too hard on yourself if you initially find that you are really out of shape or unfit. When you sow a seed, it does not take overnight for it to bear fruits. Therefore, it will not take overnight to achieve the results that you want. Take your time, and with gradual training, you will definitely see progress.
With creativity, you can think of enjoyable exercises that will help you work out a sweat. Invest in good books that provide guidance on how to start an exercise program for seniors or that carries exercise guidelines and samples covering certain health conditions. ACSM (American Council of Sports Medicine) had produced a few books that provide guidance on exercise programs for health conditions such as diabetes, arthritis, eczema and osteoporosis. In Kuala Lumpur, I’ve seen these books and other good selections in Kinokuniya bookstore in KLCC. ACSM is a recognized worldwide and whatever they write are based on years of research and real life cases.
Tools like resistance bands , your own body weight and a couple of dumbells will be sufficient for you to form your own training program. With a little investment, you can set up your own home gym. To keep a little socialising going, you can join yoga classes or you can team up with a few friends and get an instructor to teach in your home. There are a number of freelance yoga instructors who can come to your house to teach.
For more ideas, you can refer to my previous post: Exercise Program for Non Gym Goers.
For those intending to join a gym, you may read my previous article: Kudos to Seniors Joining the Gym
Caution: If you have not been exercising regularly before, have family history of heart disease, is above certain age (above 45 for men and 55 for women), please consult and physician and perform medical check ups to rule out any heart related ailments and health conditions that require special attention.
