Health Blog by YinTeing

I am not sure about others but I used to suffer from knee pain on the days I was overweight. Another reason was because I could not give up iced drinks then. So, I bought expensive shoes that are said to be designed for user comfort and worth the price to be paid for. There are brands like Snowfly, Clarks, Hush Puppies, Scholl- with the shoes costing in the rage of RM150 to RM300 plus (up to almost USD100 a pair).

Due my way of walking that causes unnatural distribution of weight, coupled with the lack of lady-like way I normally walk, my expensive shoes generally become almost unwearable after about 3 months. So every 3 months or so, I have to fork out another few hundred bucks for yet another pair of expensive shoes. I also paid a few hundred for specially designed orthotics, shoes that are designed to take into account of the arch on my feet. Those days were okay- I led a highly stressed job that paid well. My circle of friends, a number of them who also suffered from knee pain also invested heavily in shoes- in fact, it was through them that I knew which brands to buy. 

Crocs- expensive but many claimed is comfortable

But these shoes did nothing much to reduce the knee discomfort. Still, I had placed my trust in the perceived value- after all, if it is expensive, it should be good. I’ve never looked beyond anything inexpensive. 

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Is it just me or do you also notice that a number of people around you seemed to be down with flu, fever, cough or sore throat? Perhaps someone you know had just caught a chill and is down and out for about a week.

You may resort to taking a course of antibiotics or popping some aspirin and getting some good sleep. What happens in this fast paced world where we cannot afford to slow down and to be missing in action? And the quick kills of taking antibiotics and pill popping does not seems to work?

There is a traditional housewife remedy that is known to be especially useful to relieve chills. But first, before you try it, get yourself checked to rule out H1N1 virus, or dengue fever, okie?

Method:

Letting the steam from a pot of  boiled herbs permeates your entire body- with yourself fully covered up in a blanket. The principal behind it is for your to inhale the steam from the ingredients that will help you to clear up your lungs and sinus block. And also to make you sweat to cool down your body and get the toxins out.

How to do it:

1. Boil the following in a pot of water under slow fire for about an hour:

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There are ‘detox’ plasters being sold in pharmacies- basically you just stick it, usually to your foot before you go to sleep for overnight. The next day when you wake up, the plaster, which is clear in colour will be black and wet, supposedly due to toxin removal.

From my science background, I conclude that it’s the principal of osmosis is at work here- diffusion of water from a more concentrated to a less concentrated surface through a membrane.
A friend who is well experienced in using traditional healing method taught me another inexpensive method- using salt water.

It works for:

• Knee pain, due to excessive wind element (examples through constantly taking cooling food like Ceylonese tea or bathing at night)
• Morning sinuses
• General detox

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Do you have bunions and cracked heels at your feet? Most of the time, we dismissed as dry skin or the fact that we may have stepped on something without knowing (for bunions and blisters).

But strange enough, after we remove the bunion, it comes back a few weeks later- on the SAME spot. Or after we treat the cracked heel with special creams, it comes back again. We dismissed it as due to dry skin but gets annoyed at the cracked heel, as it can be quite inconvenient and even painful when walking out in the sand (the pain is terrible if something like a grain of sand or a small pebble gets stuck).

Possible cause of Reoccurring Bunions and Cracked Heels.

Would you believe that it can be due to your posture and muscle weakness?
When certain part of your leg muscles are weak, it causes uneven pressure each time you land on your feet while walking or running. As the result, bunions and cracked heels developed due to the stress and pressure placed at a certain part of the feet that is not meant for that function.

For instance, if you have bunions at the balls of the foot close to the toes, it could indicate weak leg extensors or the lateral muscles of your calf. As the result, when you land on your feet, your muscles are not able to absorb the pressure, thus more pressure are placed on the balls of the feet.

People with flat feet (no arch on their legs) are especially vulnerable and would require proper sole inserts (orthondics) to correct the pressure placed on their feet.

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As we age, our muscles, bones and joints grow weaker. If a person stops exercising and becomes sedentary, there are various risks:

• more susceptible towards injuries because of weak muscles that could no longer support the muscoskeletal structure of the body
• degenerative diseases like osteoporosis and arthritis starts and progress at a faster rate
• postural imbalances occurs due to muscle imbalance and changes in bone structure
• and of course, higher risk of chronic diseases associated with lifestyle such as high blood pressure, heart problems, cholesterol, diabetes, etc.

Exercise and proper diet (higher in fibre, less in saturated fat and an overall balanced diet) would help the older population live a life of better quality- mobility, better function and less pain. No one wants to be a burden to others and the sense of independence will let the person enjoy the golden years.

If you are an older adult who intends to start on an exercise program or if you would like to plan an exercise program for your parents, I would strongly recommend that you follow these guidelines:

• do not go straight to an exercise program
• see a physician, get a checkup done to rule out any illnesses such as high blood pressure, diabetes, potential heart problem. This is important because for instance, if someone is suffering from an artery blockage for instance, exercise would aggravate the situation. Then get a clearance from the physician.
• I strongly recommend a occupational therapist be consulted. This is especially if the older adult has obvious postural problems, lower back pain, or pain/injuries on certain parts of the body, immobility of certain parts of the body, conditions like stiff neck/shoulders.

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Please perform these exercise at the level you can manage- do not over exert
Exercise to help overcome:
Muscle Cramps

• Cramps on the thighs
• Cramps on the foot
  

Lower back pain

• Yoga Postures to cure back pain
• Pilates to Relieve Lower Back Pain
• Lower Back Exercise
• Learn the pretzel, and knee to chest pull
• Back Stretches to Reduce Lower Back Pain
• Rehabilitating Lower Back Pain Part 1 & Part 2
• How I cured Lower Back Pain in 2 months
• Talking about back pain

Neck & Shoulder Pain/ Exercises

• Pilates Tips for Preventing or Relieving Neck Pain
• Exercise at your desk to relief neck pain
• Qi Gong for Upper Back & Neck Pain
• Shoulder Complex Loosening Exercise
• Shoulder Mobility Exercises
• Shoulder Stability Exercises (with exercise band)
• Shoulder Rehab Exercises

Knee Pain

• How to fix knee pain
• How to Strengthen Tibialis Posterior
• Knee Mobilization Exercise (in Cantonese)
• Hip Extensor Strengthening (in Cantonese)

Hip Pain

• Understanding Hip Pain
• Fix your own hip pain

Arthritis

• Arthritis & Exercise (real life people suffering from arthritis who have benefited from exercise)
• 6 Way Shoulder Exercise
• Ease your arthritis pain (video by a real arthritis sufferer)

Osteoperosis

• Preventing Osteoporosis
• Exercise to slow down or reverse effects of osteoporosis
• Skeletal Fitness
• Osteoporosis Exercise Demos

Pain Management

• Repetitive Strain Injury
• Managing pain naturally without drugs (advice from Dr Marc Darrow)
• Specific Types of Chronic Pain
• How to Work Out When you are Stuck in Traffic