Arthritis pain

Dealing with pain can be the hardest part of having arthritis or a related condition, but you can learn to manage it and its impact on your life. The first step is knowing which type of arthritis or condition you have, because that will help determine your treatment. Before learning different management techniques, however, it's important to understand some concepts about pain.

Not All Pain is Alike
Just as there are different types of arthritis, there are also different types of pain. Even your own pain may vary from day to day.

Each person needs a pain management plan. What works for one person may not work for someone else. You may need to try several different treatments before you find the one that works for you.

The Purpose of Pain
Pain is your body's alarm system that tells you something is wrong. When your body is injured, nerves in the affected area release chemical signals. Other nerves send these signals to your brain, where they are recognized as pain.

Pain often tells you that you need to act. For example, if you touch a hot stove, pain signals from your brain make you pull your hand away. This type of pain helps protect you.

Long-lasting pain, like the kind that accompanies arthritis or fibromyalgia, is different. While it tells you that something is wrong, it often isn't as easy to relieve. Managing this type of pain is essential to enhance your quality of life and sense of well-being.

Causes of Pain
Arthritis pain is caused by several factors, such as:

• Inflammation, the process that causes the redness and swelling in your joints;
• Damage to joint tissues, which results from the disease process or from stress, injury or pressure on the joints;
• Fatigue that results from the disease process, which can make your pain seem worse and harder to handle;
• Depression or stress, which results from limited movement or no longer doing activities you enjoy. You can get caught in a cycle of pain, limited/lost abilities, stress and depression that makes managing pain and arthritis seem more difficult.

Different Reactions to Pain
People react differently to pain for several reasons. Physical factors include the sensitivity of your nervous system and the severity of your arthritis. Emotional and social factors include your fears and anxieties about pain, previous experiences with pain, energy level, attitude about your condition and the way people around you react to pain.

Many people with arthritis have found that by learning and practicing pain management skills, they can reduce their pain.

Pain Factors
What can make your pain feel worse?

• Increased disease activity
• Stress
• Overdoing physical activity
• Focusing on pain
• Fatigue
• Anxiety
• Depression

What can block pain signals?

• Positive attitude and pleasant thoughts
• Appropriate exercise
• Relaxation
• Medications
• Massage
• Distraction
• Topical pain relievers
• Humor
• Heat and cold treatments

How the Body Controls Pain
Pain signals travel through a system of nerves in your brain and spinal cord. At times, your body tries to stop these signals by creating chemicals that help block pain signals. These chemicals, called endorphins, are morphine-like painkilling substances that decrease the pain sensation.

Different factors cause the body to produce endorphins. One example is your own thoughts and emotions. For example, a father who is driving his children is hurt in a car accident. He is so worried about his children that he doesn't feel the pain of his own broken arm. The concern for his children has caused the natural release of endorphins, which block the pain signal and prevent him from noticing the pain.

The body also produces endorphins in response to external factors, such as medicine. Codeine is one example of a powerful pain-blocking medication. Other external pain control methods, such as heat and cold treatments, can stimulate the body to either release endorphins or block pain signals in other ways.

Causes of night sweats

What are the Causes of night sweats? That is what this entire web site is all about; female night sweats or male night sweats, night sweats in men, this site will help you. It makes no difference why you have night sweats or even if you ever have night sweats if you are just a hot sleeper you are at the right place.

lets start by understanding how the sweating system works. In humans, there are two kinds of sweat glands which differ greatly in both the composition of the sweat that is released and purpose, we are only concerned with the Eccrine glands: Causes of night sweats

ECCRINE SWEAT GLANDS

Location: entire body surface except the lips and part of the external genitalia

Function: regulation of body temperature very important

The Eccrine sweat glands, which are distributed over the entire body surface, produce sweat that is composed chiefly of water with various salts. These glands are used for body temperature regulation.

Eccrine sweat glands are coiled tubular glands derived from the outer layer of skin but extending into the inner layer. This is where the night sweat comes from so we just need to work with them. They are distributed over almost the entire surface of the body. The sweat glands are controlled by sympathetic cholinergic nerves which are controlled by a centre in the hypothalamus. These two areas can be effected by either physical conditions or medications that we take. If they are not working properly they tend to make us hot at undesirable times. Lets continue with the Causes of night sweats.

The hypothalamus directly senses core temperature (your inner body temperature), and also has input from temperature receptors in the skin (this tells the hypothalamus that the skin is either releasing enough heat from the body or not) The hypothalamus takes this data and modifies the sweat output. confusion in this area can be one of the causes of night sweats.

The skin temperature has a direct influence on the decision to release sweat. Is this one of the main Causes of night sweats? YES! Lets say for example that either a physical condition or a medication has things screwed up. If a medication is causing the dilution (thinning) of the blood to an extent that it makes the skin hotter than normal at varying times, (off and on all night long) then you have a recipe for a night sweat. Another example, a women is having a hot flash, when a woman has a hot flash the heart starts beating faster and our body says let some heat out. The blood vessels at the skin level open-up and the hot flash starts. The end result is the skin heats up. This is the most significant Causes of night sweats..

The hypothalamus takes a reading from your internal temperature and takes another reading from the skin. The skin has been over heated due to our medication, physical condition or hot flash. It makes a decision to Increases the output of sweat because the normal cooling methods, radiation and conduction (via air) are not working well enough. If the skin cools down fast enough the hypothalamus sees this and backs off on sweating. Got it, if the skin cools down there is no need for the sweating. If the skin can not cool down well that Causes night sweats.

So our skin is unexpectedly over heated due to a medication, physical condition, or a result of an irregular thermal conditioning signal. The hypothalamus is tricked into letting out the sweat because the skin is heating up without true cause, or is it really a needed process for healing. Bottom line is, if the skin was never over heated by the increase in blood flow we would not start sweating.

Causes of night sweats

Without getting too detailed, lets just say that the sweat glands start when one of two things happen. Either the internal temperature is too high and the skin temperature is high this causes night sweats. Or if the skin temperature is high, but the internal temperature is fine, you will still start to sweat. Having the skin heat up while you are sleeping is the biggest cause of night sweats. I hope you grasp this idea if you don't please read it again. All of these physical conditions and medications we have listed and talked about cause the skin to be randomly and unexpectedly over heated. I can not stress this enough.

• Will all this apply to night sweats in men or male night sweats? YES.
• Is it one of the primary Causes of night sweats? YES.
• Is it the only cause for night sweats? Yes, unless you have a gland problem in that case this will still help.
• Will this method stop night sweats? You better believe it. So keep reading and you are on your way.

Keeping your cool

When sweat evaporates from the surface of your skin, it removes excess heat and cools the skin as well as the blood traveling in the skin. This in turn helps cool your body at night it the main Causes of night sweats. To convert water from a liquid to a vapor, it takes a certain amount of heat called the latent heat of vaporization. This heat energy increases the speed of the water molecules so that they can escape into the air. Typically, all of the sweat does not evaporate, but rather runs off your skin. In addition, not all heat energy produced by the body is lost through sweat. Some is directly radiated from the skin to the air and some is lost through respiratory surfaces of the lungs.

Causes of night sweats

The images below will show you the relationship between the three main methods of body heat regulation. Look at these methods and lets think as if that body, in the image, is wrapped in a blanket. The radiant energy (this is what you feel when you are in close proximity to someone that is hotter than you) would fill the blanket with heat and in turn keep the heat trapped in the blanket. The conductive transference of heat (by air) will be limited because of the lack of air flow. (Remember that you are wrapped in a blanket - no air flow) So the blanket is getting hotter from the radiant heat, which in turn helps heat the air surrounding this body. That leaves only one method to relieve the heat and that is via evaporation. That is not what we want, that is sweat..

Causes of night sweats

Now notice in the images below that as the air temperature increases the amount of heat dissipated from the body via air starts to decrease. At a point where the air temperature gets close to the core body temperature, the method of heat dispersion must switch to evaporation (sweat). If the air that is surrounding the body is saturated with moisture (humid), or becomes saturated, as it would between bed sheets, the glands start to release more sweat in order to cool the body faster. OH night sweats ... is this making since now.. If not start over.

Causes of night sweats

Causes of night sweats

A major factor that influences the rate of evaporation is the relative humidity of the air around you. If the air is humid, then it already has water vapor in it, probably near saturation, and cannot take any more. Therefore, sweat does not evaporate and cool your body as efficiently as when the air is dry. Remember this is taking place in an environment that has stagnated, non-moving air, saturated with moisture and getting hotter because of the trapped radiant and conductive heat - another cause of night sweats. Trapped humid dead air is one of the main Causes of night sweats.

Finally, when the water in the sweat evaporates, it leaves the salts (sodium, chloride and potassium) behind on your skin, which is why your skin gets sticky and you wake up feeling like you need a shower. sound all too familiar..

Causes of night sweats

If you recall, many diseases cause the core body temperature and the skin to increase and decrease radically. In normal situations you would be able to compensate for these changes as they occur. Like when you are awake and you start to get hot, you fan yourself or take off some clothes or get in a cool area. Whatever it takes, you will do it to cool down, to cool your skin down. The same thing is true for many of the drugs that are listed. Some drugs cause swings in core body temperature, some cause hot flashes or flushing (a rapid increase in skin temperature) and some just confuse the temperature regulating nervous system. It all has the same effect. You Start Sweating while you are sleeping.

Causes of night sweats

It's hard to cool yourself down when you start to overheat at night. The simple fact that you are sleeping makes it impossible. By the time you know it, you are all wet or you just toss and turn all night trying to cool down. Think about it, you roll around trying to find a nice cool spot in the bed, but when you can't find one, you kick off the covers, spread your arms and legs try to cool yourself down. You need to COOL YOUR SKIN down before the sweat kicks in! By this time you are probably sweaty and the next thing you know you are freezing. So you cover back up and start it over again.. How ya gonna get any sleep like that? Makes me tired thinking about it.

Causes of night sweats

lets examine this one step at a time.

What are the Causes of night sweats.

1. Your body is not cooling down efficiently enough by Conduction (air) or Radiation.

2. The relative humidity surrounding your body is too high for evaporation to work.

3. Your body is captured in an environment that can't self regulate and you are sleeping. (when is the last time you got yourself a cool glass of water while you were sleeping.)

4. You went to bed just fine, but as the night rolls on your body temperature and other factors change (hormones, hot flash, vascular dilation, medical or disease induced fever). What was a nice cool bed is now an oven.

All of these are major Causes of night sweats

You're in your bed, all is well, but then it happens; your body temperature increases due to an illness or medication or natural causes (menopause and such) and there is NO air circulation between your sheets. Your mattress, your sheets and your comforter have absorbed all the heat that they can and they cant let it out any faster. The air trapped between the sheets starts to get hot. Your skin starts to increase in temperature. It can't cool down and you cant just start fanning yourself because you are sleeping. Your regulating system (the hypothalamus) checks the skin temperature and decides there is no way it can cool the body down under these conditions. It turns on the water, and you start to sweat a little, it checks it again, its not doing so good because the trapped air is now becoming saturated, humidified, and hotter. So it has to really turn on the sprinkler, it wants to make a pool for you to swim in... maybe that will cool you down.. well the only thing that happens next is you wake up all sweaty and wet. That is not what we want.

Ok lets think about the variables here.. Causes of night sweats

1. Your core body temperature fluctuating for one reason or another is usually the root to the whole problem and it is hard to control.

2. Heat dispersion via radiation: the covers that you have over you are able to absorb only so much heat and pass that heat to the other side at a specific rate. That rate remains constant with a constant environment on the other side (the air in the room). You can only kick the sheets off to get your body cooler when the heat starts. This will in turn cool down the skin and keep you from sweating. Not a good choice, makes for a bad nights sleep.

3. Heat dispersion via air, or convection: as we know the air between the sheets is trapped and you can't exactly expect it to help out much. It will get hotter and cause your skin to get hotter and in turn cause you to start sweating. So kick the sheets off again.. Still not a good nights sleep

4. Heat dispersion via evaporation: well again the trapped air will become saturated in time and cause the skin to heat up which causes more sweating, this is not what we want... Kick the sheets off again?

This heating of your skin while sleeping is the cause of night sweats. Take my word for it there are many people that were skeptical about this that are now sleeping better than ever now that they too have discovered this unique quality sleep system that gives everyone a restful night of sleep. It is very simple and once you use it you will be delighted.

12 Ways To Quit Smoking

Today renew your pledge to quit smoking...If you have tried to quit smoking and failed before, take comfort in the fact that most smokers fail several times before quitting successfully.

Your past failures are not a lesson that you are unable to quit. Instead, view them as part of the normal journey toward becoming a nonsmoker.

Here are 12 techniques that will help you quit the habit.
Remember - you can do it!

1. Deep Breathing Perhaps The Single Most Powerful And Important Technique: Every time you want a cigarette, do the following. Do it three times.

Inhale the deepest lung-full of air you can, and then, very slowly, exhale. Purse your lips so that the air must come out slowly. As you exhale, close your eyes, and let your chin gradually sink over onto your chest. Visualize all the tension leaving your body, slowly draining out of your fingers and toes, just flowing on out.

This is a variation of a yoga technique and is very relaxing. If you practice this, you'll be able to use it for any future stressful situation you find yourself in. And it will be your greatest weapon during the strong cravings sure to assault you over the first few days.

2. Taking In Fluids:
The first few days, drink LOTS of water and fluids to help flush out the nicotine and other poisons from your body.

Remember that the urge to smoke only lasts a few minutes, and will then pass. The urges gradually become farther and farther apart as the days go by.

3. Stay Away From Alcohol, Sugar And Coffee
Do your very best to stay away from alcohol, sugar and coffee the first week or longer, as these tend to stimulate the desire for a cigarette. Avoid fatty foods, as your metabolism will slow down a bit without the nicotine, and you may gain weight even if you eat the same amount as before quitting. So discipline about diet is extra important now. No one ever said acquiring new habits would be easy!

Nibble on low calorie foods like celery, apples and carrots. Chew gum or suck on cinnamon sticks.

Stretch out your meals; eat slowly and wait a bit between bites.

After dinner, instead of a cigarette, treat yourself to a cup of mint tea or a peppermint candy.

4.Taking An Oral Substitute
In one study, about 25% of quitters found that an oral substitute was invaluable. Another 25% didn't like the idea at all - they wanted a clean break with cigarettes. The rest weren't certain.

One can use cinnamon sticks, chewing gum or artificial cigarettes as a substitute. You will mostly find that after the first week of being a non smoker, you wouldn’t even need these.

5. Get Exercising
Go to a gym, sit in the steam, exercise. Change your normal routine – take time to walk or even jog around the block or in the local park.

6.Pamper Yourself
Go ahead and join a yoga class or maybe reiki – they're great! Get a one hour massage, take a long bath - pamper yourself. Get yourself involved in a hobby.

7. Ask For Support
Ask for support from co-workers, friends and family members. Ask for their tolerance. Let them know you're quitting, and that you might be edgy or grumpy for a few days. If you don't ask for support, you certainly won't get any. If you do, you'll be surprised how much it can help. Take a chance - try it and see!

Ask friends and family members not to smoke in your presence. Don't be afraid to ask. This is more important than you may realize.

8. Destroy All Your Cigarettes
On your quit day, hide all ashtrays and destroy all your cigarettes, preferably with water, so no part of them is smokeable.

9. Write It Down
Write down ten good things about being a nonsmoker - and then write out ten bad things about smoking. Do it. It really helps.

10. Don’t Pretend
Don't pretend smoking wasn't enjoyable – it was. This is like losing a good friend – and it's okay to grieve the loss. Feel that grief, don't worry, it's okay. Feel, and you heal. Stay with it - you can do it!

11. Affirm Yourself
Several times a day, quietly repeat to yourself the affirmation, "I am a nonsmoker." Many quitters see themselves as smokers who are just not smoking for the moment. They have a self-image as smokers who still want a cigarette.

Silently repeating the affirmation "I am a nonsmoker" will help you change your view of yourself, and, even if it may seem silly to you, this is actually useful. Use it!

12. Holding Out
Here is perhaps the most valuable information among these points. In Phase 2, the period which begins a few weeks after quitting, the urges to smoke will subside considerably.

However, it's vital to understand that from time to time, you will still be suddenly overwhelmed with a desire for "just one cigarette." This will happen unexpectedly, during moments of stress, whether negative stress or positive (at a party, or on vacation). If you are unprepared to resist, succumbing to that "one cigarette" will lead you directly back to smoking.

Remember the following secret: in these surprise attacks during Phase 2 - and they will definitely come - do your deep breathing, and hold on for five minutes, and the urge will pass.

In conclusion
Remember that if you quit you will live longer and feel better. Quitting will lower your chances of having a heart attack, stroke, or cancer. The people you live with, especially children, will be healthier. If you are pregnant, you will improve your chances of having a healthy baby. And you will have extra money to spend on things other than cigarettes.

So get the information and support you need to make the stopping process a little easier. Seek the help of family and friends, and most important decide you want to do it and visualize yourself as a non-smoker.

Water-Key to Weight Loss

The potion for losing that excess body fat is all around you. It covers two thirds of the planet. If you eat right and exercise at the intensity, frequency and duration proper for you, but still can't get rid of a little paunch here and there, you're probably just not drinking enough water.

No need to get defensive. You're actually quite normal. Most people don't drink enough water. Most people are also carrying around a few more pounds than they would be if they did drink enough water. If you can't seem to get that weight off, try drowning your sorrows in nature's magical weight-loss mineral. It works, and here's why:

"What on Earth is 'metabolism', anyway?" People use the term all the time, but ask them what it means and you'll get all kinds of answers. Merriam Webster defines it as, "The process by which a substance is handled in the body." A little vague, but that's really all it means.

There are many forms of metabolism going on in your body right now, but the one everyone is talking about it the metabolism of fat. This is actually something that the liver does when it converts stored fat to energy. The liver has other functions, but this is one of its main jobs.

Unfortunately, another of the liver's duties is to pick up the slack for the kidneys, which need plenty of water to work properly. If the kidneys are water-deprived, the liver has to do their work along with its own, lowering its total productivity. It then can't metabolize fat as quickly or efficiently as it could when the kidneys were pulling their own weight. If you allow this to happen, not only are you being unfair to your liver, but you're also setting yourself up to store fat.

"I've tried it and I couldn't stand it!" The problem is that, though many decide to increase their water intake, very few stick with it. It's understandable. During the first few days of drinking more water than your body is accustomed to, you're running to the bathroom constantly. This can be very discouraging, and it can certainly interfere with an otherwise normal day at work. It seems that the water is coming out just as fast as it's going in, and many people decide that their new hydration habit is fruitless.

Do take heed , though. What is really happening is that your body is flushing itself of the water it has been storing throughout all those years of "survival mode". It takes a while, but this is a beautiful thing happening to you. As you continue to give your body all the water it could ask for, it gets rid of what it doesn't need. It gets rid of the water it was holding onto in your ankles and your hips and thighs, maybe even around your belly. You are excreting much more than you realize. Your body figures it doesn't need to save these stores anymore; it's trusting that the water will keep coming, and if it does, eventually, the flushing (of both the body and the potty) will cease, allowing the human to return to a normal life. It's true. This is called the "breakthrough point."

One recent finding, as irresponsible as it may be, that caffeine increases the body's fat-burning potential has many people loading up on coffee before going to the gym. This finding may hold some degree of truth in it, but caffeine is, in essence, a diuretic, and diuretics dehydrate. Caffeine may increase the heart rate, causing a few more calories to be burned, but this is at the expense of the muscles, which need water to function properly. This isn't doing your heart any favors, either. It's already working hard enough during your workout. Never mix caffeine and exercise. In fact, your best bet is to stay away from caffeine all together. It's a big bully that pushes your friend water out of your system.

Water is the best beauty treatment. You've heard this since high school, and it's true. Water will do wonders for your looks! It flushes out impurities in your skin, leaving you with a clear, glowing complexion. It also makes your skin look younger. Skin that is becoming saggy, either due to aging or weight loss, plumps up very nicely when the skin cells are hydrated.

In addition, it improves muscle tone. You can lift weights until you're blue in the face, but if your muscles are suffering from a drought, you won't notice a pleasant difference in your appearance. Muscles that have all the water they need contract more easily, making your workout more effective, and you'll look much nicer than if you had flabby muscles under sagging skin.

"Eight glasses a day? Are you kidding?!" It's really not that much. Eight 8-ounce glasses amount to about two quarts of water. This is okay for the average person, but if you're overweight, you should drink another eight ounces for every 25 pounds of excess weight you carry. You should also up this if you live in a hot climate or exercise very intensely.

This water consumption should be spread out throughout the day. It's not healthy at all to drink too much water at one time. Try to pick three or four times a day when you can have a big glass of water, and then sip in between. Don't let yourself get thirsty. If you feel thirsty, you're already becoming dehydrated. Drink when you're not thirsty yet.

Do you think water is yucky? Drinking other fluids will certainly help hydrate your body, but the extra calories, sugar, additives and whatever else aren't what you need. Try a slice of lemon or lime in the glass, or if you really think you hate water, try a flavored water. Just make sure you read the labels. Remember that you're going to be consuming a lot of this fluid.

It's probably a good idea to stop drinking water a good three hours before you go to bed. You know why.

"How cold should it be?" This is debatable. Most experts lean toward cold water, because the stomach absorbs it more quickly. There is also some evidence that cold water might enhance fat burning.

On the other hand, warmer water is easier to drink in large quantities, and you might drink more of it without even realizing it. Do whatever suits you, here. Just drink it!

When you drink all the water you need, you will very quickly notice a decrease in your appetite, possibly even on the first day! If you're serious about becoming leaner and healthier, drinking water is an absolute must. If you're doing everything else right and still not seeing results, this might just what's missing.

Nuclear Scan

Nuclear scans use small amounts of low-energy radioactive substances to detect cancers. Nuclear scanning can provide images that show changes in the function of cells and organs. A nuclear bone scan, for example, can reveal the reaction of bone cells to the presence of cancer in the bone before there is pain or before the cancer does enough structural damage to show up in an X-ray. A PET scan is a type of nuclear scan that indicates the presence of a tumor in the brain.

What do I need to do before the scan?
If you are getting a nuclear scan, you will either be given a shot in the vein or asked to swallow a small amount of radioactive liquid. While the idea of drinking something termed “radioactive” sounds a little scary, the amount of radioactivity is harmless. While traveling through the body, certain radioactive substances concentrate in areas where cells are dividing at an abnormal rate — indicating the presence of cancer.

How does the scanning work?
Depending on the situation, it takes anywhere from a few minutes to two hours for the substance to reach the organ being scanned. At that point, you will be asked to lie flat under a large machine. The machine detects the substance, takes two-dimensional pictures of the organ being examined, and shows whether it is functioning normally or if there is a tumor present.

To complete this procedure, you will be asked to change into a gown. The scanning process itself will take approximately 20 to 30 minutes. You will not see, hear or taste anything, and you should not have any side effects after the procedure is completed.

Get Rid of Sore Muscles

Why Do Your Muscles Become Sore Anyway?

Whenever you engage in an unusual level of physical activity, whether lifting weights, going for a jog, or simply moving a heavy piece of furniture you create microscopic tears in your muscle tissue. Don’t worry; this is normal – when your body rebuilds the damaged muscle it grows back bigger and stronger than before. This is the same mechanism that athletes and bodybuilders use to become faster, bigger and stronger.

As a general rule, the more you exert yourself, the more microscopic tears you create, and the more soreness you feel later on as the muscles are being repaired by your body. The soreness itself is a result of both the damage to the muscles, and chemical waste products produced by the muscles during use (namely lactic acid).

Different Types of Muscle Soreness

If you’ve found yourself with sore muscles and have come here in search of relief – the first thing you should do is determine the cause of the soreness. Is it normal post-workout soreness or does it feel much worse than that?

Normal, Post-Workout Muscle Soreness

Many people who work out on a regular basis will describe this type of muscle pain as ‘good’ – many even enjoy it as a sign that they’ve pushed themselves hard enough to see a benefit from their exercise as the muscle fibers grow back stronger than before. Normal muscle soreness manifests itself as a dull but localized pain in the worked muscles that doesn’t limit range of motion but may be accompanied by tightness and temporary loss of strength. It can appear right after your workout, or several hours after your workout (Delayed Onset Muscle Soreness).

Treatment
You can reduce some of the discomfort by stretching the sore muscles often to keep them from tightening up along with participating in light cardiovascular training to get the blood and lymphatic systems moving (to assist flushing of remaining waste products like lactic acid). Anti-inflammatories such as ibuprophen can help relieve the pain, but it has been argued that they may also limit muscle gain.

Strained or Overexerted Muscle Soreness

This happens when you push too hard, too fast and is most common in people who are just beginning a workout program and overdo it on the first few trips to the gym. The symptoms are the same as in normal, post-workout soreness but with the addition of tenderness in the area of the strained muscle and painful tightness which may limit your range of motion.

Treatment
If the pain is severe, see your doctor. If it’s tolerable, try not to use the muscle and each day you should notice an increased range of non-painful motion. Stretching *may* help depending on the extent of the strain. If the soreness turns into pain as you stretch, stop and just give that muscle some time to heal. Anti inflammatory medication such as ibuprophen can lessen the immediate pain, but may also lessen your muscle gain.

Pulled or Torn Muscles

This usually happens because a muscle was not fully prepared for exertion or incapable of handling the demanded exertion and is exactly what the title implies. Depending on the amount of overexertion a muscle can be partially or completely torn. A small tear will result in a sharp pain in the effected muscle followed by a similar pain whenever the muscle is called into use. Severe strains cause swelling as blood pools around the injured muscle to protect it and provide some damage control. A larger, or complete tear will be extremely painful and may result in an inability to use the muscle at all – if you are sitting at your PC reading this then you likely don’t have one of these unless your pain threshold is abnormally high.

Treatment
If you suspect a severely strained or torn muscle, stop exercising, ice the area, and go and see your physician immediately. Continued use of the damaged muscle will only increase the damage and extend healing time. Do NOT apply heat as this will increase the blood flow and swelling, if the area does begin to swell, wrap it snugly with an ace bandage and keep it elevated until your doctor can examine it.

Preventing Sore Muscles

If you’re going to work out, you’re going to experience muscle soreness. You can however, reduce your chances of strains, pulls and tears. Here are some tips:

• Gently stretch each muscle group for at least 60 seconds before and after your workouts
• Begin and end every workout with an absurdly light load. If you’re about to run, start with 10 minutes of fast walking. If you’re about to lift weights, do a couple of speed sets using only the bar and going through the entire range of motion
• Hydrate! Lots of water or an electrolyte containing sports drink
• If weight training, stretch the target muscles between sets
• Finish every workout (even weight training) with 10-15 minutes of light cardio. This gets the blood and lymphatic system flowing and will help eliminate waste products built up from the workout
• Get a massage
• Ice the worked muscle group immediately after especially hard workouts

Please add your own tips to this page using the form at the bottom.

Injected Contraception

Description An in-depth report on the birth control options available to women.

Alternative Names Diaphragm; Norplant; Oral Contraception; Tubal Ligation

Injected Contraception Injected contraceptives help fill the needs of women who are able to take hormonal contraceptives but have difficulty complying with daily pills. Injected progestins have been the standard form, but they can have severe effects on the menstrual cycle. More recently, combination injections of estrogen and progestins have been developed that are effective, have fewer side effects than progestin injections, and may even have health benefits. Injected Progestins Injected progestins, particularly depo-medroxyprogesterone acetate or DMPA (Depo-Provera), are currently the standard injected contraceptive and are very effective. Depo-Provera uses a progestin called medroxyprogesterone. Like other progestin contraceptives, Depo-Provera prevents pregnancy by halting ovulation, thickening the cervical mucus, and stopping the implantation of fertilized eggs in the uterine lining. Administering Injections. The typical procedures for progestin injections are as follows: A physical examination is necessary before beginning the injections. It is injected into a muscle in the patients arm or buttock, and during months between injections, the hormone slowly diffuses out of the muscle into the bloodstream. Depo-Provera requires an injection by the physician every three months. Another injected progesterone (Noristerat) needs to be injected every two months. If more than two weeks pass beyond the regular injection schedules, the woman should have a pregnancy test before taking the next one. Candidacy for Injected Progestins Depo-Provera is a good choice for many women who want to delay pregnancy for several years but hope to bear children later on. It is safe for many women who are not candidates for OCs, including smokers over 35, and for those who have the following conditions: Risk for blood clots or stroke. Migraines. Diabetes. Systemic lupus. Systemic lupus erythematosus is a chronic inflammatory autoimmune disorder which may affect many organ systems including the skin, joints and internal organs. The disease may be mild or severe and life-threatening. African-Americans and Asians are disproportionately affected. Coronary artery disease. Click the icon to see an image of atherosclerosis. It may actually reduce the frequency of crises in sickle cell patients, and reduce seizures in women with epilepsy. Depo-Provera is not given to women with the following conditions: Liver disease. Unexplained vaginal bleeding. Pregnancy. Women who are breastfeeding for the first six weeks after delivery. Women at risk for osteoporosis. Because of the long lag time between ending treatments and restoration of fertility, Depo-Provera is not recommended for women who are thinking of becoming pregnant within two years. Advantages of Injected Progestins The advantages of Depo-Provera are as follows: Progesterone injections provide highly effective reversible protection against pregnancy without placing heavy demands on the users time or memory. They also may protect against uterine and ovarian cancer and do not pose any risk for breast cancer. DMPA is also useful for painful periods, heavy bleeding (including heavy bleeding caused by fibroids), premenstrual syndrome, and endometriosis. Depo-Provera does not appear to cause weight gain as other hormonal agents may. Disadvantages and Complications of Injected Progestins Disadvantages are as follows: Side effects of any progestin-containing contraceptive. For example, about 60% of users gain weight during long-term use. For these and other reasons, 70% of users stop the injections within a year. Most users of Depo-Provera stop menstruating altogether after a year. Women who eventually want to have children should be aware that Depo-Provera can cause persistent infertility for up to 22 months after the last injection, although the average is 10 months. This is significantly longer than restoration of fertility after the removal of the Norplant implant. Depo-Provera has been associated with a higher incidence of depression, although it is unclear whether the contraception was really the cause. Depo-Provera may cause loss of bone density. It appears to be reversible when the drug is stopped. The injections do not provide protection against sexually transmitted diseases. Of some concern was a 2002 study that found changes in the arteries of long-time users, suggesting a risk for future heart disease. More research is warranted.