Sciatic Pregnancy | What Are Your Options?

Sciatic Pregnancy - what can you actually do to help yourself when your sciatic nerve gives you trouble during a time in your life that should be enjoyable and exciting? Pregnancy sciatica is not a condition in itself, but rather the symptoms of a combination of underlying causes, which manifest themselves when the sciatic nerve is being irritated. The sciatic nerve runs from the lower end of your spine, through your buttocks and thighs all the way to your feet. It gets inflamed when it receives too much pressure, be that from a herniated disk or a clenched muscle (as in piriformis syndrome) or a different underlying cause. The Symptoms range from a numb, tingly or burning sensation in your lower back, over achy and dull pain to shooting pain down your leg.

Now since the baby’s location is very close to where the nerve runs through and may put pressure on the nerve or on tissue surrounding the nerve, it is not surprising that a previously existing sciatica problem may dramatically worsen during pregnancy; or that the extra weight around the middle along with the loosening of tendons and ligaments in preparation for birth may make way for an injury to a disk, which then in turn puts pressure on the nerve. Women who are pregnant are more likely to experience disc injury.

Sciatic pregnancy pain often disappears by itself, but in some cases that may take over six weeks. Some patients have found it helpful to schedule regular visits with their physical therapist, to get some relief from their sciatica symptoms. Manual therapy often helps relieve the pressure and discomfort you might experience from the back pain during pregnancy.

To speak about some helpful sciatic pregnancy exercises, you also might go to your physical therapist. He/she could show you some exercises that would greatly benefit you with pain management, and would also help strengthen the abdominal and back muscles and the pelvic floor muscles. With those in better shape you might experience fewer difficulties during the birthing process and even during the recuperation time afterwards.

When relying on chiropractic care or manual therapy for the relief of your sciatic pregnancy pain, make sure that they are experienced in working with prenatal patients.

To reduce inflammation and other sciatica symptoms many women have found massage therapy to be very helpful, since it greatly relieves muscle tension and tightness. When certain muscle groups tense up too much (like for example the piriformis muscle in your buttocks) they will probably add to your sciatica pain. Massages reduce tension and inflammation and therefore help to increase circulation and speed up the healing process.

Should you develop pregnancy sciatica make sure you’ll consult your doctor or physical therapist about what kinds of treatments are available to you, especially in your condition, since not every treatment for sciatica is for every cause of it and especially during pregnancy the choice of therapy needs to be made carefully with the help of knowledgeable professionals. Cold/Hot treatment may be applied, as may bed rest for some days, until the acute pain simmers down. Changes in posture may be greatly beneficial to alleviate pain and pressure on your discs since one of the main underlying causes of sciatica is poor posture.

Learn more about sciatic pregnancy. Stop by Christina Meier’s site where you can find out all about sciatic pregnancy and how to get some help.

Lowering the Risk Factors of Obesity, Diabetes, and Heart Disease

Lowering the Risk Factors

Diabetes is a dangerous health problem. In adults, diabetes is related to long-term nutritional neglect and abuse.

Most of us don’t eat breakfast. Our fuel supply is depleted, and we wind up running on fumes. We grab a high-calorie muffin or a candy bar later in the morning when we’re really, really hungry. What we don’t know is that this snack causes insulin to dump out of the pancreas into the bloodstream, as the body attempts to process the surge in blood glucose from the snack we just ate.

This pattern is repeated throughout the day. A graph of the average person’s blood sugar levels would show sharp spikes - both highs and lows - in every 24-hour period. Eventually, the insulin-producing cells in the pancreas wear out. The result is consistently high levels of blood glucose which we term, diabetes.

Diabetes may cause severe eye problems, severe kidney problems, and severe circulatory problems. It is associated with obesity, heart disease, and increased mortality. Not good.

An obvious preventive strategy would be to ensure that blood glucose levels are steady throughout the day. Actually, this is easy to do. All that’s required is to develop healthy eating habits and do regular exercise.

Eat breakfast - a 1/2 cup of cottage cheese mixed with a 6-ounce cup of yogurt is all you need in the morning.

Do food combining at every meal - always eat a combination of protein and carbohydrate as much as possible.

No between-meal snacks please!

Regular exercise that is challenging and fun - build-up gradually and be consistent

We’re in the middle of several deadly epidemics in the United States. Obesity, diabetes, and heart disease are affecting more and more people every year. Recent statistics show that two-thirds of Americans are overweight or obese. Thirty percent of American children are obese. Approximately 21 million Americans have diabetes. One child out of every 500 has type I diabetes. In America, 72 million adults have high blood pressure. These are shocking statistics, considering that U.S. health care expenditures totaled $2 trillion in 2006. That’s 2 TRILLION dollars.

As Americans, we’re getting less healthy by the day. The good news is there are many things we can do about these trends. There is real action that every American, young and old, can take to support and protect their health and well-being. These action steps all focus on lifestyle - the choices we make each and every day.

The first step is an honest self-assessment. When was the last time I exercised? Does my clothes size increase every couple of years? How many times during the week do I eat fast food? When was the last time I ate an apple instead of half a box of cookies?

Regardless of the answers, it is possible to become healthy and fit again, whatever your current circumstances. You CAN lose 10 or 20 or 30 or however many pounds. You CAN climb stairs without getting out of breath. You CAN regain the youthful glow of vitality. You CAN be vigorous and proud of your body, rather than worrying about what’s going to be the next thing to break down.

Healthy eating and regular exercise are essential parts of the solution to combating obesity, diabetes, and heart disease.1,2 These practices have the magical effect of resetting your metabolic clock - your body shifts from a pattern of storing fat to a pattern of burning fat.3 Over time, with a nutritious food plan and consistent exercise, you even burn fat while you’re resting! Your body is very smart. You just have to treat it right.

Your chiropractor is a wonderful asset - both as a health care practitioner and as a guide - on your journey toward fitness and wellness. Your chiropractor has extensive resources available on practical nutrition and how to design a supportive food plan. He or she has deep knowledge regarding the types of exercises and activities that will be right for you. You and your chiropractor can design an exercise program that will be both fun and rewarding. Working together, you’ll be maximizing your health and vitality. You will begin to fulfill a way of living that will support you in being healthy and well for years to come.

1Lindstrom J, et al: Sustained reduction in the incidence of type 2 diabetes by lifestyle intervention: follow-up of the Finnish Diabetes Prevention Study. Lancet 368(9548):1673-1679, 2006. 2Orchard TJ, et al: The effect of metformin and intensive lifestyle intervention on the metabolic syndrome: the Diabetes Prevention Program randomized trial. Ann Intern Med 142(8):611-619, 2005 3Yannakoulia M, et al: A dietary pattern characterized by high consumption of whole-grain cereals and low-fat dairy products and low consumption of refined cereals is positively associated with plasma adiponectin levels in healthy women. Metabolism 57(6):824-830, 2008

Coping with Chronic Pain

Coping with severe chronic pain from conditions such as arthritis and injuries from sprains and strains affect so many of us. One day you are active and feel great and then the next day you are stiff as a two-by-four. A sprain or strain can occur very easily and it can be simply rectified by stretching more frequently. While a chronic condition like one of the several forms of arthritis, bursistis, and tendinitis affect 70% of the population in North America and will require some sort of treatment or remedy.

Joints are the areas where two bones meet in our body, like a knee,shoulder,hip, or other vertabrea. They make the skeleton flexible ” without them, movement would be impossible. Our joints are so often not thought about until they become painful and cause discomfort; unfortunately then the individual is left coping with severe chronic pain. All joints are cushioned by a substance called cartilage. Cartilage acts as a shock absorber to prevent the bones in our joints from grinding together and wearing down. There is also a certain amount of fluid present in joints to keep them well-oiled and free moving. The bursae are fluid-filled sacs that cushion and pad bony prominences, allowing muscles and tendons to move freely over the bone.

Because of the joints makeup, the joints have limited blood flow and as a result can heal very slowly. Inflammation and waste matter around the joint from injury or chronic condition like that of arthritis can take some time to decrease and it’s that inflammation and waste matter causing the discomfort and reducing your ability to move. Coping with severe chronic pain during this prolonged period or healing can be very difficult and this is why some many individuals seek some type of natural remedy for relief.

Glucosamine and Chondroitin

These supplements can be found together in many popular brands such as JointAdvance, JointEast, Eazol and Osteo Bi-flex. Both glucosamine and chondroiton are a nutritional approach to maintaining the fluids needed to lubricate joints and cartilage. These two supplements, taken regularly, can inhibit this type of activity in our bodies, enabling our system to maintain and promote new cartilage and connective tissue.

Glucosamine is an amino-sugar found in the body that stimulates growth of new cartilage. Consequently, it can also help to reduce joint pain. In studies, patients using glucosamine experienced as much pain relief as those taking over-the-counter medications. Due to possible blood sugar irregularities and an increase in insulin resistance, diabetics should consult a physician prior to starting a glucosamine regimen.

Chondroitin has been shown to improve joint mobility by maintaining the fluid needed in the core structure of cartilage. This protects cartilage and promotes healing. There are no known side effects, although there is an ongoing debate on how well the body can absorb this supplement.

Healing When the discomfort in your body goes away and you begin to feel normal again you still are not fully healed. However, this is usually when we start acting like everything is fine and continue carrying on with our daily activities. We dont realize we are just going to reinjure the area and the discomfort will come back. It’s not your fault though. It’s just not possible to stop everything and rest your body properly. What ends up happening is we continually reinjure the area through our daily activities and this can ultimately lead to osteoarthritis. HAJoint Formula Free Bottle Offer. Supports joint pain relief thru healthy flexibility, mobility, and lubrication.

Every time you move your body, the tendons and surrounding tissue around your bones move and when they are inflamed from an injury or chronic condition, every movement hurts and impacts simple every day activities. Without some type of joint pain relief remedy our daily activities become extremely painful and completing simple tasks is difficult. Did you know that once your joints are injured they become very difficult to recover 100%.

Eazol is an effective, natural solution for everyday aches and pains. Eazol contains White Willow Bark, Lobelia, and Boswellia. These herbs have been used by ancient healers for centuries to ease everyday aches and pains.

Omega Daily is the miracle from the sea, a superior source of Omega-3. It’s made from extracts of the green-lipped mussel, a natural, pure New Zealand source of the highest quality and most effective Omega-3 oil you can buy. Omega daily is good for your heart- cardiovascular heatlh improves, mind - mood and memory are elevated, and body; to keep you young, active and healthy. OmegaDaily has no side effects, and best of all, you don’t need a prescription to get it.