There has been a lot of interest in using electrical stimulation to cure back pain. But is this really a cure or just another gadget being pushed by companies looking to make a quick dollar. In other words is there any science behind the claims. I asked my physical therapist this after he recommended that I try a battery operated unit.
Supposedly this unit is battery operated and fits onto my belt. Patches are applied to my back and connected to the belt unit. Mild electrical current is then applied blocking transmission of pain signals along the nerves. Electrical stimulation also results in promoting the release of endorphins which are natural painkillers produced by the body.
This all sounded interesting but the idea of having electrical charges shooting though my body did sound a bit dangerous and reminded me of all those electrical devices that were sold years ago that were nothing more than medical quackery. However my therapist assures me this was not the case. The electric current is very low and not dangerous and there has been a lot of solid research on the effectiveness of this apparatus. Another thing that convinced me to try it was the approval of my surgeon and my insurance company.
Is electrical simulation a cure for your aching back? Well ever situation is unique. But studies do indicate that electrical stimulation can be part of an over all treatment program. Now this device doesn't take the place of other treatments such as losing weight, physical therapy and exercise. How it allows the patient to participate in these therapies without pain or at least with a minimum of pain. Whether the device is for you depends on your situation and your doctors okay. I will stress however that whatever option you take it is important to also follow a program or system of exercise that is designed specifically for your condition and has a proven tract record of success.
Saturday, May 8, 2010
Overcome Your Fear Of Failure With These Tips
Here are six tips to help your overcome fear of failure. We all feel fearful at one time or another. However it's how we deal with this fear and the steps we take to overcome fear and push on despite the trembling in our bones. Most fear especially in the business world is rooted in the fear of embarrassing oneself in front of others. Giving a speech or presentation, cold calling, asking for a raise or starting a business venture is some of the areas that many people dread. Because they dread doing the difficult they put their career and personal success in jeopardy. So how do you overcome these fears?
First of all everyone is fearful of trying something new. Once you understand that being nervous is natural you can begin to control and conquer this fear.
Have a sense of humor. Don't take yourself too seriously.
Make a plan put together a plan to overcome this fear. Having a plan prepares you, giving you confidence and removing the fear or at least minimizing it.
Get a mentor, coach or a friend to help you.
Take Action! Once you have a plan in place and have gotten advice and support from a friend, fellow worker or coach/mentor, now is the time to take action.
Act as if- Begin acting as if you have overcome this fear. Pretending isn't just for kids, acting as if you are a great speaker can help you feel confident. Model yourself after someone you admire. "In other words fake it until you make it."
Following these six tips can help you overcome fear and go on to business and/or personal success. Remember everyone has experience fear in their lives. It when we conquer our fear that we grow and prosper. Use the feeling of being fearful as a tool that motivates you. Overcoming fear and achieving success is the goal. These tips if followed will go a long way to master your fear.
First of all everyone is fearful of trying something new. Once you understand that being nervous is natural you can begin to control and conquer this fear.
Have a sense of humor. Don't take yourself too seriously.
Make a plan put together a plan to overcome this fear. Having a plan prepares you, giving you confidence and removing the fear or at least minimizing it.
Get a mentor, coach or a friend to help you.
Take Action! Once you have a plan in place and have gotten advice and support from a friend, fellow worker or coach/mentor, now is the time to take action.
Act as if- Begin acting as if you have overcome this fear. Pretending isn't just for kids, acting as if you are a great speaker can help you feel confident. Model yourself after someone you admire. "In other words fake it until you make it."
Following these six tips can help you overcome fear and go on to business and/or personal success. Remember everyone has experience fear in their lives. It when we conquer our fear that we grow and prosper. Use the feeling of being fearful as a tool that motivates you. Overcoming fear and achieving success is the goal. These tips if followed will go a long way to master your fear.
Thursday, May 6, 2010
Back Pain: Is Physical Therapy The Answer?
According to recent studies PT is the best way to soothe an aching back. It is especially effective for lower back pain especially if it's combined with an anti-inflammatory drug. PT serves to important functions:
1. It can help patients return to a normal life, relieve their pain and avoid surgery.
2. It helps patients who have had surgery recover faster and return to normal to their everyday routines.
3. PT teaches you exercises that you can continue to do at home for prevention of back problems.
Most doctors work hand in hand with therapists and insurance companies and even workman's comp with cover the treatment. Most treatments last four to six weeks with three to four sessions a week. It's important to make sure the therapist is certified in orthopedic conditions. Remember not all therapist are equal, have the same training or experience and specialization. Just like your doctor you should be comfortable with your therapists. Ask question sing and receiving good answers that satisfy you are critical in this relationship. You should feel comfortable with your therapist.
A good therapist will work with you explain each movement, exercise and technique. Listening and responding to your questions, concerns and complaints. Be sure and tell your therapist of any pain you are experiencing. The no pain - no gain concept may work for body builders, but not for you.
The most important thing to understand is that even the most skilled and caring therapist can not do the exercises for you. You have to take responsibility and accept the fact that being pain free means adapting to a lifestyle that includes proper exercises to strength and balance your muscle. The benefits to you are obvious - you will have relief from your sore back, feel better and look better.
Staying on a program after completing your therapy is a challenge. I suggest finding a program or system that builds on the progress you have made and continues improving your back.One of the top rated programs is called the Lose The Back Pain System developed by therapists and doctors of the Healthy back Institute. This program has helped thousands by strengthening muscles and eliminating muscles imbalance. As someone who has suffered with a bad back and who has endured months of physical therapy and an operation, I can tell you there are solutions for your discomfort.
1. It can help patients return to a normal life, relieve their pain and avoid surgery.
2. It helps patients who have had surgery recover faster and return to normal to their everyday routines.
3. PT teaches you exercises that you can continue to do at home for prevention of back problems.
Most doctors work hand in hand with therapists and insurance companies and even workman's comp with cover the treatment. Most treatments last four to six weeks with three to four sessions a week. It's important to make sure the therapist is certified in orthopedic conditions. Remember not all therapist are equal, have the same training or experience and specialization. Just like your doctor you should be comfortable with your therapists. Ask question sing and receiving good answers that satisfy you are critical in this relationship. You should feel comfortable with your therapist.
A good therapist will work with you explain each movement, exercise and technique. Listening and responding to your questions, concerns and complaints. Be sure and tell your therapist of any pain you are experiencing. The no pain - no gain concept may work for body builders, but not for you.
The most important thing to understand is that even the most skilled and caring therapist can not do the exercises for you. You have to take responsibility and accept the fact that being pain free means adapting to a lifestyle that includes proper exercises to strength and balance your muscle. The benefits to you are obvious - you will have relief from your sore back, feel better and look better.
Staying on a program after completing your therapy is a challenge. I suggest finding a program or system that builds on the progress you have made and continues improving your back.One of the top rated programs is called the Lose The Back Pain System developed by therapists and doctors of the Healthy back Institute. This program has helped thousands by strengthening muscles and eliminating muscles imbalance. As someone who has suffered with a bad back and who has endured months of physical therapy and an operation, I can tell you there are solutions for your discomfort.
Wednesday, May 5, 2010
The Key To Success Is Persistence
The key to success is persistence "Stick to Itness", the person who has a vision, faith and an action plan will not fail.
Let me illustrate this with a personal story. I have a nine year old grand daughter. Recently her gym class started jumping rope. Well my granddaughter wasn't a very good jumper. She would mange one or two jumps and then the rope would get tangled up in her legs. She would get frustrated throwing the rope down and call it stupid. But she had a dream or vision. She really wanted to be able to jump rope like some of her friends.
So she developed an action plan. She practiced ever chance she got. She would drag the jump rope out whenever we were around, saying "Watch me jump". She wanted us to count how many times she jumped the rope without stopping. At first she was lucky if she made it to the count of ten. But soon she was doing one hundred or more jumps in a row.
After a few weeks she was jumping like a pro, hopping on one leg, twisting and turning. Needless to say my granddaughter is very proud of herself. She can now jump rope with the best of them. Most important she has learned a valuable life lesson. If you put your mind to something, practice and don't give up you will be successful.
Lastly I would like to leave you with this story about Winston Churchill, the legendary British Prime Minister and great war-time leader. Churchill was asked to speak before a group of young people and give them some advice on succeeding in the world.
According to the story Churchill walked up to the podium, grasp it with both hands, stared in silence at the audience for a moment and then in his gravelly voice said: " Never, Never, Never, Never Give Up!" He then turned from his audience and sat down. So as you work on self improvement, set goals for yourself and create an action plan remember Churchill's words and never give up.
Let me illustrate this with a personal story. I have a nine year old grand daughter. Recently her gym class started jumping rope. Well my granddaughter wasn't a very good jumper. She would mange one or two jumps and then the rope would get tangled up in her legs. She would get frustrated throwing the rope down and call it stupid. But she had a dream or vision. She really wanted to be able to jump rope like some of her friends.
So she developed an action plan. She practiced ever chance she got. She would drag the jump rope out whenever we were around, saying "Watch me jump". She wanted us to count how many times she jumped the rope without stopping. At first she was lucky if she made it to the count of ten. But soon she was doing one hundred or more jumps in a row.
After a few weeks she was jumping like a pro, hopping on one leg, twisting and turning. Needless to say my granddaughter is very proud of herself. She can now jump rope with the best of them. Most important she has learned a valuable life lesson. If you put your mind to something, practice and don't give up you will be successful.
Lastly I would like to leave you with this story about Winston Churchill, the legendary British Prime Minister and great war-time leader. Churchill was asked to speak before a group of young people and give them some advice on succeeding in the world.
According to the story Churchill walked up to the podium, grasp it with both hands, stared in silence at the audience for a moment and then in his gravelly voice said: " Never, Never, Never, Never Give Up!" He then turned from his audience and sat down. So as you work on self improvement, set goals for yourself and create an action plan remember Churchill's words and never give up.
Sunday, May 2, 2010
What Is Chronic Back Pain?
What is chronic back pain? How does it differ from acute back pain? Are the treatments for acute different from chronic? Bad backs affect a majority of Americans. Second only to the common cold. Back problems are the leading cause of work related injuries.
We spend nearly 50 billion a year on treatments for back pain. Usually most of these back problems take care of themselves. With a little rest an over the counter medication and application of a cold pack most of us are back on our feet. This type of back condition is called "acute". The pain and discomfort is real, but the duration is short.
Chronic back pain is when the pain persists for longer than three months, which was the case with me. Chronic pain usually indicates a more severe problem than just a sore muscle. If left untreated permanent damage can result. Many times the source of chronic pain may be difficult to determine and treat. Some of the more common treatments are, physical therapy, surgery and or electrical stimulation and many times as in my case all three. Some people even after all these treatments and in many cases multiple treatments still have the pain and live with their pain for months, even years.
I believe the problem is most treatments even physical therapy doesn't get at the "root cause" of the problem. In other words something is present that is causing the pain to return despite all the money, time and treatments. Many times this root cause is muscle imbalance. When one set of muscles are stronger than another and is pulling your spine out of alignment and putting undue stress on disc and nerves.
The solution then is to find a program or solution that will correct this muscle imbalance. One of the top rated programs is The Lose The Back Pain System developed by The Healthy Back Institute. This program has helped thousands to lose their back pain for good. The Lose The Back Pain System custom designs a program of specific movements and exercises tailored to your exact needs.
We spend nearly 50 billion a year on treatments for back pain. Usually most of these back problems take care of themselves. With a little rest an over the counter medication and application of a cold pack most of us are back on our feet. This type of back condition is called "acute". The pain and discomfort is real, but the duration is short.
Chronic back pain is when the pain persists for longer than three months, which was the case with me. Chronic pain usually indicates a more severe problem than just a sore muscle. If left untreated permanent damage can result. Many times the source of chronic pain may be difficult to determine and treat. Some of the more common treatments are, physical therapy, surgery and or electrical stimulation and many times as in my case all three. Some people even after all these treatments and in many cases multiple treatments still have the pain and live with their pain for months, even years.
I believe the problem is most treatments even physical therapy doesn't get at the "root cause" of the problem. In other words something is present that is causing the pain to return despite all the money, time and treatments. Many times this root cause is muscle imbalance. When one set of muscles are stronger than another and is pulling your spine out of alignment and putting undue stress on disc and nerves.
The solution then is to find a program or solution that will correct this muscle imbalance. One of the top rated programs is The Lose The Back Pain System developed by The Healthy Back Institute. This program has helped thousands to lose their back pain for good. The Lose The Back Pain System custom designs a program of specific movements and exercises tailored to your exact needs.
Saturday, May 1, 2010
Back Pain: treaments Your Doctor May Try
If you have persistent back pain, pain that lasts more than three months and you have tried the conservative treatment approach, it may be time for more aggressive treatments. Thanks to modern medicine your doctor has a number of possible solutions to relieve your pain. Here are five of the more common ones.
1. A procedure called "Pertutaneous Laser Disc Decompression" involves using a laser beam to vaporize the part of the disc that is bulging and pressing on a nerve.
2. Using a thin flexible fiber wire called myeloscope your doctor can inserts this into the damaged area and injects a solution that dissolves scar tissue relieving pressure on the nerve.
3. A spine probe can be inserted to skrink the perturbing disc.
4. A small cage can be placed in the spine to repair a torn disc. Eventually bone will grow around it.
5. A doctor can maneuver a tiny camera and instruments through small incisions to see and repair damaged discs.
It is really pretty amazing the solutions that your physician has at his disposal. Most of the time back surgery can be performed with just a small incision and as an outpatient. However even those these procedures are effective and relatively painless, it is still surgery with all the risk that an operation involves. It is best to first try non-invasive treatments that for most people are the best solution for their sore back.
There are many programs out there claiming to fix your bad back. One of the top rated programs is The Lose The Back Pain System developed by The Healthy Back Institute. This program has helped thousands to lose their back pain for good. The Lose The Back Pain System custom designs a program of specific movements and exercises tailored to your exact needs.
1. A procedure called "Pertutaneous Laser Disc Decompression" involves using a laser beam to vaporize the part of the disc that is bulging and pressing on a nerve.
2. Using a thin flexible fiber wire called myeloscope your doctor can inserts this into the damaged area and injects a solution that dissolves scar tissue relieving pressure on the nerve.
3. A spine probe can be inserted to skrink the perturbing disc.
4. A small cage can be placed in the spine to repair a torn disc. Eventually bone will grow around it.
5. A doctor can maneuver a tiny camera and instruments through small incisions to see and repair damaged discs.
It is really pretty amazing the solutions that your physician has at his disposal. Most of the time back surgery can be performed with just a small incision and as an outpatient. However even those these procedures are effective and relatively painless, it is still surgery with all the risk that an operation involves. It is best to first try non-invasive treatments that for most people are the best solution for their sore back.
There are many programs out there claiming to fix your bad back. One of the top rated programs is The Lose The Back Pain System developed by The Healthy Back Institute. This program has helped thousands to lose their back pain for good. The Lose The Back Pain System custom designs a program of specific movements and exercises tailored to your exact needs.
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