The first thing I’d like to see you do is to calculate the number of calories you are currently eating. Start out in the morning when you get out of bed and have breakfast and go about your day as you normally would. I want you to make a real effort to eat the same as you would ordinarily be eating on any other regular day without changing anything, and keep a record of exactly what you consume and the exact quantities that you consume. Most people agree that this assignment can take a lot of seriousness on your part. It will be important that you remind yourself of your dedication to lose weight the healthy way, and to follow a consistent diet strategy.

This type of program will be a whole lot more beneficial in the long run than some new instant-gratification diet program or diet supplement. The fact is, carrying out this chore will only take a few minutes total, for the powerful lingering benefits that it will bring. While you are getting ready to go to sleep that evening, dedicate a little time to calculate the total number of carbohydrate, protein, fat, and calories that you had during the day. Be as exacting as it is possible for you to be so that you will know exactly what your current nutritional intake is like and which details of your present eating habits will end up being the most advantageous things to change.

You only need to take a few simple, natural tactics that you will follow that will help you to lessen the quantity of food energy you are putting into yourself so that you can enjoy losing weight.

The first step will be to actually increase the quantity of protein you eat in a typical meal. Studies have proven that increasing your total protein intake without any other change frequently brings about significant weight loss, for the simple reason that protein-rich foods are quite a bit more filling than other types of food. The more protein you add into your diet, you should work on steadily minimizing the amount of sugar and carbohydrates that you are taking in daily. Medical studies have indicated that carbohydrate can actually increase your appetite. This is why you will tend to eat a bigger portion of food for lunch if you have a soda to go along with the lunch.

In addition to making these changes in your diet, you will also want to increase your body’s ability to burn fat by building up new muscle mass. This is done through weight training. Weight training can be extremely enjoyable due to the fact that you don’t have to do it every day and the benefits can be seen and felt pretty quickly. The best weight training technique is to do nice, slow exercises and forget about the number of “reps” you are doing. Drink a strong protein shake before and after each workout to speed up the rate at which your body builds muscle.

Cardiovascular exercises have not been shown to be effective in promoting weight loss. Your body does not burn nearly as many calories as you would expect to burn doing these exercises. Also, this type of exercise brings your blood-sugar levels way down, quickly increasing your appetite and making you likely to eat more food than you otherwise would have. For this reason, doing cardio is not recommended unless you simply enjoy doing it.

By the time you’ve followed this plan for a week, you will likely be pleased to find that you have lost a pound or two. This is a perfectly healthy and natural pace for weight loss, you will do well to remember this and stay realistic in your expectations. You could lose weight more quickly with a crash diet, but you would likely damage your health and most likely stop losing weight very quickly. By sticking to this weight loss plan and shedding just 1-2 pounds each week, you will soon find that a year has gone by and you have lost more than fifty pounds with very little effort!

X-rays are the radiation tests we are all familiar with. You have probably taken one at the dentist office if you had your wisdom teeth removed. They show the skeletal structure and bones in your body. So if you have suffered broken or cracked bones or suffered soft tissue injuries, x-rays may help diagnose those injuries.

A CT scan, sometimes called a CAT scan, is short for Computed Tomography. A CT scan uses multiple x-rays taken around the same point to build a better picture than one x-ray can provide alone, using a computer to combine them. A CT scan is likely to be ordered if the doctors believe you have an injury to your internal organs of your torso or abdomen, or multiple fractures to a hand or foot.

MRI is short for Magnetic Resonance Imaging. If you get an MRI, the doctors will ask you to lie down in a large tube that uses harmless magnetic radiation to look at soft tissues of the body. Sometimes, they will also ask you to drink or have an injection of a substance that makes those tissues easier to see. If your doctor suspects an injury to your brain or spinal cord, you might be asked to do this test. Because this technology uses magnets, you cannot use it if you have a pacemaker or other metal implanted in your body.

A PET scan is often used with a CT scan. In a PET scan, the patient is injected with a harmless substance that can be seen by the scanner using radioactivity. Unlike CT scans, PET scans can show your body’s metabolic activity rather than just structure of the body. The images they produce are also three-dimensional.

An ultrasound test uses high-frequency sound waves that bounce off internal structures of the body to build an image. The image it builds is not as detailed as images from other methods, but because it does not use radiation, it may be the best choice for people who certain conditions. It is also less expensive than an MRI. Doctors use it to look at internal organs, connective tissue, bones, blood vessels and eyes.

If your doctors believe you have a nerve injury, you may take a nerve conduction study, an electrical test that can detect problems with your nerves. In this test, one electrode is placed over the nerve being tested, while another is placed in a “downstream” area of the nervous system. The speed it takes for the electricity to travel between them determines whether there is nerve damage.

An electromyography (EMG) shows muscles’ activity by measuring the electrical current they produce when they are in motion. This might be used for people with nerve damage, muscle weakness or the conditions that might cause them. In an EMG, doctors either, insert a thin needle into the muscle being tested or place an electrode over the area, then measure the electrical impulse of the muscle.

An endoscopy uses a flexible tube with a light and a camera to look inside natural openings in your body, such as the throat. This is most commonly associated with tests on the stomach or colon, but can be used in area with a natural opening.

Why Osteoarthritis Hurts
Osteoarthritis occurs in joints. Joints are where two bony structures come together (like the ball and socket joint in the hip). Cartilage acts as a sort of cushion in-between the two bony structures. Sometimes the cartilage between the two bones gets damaged, degenerates, or is surgically removed. When this happens a portion of, or all of, the cushioning between the bones just isn’t there anymore. Wherever cartilage is torn or missing, you get bone on bone. Without this cushioning, every time the joint moves, it scrapes, bangs, and grinds the bones exposed to each other. Over time this begins to deform one or both of the bones in a joint – now you have arthiritis in the joint.

Bone on bone hurts, and deformed bones lead to sloppy moving joints, which causes instability. Osteoarthritis can occur in any joint in the body. When the affected joints are the knee, hip, or shoulder, it almost always eventually leads to a joint replacement.

To add insult to injury the body creates osteophytes. This is your BODY’S attempt to re-grow the bone that has ground away. Unfortunately your body grows this new bone as little bony spurs. They stick out the end of the bone like little thorns, and scrape and gouge your joint every time you move. Youch! No wonder osteoarthritis hurts so much.

How Exercise Helps
Exercise can significantly decrease pain, and improve the stability and mobility in an affected joint. Both aerobic exercise and strength training help.

How Aerobic Exercise Helps
Regular aerobic exercise helps decrease pain, and increase joint mobility. Often people with osteoarthritic joints are overweight. The more weight you have crashing down on a sloppy fitting, bone to bone joint with spurs, the more pain you have. Aerobic exercises help to release fat. The less fat on the body, the less weight is bearing down on affected joints, and therefore, less pain. That’s why fat release is crucial for people with osteoarthritis.

Next, regular aerobic exercise erodes those nasty bone spurs.  During aerobic exercise, like riding a bike, you bones are in continuous motion. This motion creates a sandpaper effect that will keep smoothing these nasty little spurs off, thus decreasing joint pain.

These two benefits combined improve overall mobility. Let’s face it, the less pain you have, the more likely you are going to be active and engage in exercise. Improved joint mobility naturally follows, and your quality of life goes up.

Good and Bad Aerobic Exercises for Osteoarthritic Joints
Rotary movements are usually most comfortable. This includes activities like: cycling, and elliptical training. Pool activities are also good because in water your joints don’t have to bear weight. Walking is okay if you can tolerate it. Doing aerobic exercise for 30 minutes or more daily, is a good goal.

Aerobic exercises that cause the most pain tend to be linear movements, or high impact movements. These includes activities like, jogging, hiking, stepping, jumping, racquet sports, volleyball, and basketball.

How Strength Training Helps
Strength training improves stability in osteoarthritic joints. The stronger the surrounding muscles are, the more stable your joint will be. Strength training can be performed with your own body weight, resistance tubing, or weights. Strength train three times per week for best results.

The bottom line is that once a joint is osteoarthritic, it won’t heal. It will only get worse. Exercising regularly will decrease your pain, and increase your mobility. Exercise will substantially improve the quality of your life. As Nike says “Just Do It”

Note: If you are considering beginning a strength training program I strongly recommend that you hire a professional trainer. Someone experienced, and certified to work with osteoarthritis. Not all trainers are certified this way, and working with the wrong person can cause damage rather than good. Please visit my website and get your free report “12 Questions To Ask a Trainer Before You Hire Them”. This report will help you find a qualifed trainer ion your area.

©2010 Synergenix Fitness, Astrid Whiting, author, columnist, Medical Exercise Specialist, CPT. www.SynergenixFitness.com You may include this article in your ezine or on your website or distribute it to others, provided you include this copyright statement and author information tag line above.

Most of the drug treatments which are prescribed are for relief of symptoms. They do not offer a cure for the condition. There are various non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs, which are used for providing prompt relief of associated pain as well as inflammation. These are considered relatively safe. Examples of NSAIDs are aspirin, indomethacin, ibuprofen, as well as naproxen and piroxicam.

COX-2 inhibitors refer to a new class of anti-inflammatory drugs. These selectively block the COX-2 enzyme. This helps in preventing the production of chemical messengers or prostaglandins which are behind the pain as well as the swelling of arthritis.

Drugs like hydroxychloroquine, gold, as well as penicillamine, azathioprine, and sulfasalazine besides methotrexate are used for controlling the symptoms. These also help to delay the disease progression in patients who have rheumatoid arthritis. These are second-line drugs which are slower acting, and are usually taken together with NSAIDs.

Steroids are also used for joint pain relief. These may be taken orally in low doses, or even as injections in the affected joint. These are prescribed for providing rapid relief of pain, swelling as well as inflammation around the affected joints.

Glucosamine as well as chondroitin sulphate are used in patients who are suffering from osteoarthritis. Both of these are dietary supplements. They ease symptoms in people who have moderate to severe joint pain. These substances can also help to restore cartilage. Unlike the commonly prescribed NSAIDs, these supplements are not associated with any kind of side effects. Any kind of drug treatment for joint pain relief should be monitored by a physician. This is because it needs to be tailored to individual needs.

Dietary supplements are also being used to manage specific painful joint conditions. Glucosamine as well as chondroitin sulfate are used in patients who have osteoarthritis. These supplements are used to replenish the worn-down connective tissue that is cushioning the bones. Others dietary supplements include niacinamide, S-adenosylmethionine (SAMe), as well as ginger and turmeric.

Physical therapy is usually prescribed as a treatment for people who have joint pain. This may be daily walking; stretching exercises, or even include muscle-strengthening exercises which will be under supervision. Traction, massage, as well as manipulation of joints lead to improved joint mobility besides flexibility. Surgical procedures are required either to determine the cause of joint pain or to provide joint pain relief in case of severely damaged joints.

• Chiropractic Neurology
• On Site X-rays and Diagnostics
• Detection / Correction of Misalignment & Slipped Disc
• Extremity Manipulations
• Mechanical Traction
• Electrical Stimulations
• Nerve Conducting Tests
• Ultrasound Testing
• Joint Mobilization
• Performance Enhancement
• Sports Injury Care
• Wellness Programs