Archive for May, 2010

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Polarity Therapy


2010
05.31

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Polarity therapy was started by Dr. Randolph Stone, an Austrian born doctor. Stone’s family immigrated to the United States in 1903 when he was 13 years old.

Stone was a doctor of Naturopathy, Osteopathy and Chiropractic. Between 1954 and 1957 he wrote a series of books on natural health. In these books he combined the ideas of Ayurveda, Naturopathy, Osteopathy, Craniosacral Therapy, Hermetic Philosophy and Quantum Physics into a therapy he dubbed Polarity Therapy.

This therapy combines bodywork, diet, exercise and self awareness techniques to balance the energy fields of the body. It is a truly holistic therapy, because it treats physical, emotional, and energetic aspects of health. According to polarity theory the body’s energy can be negative, positive or neutral. The polarity therapist is trying to help you achieve neutral energy. Neutral energy is able to flow more freely. Energy that doesn’t flow freely causes disease and dysfunction. Your therapist will do this using hands-on bodywork to neutralize positive and negative centers of energy.

Polarity therapy is more than bodywork. Your therapist will give you a cleansing diet to follow. Later you will be given a long term diet that will help you achieve optimum health. You learn energy balancing exercises, known as polarity yoga. You will also learn self awareness techniques to help you locate tension in your body and release it. These aspects of polarity therapy help give you control to maintain your own energy balance.

Polarity therapy uses a balance of Eastern and Western healing philosophies to help you optimize your health by increasing your awareness of your body and what causes you to experience dysfunction and disease.

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An Owner’s Guide to Anemia in Cats


2010
05.28

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Anemia in cats is a condition that occurs when there is not enough hemoglobin or red blood cells produced. It is not a disease, but merely a symptom of an underlying condition or disease. So, what exactly causes it?

Causes

Many things can cause this condition. The kidneys are responsible for producing hormones that stimulate red blood cell production. So, kidney disease is one of the most common causes. Parasites such as ticks, fleas, and hookworms are another leading cause.

Anemia in cats can also be the result of a traumatic injury. This happens when the trauma causes damage to blood vessels or internal organs. Serious diseases such as feline immunodeficiency or leukemia virus may also be to blame. Other causes include ingestion of chemicals, toxins, or cancer.

Symptoms

Your cat’s gums, tongue, and nose normally have a pink color. If he has anemia, these areas will lose their normal color. Instead, they will appear to be pale. Also, your cat will likely be lethargic if he has this condition.

Treatment

As you already know, anemia in cats isn’t a disease but a sign of an underlying problem. Therefore, the underlying condition will have to be treated in order to treat the anemia. A blood transfusion may be required until the cause can be treated effectively. Medications that stimulate the production of hormones responsible for red blood cell production will also help.

Prognosis

Most cats are able to recover from anemia without problems. However, this condition can be caused by some serious diseases. In these cases, anemia will be one of the least problems to worry about.

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Can You Handle Your Back Pain After Knee Surgery


2010
05.23

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The last stage for most of the people is on the operating table for a number of different causes, and because of this there are thousands of people dealing with pain after knee surgery, including back pain. This back pain that’s experienced after having surgery can be due to a couple of different things, depending on what the surgery was for in the first place. It doesn’t seem reasonable to have back pain after knee surgery since that’s was the surgery was supposed to finish, but usually there is a certain healing time to be had before the person having the surgery starts to feel relief.

A lot of strain will be put on your back during your ambulation period either through crutches or through a walker. In place of getting relief from the actual knee problems after having knee joint surgery, patients still report having low back pain after surgery and it seems to hurt them when they need to move themselves. This will further increase your trouble.
Pre surgery requirements include proper conditioning and toning of back and lower limb muscles so that patient do not face must trouble after surgery.

Use A Walking Aid To Avoid Back Pain After Surgery:

Use an aid while walking to avoid pressure on your back as well as knees. Start with two crutches and as the condition improves move on with a single crutch.

One of the treatment to get rid of back pain after knee surgery that you can try at home is to lay on your back with a soft pillow under your knees. Do not put any undue strain on your knees and keep your back straight. This will keep the pressure off from your back and help in relieving the pain. You can also try resting your knees on a pillow that’s placed on a chair. Lay on your back and place your knees on the chair. Both of these are great remedies to relieve back pain after knee surgery.

Exercises Are Must To Avoid Back Pain After Knee Surgery:

You should not forget to perform your mild and simple exercises for back pain, and at the same time as doing exercises if you feel pain you must at once stop your exercise and cool down before recommencing once more. Another way of exercising for back pain after knee surgery is to strengthen your critical muscles in the abdomen, lower back, gluteus and quadriceps. And, you can also perform back and leg muscles strengthening by doing isometric exercises which do not involve any movement and strengthen your muscles. This will certainly help you with your back pain after knee surgery.

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The Holistic Dog


2010
05.23

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If you are finding it difficult to get information on your dog’s health issues or whether to go with conventional regular medicine or not, you are not alone. Today there is a need to understand some basic principals and terminology of Holistic Medicine for Pets.

The “Holistic” word is used on products and advertisements as if it was a new buzz word but the word is not used correctly in most cases. Holistic health has been around for centuries and basically it encompasses a whole process of health applications.

A Holistic Veterinarian will use techniques to assess your dog’s behavior, diet history, emotional stress, environmental concerns and other factors in a comprehensive total exam. The words body, mind and spirit are often used to describe a holistic approach to illness that is to treat the whole body of the patient. When you use a natural dog care approach it will change your viewpoint on nutrition, feeding, therapies, diet and the wellness of your whole dog or cat.

You will be amazed at how natural and humane the whole process becomes as you see how gently your vet can reduce your pet’s anxiety levels. Holistic Medicine treatments can include Herbal Medicine, Homeopathy, Acupuncture, Nutritional Health Therapy, Massage, Chiropractic, Chinese Medicines, Behavior Modification, Acupressure, and many others.

Unfortunately people tend to try holistic therapies only after conventional vet medicine has failed and it becomes a crisis management situation. At that point you are emotionally drained at the thought of losing your faithful companion and decisions are made in haste and out of desperation. This doesn’t have to happen to your pet and one fact needs to be understood and that is, there is no holistic therapy that can hurt or harm your dog if given in the proper circumstances under the care of a Holistic Veterinarian.

I have heard some people say through fear “can this hurt my dog?” It is more a rarity to have a dog or cat hurt by holistic healing therapies than the numbers who have been damaged by regular pharmaceutical medical treatments.

I have witnessed many dogs and cats that have been completely healed from deadly diseases, and have become healthy champions which just give you such a boost of faith in the strength of the immune system of an animal. In the last twenty years there were no drugs and vaccines as they are available today and the cats we had in our home had a lifespan of twenty years. Of course the cat foods of that era did not contain all the additives they do today either.

I have a friend who raises her five dogs totally without vaccines and gives them a range of homeopathy and herbal supplements. The dogs roam free on the farm and are in extremely good health. This just goes to show you that your pets can not only survive but actually thrive with holistic health applications.

What is Allopathic Medicine? In simple terms allopathic medicine treats only the symptoms usually just using surgery and/or drugs but seldom do they treat the causes of pet diseases. It is the only type of medicine authorized by the US Food and Drug Administration and what is practiced by doctors and veterinarians. This is your basic conventional medicine practiced by the majority of veterinarians in the country and pretty much holds a monopoly on health treatments for pets but there are other methods.

Not only does Holistic Pet medicine treat the symptoms, but the whole animal whether human or animal. This type of health treatment searches for causes before the symptoms occurred and using the body and mind in improving overall good health. Whether you call it: Alternative, Holistic, Complementary or any other words, these treatments involve the whole being of the patient, not just the symptoms but the underlying causes of diseases.

Holistic health does not have to be difficult nor is finding a local holistic veterinarian or practitioner in your area.

You can contact the American Holistic Veterinary Medical Association at:

www.ahvma.org and find a local Holistic Vet for all your pet’s needs and continued good health.

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Autism and the Necessity of Dental Hygiene


2010
05.20

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Performing dental hygiene on some children with Autism is not an easy task, however, it is a necessary one.
If you want to prevent any problems later on, prevention is certainly better than a cure.

It is presumed that children with Autism have a high threshold for pain, and what pain is much worse than a toothache.
It is not an area that is easy to inspect and if the Autistic child has no speech as 50% of them do, then they may not have a way to tell you and may be in some considerable amount of pain for some time before you suspect anything is wrong.

It is best that dental care is started as early as possible so that they can get accustomed to it.

Start simple by sweeping around the teeth with a flannel or a fingerstall type toothbrush.
It is much better to break the task down into many simple steps and keep to the same routine. This will help the Autistic child feel more comfortable with doing it.

For those whose child with Autism has a tendency to chomp down on fingers that are placed in their mouth, I would suggest holding the child’s hand and using their finger to perform the task.
If they do chomp down, they will soon realize their error and your fingers will be out of harm’s way.
Also handing them a toothpaste with a bit of water on it while you are brushing their teeth will give them an idea of how it is meant to be used and can act as a prelude to them using it on their teeth.

Children’s toothpaste comes in many different flavours and it should be possible to come up with one that your child likes.
Always use just a wee bit of toothpaste as initially it is going to be next to impossible to get the Autistic child to rinse and spit, but that should be a goal to work towards.
Sometimes, after brushing, putting a dash of mouth rinse on a wipe and getting the child to wipe his mouth and front of his teeth can have the dual benefits of keeping their breath fresh and wiping off the excess toothpaste so that it doesn’t get swallowed.

There are dentists who specialize in dealing with children with disabilities and it may be an idea to use one of those for your Autistic child.
They will have experience in dealing with many types of disabilities and have plans in place for treating the Autistic child.
Sometimes a visit before treatment is initiated is helpful for the child with Autism to get them used to the setting. Make sure that you are not stressed before or during the visit as the Autistic child seems to pick this up from you and will react accordingly.
If you remain calm and positive throughout the visit, they are also likely to be more manageable.

An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure and a smidgen of toothpaste and a toothbrush is definitely more preferable to a visit to the dentist with an Autistic child.

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What Causes Knee Snapping?


2010
05.07

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When you’re working out, or playing your favorite sport, a snapping sensation within your knee can cause pain and frustration, and can lead to buckling or giving way, falling, and eventually, damage to the cartilage surfaces of the joint. The snap results when some structure within the joint is momentarily caught between the moving bones, tension is applied and is then suddenly released, much like plucking a guitar string.

The three most common causes for the painful snap are synovial flaps, torn menisci and loose bodies.

The most frequent source of snapping is a synovial flap or plica. The inside of every synovial joint is lined by a normally thin and pliant membrane, called synovium. Synovium produces a drop or two of joint fluid, which nourishes the articular cartilage and provides lubrication for the joint surfaces. This membrane often has a few small thin folds, left over from embryonic development, which can grow larger, thicker and stiffer to become larger structures, fibrous flaps or shelves, that get can get caught and stretched between the moving parts.

Pain is caused by traction, pulling on the nerves of the surrounding tissues, and the snap is due to the sudden release of tension, when it breaks free.

A torn meniscus can also cause a snap. The two tough, crescent-shaped meniscal fibrocartilages, medial (inner side) and lateral (outer side), that cushion and guide the knee, are often torn in athletic activities, especially the sudden twisting or cutting maneuvers in soccer, football, or basketball.

But tears can also occur by degeneration, just from getting older. Here, the substance of the cartilage becomes softer and begins to shred and fragment, eventually evolving into a tear, especially when repetitively crushed as with deep squatting. The meniscus tear fragment, like the flap of synovium, can displace and get caught between the moving femur and tibia, causing pain by traction, like a hangnail does, then snap when suddenly released.

Loose bodies are little pieces of cartilage and/or bone that are knocked out with trauma, fall out from a joint surface due to disease (osteochondritis dessicans), or are actually grown, like pearls, within the synovial membrane (synovial chondromatosis/osteochondromatosis), and then break free inside the joint. Like the synovial flaps and meniscal tears, these fragments can get caught between the moving parts.

Regardless of cause, significant snapping within the knee is always abnormal and needs to be addressed.

Above all, don’t ignore it. You want to identify the source with an accurate diagnosis and prevent permanent damage to the joint. But in the short term, you can try some conservative measures to try to resolve the snapping.

Here’s what you can do:

1. STOP whatever activity causes painful, recurrent snapping.

2. REST the knee in extension, that is, out straight. Every snap can potentially damage the articular cartilage, so that can be prevented by avoiding, or minimizing joint motion.

3. Apply moist HEAT a few times a day, for 15-20 minutes each time. If the snapping is of sudden onset, apply ICE for the first 48 hours, THEN begin to apply heat.

4. Try some OTC anti-inflammatory (NSAID), like Advil (2 tabs, 4X/day) or Aleve (2 tabs, 2X/day), provided you have no stomach problems, like ulcers, or a history of GI bleeding, and be sure to take it WITH FOOD OR MILK. If inflammation has caused a synovial plica to swell and thicken, this regimen should shrink it, by reducing inflammation.

5. If you don’t get relief within a few days to a week, then it’s probably not from acute inflammation and the snapping structure is now fibrous tissue, or cartilage, which will not shrink, even with reduced inflammation. Then, you need to SEE AN ORTHOPAEDIST, for definitive evaluation and treatment. Don’t be afraid–it’s what you DON’T know that will hurt you and no one can force you to have surgery. But if someone is trained to DO surgery when it’s needed, then you will be getting a complete picture of your condition, including ALL your options.

6. If you don’t see a doctor at this point, the repetitive snapping of an internal derangement can damage the articular cartilage of the joint and eventually result in arthritis. Therefore, if conservative treatments fail to promptly relieve pain and snapping, to prevent permanent joint damage, arthroscopic surgery is usually required, to remove the source of the snapping.

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