Healthy Foods for Healthy Bones and Muscles
A healthy lifestyle is critical for a strong musculoskeletal and orthopedic system. While staying active is key, many forget how important your daily life’s nutritional habits can be for overall healthy bones and muscles. Here are some key nutrients you should focus on consuming in your daily diet to improve and maintain your bone and muscle strength. Calcium Calcium is a key nutrient that helps support bone density and muscle contraction. Our bodies do not make calcium so it must be consumed through foods. You can increase your calcium intake by eating: Dairy products Milk Cheeses Yogurt Seafood Sardines with …
Back Saving Backpack Tips
Backpacks are extremely convenient for students of all ages, as well as working and active adults. However, they can also be damaging to the health of your back. It is essential to take the proper steps and precautions when wearing a backpack to ensure you are reducing extra strain on the back, which could lead to long-term issues. Below are helpful tips that are recommended to follow when using a backpack. Know when your backpack is causing problems It is important to pay attention to the warning signs you may feel when wearing a backpack. It is also important for …
Non-Surgical Treatments for Hip Arthritis
Arthritis in the hip can be an overwhelming condition to face knowing what possible surgeries and recoveries lay ahead. However, there might be more treatment options than you think. Keeping and improving your hip mobility while reducing inflammation and pain is key to living with arthritis. Below are some treatments you can explore that might help you avoid going under the knife. Physical Therapy To improve your muscle mobility, you must have the muscle strength to support your joints. The goal of physical therapy is to reduce your inflammation and pain while gaining strength that will increase your joint mobility. …
Extending the Life of Your Hip Joints: Helpful Tips
The hip joint is the most powerful joint in the body, but it can also be the most painful. It is very common to have an impaired hip joint. Wear and tear on the hip can begin from natural aging, an accident or injury, or disease. The hip is also the largest joint in your body and supports the most weight with a wide range of movement. When your hip starts to hurt, it is crucial to start exploring methods for extending the life of your hip (so you live a happy, pain-free life). Here are some tips to keep …
Best Sleeping Positions for Back Pain Relief
You’re not alone if you experience lower back. A study from the Global Burden of Disease found the leading cause of disability is lower back pain. Most back pain is often caused by stress or strain from bad posture, awkward sleeping positions, and other lifestyle habits. Try these sleeping positions to help get a better night’s rest if you’re experiencing lower back pain. Sleep on Your Side Using a pillow between your knees is the trick to helping you feel better. A pillow will help keep your hips, pelvis, and spine in better alignment. If possible, you should resist the …
How to Avoid Smartphone Hand Pain
Although phones have evolved from large rotary style phones to smartphones, the human hand has yet to evolve to match the shape of the device. “Texting thumb” or “trigger thumb” is a common injury from holding your smartphone the wrong way. Other common problems from smartphone use are tendinitis and sore muscles. Ergonomically Correct Ways to Hold Your Smartphone Unlike ergonomically correct office chairs, the problem with smartphones and tablets is there are millions of positions you can use them in (most of them are not good for your body). Holding your smartphone at the sides and texting with both …
Preventing Back Pain When Caring for Your New Baby
New parents are continuously warned about all the frequent diaper changes and sleepless nights to come. It’s not as common to be warned about the possible back pain that can come from holding and carrying an infant for several hours a day. Most of the time, women will experience back pain due to the extra weight they are carrying. Back pain from excess weight usually goes away a few weeks after the delivery but can return from lifting and carrying extra weight daily. Bending over and holding the position for an extended period is another possible cause of back pain …
How to Build Healthy Bones as You Age
As we age, our movements and reflexes become slow, we typically tend to cut back on activity, and our bones get thinner and lose their density. Here are some easy steps you can take that may help strengthen your muscles, add density back to your bones, and protect your joints. Maintain a healthy body weight Although maintaining a healthy weight sounds simple, but for many people, this is a difficult task to maintain. Our joints are weight-bearing, so keeping an optimum weight is vital to our mobility and overall health. Besides putting extra strain on your knees, hips, spine, etc., …
Ergonomic Tips for Working from Home
Since mid-March, millions of Americans have been working from home in an effort to stem the number of coronavirus infections. Home workspaces can be less-than-ideal ergonomic conditions such as a low kitchen chair, couch that makes you slump, etc. Having a good ergonomic workspace can make or break your work-from-home experience. Here are some tips and tricks to help create an ergonomic-friendly workspace at home. What Not to Do Do not use your couch as a workstation: Your couch is not an ergonomic-friendly place to work (even if it’s tempting to feel comfortable). Do not hunch over your laptop: To …
Winter’s Almost Here – Common Ski Injuries
Two of the world’s most popular winter sports are skiing and snowboarding. Despite being the most popular, they are also two of the most dangerous. Injuries are almost an inevitable part of skiing since you can reach speeds anywhere from 25 to 45 miles per hour. Back in 2014, skiing and snowboarding-related activities were attributed to over 200,000 doctor’s office or hospital visits. Common Skiing Injuries Knee Ligament Strains & Tears The most at-risk areas of the body for tears while skiing is your ACL (anterior cruciate ligament) and MCL (medial collateral ligament). Your ACL helps to ensure the shin …