Diabetes, often referred to by doctors as diabetes mellitus, describes a group of metabolic diseases in which the person has high blood glucose (blood sugar), either because insulin production is inadequate, or because the body's cells do not respond properly to insulin, or both. Patients with high blood sugar will typically experience polyuria (frequent urination), they will become increasingly thirsty (polydipsia) and hungry (polyphagia).
There are a number of different types of diabetes, the most common are..
1) Type 1 Diabetes
The body does not produce insulin. Some people may refer to this type as insulin-dependent diabetes, juvenile diabetes, or early-onset diabetes. People usually develop type 1 diabetes before their 40th year, often in early adulthood or teenage years.
Type 1 diabetes is nowhere near as common as type 2 diabetes. Approximately 10% of all diabetes cases are type 1.
Patients with type 1 diabetes will need to take insulin injections for the rest of their life. They must also ensure proper blood-glucose levels by carrying out regular blood tests and following a special diet.
Between 2001 and 2009, the prevalence of type 1 diabetes among the under 20s in the USA rose 23%, according to SEARCH for Diabetes in Youth data issued by the CDC (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention). (Link to article)
2) Type 2 Diabetes
The body does not produce enough insulin for proper function, or the cells in the body do not react to insulin (insulin resistance).
Approximately 90% of all cases of diabetes worldwide are of this type.
Some people may be able to control their type 2 diabetes symptoms by losing weight, following a healthy diet, doing plenty of exercise, and monitoring their blood glucose levels. However, type 2 diabetes is typically a progressive disease - it gradually gets worse - and the patient will probably end up have to take insulin, usually in tablet form.
Overweight and obese people have a much higher risk of developing type 2 diabetes compared to those with a healthy body weight. People with a lot of visceral fat, also known as central obesity, belly fat, or abdominal obesity, are especially at risk. Being overweight/obese causes the body to release chemicals that can destabilize the body's cardiovascular and metabolic systems.
The risk of developing type 2 diabetes is also greater as we get older. Experts are not completely sure why, but say that as we age we tend to put on weight and become less physically active. Those with a close relative who had/had type 2 diabetes, people of Middle Eastern, African, or South Asian descent also have a higher risk of developing the disease.
Men whose testosterone levels are low have been found to have a higher risk of developing type 2 diabetes. Researchers from the University of Edinburgh, Scotland, say that low testosterone levels are linked to insulin resistance
A normal resting heart rate for adults ranges from 60 to 100 beats a minute.
Typically 40-60 bpm at rest for an athlete, 60 to 80 for an average heart.
Generally, a lower heart rate at rest implies more efficient heart function and better cardiovascular fitness. For example, a well-trained athlete might have a normal resting heart rate closer to 40 beats a minute.
To measure your heart rate, simply check your pulse. Place your index and third fingers on your neck to the side of your windpipe. To check your pulse at your wrist, place two fingers between the bone and the tendon over your radial artery — which is located on the thumb side of your wrist.
When you feel your pulse, count the number of beats in 15 seconds. Multiply this number by 4 to calculate your beats per minute.
Keep in mind that many factors can influence heart rate, including:
Although there's a wide range of normal, an unusually high or low heart rate may indicate an underlying problem. Consult your doctor if your resting heart rate is consistently above 100 beats a minute (tachycardia) or below 60 beats a minute (bradycardia) — especially if you have other signs or symptoms, such as fainting, dizziness or shortness of breath.
Yes, but "dont come down here as you will infect everyone else" as the coach says...!
Mild to moderate physical activity is usually OK if you have a garden-variety cold and no fever. Exercise may even help you feel better by opening your nasal passages and temporarily relieving nasal congestion.
As a general guide for exercise and illness, consider this:
Let your body be your guide. If you have a cold and feel miserable, take a break. Scaling back or taking a few days off from exercise when you're sick shouldn't affect your performance. Resume your normal workout routine gradually as you begin to feel better. And check with your doctor if you aren't sure if it's OK to exercise.
Remember if you do choose to exercise when you're sick, reduce the intensity and length of your workout. If you attempt to exercise at your normal intensity when you have more than a simple cold, you could risk more serious injury or illness.
Stroke Prevention Guidelines
The following Stroke Prevention Guidelines will help you learn how you may be able to lower your risk for a first stroke.
Talk to a healthcare professional and follow these guidelines.
Know blood pressure (hypertension)
High blood pressure is a major stroke risk factor if left untreated. Have blood pressure checked yearly by a doctor or at health fairs, a local pharmacy or supermarket or with an automatic blood pressure machine.
Identify atrial fibrillation (Afib)
Afib is an abnormal heartbeat that can increase stroke risk by 500%. Afib can cause blood to pool in the heart and may form a clot and cause a stroke. A doctor must diagnose and treat Afib.
Stop smoking
Smoking doubles the risk of stroke. It damages blood vessel walls, speeds up artery clogging, raises blood pressure and makes the heart work harder.
Control alcohol use
Alcohol use has been linked to stroke in many studies. Most doctors recommend not drinking or drinking only in moderation - no more than two drinks each day.
Know cholesterol levels
Cholesterol is a fatty substance in blood that is made by the body. It also comes in food. High cholesterol levels can clog arteries and cause a stroke. See a doctor if your total cholesterol level is more than 200.
Control diabetes
Many people with diabetes have health problems that are also stroke risk factors. A doctor and dietician can help manage diabetes.
Manage exercise/diet
Excess weight strains the circulatory system. Exercise five times a week. Maintain a diet low in calories, salt, saturated and trans fats and cholesterol. Eat five servings of fruits and vegetables daily.
Treat circulation problems
Fatty deposits can block arteries carrying blood to the brain and lead to a stroke. Other problems such as sickle cell disease or severe anemia should be treated.
Transient Ischemic Attack (TIA)
A TIA is a temporary episode of stroke-like symptoms that can last a few minutes to 24 hours but usually causes no permanent damage or disability. TIA and stroke symptoms are the same. Recognizing and treating a TIA can reduce stroke risk. Up to 40 percent of people who experience a TIA may have a stroke.
Discuss with a healthcare professional.
One of the first things you think about when you first get injured physicallyis how long is it going to take for you to fully recover from your injury. It is the hardest part of any training career, you will have to deal with the downtime emotionally also.The psychological recovery can take time also.I read in a magazine recently on a non-sports issue: A mother to her son, "Son, people know you cant do everything ,so just try your best", and to you and I, it means take your time,please go back training only when it feels right.
There are a number of factors which will affect your injury recovery time including the type of injury, the treatment of your injury, age, fitness, health, etc..
Hip Flexor Strain Recovery Time
A hip flexor strain is an injury characterized by a strain or tear of one or more of the hip flexor muscles which typically causes pain in the front of the hip or groin.
The group of muscles at the front of the hip are called the hip flexors. The most commonly involved muscle in a hip flexor strain is the iliopsoas.
Hip flexor strains occur often in running and kicking sports such as football and soccer.
There are 3 grades of hip flexor strains with 1 being the least severe and 3 being the most severe.
Grade 1 Hip Flexor Strain Recovery Time is 1-2 weeks.
Grade 2 Hip Flexor Strain Recovery Time is 2-4 weeks.
Grade 3 Hip Flexor Strain Recovery Time is 6-8 weeks.
Grade 3 Hamstring Strain Recovery Time
Grade 3 Hamstring pulls – this is the most severe hamstring injury. With this type of injury there would be throbbing pain, swelling and bruising. It would be difficult to almost impossible to walk and may require surgery. The time to recover and heal a grade 3 hamstring pull would be approximately 6 months.
Grade 2 Hamstring Strain Recovery Time
Grade 2 Hamstring pulls – people with this type of hamstring injury may limp, have severe muscle pain in the thigh and slight swelling.
Grade 2 Hamstring Strain Recovery time can take 1-2 months to heal. Rest, ice, compression and elevation would be highly recommended. If care is not taken, or if a person tries to do too much to soon they might re-injure their hamstring.
Hamstring Injury Recovery Time
The hamstring can be described as the 3 muscles of the inner thigh behind the hollow of the knee.
These muscles include the posterior thigh, which consist of biceps femoris—laterally, and the semitendinosus and semimembranosus muscles—medially.
The hamstrings work with two important joints, the hip and the knee. These muscles are important in that they help perform functions like walking, running, jogging, jumping.
Hamstring injuries occur when the muscles in the thigh region are hyper-extended or pulled. As a result fibers become sore and may even slightly tear or rupture.
As with many other muscle injuries there are 3 grades of hamstring pulls. Depending on the grade of injury
will affect your recovery time. It could be anywhere from 1 week to 6 months.
Grade 1 Hamstring pulls - there is usually tightness in the thigh and some discomfort when walking or jogging. These type of strains usually will go away in 1-3 weeks with some rest.
Grade 2 Hamstring pulls – people with this type of hamstring injury may limp, have severe muscle pain in the thigh and slight swelling. This type of injury can take 1-2 months to heal. Rest, ice, compression and elevation would be highly recommended. If care is not taken, or if a person tries to do too much to soon they might re-injure their hamstring.
Grade 3 Hamstring pulls – this is the most severe hamstring injury. With this type of injury there would be throbbing pain, swelling and bruising. It would be difficult to almost impossible to walk and may require surgery. The time to recover and heal a grade 3 hamstring pull would be approximately 6 months.
What you can do to reduce hamstring injury recovery times.
- adequate rest and immobilization.
- icing the injured area
- wrapping your thigh with bandages – compress the area to reduce pain and swelling
- hamstring exercises.
Groin Injury Recovery Time
Groin injuries are often the result of a groin (adductor muscle) pull or strain and sometimes a rupture. When the muscles of the inner thigh (the adductors) are stretched beyond their limits groin injuries can occur. When this happens it can result in small muscle tears which may cause pain and swelling.
The groin muscles include the adductor magnus, adductor longus, adductor brevis, pectineus, and gracilis.
The most common groin injury is a groin strain. The best way to treat a groin strain is rest to heal the injured muscle. If you are experiencing
any pain you should limit or curtail any activities until the pain subsides.
In the first 48 hours you should apply ice. Ice will reduce inflammation and swelling and will cause blood to flow to the area of the injury.
Applying a heat pack to the injured area may also help the injury recover.
As with many muscle strains R.I.C.E (Rest, Ice, Compression and Elevation) is a good treatment plan for groin pulls.
Groin strains, as with all muscle tears, are graded 1, 2, or 3 depending on their severity. Grade one is a minor tear where less than 10% of fibres are damaged. Grade 2 is a moderate tear and can be anything from 10 to 90% of fibres torn. For this reason, grade 2 injuries are often termed 2+ or 2-. Grade 3 injuries are the most serious being either partial or full ruptures.
Groin Injury Recovery Times
Grade 1 symptoms usually disappear within a week. Grade 1 symptoms may not be very painful and may not limit mild or moderate physical activity.
Grade 2 symptoms usually disappear in 2-3 weeks. Grade 2 groin strains can cause moderate discomfort and limits or prevents running and jumping.
Grade 3 symptoms can last 6-8 weeks or even longer. Grade 3 groin strains can cause sharp pains, bruising and swelling.
Ankle Sprain Recovery Time
Ankle sprains are a common injury. They can happen playing sports or in everyday life, even just by walking up and down the stairs and missing a step.
Ankle sprains can be minor or serious and ankle sprain injuries are graded in severity from 1 to 3 with 1 being the less severe and 3 being a very serious sprain.
There are so many factors that determine how long an ankle sprain takes to heal like the extent of injury, amount of swelling, type of initial care and the rehabilitation treatment done.
Grade 1 ankle sprains usually involve little swelling and very little tissue damage. Grade 1 anke sprains normally heal in about 2-3 weeks. Patients should rest their ankle for a few days and then do a couple of weeks of strength exercises to rehabilitate.
Grade 2 ankle sprains are probably the most common. These types of sprains can vary in recovery time length. Typically they heal in 4-6 weeks with proper initial care and rest. There is usually more swelling then in Grade I ankle sprains.
Grade 3 ankle sprains are the most severe and problematic. These type of ankle injuries take 2-3 months. These ankle injuries will have the most tissue damage and swelling. Proper care and treatment is necessary to ensure that recovery doesn’t go beyond this time frame.
If ankle sprains are not taken seriously they can re-occur and the ankle pain may become chronic.
Most ankle sprains should be treated under the R.I.C.E protocol which is rest, ice, compression and elevation.
Always consult your physician or health care provider for all questions concerning diagnosis and treatment of ankle injuries.
Watch this video about treating sprained ankles.
Rotator Cuff Injury Recovery Time
What is a rotator cuff and how does it get injured?
The rotator cuff or rotor cuff as it is called in medical terminology is the group of muscles and their tendons that act to stabilize the shoulder.
Rotator cuff injuries affect both young and old. In young people it’s often caused by trauma or over use activities like throwing a baseball, tennis, etc. and in older people it can be caused by degeneration and over use too.
Rotator cuff injuries can be as simple as rotator cuff tendonitis, which is tendon inflammation, to rotator cuff tears where the tendon has actually tears away from the bone.
If you injure your rotator cuff, with a rotator cuff tear it may require surgery.
After surgery recovery occurs in various stages. The first stage is immobilization. Patients wear a sling for 3-4 weeks to allow the tendon to begin to heal on its own.
Usually, a physical therapist will begin working with a patient to restore range-of-motion. A physical therapist will assist with lifting the arm of the patient to avoid firing the muscle.
Patients are not suppose to lift there arm for the first 4-6 weeks after surgery because it may re-injure.
After 6 weeks patients can start on a strength and rehabilitation program by doing strengthening exercises.
After 3 months patients should be able to lift 5-10 pounds.
By 6 months after surgery most patients have 80% of their strength back. Patients should continue with strength exercises as research show continued improvement up to 2 years after surgery.
ACL Injury Recovery Time
ACL injury and ACL tear (or Anterior Cruciate Ligament injury), is a common injury that affects the knee joint. 70% of all serious knee injuries are ACL tears, which makes it the most common injury affecting the knee joint.
Your doctor or physical therapist can perform tests to help determine the extent of the damage of the ACL. Often your doctor may also choose to perform an x-ray and MRI, but these are not always necessary.
ACL Injury Surgery Recovery Time
After ACL repair surgery, expect to be on crutches for one to three weeks. Full recovery, using a comprehensive rehabilitation program will generally take about three to four months and athletes involved in high demand sports can be back on the field in about six to eight months.
Prevention of ACL Injuries
Warm up properly. Avoid activities that cause pain. Spread out workouts so that you get adequate rest and relaxation between them. Work on balancing exercises. Do strength and stretching program to improve the muscle groups around the knee.
Take a break.
Even a few minutes away from your computer can help you unwind. This is also a great way to recover a sense of perspective, if you're feeling overwhelmed by the task at hand.
Go for a Walk
One of the best ways to take a break is to go for a walk.
Even a five-minute walk helps. You'll get your body moving and your blood pumping, and you'll return to your work feeling re-energized.
Write a Task List
Sometimes, your motivation might take a nosedive because you've got so much on your plate, you don't know where to begin.
Write a task list for the rest of the day. Get everything out of your head and onto paper. It'll only take a few minutes—and everything will look much more manageable.
Talk to a Friend
Friends are a great source of support. A quick chat online or on the phone can give you a genuine motivation boost.
If you're struggling with your diet or exercise plan, call a friend and tell them. If you're having doubts about your freelance design work, talk to other designers. Remind yourself of the value of what you're doing.
Drink a Glass of Water
Are you drinking enough water?
Mild dehydration makes it hard to stay focused—so if your concentration levels are dipping, grab a tall glass of water.
Alternate Between Two Tasks
Got several big tasks to tackle? Pick two and alternate between them: work on one for ten—fifteen minutes, then the other, and so on.
This helps keep you moving (if you've only got ten minutes, you'll focus better than if you've got two hours) and stops you from getting bored with doing the same thing endlessly.
Tackle an Easy Task
If your motivation is low in general, do something easy. Get one simple task knocked off your list.
That might be sending an email, making a phone call, sorting out a niggling problem with your computer-anything that takes under fifteen minutes. If it's something you've been putting off, you'll feel great that you've finally got it done.
Focus on the End Result
Whatever you're working on has a purpose. Even if the process is boring or frustrating, the end result is worth having.
For example, think how useful it'll be to have all your files organized. Remember that getting a newsletter out to your clients will bring in new sales and repeat business.
Write Down What You've Already Accomplished
Perhaps you feel like you're not making much progress towards your goals. If so, get a piece of paper and write down everything you've already accomplished.Maybe you've started working for yourself, gathered some testimonials from people you worked with in the past, and found your first client. Those are genuine, big achievements—writing them down will remind you how far you've already come.
Not only can Sports Massage help to prevent injury and improve sporting performance; there are also a number of other physical, psychological and physiological benefits. Here are Pure Massage Therapist, Becca Syrocki's top 5 benefits:
1. Improves circulation: Massage increases blood flow through the body, increasing the oxygen and nutrient to the body’s cells, which helps the body recover speedily following a hard session.
2. Reduces stress: Massage stimulates the release of endorphins and activates the body’s parasympathetic nervous system, helping to relax muscular stiffness and enabling blood pressure and heart rate to return to normal.
3. Speeds up the healing process: Scar tissue often forms following injury and also as a result of regular intense exercises; therefore increasing an athletes susceptibility to injury and pain. Sports Massage aims to increases the scar tissue's pliability, enabling increased healing speed and the realignment of the collagen fibres from the haphazard formation of scar tissue, to a well aligned parallel formation.
4. Increases flexibility and range of movement: Mechanical pressure applied through Sports Massage to the soft tissue's increasing muscle, reduces stiffness and increases range of motion in the joints. Massage stretches the muscle fibre, promoting flexibility.
5. Boosts the immune system: Sports Massage can help to minimise the depletion of amino acids and essential nutrients that result from regular workouts and sporting competitions.
So, in essence, regular massage can help you to maintain healthy muscles, improve flexibility, prevent injury, train effectively, improve performance and recover quickly, as well as helping physiological and psychological well being. Pretty amazing stuff!
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