Foot Stretches to Prevent Plantar Fasciitis

Rest is the first treatment for plantar fasciitis. Try to keep weight off your foot until the inflammation goes away. You can also apply ice to the sore area for 20 minutes three or four times a day to relieve your symptoms. Often a doctor will prescribe nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory medication such as ibuprofen.

A program of home exercises to stretch your Achilles tendon and plantar fascia are the mainstay of treating the condition and lessening the chance of recurrence. Below you will find several foot stretches courtesy of the Mayo Foundation. As always, check with your doctor before starting any new exercise regimen.

Hold each stretch for at least 30 seconds — don't bounce — and do one or two repetitions two to three times a day.

Clockwise from upper left:

1. To strengthen arch muscles, place a towel on the floor, grab the towel with your toes and pull it toward you.

2. While sitting, grasp your toes and gently pull them toward you until you feel a stretch in the arch of your foot. Stretch one foot at a time.

3. Stand as shown, with your back leg straight and heel down. Move your hips forward until you feel a stretch in your calf. Switch legs and repeat.

4. Stand on a step near the bottom of your stairs, put your weight on the ball of one foot and slowly lower that heel until you feel your calf muscle stretching. Repeat on the other side.

5 Tips To Ease Back Pain

Roughly 8 out of 10 people suffer from back pain at some point during their lives. Women, in particular, are prone to posture and back problems—thanks to toting around outrageously heavy purses, going through pregnancy, or giving one-hip rides to kids. Whether you’re in the midst of fighting the ache or just want to prevent it, here are some expert-endorsed quick-and-easy ways to wage your war.

Pass the broccoli, please
You know that calcium is key for strong bones, but Japanese researchers have identified something else you need: vitamin K. It’s believed that the vitamin, found in broccoli, spinach, and other dark leafy greens, helps calcium deposit in the bones, making them denser. The stronger your bones, the stronger your whole body—and the lower your chances of an injury that could cause back pain.

Lighten your load
If your purse or briefcase tips the scales at more than 10 percent of your weight, it’s too heavy. And you need to carry it right. Your best bet is a model with a long strap that lets you position it across your chest like a messenger bag. Can’t part with your shorter-strapped number? Switch shoulders every 20 minutes.

Sleep right
A harder bed may not be better for your back. A recent study in Spine found that people who slept on softer beds reported less lower-back pain than those who snoozed on harder ones.
Pillows? Yours shouldn’t raise your head out of alignment with your spine. How to tell: If you’re a back sleeper, your chin shouldn’t press into your chest. If you’re a side sleeper, it shouldn’t curve up toward your shoulder.

Tighten those abs
Having strong core muscles (we’re talking abs here) can help protect your back from injury. Do this core-strengthening pelvic tilt 2 to 3 times per week: Lie on your back with knees bent, feet flat on the floor, and lower back flattened. Pull in your belly button toward your spine, contracting your abs; your pelvis should lift slightly off the floor. Do 2 to 3 sets of 12 reps.

Aim for good posture
Sitting at a desk for eight (or more) hours a day can really do a number on your back. Make sure to sit with your back against your chair (get a lumbar pillow if you chair doesn’t allow this) and both feet flat on the floor. Another option: Try using a stability ball as your desk chair. Start off slow (20 minutes at a time), and if it feels good, stick with it.

Courtesy Health.com

More Reason to Connect

Not only is it fun to spend time shopping with friends or visiting with loved ones—researchers now know that time can also help keep your brain healthy as you age.

Some research indicates that people who have good social networks live longer. They also are physically healthier than people who are socially isolated. In fact, experts say that how socially connected a person tends to be is one of the most important ways of predicting his or her health and independence in later years.Maintaining supportive relationships is an important element of effective aging. The more contact we have with others as we age, the better we may be at retaining mental sharpness.

A large study reported in the New England Journal of Medicine found that people who engaged in leisure activities such as learning to play a musical instrument or dancing were less likely to develop dementia.Dancing may be especially beneficial to the brain because it combines physical activity with social interaction, and often involves a cognitive challenge in learning dance steps.

“There’s a lot of evidence that other people are the most unpredictable things you can encounter,” says Lawrence Katz. “So activities that have you engaging with other human beings are a fantastic form of brain exercise.”Other studies suggest that people with the most limited social connections are twice as likely to die over a given period as those with the widest social networks. Many experts believe that social isolation may create a chronically stressful condition that accelerates aging.

This information is especially important to older people, who may be more likely to lead solitary lives—especially if family and friends have moved away or died. Of course, combating loneliness requires time and energy, both in establishing new relationships and in deepening existing ones. But the benefits are well worth the effort.

Stop back tomorrow for Tips on Staying Social!

Courtesy of aarp.com

Overworked Muscles? Soothe them with this quick tip!

Soreness that comes a day or two after you exercise is called delayed-onset muscle soreness, but you probably know it as plain old pain. The delayed ache is caused by tiny tears in the muscle that become inflamed. It’s a signal from your body to slow down and take a rest.

To quickly soothe those aching muscles run a warm bath and pop four antacid tablets into the water and soak your body for 20 minutes. When muscles are overextended, they swell, impeding blood flow and causing pain. Antacid tablets contain sodium bicarbonate, which gets blood circulating again. They also contain aspirin, which helps ease pain even when applied topically.

You can prevent sore muscles by warming up before you exercise and cooling down afterward, advises Jacob Schor, N.D., a naturopathic doctor in Denver and president of the Colorado Association of Naturopathic Doctors. Include at least a few minutes of movement with each of the major muscle groups—the calves, thighs, hips, back, abdomen, chest, and arms.

The Healthiest Time to Do Everything, Pt 3

In the past few days, we have discussed the healthiest times to workout, best times to seek medical care, and the timing of prescriptions. Today, in part 3, we will look into the healthiest times to boost your energy and brain power.

Part 3 of 3 - Best times to Boost your energy and brain power

Head to bed at least 3 hours after dinner
It ensures more efficient digestion and, because eating too much food before sleeping can cause heartburn, deeper sleep, says Foresman. If you want a cocktail, have it with dinner to give your body plenty of time to metabolize the alcohol. Even if a drink makes you feel sleepy at first, just one nightcap can cause you to wake up more frequently during the night, finds a study from Wake Forest University. Imbibing too late in the evening upsets normal brain patterns, delaying REM (dream) sleep. Later, when REM rebounds, you'll be more likely to have startling, vivid, or violent dreams, which can also disturb sleep, says Joyce A. Walsleben, PhD, an associate professor at New York University's Sleep Disorders Center and coauthor of A Woman's Guide to Sleep.

Follow a sleep schedule
Several studies suggest that obeying your alarm clock can help relieve daytime fatigue. Sleep researchers are finding that people who get at least 7 hours of sleep a night are much less likely to be obese—and weight gain can act as an energy drain. Going to bed and getting up at the same time every day also keeps your biological clock on schedule. This clock, a cluster of 20,000 neurons in your brain, regulates your body's temperature, hormones, blood pressure, and other important functions. Throw it off-kilter and you could face serious health problems: Studies on night-shift workers suggest that people with irregular sleep habits have an increased risk of digestive troubles, emotional and mental problems, heart disease, and cancer, says Foresman.

Take vacation in late February or early March
And head outdoors. By March, as many as 50% of people not living in the Sun Belt will already have had a few months of winter-induced mood dips, says Matthew Edlund, MD, director of the Center for Circadian Medicine in Sarasota, FL, and author of The Body Clock Advantage. March is also the month when the more extreme psychological slump known as seasonal affective disorder, or SAD, can become overwhelming for the estimated 10 million sufferers in this country.
By taking a break somewhere sunny, you can "reverse your emotional course," reports Edlund. Warmth isn't required to garner a mood boost: Hitting the ski slopes can be as uplifting as heading south. The key is to use the great outdoors—plan an active vacation that maximizes your exposure to daylight.

Take a nap at 2 PM
The dip in body temperature that helps ease you into sleep at night also occurs midday, which is why afternoons can be so unproductive. But if you can catch a catnap around 2 PM (the slump usually hits between 1 and 3 PM), it should boost your alertness for several hours. Ten minutes will do the trick—nod off for more than 20 and you may wake feeling groggy. If a nap is out of the question, eat plenty of protein at lunch, which will give you longer-lasting energy, says Christine Gerbstadt, MD, RD, a spokesperson for the National Dietetic Association. Mid-afternoon is also a good time for "strategic caffeine use," says Brian Foresman, DO, director of the Sleep Medicine and Circadian Biology Program at Indiana University School of Medicine. "If you don't exceed a cup or two per day, caffeine works phenomenally well at increasing your alertness." This should be your last cup of coffee for the day, though—any caffeine consumed within 7 hours of bedtime can disrupt your sleep.

Pay bills or do a crossword between 10 and 11 AM or 8 and 9 PM
“According to our circadian rhythms, that's when we're maximally alert," says Michael Thorpy, MD, director of the Sleep-Wake Disorders Center at Montefiore Medical Center in the Bronx. Try not to waste a minute—the brain boost lasts only for about an hour.

That concludes our Healthiest Times to Do Everything article. Hope you enjoyed them!

Courtesy: Prevention.com

The Healthiest Time to Do Everything, Pt 2

Today, we continue our Healthiest Times article with a few medical and prescription tips.

Part 2 of 3, Maximize Your Medical Care

Get the first appointment of the day
"Doctors won't yet be distracted by the backlog of patients and paperwork that tends to accumulate as the day goes on," says Mark Murray, MD, owner of a health care consulting firm in Sacramento. Can't get an early morning appointment? Try for right after the doctor's lunch hour. If your physician also performs surgery, make sure you're scheduled for a day when she's exclusively seeing patients. "Any time doctors are switching lanes, like coming back to the office from surgery, they're going to get slammed with a bottleneck of work that demands their immediate attention," he adds.

Test your cholesterol twice a year
To get a complete picture of your lipid levels, have them checked once in the summer and then again in December, recommends Ira Ockene, MD, a professor of preventive cardiology at the University of Massachusetts Medical School. His research shows that cholesterol levels fluctuate between the seasons and generally tend to peak midwinter, especially in women. Though the average change from July to January is only 4 points, it can be enough to indicate that you need treatment. The average of your high and low scores is the number to act on.

Arrange your elective surgery for winter or spring
Avoid July, August, and September, when teaching hospitals are flooded with med students starting their residencies, the on-the-job-training part of their medical education. A study by the National Bureau of Economic Research found that the average length of stay at major teaching hospitals increases by 2% during those months; the average mortality rate increases by 4%. This accounts for an additional 1,500 to 2,750 deaths per year nationwide. "You're better off giving interns at least 3 months to learn the ropes of the hospital," says Murray.

Have head-to-toe skin exams in December
You're less likely to be tanned, so "the higher contrast between your skin and pigmented lesions will make it easier for physicians to spot anything suspicious," says Andrew Kaufman, MD, a dermatologic surgeon in Thousand Oaks, CA, who specializes in skin cancer. But don't wait to see a doctor if you notice something abnormal. "Most changes turn out to be insignificant," he adds, "but it's better to be safe."

Fill your prescription midmonth
Drugstores get busy at the beginning of the month, when welfare and Social Security checks hit people's mailboxes. You're not merely saving yourself from a longer line: Fatalities due to pharmacy-related medication errors rise by as much as 25% at the beginning of the month, found a study at the University of California, San Diego, and Tufts University School of Medicine.

Take birth control or heart pills before bed
If you take blood pressure medication before turning in, it will still be working by early morning, which is the time associated with a 30 to 50% increased risk of heart attacks and strokes, according to researchers at the Mayo Clinic. And because the liver revs up cholesterol production overnight, you'll maximize the lipid-lowering ability of statins such as Lipitor, Zocor, Pravachol, Mevacor, and Crestor if you take them before hitting the sack. Popping your birth control pill at night makes sense because you'll sleep through any nausea, a common side effect.

Swallow your multi with a meal
Your body absorbs vitamins better when you take them with food, says Jeffrey Blumberg, PhD, a professor of nutrition at Tufts University. This will minimize the potential for stomach upset, too, and make you more likely to remember your multi every day.

Stay tuned for part 3 of our Healthiest Times to do Everything, where we list tips for boosting energy and brain power!

Courtesy: Prevention.com