Archive for the ‘back pain’ Category

Even if you’ve already trekked all over the globe this summer and used up more than your share of vacation time (and money), there’s still one trip left that’s worth taking: A vacation from pain.

Yep.  Mr. Pain comes to visit you all too often these days, with his twinges, aches, and chronic soreness, making you really wish your address were unlisted.  You’ve tried all the NSAID’s (non steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs) and other pain relievers and they either made you feel groggy, upset your stomach, or had potentially dangerous side effects.  The situation seemed hopeless.  Mr. Pain took off his hat and coat, and settled into your favorite armchair, making himself quite at home.

But wait.  It doesn’t have to be this way. Imagine being able to live your life on a permanent vacation from chronic pain?  And here’s the best part!  There is an all-natural pain reliever available that is gentle on the stomach, very effective and has virtually no side effects.

This powerful, chronic pain reliever is called Nexrutine® Extra. It contains an all-natural, proprietary formula derived from the bark of the Phellodendron Amurense (Cork tree) that has been used as a valuable pain reliever by traditional Chinese medicine practitioners for thousands of years.  It is solely a natural Cox-2 inhibitor, obstructing the enzyme that causes inflammation, but preserving the important Cox-1 enzyme that protects the lining of the stomach.

With a steady supply of Nexrutine® Extra, you can finally say goodbye to chronic pain forever!   So tell Mr. Pain to don his hat, show him the door and wave goodbye.  Thanks to Nexrutine® Extra, you have beautiful pain-free places to go. Enjoy your trip!

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To be free from chronic pain, try our natural pain reliever that’s gentle on the stomach, Nexrutine® Extra.  Sign up for our AutoShip and save 10%!

We’ve all seen the magazine covers or talk shows featuring lithe starlets who quip that the only exercise they ever need to sculpt their perfect bodies is yoga.  At first I was incredulous, but then again-I hadn’t taken a yoga class in years until recently.  I have since rediscovered yoga.  Yoga is a challenging practice and wonderful for the body, mind, and spirit.  Anyone who has held a “Revolved Half Moon Pose” for any length of time will understand what I mean.  Among myriad physical benefits, research has also concluded that yoga practice can help mitigate stress and anxiety and can be just as beneficial to our health as good old fashion relaxation.

In a randomized comparative trial involving 131 subjects experiencing mild to moderate stress, participating in hatha yoga for one hour, once a week, for 10 weeks, was found to be as effective as relaxation in terms of reducing stress and anxiety. Subjects were randomized to either receive 10 weekly one-hour sessions of yoga or relaxation. Various questionnaires were used to assess the outcomes. After the 10 weeks, yoga was found to be as effective as relaxation in reducing stress, anxiety, and improving health status on several aspects outlined on the Short Form-36. Yoga was found to be more effective than relaxation at improving mental health. After a six-week follow-up period, while subjects in the relaxation group were found to have higher scores in terms of vitality, social function, and mental health, subjects in both groups were found to have similar levels of stress and anxiety. Furthermore, no significant differences between the groups were found for five aspects of health status outlined on the SF-36. The results of this study suggest that the practice of yoga may be considered as an alternative to relaxation for reducing stress and anxiety. Additional research is warranted.

So grab your yoga mat and sign up for a series of classes.  Yoga can help soothe the stress in your life and just may help you fit into your favorite skinny jeans too!

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For natural stress reduction, try our anti-stress supplement Relora®. Read more about stress reduction and best practices for a calmer lifestyle in our health article archives.

Reference: http://www.vitasearch.com/get-clp-summary/36431, “A randomised comparative trial of yoga and relaxation to reduce stress and anxiety,” Smith C, Hancock H, et al, Complement Ther Med, 2007; 15(2): 77-83. (Address: Caroline Smith, Centre for Allied Health Evidence, School of Health Sciences, University of South Australia, GPO Box 2471, Adelaide, SA 5001, Australia. E-mail: caroline.smith@acnhw.com.au ).

As you sit listening to the symphony, taking in the beautiful architecture and the rich, melodic sound surrounding you, there is something else that you are neglecting to notice.  Your body.  It is screaming at you, and you aren’t listening.

When it finally does get your attention, you’re alarmed.  Your legs are aching and you feel really run down.  By intermission, your back has joined in the cacophony of pain you’re experiencing.  What is going on?  Then you stop to think.  I guess I have been a little stressed lately.  And I haven’t been sleeping very well or exercising much.  I’ve also been grabbing food on the go, usually in the form of a burger or a burrito.

This kind of behavior adds up.  Not sleeping, living a stressful life, not eating a proper diet and-it goes without saying- not having enough time to exercise can all be harmful to your health.  But you don’t need me to tell you that.  Your body already has.

Each problem informs the other.  You’re tired because you aren’t sleeping well, so you eat more to keep up your energy.  Your body aches, so you don’t feel like exercising.  But if you tackle one of the problems you’re experiencing, oftentimes that starts the healthy ball rolling and the other issues get solved too.  Don’t want to take any heavy pharmaceuticals to ease joint or back pain?  Eschew the muscle-relaxers and NSAIDs in favor of a natural treatment like acupuncture.  In a recent study, 40 patients with primary osteoarthritis of the knee were given daily acupuncture treatments for 10 days.  At the end of the treatment period the patients experienced reduced pain and stiffness and increased mobility, all without any use of drugs.  Committing to reducing chronic pain can help you achieve better quality sleep and will help you feel more relaxed as you deal with everyday demands.

Another good way to take care of your body is to make sure you get all the proper nutrients.  It’s hard when you’re busy to eat a balanced meal, right?  Wrong.  By the time you’ve waited in the long lunch line at the nearest fast food joint, you could’ve raided the salad bar at your local grocery store.  And if you’re sleeping well, you can spare five extra minutes in the morning to make a quick turkey sandwich, grab an apple and cut up some fresh yellow and red bell peppers.  This doesn’t mean you can’t ever have a burger or an ice cream soda.  But save the treats for a Friday afternoon, when you’ve put in a hard week.  The reward will seem even sweeter.

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Want to read more about achieving a better night’s sleep?  Click here.  Check out our great supplements that help you relax and sleep better, naturally,  Relora® and Dual-Release Melatonin.  And for more natural pain relief, try Nexrelief™ or Nexrutine® Extra.

Reference: http://www.vitasearch.com/get-clp-summary/38530 “Clinical and endocrinological changes after electro-acupuncture treatment in patients with osteoarthritis of the knee,” Ahsin S, Saleem S, et al, Pain, 2009; Sept 17; [Epub ahead of print]. (Address: Department of Physiology, Army Medical College Rawalpindi, Pakistan; Department of Natural Sciences, School of Health and Social Science, Middlesex University, UK).

Recently, as I walked my dog through the quiet neighborhood I call home, I spied my 50-something neighbor trying to wash the new windows on the front of his house.  As he pried the screens off and positioned (and repositioned) the ladder in his hapless wife’s flowerbed, he made numerous exclamations that are unprintable.  I approached him wearily as he massaged the side of his neck.   Immediately I sensed what was wrong, (other than the fact that he didn’t have window washers on staff), he was a chronic pain sufferer.

You might say, I felt his pain.

For many years I put up with all kinds of chronic pain, from my nagging back aches to my weakened ankle from an old sports injury.  I used to think I just had to live with it.   I took countless trips to the doctor, only to be told that I would have to either use pain pills for the rest of my life (which can cause all kinds of other health issues), or in the case of my back, that I could opt for an operation to “correct” the problem.  Granted my back trouble wasn’t too serious and perhaps for extreme cases operations are warranted.  And my ankle was an annoying, constant source of pain, but not intense enough to stay off it completely.

Aside from finally talking my insurance company into letting me get some physical therapy for my ankle, I discovered that yoga classes made my legs, back, neck and ankle feel great.  Incorporating low impact exercises and soothing stretching made a big difference in my overall pain management.  Another natural pain eraser I found was a substance derived from the bark of the Phellodendron tree.  The anti-inflammatory supplement has been used in Chinese medicine for centuries.

I walked by my neighbor and waved, thinking that next time he should hire someone to clean those windows.  There are professionals for that, you know.

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Check out our health concerns archives for more information on how to manage back pain and joint discomfort.  Purchase the natural, anti-inflammatory Nexrelief™, especially formulated to manage pain and protect the lining of the stomach.  An excellent nutritional supplement for joint health is Super Glucosamine.  Our Super Glucosamine product is a highly absorbable formula that helps to repair damaged joints, cartilage and connective tissue while mitigating pain.

It happened to me most recently at a friend’s wedding.  I was minding my own business, dancing to an extended party mix of Prince’s “You’ve got the look” when I felt a shooting pain extending from my shoulder down my back to my Sciatic nerve.  I froze as the free flowing music screeched to a violent stop.

It was the same old nagging story.  Back pain striking just when I thought everything was going well.  I hadn’t had an episode in months.  Then again, I wasn’t doing the requisite walking and exercising that I had been dedicated to lately.  Instead I had become comfortable in my laziness.  Complacent.  Whatever you want to call it, I was embracing inactivity and finding the break fairly relaxing.

The problem was, my body was rebelling.  Despite my love/hate/hate relationship with exercise, my body actually liked it.  Loved it.  Craved it and had grown accustomed to all the wonderful things that exercise provided it.  I had betrayed my limber body and had replaced it with an almost unrecognizable impostor who loved to sit on the couch, watch The Daily Show and eat untold amounts of Pepperidge Farm cookies.

So there I was, trying to remain calm, and appear casual and pain-free in my  elegant ensemble as I shuffled crustacean-like from the dance floor back to my table.  If only I hadn’t quit hiking, I lamented.  If only I hadn’t stopped going to my yoga classes, I wouldn’t be asking the head caterer for a bag of ice chips to sit on.  If only I hadn’t been so very smug to think that I could do whatever I wanted to my body with zero repercussions.  If only…well, you get the idea.

If you have chronic back pain, you know it’s about as pleasurable as a lounge chair full of pushpins.

This is my cautionary tale.  Exercise.  Don’t give it up and don’t assume just because you feel great for the moment that the next time you bend down to grab that lucky penny that your body won’t scream oh no you don’t! Being proactive about your body and health is always a good plan.  And don’t worry, that can still include a cookie or two.  Right after yoga class, that is.

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To learn more about back pain and good practices for a better, pain-free lifestyle, read from our health library.  To experience more energy try our Super QNol® CoQ10 which not only promotes hearth health and protects from free radical damage, but also provides enhanced cell energy for increased stamina and strength.  Available  in a special, reduced form of CoQ10 that is both lipid and hydro-soluble for optimal absorption.  The perfect supplement companion for an active lifestyle.