First, make sure you start eating salmon. Fish such as cod and salmon is stashed full of omega-3 fatty acids, which are good fats for your body. These fats actually fight against heart disease. It may even be possible that salmon fights against dementia because it’s a food that strengthens your brain. Omega-3 fats are also found in sardines in herring. It could raise your good cholesterol by 4 percent.

Also, chocolate is a good food to raise those bad cholesterol levels. You’ll want to choose bittersweet or dark chocolate; these are going to be the two healthiest. However, over 12 weeks, you could see a 24 percent increase in your good cholesterol. Hold up, however; this does not mean devour an entire bar of this delectable treat all at once. Most doctors will tell you to eat a few squares at a time. If you live in a warm climate, stick it in the refrigerator door; it will be ready when you return.

You may also want to start eating spinach. Spinach has a lot of the antioxidant lutein, which protects against blindness and macular degeneration. It’s also possible that spinach could be an armor against heart attacks and increase your good cholesterol. You could easily get spinach at the store and add to all your favorite dishes. Replace your iceberg lettuce with spinach in your salad, or add it to soups. There are various ways to enjoy this delicious vegetable and still eat healthy.

In addition, consider eating walnuts, almonds or your favorite nut variety. These nuts are low in unsaturated fats. They are also known to keep your blood vessels healthy. It only takes about an ounce and a half to reduce your chances of heart disease. Eat these once a day and you’ll see your cholesterol numbers drop over time. Be careful not to consume too many, however, because they are high in calories.

Finally, consider cooking with olive oil. This type of oil contains antioxidants that lowers your cholesterol. You can essentially replace it as your cooking oil. Throw out the vegetable oil or canola oil you have been using; olive oil is much better for your health. Sauté vegetables or brown meat in the skillet as you always would; you’re just cooking healthier now. Also, olive oil is a heart healthy food so it’s going to protect you against a heart attack.

If you’re looking to lower your bad cholesterol numbers, then start adding these foods to your diet. They are going to get back to being healthy and lengthen your life. It’s never too late to start turning your life around.

The post Tips to Lowering Cholesterol appeared first on Walk In Health.

According to the World Heart Federation, cardiovascular disease is responsible for 17.3 million deaths a year internationally and is the leading cause of death for both men and women worldwide. What remains unclear to researchers, though, is why heart disease affects some races at a higher rate than others. Studies have shown that individuals of South Asian origin are at a higher risk for developing heart disease and for doing so at an earlier age. In fact, South Asians are more likely to develop heart disease than cancer, as cancer rates in these areas are relatively low. This research applies not only to those currently inhabiting South Asian countries, but also to those who have immigrated to other countries.

But why would this be the case? Some of the risk must be genetically determined, but there are other contributing factors as well that take root in the lifestyle of many South Asian individuals. For one thing, South Asians are apparently more likely to develop abdominal fat than Caucasians. This fat lines vital organs and heightens an individual’s risk for developing heart disease, diabetes, and some cancers. South Asians are more likely to develop this abdominal fat even when exposed to the same diet and level of physical activity as a Caucasian. Other contributing factors may be purely social. Parents of South Asian children are more likely to work in manual labor and their families to be impoverished, thus denying them the luxury of being concerned about diet or exercise.

A number of other hypotheses have been made but there is, as of yet, no determined cause for heightened risk of heart disease based on race. Some have proposed that the heightened risk in South Asians can be attributed to stress or racism, while others continue to assert that the cause must be physical, such as insulin resistance, low vitamin C, or root causes in the genes. These suggestions may all be influential, but they also distract from the universally known contributors to heart disease, such as high blood pressure, high body mass index (BMI), high low-density lipoprotein (LDL) cholesterol, and complications due to smoking. Despite not knowing undeniably the singular cause of this heightened risk for South Asians, it remains just as vital to recognize the contributions these known health problems make and understand what they lead to.

It is helpful for individuals of any population to monitor the risk factors in themselves. Blood pressure is read as the systolic pressure over the diastolic pressure. In healthy adults, systolic pressure should be less than 120 and diastolic pressure should be less than 80. Blood pressure is considered high when it reaches 140/90, so it is good to be aware of these numbers. Body mass index is calculated by dividing a person’s weight by his or her height. In adults, a normal and healthy weight is a BMI of 18.5 to 24.9. If a person is 5’9”, this would mean they weigh 125 to 168 lbs. A person may have a high BMI because they consume a lot of saturated or trans fat, which also raises low-density lipoprotein levels in the body. LDL is considered “bad” cholesterol because it contributes to plaque build-up which can clog arteries. Healthy adults want to have low levels of “bad” cholesterol—low-density lipoprotein—and high levels of “good” cholesterol—high-density lipoprotein.

Symptoms of a heart attack do not discriminate on the basis of race. Many know that chest pain is a sign, but other symptoms include discomfort or pain in the upper body, shortness of breath, nausea, lightheadedness, and cold sweats. The ability to identify the warning signs of an impending heart attack is critical to preventing the death that can result. If you recognize these symptoms and realize that you are having a heart attack, call the paramedics immediately. Don’t wait for the symptoms to go away and don’t wait to call the paramedics until after you’ve called family or neighbors. After calling the paramedics, sit or lie down and loosen any tight clothing. Though it is difficult, try to remain calm as anxiety will only worsen the heart attack. It’s important not to try to drive yourself to the hospital but to wait for help to arrive. If someone is with you at the onset of a heart attack, they may call the paramedics for you, keep you comfortable, and help you to remain calm.

As for preventing a heart attack itself, some factors—such as race—can’t be helped. But there are other ways to maintain a healthy lifestyle. Getting regular exercise, being mindful of what you’re eating and keeping LDL cholesterol low, and avoiding smoking are good places to start. The good news is that the recent studies have not found alcohol consumption to be associated with the risk of heart failure. So feel free to keep drinking that glass of wine before bed.

The post Ethnicity and Cardiovascular Disease appeared first on Walk In Health.

Experiencing knee pain is to be expected. In fact it’s very common for injuries to occur in the knee area from overuse during cycling. Below are 4 common knee injuries for cyclists:

1. Patellofemoral Syndrome,
2. Medial Plica Syndrome,
3. Patellar and Quandriceps Tendinitis,
4. Iliotibial Band Friction Syndrome.

Most of these cause pain around the kneecap area but the iliotibial band friction syndrome causes outer knee pain. Overall good solutions to these problems include shoes implants, wedges beneath the shoes, and cleat positions to prevent injuries from occurring.

Patellofemoral Pain Syndrome

What is it? This is the experience of pain that occurs in front of the knee. Sometimes it is caused by the gradual wearing down, softening, and toughening of the cartilage underneath the kneecap.

What causes it? Overusing the knee, injury, excess weight or pressure, having patellar tracking disorder, not having the kneecap aligned the right way, or any significant changes under the kneecap.

What are the symptoms? Look for signs of pain when sitting with knees bent, squatting, jumping, using the stairs. Pay attention to the sensations you experience in the knee area. It is common to have popping, or grinding sensations when moving them. The knees can even buckle and stop supporting you out of nowhere.

What are the treatments? Be careful to not create further stress; instead, focus on giving your knees a break:

• Avoid applying extended periods of pressure on the knees. Try not to sit, or squat too long or at all, if possible. In general avoid any knee exercises.
• Try NSAID drugs which is said to relieve some of the pain. Naproxen, or ibuprofen are great non-prescription drugs that help lighten the stiffness and alleviate the pain.
• Make sure to have a good amount of sleep to aid in relaxation and healing.
• Regular ice applied to the area will help numb the pain and help the area heal faster. A combination of hot and cold packs might help too.
• Physical therapy exercises that focus on stretching can help lessen the overwhelming tension and stiffness.

Medial Plica Syndrome

What is it? This is irritation mainly in the front knee. The problem is that the tight hamstrings causes the need to increase the force needed to extend the knee. This leads to irritation.

What causes it? Most people experience this due to partaking in strenuous exercise or activity such as cycling that requires constant flexing, and the extension of the knee which does a lot to cause irritation in the patellofemoral joint.

What are the symptoms? Pain is felt in the font of the knees and towards the middle. They have episodes of crackling noises from the knee, and moments when the joints lock during activity.

What are the treatments? A lot of times patients will receive a guided rehabilitation program that focus on creating strength within the quadriceps muscles.

• Exercises can include straight leg raises, leg presses, and mini squats. Maybe a light walking program as well or swimming. The idea is to slowly increase strength over time.
• Keep in mind to keep the hamstrings stretched to prevent any more stress to continue.
• If therapy is not working than an intra articular injection might be in order to quiet down the symptoms. This is to make involvement with the therapy program possible and easier.

Patellar and Quandriceps Tendinitis

What is it? Jumper’s knees which is also known as patellar tendonitis is an inflammation or injury to the tendon connecting the kneecap to the shin bone.

What causes it? Due to constant jumping, or movement, the directional change can cause wear tears, and injury. The overusing can cause tissue damage and irritation. Ultimately it gets worse and worse over time and can eventually require surgery. This is why early detection and treatment is vital.

What are the symptoms? This can include experiences of pain below the kneecap, or directly over the tendon, knee stiffness while performing activities such as jumping and squatting, quadriceps muscle pain, weakness of legs and or calves. Symptoms may also include feelings of warmth, tenderness, and swelling in the lower knee, as well as difficulty keeping balance.

What are the treatments? For the less serious cases of jumper’s knee that don’t require surgery there are great options to treat the pain.

• Resting from any activity will give the knees time to heal properly.
• Icing always helps reduce pain and swelling.
• A good idea might be to have knee support like a strap. This is a great option and tool to help minimalize the pain and reduce the stress. This helps avoid having to deal with the strained muscles.
• Using a pillow under the leg when needed can help even out the flow of blood and also decrease the strain of the knee.
• Ibuprofen is a medication that is off the counter that aid in getting rid of inflammation.
• Having regular message therapy helps increase blood and air circulation. It also helps the muscles become less tense and more loosened, making movement easier.
• Rehabilitation programs that focus on building up quadriceps and calf muscles.
• Certain injections can also allow for certain nerves to become less reactive and can reduce inflammation.

Iliotibial Band Friction Syndrome

What is it? This type of knee injury involves pain in the medial epicondyle of the femur. It is a bony protrusion that is found on the lateral femoral epicondyle.

What causes it? This is usually caused by vigorous activities that can include cycling, hiking, and intense running. Overusing and having excessive pressure being applied to the area causes inflammation and general pain.

What are the symptoms? The main symptom is patients experience pain between the hip and knees that worsen with activity.

What are the treatments? These treatments help aid in relieving some of the pain of the injury.

• Getting rest and taking a break as much as possible from activity.
• Putting some ice on the injury.
• Stretching the muscles in distress especially if it targets the iliotibial band.
• Using anti-inflammatory medicines such as Ibuprofen

The post 4 Common Knee Injuries for Cyclists appeared first on Walk In Health.

Over the many years at our active Vancouver clinic our daily patients always comprise of a significant portion of people with neck and low back spinal pain. The statistics for the incidence of low back pain may vary depending on where you find them, but a significant percentage of the patients seen by doctors and physiotherapists today have low back pain. For instance, in 2012 WorksafeBC put out a report and it showed that from 1980 to 2012 the proportion of work related back strain injuries reported to all injuries has ranged between 22% to 26%. Although two thirds of those affected were men a decade ago, the gap has narrowed in recent years between the genders. All ages are affected by low back strain injuries, but most commonly peaked between the ages of 35 and 44.

Most low back injuries will recover and heal in a short period of time. They may be muscle and ligament sprains and strains, and if protected and rested during the acute phase then gradually returned to activity, the back pain usually resolves. In the clinic I will see the early very painful low back injuries, and more frequently the ones that don’t resolve and become chronic. The chronic cases of low back pain are much more complicated in nature and require a very active approach between the patient and physiotherapist/doctor in order to be successful.

4 common questions patients will ask me in the initial assessment are:

1. What Is Injured and Is It Serious? What Is Causing the Pain?
To find out precisely what the problem may be, it is important that the patient gives good verbal history of what activity or movement was done when the pain appeared, the location and type of pain is felt, how intense or easily irritated is the injury, what movements aggravate and ease the pain and so forth. Doing a physical examination can give us clues to what may be causing the pain, but often times it is very difficult to pinpoint the exact structure in the body that is hurt. More importantly, knowing the patterning and characteristics of the pain, and a thorough physical examination is invaluable to treating the injury and pain successfully. Muscles and ligament injury, vertebral joints stiffness and injury, disc hernia and injury, sacroiliac joint dysfunction and sprain (pelvic joints) are all common in low back pain.

2. Should I Go See My Doctor and Get an Xray or MRI?
I always recommend that the patient discuss this part with his/ her family doctor together to further determine the need for an xray or MRI. I will often send a note to the doctor to give my physical findings to help the doctor further determine this need for an xray or MRI.

In the many cases I have seen, an xray or MRI is not needed simply because:

i) the injury is healing and further radiation and wasting of time/ resources is not necessary,

ii) there is sufficient findings from the verbal history and physical findings to properly treat the area,

iii) often times an xray/ MRI may show some findings but is very difficult to correlate these findings specifically to the actual pain and symptoms felt,

iv) and there are no obvious red flags that would prompt for further investigations.

Red flags may include nerve pain in the legs accompanied by remarked weakness, bowel and bladder symptoms, pain and numbness in bottom of the pelvis, unrelenting pain especially during the nite, etc.

3. What Can Physiotherapy Do For It? What Can I Do and Not Do and How Long Will It Take to Recover? When Can I Return to Work or Play Tennis (For Example)?
From the assessment the physiotherapist determines what the injury may be and can use an array of methods to start resolving the pain and promote recovery.

i) Ultrasound, electrotherapy and laser therapy can be used for pain and/or inflammation alleviation, and promote recovery.

ii) Manual therapy is when the physiotherapist mobilizes or manipulates the joints of the spine to promote proper spinal movement and alleviate pain.

iii) Short duration and more prolonged traction of the spine (by the therapist, or traction machine) can help with pain and recovery of the spine and nerve pain.

iv) Acupuncture and IMS (intramuscular stimulation) needling can be used for inflammation, release and normalization of muscle tone, nerve pain and sensitivity.

v) Exercise prescription is key for strengthening and long term recovery in almost all cases. Most systematic studies for treatment show that a multimodal treatment approach (combination of treatment types and exercise) is the most successful approach.

4. Why Know More?
Perhaps the most important part of managing an injury is education. This means learning about the probable causes and what can be done to manage it. For instance, central low back pain due to muscle tightness can resolve very quickly over a couple weeks and the person can return to tennis pretty quickly. In contrast, low back pain from a disc injury that is causing nerve pain down one leg may take a several months to alleviate and strengthen to prevent further injury, especially for tennis where there is a lot of twisting and bending of the trunk during play.

Finally, an important inherent characteristic to success is a positive outlook and willingness to participate in the process of recovery!

Carman Wong
Physiotherapist (BCScBiol, BCScPT, FCAMPT, CG*IMS)
Extensive experience in treating neck, shoulder, lower back, knee and motor vehicle accident related pain.

The post Do You Have Low Back Pain? appeared first on Walk In Health.