Combat Tight Shoulders

How Can I Combat Tight Shoulders?

 By: Erin Beresini
Shoulder pain can be avoided.     

 
A:We posed the question to Dr. Kevin Laudner, a kinesiologist at Illinois State University who specializes in shoulders. “There are 20 to 30 muscles around the shoulder,” Laudner says. “I’m guessing there are quite a few that are causing the tightness, and there’s no one stretch that’s gonna get everything.”
Shoulder tightness often occurs when the muscles stay contracted after a workout. “The longer they stay in that contracted state, that’s when they start to develop scar tissue,” Laudner says. “That scar tissue gets really hard and hurts your range of motion.”

He recommends four stretches, including one performed on a foam roller, that should increase your mobility. You can do the stretches several times a day, just make sure they don’t cause you any pain. And “don’t be frustrated if you’ve been doing them for a week and you don’t see any improvement,” Laudner says. “It may take longer to break up any scar tissue—it can get rock hard and hard to break up—but just keep at it.”

Fight Tight Shoulders With a Foam Roller

Lie down on your side with your arm overhead. Place the foam roller just below your armpit, and rock back and forth on it. Repeat on the other side.

Fight Tight Shoulders With a Tennis Ball

This exercise uses a ball. Start out with a tennis ball, then as you can tolerate it, move up to something harder like a baseball, and finally a golf ball.

Lie down on your back with the ball underneath you. Start by putting the ball on the inside of your scapula (shoulder blade)—the part closest to the spine. Roll around until you find a tender spot, then roll the ball over it a bit, and hold it there. You can use your legs to move your body around until you find a sensitive spot, or move your arms until the ball falls into a tight place. “Maybe it’s bringing your arm across your body, overhead, or to the side,” Laudner says.

Alternatively, put the ball on the outside of your scapula—the part closest to your arm.

Fight Tight Shoulders at Work

Standing in front of a table or a desk, bend over at your hips and put your arms straight out in front of you with your hands on top of the table. Then drive your chest down toward the ground. “This’ll really get the chest muscles. They’re part of the shoulder and they can cause major shoulder problems,” Laudner says. “Tight chest muscles are one of the number-one causes of shoulder tightness.”

From this starter stretch, you can play with your arm angles. For example, with your hands straight out in front of you, you can move your hands to the sides and do the same thing—drive your chest down with your hands still on the table

January Conscious Box - Gluten-Free

January Conscious Box 2014 - Gluten-Free

How Does Conscious Box work?

Conscious Box is the best way to discover the most ethical and sustainable products on the planet! Focusing on strict tenets of organic, fair trade, and pure and natural products, each month Conscious Box will introduce you to healthy and honest alternatives for every aspect of your life and for every member of your family. Discover the best natural products, earn points for leaving feedback and reviews, and buy your favorites at incredible discounts!

• Get a variety of unique pure & natural products every month!
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Fine Feather Heads Fly Ties Hair Ties

Soft and durable, Fly Ties will not tug or damage your hair, but rather hold it in place without strain. Discover where comfort meets style and try Fly Ties today - adorable for both your hair and your wrist!

Two Degrees Bar

Made with natural ingredients and fortifying quinoa, chia, and millet, Two Degrees makes healthy, delicious snacks with purpose. For every bar purchased, Two Degrees donates one to a hungry child in need. Vegan, gluten-free, and GMO free, Two Degrees is helping fight malnutrition while keeping to principles of sustainable, honest business. Where will you choose to send your bar? 

Manitoba Harvest Hemp Hearts Raw Shelled Hemp Seeds

A perfect addition to your morning cereal or yogurt (or a great snack on its own!) Manitoba Harvest Hemp Hearts Raw Shelled Hemp Seeds have a buttery, nutty, absolutely delicious taste. Filled with essential nutrients like omegas, magnesium, and digestible protein, Manitoba Harvest Hemp Hearts make for a super-charged, super-healthy snack (move over potato chips!).

Zarbee's All-Natural Cough Syrup

Strangely enough, many of today's remedies provided by modern "medicine" contain questionable ingredients. Why settle? Gluten-free, dye-free, and free of harmful drugs and alcohol, Zarbee's All-Natural Cough Syrup is made from dark honeys and comes pediatrician recommended. But hey! That's not to say it can't help your sore throat even if you're all grown up!

Slumberland Snacks Sleep Squares

Feeling a little weary as we head into these summer months? Sleep Squares are deliciously simple treats that help you get a better night's rest.

Mighty Leaf Organic Teas

Mighty Leaf Teas are indulgent and soothing artisanal whole leaf teas. You'll love these luxurious, aromatic and organic teas in varieties such as Earl Grey and Green Jasmine.

BumBoosa Bamboo Baby Wipes

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Bee Rescued Propolis Toothpaste

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For Sinus Infection

The Best Home Remedy For Sinus Infection

Sinus inflammation accompanied by stuffy nose, wheezing and headache can be quite common, especially in the upcoming winter days.

If you think you have tried everything you could, and nothing helped so far, we recommend you try this homemade mixture and the best about it is that you do not need much time or money.
Ingredients:

• 1 small cup of honey
• 1 small cup of lemon juice
• 5 to 7 radishes
• 1 small purple onion
• 6 garlic cloves

Preparation:
Wash the vegetables and peel the onions and the garlic. Cut vegetables in quarters and use a blender to get a nice and smooth mixture. Add all the ingredients and stir again. Put the mixture in a jar and keep it in the fridge.
Use:
Adults should take about 2 tablespoons per day, or more if necessary. The recommended maximum dose for children is 1 tablespoon per day. The first reaction of this homemade remedy will be noticed in just 24 hours.

Asthma root cause

Breathe Easy — Addressing the Root Causes of Asthma

by Mark Hyman, MD

The question this week is, “what causes asthma and what can I do about it? How do I get rid of these terrible symptoms that I have?”
Asthma is a big problem. It affects 8.4 percent of the population or over 25 million Americans (including many children), and it’s increasing every day in America.

Why? For a number of reasons: increasing environmental toxins, increasing pollution, increases in food sensitivities and gut problems, food additives and dyes, increasing use of antibiotics and medications, and increasing consumption of Frankenfoods with altered proteins and other strange ingredients. All these things can trigger asthma.

So, what can we do about it? Functional Medicine is medicine by cause not by symptom. We focus on finding the root cause, while most conventional treatment focuses on just suppressing the symptoms.

I saw a patient in the other day. She was 42 years old. She had actually died twice from respiratory symptoms due to her allergies. We call it anaphylaxis, which is a severe allergy reaction.

She had to be coded with paddles to revive her. She was taking 42 different sprays, pills, and potions every day, which had been prescribed by top doctors at Harvard. She had seen the lung doctor, the immunologist, and the allergist. Everybody was trying to fix her and no one could, because they weren’t asking the right questions. They were trying to suppress the inflammation rather than trying to address the cause of the inflammation, a very different perspective. That’s the perspective we take in Functional Medicine: getting to the root cause.
When this patient came to see me, I ran some tests in order to understand exactly what was irritating her immune system. I looked for the common causes and asked a few simple questions. Is it food allergies? Is it environmental allergens? Is it mold? Is there something wrong with the bacteria and microbes in her gut? Is it a toxin? What about stress or a poor diet? All of these things are potential triggers for asthma and all chronic disease.

In her case, I found out that she had very high antibodies to gluten, an indication that she had celiac disease, which turned out to be the root cause of her asthma. This was completely missed by the top medical school and university in the country, because they don’t think that food might have something to do with disease. It’s just not something they are taught to look for in medical school.

One Harvard doctor said to me, “if food was medicine, I would have learned about it in medical school”.

So, what did I do for her? I simply removed the things that were causing the problem. I got rid of the gluten, cleaned up her gut, and got rid of the bad bugs. Then, I put in good bugs and nutrients, like fish oil, vitamin C, and zinc. A few simple things helped restore and balance her body, and within six weeks, she was off every medication, she had no symptoms, no allergies, no hives, and no asthma.

We have a very simple rule in Functional Medicine: if you’re standing on a tack, it takes a lot of aspirin to make it feel better. Get the tack out, and you don’t need the aspirin. That’s really the focus of Functional Medicine—fixing the cause.

More Causes of Asthma

Why do we have an epidemic of asthma that affects as many people as heart disease or diabetes?
One example is that we have increased our C-section rates. More than half of all new babies are now being born this way. When babies aren’t delivered through the birth canal, they don’t get the bacteria from the mother’s vagina in their intestinal tract. This prevents them from developing normal, healthy gut flora, which is important to a healthy immune system. They also might not be breastfed, which, again, impedes their immune development. They might be fed foods like gluten and dairy before they are one year old (like all the Cheerios fed to babies who are teething), which can trigger an immune reaction in an immature immune system. They might be given a lot of antibiotics for sore throats or ear infections, which also create disturbances in the gut flora. All these things, over time, will trigger more allergies, more inflammation, and more problems.

One study found that if women with a family history of allergies were given acidophilus during pregnancy, their babies were 50% less likely to develop asthma, allergies, runny nose, and eczema—very simple intervention, very low risk, very powerful.

The goal here is to get rid of the things that are causing the problem and then help the body to reset. What we do is very simple.

How To Cure Your Asthma

We get rid of the bad stuff, starting with the foods that might be a problem—gluten and dairy are the most common cause of asthma. And then, we put in things that the body needs to heal, and we clean up the gut. There may be yeast issues; there may be bad bugs that are growing in there. We clean those out, and then we put in good things like healthy bacteria and probiotics.

If you have asthma, here are some simple things you can try to get to the root of the problem and re-balance and cool off your immune system:

• Do an elimination diet (see The UltraSimple Diet) to get rid of the most common food allergens. Gluten and dairy are the biggest culprits!
• Look for other causes (food additives, pesticides, chemicals, pollution in your environment).
• Check for mold in your home or work. See www.survivingmold.com to learn more.
• Consider taking antifungal herbs such as oregano or medication, such as Diflucan or Nystatin
• Take probiotics. I use Ther-Biotic Complete, two capsules twice a day with my patients.
• Take fish oil, which is anti-inflammatory. I use Omegagenics 720 one or two capsules twice a day.
• Take extra zinc. I use Zinc Citrate, 30mg one capsule twice a day for my patients.
• There are the types of things we do in Functional Medicine to help reset the body. But much of this can be done through SELF-HEALTH, the process of taking care of your own wellbeing.

Take out the bad stuff, put in the good stuff, and your body knows what to do.
Now, I’d like to hear from you:

• Have you had asthma?
• What causes it for you? Do you know?
• What’s worked to help it and what hasn’t?

Share your experiences with us in the comment section below, so you can help others and we can help you. And if you like this House Call, sign up above to get it every single week. Share it with your friends on Facebook and Twitter. Also, submit your questions so that, next week, I may make a House Call to you. Thanks for joining me.
Wishing you health and happiness,
Mark Hyman, MD

Choose Happiness

Each morning when I open my eyes I say to myself:

I, not events, have the power to make me happy or unhappy today.

I can choose which it shall be. 

Yesterday is history. Tomorrow is a mystery. And today?

Today is a gift that's why they call it the present.

Watch your thoughts, they become your words

Watch your words, they become your actions
Watch your actions, they become your habits

Watch your habits, they become your character

Watch your character, it becomes your destiny .

When things go wrong as they sometimes will,

When the road you're trudging seems all up hill,

When the funds are low and the debts are high,

And you want to smile, but you have to sigh,

When care is pressing you down a bit,

Rest if you must, but don't you quit.

Life is strange with its twists and turns,

As every one of us sometimes learns,

And many a failure turns about ,

When he might have won had he stuck it out.

Don't give up though the pace seems slow .

You may succeed with another blow,

Success is failure turned inside out .

The silver tint of the clouds of doubt,

And you never can tell how close you are,

It may be near when it seems so far;

So stick to the fight when you're hardest hit.

It's when things seem worst that you must not quit.

Yesterday is dead, tomorrow hasn't arrived yet.

I have just one day, today, and I'm going to be happy in it .

Be yourself. Who else is better qualified!