The key to healthly exercise

The key to healthly exercise is just that.Let’s take another look at why we should exercise so we can hold a green fitness key.Today I find that humans are far too sedentary, all too
often sitting in front of a computer by day, followed by
sitting in front of a TV at night. This lack of physical
activity causes emotional and physiological imbalances,
but we can change this by looking at how we exercise; improving your
fitness changes your chemistry, acts as a powerful antidepressant, promotes
mental clarity, and reduces the likelihood of cancer.
If you’re not happy with either how you look or feel about your weight,
then with correct guidance, you can break out of inactivity and be rewarded
by smiling at yourself whenever you see your reflection. I will guide you towards 4 green keys to health and tonight is fitness.
You can learn more about how and when you should
exercise, as getting the correct mix can extend your life.
When I am working at my clinic, I hear echoing around the walls: I am too
old to exercise, too old to work. Are you too old to exercise? Well, no one told
Jiroemon Kimura (born 1897) that he was too old. He passed away recently
at age 116, farming until he was 90 years old. Remember the Carry On films?
Well, did you know that Barbara Windsor carries on exercising in her late 70s?
You can find her in her gym wear keeping fit outside in Hyde Park.
Over 450,000 people in the USA and over 70,000 people in the UK risk total
knee replacement every year. Want to talk pain? Then talk TKR. What’s
worse is that it is unsuccessful 10% of the time, and you can even die from
having total knee replacement. Furthermore, the age for TKR is constantly
dropping. Why? Anybody want to hazard a guess? That’s right: obesity.
Now, this isn’t proven yet, but it is most likely the biggest cause.

So, what happens when you get fat? Ladies, take the ‘C’ off chips and you
know what you get! Guys, you put it on around the waist and lose sight of
your favourite toy! What you probably don’t know is that your knees are
loaded with up to four times your weight, so every extra stone (14 lbs) is
an extra four stone (56 lbs) on your knees – that’s why knees are so often
the first casualty with OA. If you want to know why the four times multiple
occurs, it’s because of leverage. Now, you are intelligent people, and you are
surely interested in health or you wouldn’t be here. So, why have you made
the decision to get arthritis? Made the decision to get lots of pain? Made
the decision to risk surgery and even death? It’s because much of the pain
associated with the pleasure of eating too much is too far away, and anyway,
going to the gym is a pain for most. We need to change the way we think
about exercise, and hopefully this chapter will go some way to doing that
for you.
Here’s some more cheery news: an in-depth study into retirement found
that men in their sixties are every bit as good at driving business than those
physically and mentally in their prime. In later life, prescriptive exercise is
more effort than swallowing a pill, but it is well worth it; in a nutshell, you get
less senility and less pain. Exercise weaves its magic, strengthening the heart,
releasing more neurotransmitters for cell communication, boosting BDNF
for improving neural connections in the brain, aiding metabolism, improving
blood flow, stimulating toxic disposal systems, and strengthening bones.
This next fact gets me out running in howling gales and rain: current research
in Sweden shows that exercise alters the way genes work in the tissue that
stores fat, and changes in adipose tissue storage sites were measurable even
with just two workouts a week. Epigenetics has always fascinated me since
studying biology, and this is the study of how chemical alterations will
change how genes work in a cell. This allows us to fine tune our body to a
changing environment.
Exercise alters this process in muscle cells and improves how sugar is
processed. Furthermore, adipose tissue (fat cells) is an organ in its own right, producing active chemicals that have profound effects on the body. In
this tissue, 18,000 markers were found on 7,663 genes! This is leading to a
greater understanding of why exercise helps fatty tissue do its job properly,
which means that as we get older, we don’t have to have such a lumpy,
bumpy body. This smooth body needs a good structural support.

We march into joint problems with innocent ignorance. A poor diet full of processed sugar, excess fat, caffeine and alcohol, leading to obesity, compounded by poor posture and footwear. These dark winter days we rarely get the correct amount of exercise to protect our joints, putting our bodies through repeated stresses and strains with weak muscles. On top of this it is difficult to keep a positive mindset with such negative world news.

 No wonder arthritis creeps in.

My patients often ask if they have arthritis and what type. They often think that fibromyalgia is a form of arthritis.

Broadly speaking there are two kinds; osteoarthritis (OA) and rheumatoid arthritis(RA). An examination by your physiotherapist or GP with xrays and bloods, should determine which it is.

OA, the most common type, is wear and tear in the smooth cartilage protecting the bones in joints, which eventually leads to bone erosion, bone spurs and unsightly bony end thickening. The joint juice, the synovial fluid, swells and becomes inflamed and sticky. The attacked bone haemorrages precious calcium. By 50 years old 8 out of 10 of us have OA and by 60, 9 out of 10. Left untreated, OA can have a massive negative impact on quality of life and eventually need surgery. When bone is very fragile, it becomes osteoporotic and breaks easily. By the age of 70, 1 in 3 ladies suffer this.

Clearly, for everyone, it is well worth investing time to prevent the worst. I have mild OA in my right knee following surgery and if I follow the plan enclosed, I keep the symptoms at bay.

RA is totally different to OA, whereby the  malfunctioning of the immune system is self destructive to joints and muscles. It is linked to genetic makeup and believed to be triggered by a viral attack.

I am frequently asked about Fibromyalgia, but this is not arthritic or inflammatory. The symptoms of fatigue, sleepless nights and muscle pain are believed to be a malfunction of the mitochondria energy processing system in the cell.

 Action Plan

Exercise regulary every 48 hours, include gentle exercise like Tai Chi or Yoga when you are feeling sore and stressed up, and try to exercise outside to get your daily sunshine, vital for vitamin D.

Consult a nutritionalist to check for food allergies and consider a liver function test. Many natural products support the liver, milk thistle, artichoke and dandelion.

Increase fruit and vegetable intake, especially raw. Best for arthritis are; carrots, green peppers, watercress, tomatoes, beetroot, berries, grapes, cabbage, broccoli, brussel sprouts and kale.

Eat less red meat, dairy, sugar laden and deep fryed food, drink less alcohol and caffeinated drinks.

Increase water, ionised if possible.

Consider supplementing, check with a nutritionalist. I take high quality antioxidants, minerals and Omega 3 & 6 every day. Calcium, magnesium and phosphorus are very important for arthritis.

For fibromyalgia, 5 HTP can help sleep, try malic acid with magnesium for pain and to boost ATP energy cycle, manganese and coenzyme Q10.

Check your blood sugar level. Vitamins C,E, manganese and chromium can help with this.

Menopause can increase the problems with arthritis and fragile bones. Mineral uptake can be poorer, vitamin D low in winter, hormone levels of oestrogen and progesterone and parathyroid can be out of kilter. There are great self help books out there, and your GP can advise you on your hormones and bone density.

If pain worsens on walking, consider a biomechanical check for your footwear.

For preventive treatment ask us about on the revolutionary German MBST technology that repairs and regrows cartilage and bone cells for osteoarthritic and osteoporotic sufferers.

 Suitable Therapies

For RA( rheumatoid arthritis):  laser, acupuncture, physiotherapy and massage

For Fibromyalgia: the above plus Gunn IMS dry needling.

For Osteoarthritis: in addition to all the above, shockwave is excellent.

 

If you would like help, please contact Nicky Snazell Clinic, 01889 881488.

Arthritis (also referred to as inflammatory joint pain) CAN be prevented with a few simple changes to your lifestyle. Information on what food you should eat and exercises you should do to help prevent getting the worst arthritis symptoms and if you do suffer from arthritis, what treatments are available.

We march into joint problems with innocent ignorance. A poor diet full of processed sugar, excess fat, caffeine and alcohol, leads to obesity, compounded by poor posture and footwear. On these dark winter days, we rarely get the correct amount of exercise to protect our joints, putting our bodies through repeated stresses and strains with weak muscles. On top of this, it is difficult to keep a positive mindset with such negative world news.

No wonder arthritis creeps in.

My patients often ask if they have arthritis and what type. They often think that fibromyalgia is a form of arthritis.

Broadly speaking there are two kinds; osteo (OA) and rheumatoid (RA). An examination by your physiotherapist or GP with xrays and bloods should determine which it is.

Osteoarthritic Joint

Osteoarthritic Joint

OA, the most common type, is wear and tear in the smooth cartilage protecting the bones in joints, which eventually leads to bone erosion, bone spurs and unsightly bony end thickening. The joint juice, the synovial fluid, swells and becomes inflamed and sticky. The attacked bone haemorrages precious calcium. By 50 years old 8 out of 10 of us have OA and by 60, 9 out of 10. Left untreated, OA can have a massive negative impact on quality of life and eventually need surgery. When bone is very fragile, it becomes osteoporotic and breaks easily. By the age of 70, 1 in 3 ladies suffer this.

Clearly, for everyone, it is well worth investing time to prevent the worst. I have mild OA in my right knee following surgery and if I follow the plan enclosed, I keep the symptoms at bay.

RA is totally different to OA, whereby the malfunctioning of the immune system is self-destructive to joints and muscles. It is linked to genetic makeup and is believed to be triggered by a viral attack.

I am frequently asked about Fibromyalgia, but this is not arthritic or inflammatory. The symptoms of fatigue, sleepless nights and muscle pain are believed to be a malfunction of the mitochondria energy processing system in the cell.

Action Plan

Exercise regularly every 48 hours, including gentle exercises like Tai Chi or Yoga when you are feeling sore and stressed up, and try to exercise outside to get your daily sunshine, vital for vitamin D.

Consult a nutritionist to check for food allergies and consider a liver function test. Many natural products support the liver, including milk thistle, artichoke and dandelion.

Increase fruit and vegetable intake, especially raw. Best for arthritis are; carrots, green peppers, watercress, tomatoes, beetroot, berries, grapes, cabbage, broccoli, Brussel sprouts and kale.

Eat less red meat, dairy, sugar-laden and deep fried food, drink less alcohol and caffeinated drinks.

Increase water, ionised if possible.

Consider supplementing, and check with a nutritionist. I take high-quality antioxidants, minerals and Omega 3 & 6 every day. Calcium, magnesium and phosphorus are very important for arthritis.

For fibromyalgia, 5 HTP can help sleep, try malic acid with magnesium for pain and to boost ATP energy cycle, manganese and coenzyme Q10.

Check your blood sugar level. Vitamins C,E, manganese and chromium can help with this.

Menopause can increase the problems with arthritis and fragile bones. Mineral uptake can be poorer, vitamin D low in winter, hormone levels of oestrogen and progesterone and parathyroid can be out of kilter. There are great self help books out there, and your GP can advise you on your hormones and bone density.

If pain worsens on walking, consider a biomechanical check for your footwear.

 

Suitable therapies I like: