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.
Massage – Time For A New Perspective
Massage has a history which dates back thousands of years and for much of this time has been a primary medical treatment by Doctors, recognised for its ability to reduce stress, anxiety and pain, plus both help prevent and heal injuries and illnesses.
Earliest records of the use of massage in medicine were in Egypt, India and China thousands of years ago. Since then its use has expanded around the globe, with inevitable cultural variations, so we see Shiatsu from Japan, Tuina from China, Ayurveda from India and Swedish from Europe and so on.
Original concepts from India and China were to consider disease and illness as a manifestation of the body being out of balance and not in harmony with the environment. Massage was considered an important treatment to help restore balance and harmony.
In the West massage spread through Europe and was noted by Hippocrates, the Greek Physician, in 400 BC as an important part of overall health maintenance. The use of massage started to decline with the emergence of newer medical techniques and also suffered greatly due to the more unsavory euphemism for sexual services.
This very concern in fact led to the formation in the UK of the Society of Trained Masseurs, later to become the Society of Chartered Physiotherapists that we know today. Thus physiotherapy has its roots in the power of hands on healing.
In more recent years massage has had a new dawn and become available in a many forms. You can now take your pick from intensely relaxing treatments on warm water beds, to deep pressure for the less faint hearted. The basic aim remains the same: to help heal on both the physical and emotional level and enhance the overall quality of life.
Unfortunately, the true value of massage is not widely recognised in the UK and for many it is still pigeon holed as an occasional luxury, or for many men, not something they would do. But let’s go back briefly to history again. Hippocrates recognised the importance of exercise, healthy diet, rest and massage as the ingredients for maintaining or restoring health. Certainly evidence exists for example that through the ages, the Olympics have made use of this philosophy.
Now fast forward to the present day. In the 1984 Olympics, massage was listed as a medical treatment to be provided. In fact many top athletes have their own masseur. For these, diet, exercise and rest go without saying. The message is no different to that proposed by Hippocrates 2400 years ago. You can be sure massage was intensely used in the London Olympics.
In the East, massage is considered a normal medical treatment and we can look much nearer home for cultural differences to perhaps break down British prejudice. In Germany, massage is considered an important part of their preventative and treatment health care. It is quite normal for a German Doctor to prescribe a course of massage, and not drugs, for the treatment of conditions such as back pain, neck stiffness and stress.
Stress we all know is on the increase and quite simply can be a killer. The body cannot heal itself if it is continually stressed. Scientific studies have shown that excessive and uncontrolled variation in heart rate caused by stress leads to increased sickness and disease. Furthermore, just relaxing at the end of the day with your favourite tipple, cannot undo the damage caused by a full day of stress. At the clinic we measure heart rate variance (HRV) and many patients are shocked by the result. Modern technology such as HRV merely amplifies just how accurate our ancient forefathers were about health.
Time and again we see patients at our clinic, who for either physical or emotional reasons would greatly benefit from regular massage, but will not as they cannot get over the stigma of it being either a luxury or not really of therapeutic value. Without doubt, many patients would retain a more pain free existence and be less stressed, if they could overcome these barriers and adopt the attitude of many other countries.
Perhaps it is time to look again with a new perspective at massage and all it can offer you.
If you would like more information on the massage we offer or our HRV technology, then please contact the clinic on 01889 881488 or visit www.painreliefclinic.co.uk