What aids chronic knee pain?
According to Arthristis research Uk, many of the 4.5 million people in the Uk with osteoarthritis of the knee, suffer with chronic knee pain. This includes my dad, so this piece of research caught my attention.
A group of researchers from Standord University working with counterparts in China conducted a review of 19 randomised control trials to examine whether accupuncture was effective for knee pain. They considered both the visual analogue scale (VAS) of measuring knee pain and Western Ontario and McMaster Universitities Osteoarthritis Index (WOMAC).
They concluded that accupuncture can be effective in relieving chronic knee pain 12 weeks after treatments.
Reference
, et al Updated systematic review and meta-analysis of acupuncture for chronic knee pain.
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Is slouching that bad for you? – part 3
Modern man is born to slouch. But he rarely considers the long term potential consequences:
In addition it may also make you... Sad and Shy A study of 110 students by San Francisco State University last year found those who walked with a slouched body posture reported feeling more depressed and having lower energy levels than those who were more upright. Study leader Erik Peper, a professor of health education at the university, says sitting or standing up straight with shoulders back does not just give other people a good impression, but also sends a message to the brain that makes us feel better about ourselves. ‘We tend to think the brain and body relationship goes one way. In fact, the passages go both ways. ‘When you choose to put your body in a different mode, it’s harder to drop into depression.’ Meanwhile, in a 2007 study at Colorado College, students with the best sitting posture felt more confident — and scored significantly higher on tests — than those who sat slumped. Interestingly, though, the trend was only true for male students. Women felt more confident if they’d slouched, possibly because men tend to determine how they feel according to internal cues, while women think more about how they look to others — for them an upright posture made them feel pressured and self-conscious. So sit up straight!
Is it time you considered a digital detox?
For those of your who don't know I have a background in IT. This means I am very comfortable with technology and love my smartphone. However I am for once a month to do a digital detox the reason is that I recognise that I live in an "always on" society. I am inundated on a daily basis with social media updates, text messages and emails. What's worse are "always on" society ecpects us to be contactable at all times and to respond immediatley. Its no surprise that research has found a link between heavy smarphone usage and increased anxiety. Did you know that smartphones are actually designed to distract us? They rob our brains of vitally important downtime preventing them from being creative. A digital detox allows my brain to reachage and focus on the present. No one needs to give you permission to go off grid for half a day and you don't need to feel guilty either. A digital detox can start simply as 45 minutes without using a smartphone, laptop, tablet or other device one evening a week and then build up slowly to a couple of hours. I find regular digital detox is hugely beneficial to my state of mind and can be easily incorporated into your routine. Reference https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4500888/

