Migraines – Part 2

Following on from last weeks blog article on the benefits of garlic in fighting colds and flu, I wanted to share more tips on how to reduce the severity of a cold.

1. Take a zinc supplement: Take zinc lozenges or syrup within 24 hours of the start of a cold, as this may reduce the duration of the cold.  The important thing is to take the zinc within 24 hours.
2. Rest.  You body needs rest to heal.
3. Soothe a sore throat.  I personally like to gargle with sea salt water - 1/2 tea spoon of sea salt dissolved in a large glass of room temperature water. Note: This is in appropriate for children as they may not be able to gargle properly.
4. Sip warm liquids.  This could be chicken soup, team or warm apple juice.  Personally I like a wedge of lemon in hot water with a little chunk of ginger sweetened with manuka honey.
5. Vitamin C.   The scientific jutry is still out on Vitamin C. Personally I dose up with 1000mg of vitamin C throughout my cold.  Taking vitamin C before the onset of cold symptoms may shorten the duration of the symptoms.  Vitamin C may provide benefit for people at high risk of colds due the the frequency of exposure.
6. Echineacea.  Study results on whether echinacea prevents or shortens colds are mixed. Some studies show no benefit. Others show some reduction in the severity and duration of cold symptoms when taken in the early stages of a cold. Different types of echinacea used in different studies may have contributed to the differing results.Echinacea seems to be most effective if you take it when you notice cold symptoms and continue it for seven to 10 days. It appears to be safe for healthy adults, but it can interact with many drugs. Check with your doctor before taking echinacea or any other supplement.

Remember that antibiotics attack bacteria but they are no help against cold viruses. References https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/24715076

For most people know they sit all day as part of their job.  Recently there has been a spate of article in the press about the impact of sitting all day, so I wanted to take some time to look at the impact of sitting all day.

Sit up Straight

I want to start this series of articles on a positive note, as most of my clients have to sit to work, the negative impact of sitting is minimised if you sit correctly. As your Mum always said, "Sit up straight", i.e.

• Not leaning forward
• Shoulders relaxed
• Arms close to sides
• Elbows bent 90°
• Lower back should be supported
• Feet flat on floor

So what happens if you don't sit up straight?

As you would expect from a masseur I am going to start by looking at the impact on your muscles.

Strained Neck & Sore Shoulders

If most of your sitting occurs at a desk at work, craning your neck forward toward a keyboard or tilting your head to cradle a phone while typing can strain the cervical vertebrae and lead to permanent imbalances.  The neck doesn't slouch alone. Slumping forward overextends the shoulder and back muscles as well, particularly the trapezius, which connects the neck and shoulders. Here at Vitality Therapy we offer Seated Acupressure Massage to directly address these issues.

Bad back

When we move around, soft discs between vertebrae expand and contract like sponges, soaking up fresh blood and nutrients. But when we sit for a long time, discs are squashed unevenly. Collagen hardens around supporting tendons and ligaments.  So people who sit more are at greater risk of slipped disks or herniated disks.

I recommend the Yoga position cat-cow for increasing your spinal flexibility. (Click here for guidelines on how to do cat-cow.)

When you sit for a long time, a muscle called the psoas travels through the abdominal cavity and, when it tightens, pulls the upper lumbar spine forward. Upper-body weight rests entirely on the ischial tuberosity (sitting bones) instead of being distributed along the arch of the spine.  A sports massage or a deep tissue massage can release a tight psoas muscle.  

Mushy abs

When you stand, move or even sit up straight, abdominal muscles keep you upright. But when you slump in a chair, they go unused. Tight back muscles and wimpy abs form a posture-wrecking alliance that can exaggerate the spine's natural arch, a condition called hyperlordosis, or swayback.  So sitting up straight is the first step to good abs!

Tight hips

Flexible hips help keep you balanced, but chronic sitters so rarely extend the hip flexor muscles in front that they become short and tight, limiting range of motion and stride length. Studies have found that decreased hip mobility is a main reason elderly people tend to fall.  So when you are in the gym remember tohttp://vitalitytherapy.co.uk/wp-admin/post-new.php stretch your hip flexors.

Limp glutes

Sitting requires your glutes to do absolutely nothing, and they get used to it. Soft glutes hurt your stability, your ability to push off and your ability to maintain a powerful stride when walking.  They can impact your performance when you run, as all powerful glutes are the key to increasing your speed and powering you up hills.

I would like to write a series of blog articles on the scientific evidence for massage.  I think it is important to start by stating the obvious that while massage can be studied, not many scientists are interested in studying it and not many massage therapists have scientific training.  This means that massage is woefully under researched.  In addition it is amazingly difficult to find 100 people with the same problem, who need exactly the same massage treatment, so large scale studies are very rare, which means a weakness of most studies is their size. Finally, while, most scientists are interested in how massage works, we don't have to know how something works to know if it works.  I know most of my clients are interested in scientific evidence but equally important is anecdotal evidence, their own opinion and experience of the treatment. What it crystal clear from scientific data and widely agreed upon by massage therapist researchers is that massage

1. Reduces anxiety
2. Reduces depression
3. Reduces stress
4. Reduces high BP

Given that in the Labour Force Survey in 2013 - 2014 it stated the total number of cases of work-related stress, depression or anxiety account for 39% of all work-related illnesses, this makes massage highly beneficial for anyone working in a high pressure corporate environment. Related Blog Posts http://vitalitytherapy.co.uk/blog/anxiety-reduction-massage http://vitalitytherapy.co.uk/blog/hypertension-part-4-massage References Moyer CA. Affective massage therapy.  Int J Ther Massage Bodywork 2008; 1(2): 3-5 Shulman KR, Jones GE. The effectiveness of massage therapy intervention on reducing anxiety in the work place. Journal of Applied Behavioral Science. 1996;32:160–173. Cady SH, Jones GE. Massage therapy as a work place intervention for reduction of stress. Perceptual & Motor Skills. 1997;84:157–158. Hernandez-Reif M, Field T. High blood pressure and associated symptoms were reduced by massage therapy.Journal of Bodywork & Movement Therapies. 1999;4:31–38.