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Is Your Loved One Being Treated for Cancer? Here Is What They Need the Most :
When a loved one has been diagnosed with cancer, it can be tough to know how to support them. Even the physical and mental toll of treatment can be hard for your loved one, but the smallest of gestures can mean the most during this time of need. If someone you love is being treated for cancer, here are some simple ways you can love and support them. Help Them with Household Tasks For people going through chemotherapy, even the simplest of daily tasks can be a challenge to complete. If your loved one is struggling with the effects of cancer treatment, try taking some stress off of them by helping out with some household tasks. You can take their dog for a walk, pick up their yard, or simply take the trash out every week. If they are unable to shop, pick up some essentials and household supplies. A little help around the house can go a long way in helping a loved one who is dealing with a serious illness. Encourage Positive Stress Relief Practices The physical, emotional, and spiritual impact of cancer treatment can be overwhelming. Athletes who are used to dealing with stress through activity may find themselves turning to less positive methods. Patients are dealing with such high levels of stress, and it is important to find healthy ways to relieve the pressure. A meditation room can be a wonderful addition to your loved one’s home, so help them create their own relaxation space. Meditation has been shown to have positive effects on those dealing with cancer, and may even support treatment. You can help them put a meditation space together with a few simple touches to soothe stress and pain associated with their treatments. Offer a Ride to Treatments Performing simple tasks after a chemo session can be challenging, even for athletes. Driving a vehicle can be downright impossible. If you know your loved one will be going to treatment, offer to give them a ride to and from their appointments. You can even attend the session with them and help get their mind off treatment with some activities. When your schedule is too busy to offer a ride, think about picking up some ride share gift cards to help them with transportation to treatments and appointments. Put Together Some Healthy Meals Proper nutrition is key for those going through cancer treatment. A balanced diet can help support your loved one’s treatment and help them feel better, but they may be unable to make meals themselves. You can work with friends and other loved ones to put together some meals for the duration of treatments. Throw together some easily re-heatable casseroles to bring all at once, or organize a meal train to keep food and company flowing. When making meals is not possible, try offering gift cards for food delivery or grocery delivery services. Be Willing to Really Listen Cancer can bring on so many different emotions. One of the easiest, yet hardest, ways you can be there for your friend is to simply listen. They may want to talk about how cancer has weakened their bodies, their fears of dying or other unpleasant topics. Allow your loved one to express themselves freely, but be aware of warning signs that depression may be taking hold. Depression is a common concern for cancer patients, so encourage your loved one to seek support if you think they may have more serious issues. Get Them Out Every Now and Then Physical limitations of cancer treatment can be especially challenging for athletes. But physical activity is also important to recovery, so encourage your loved one to create a new routine of gentle exercise. You can go on some relaxing walks together or attend a yoga class. Yoga has other benefits and can be a welcome addition to any athlete’s physical fitness routine. These are just some simple ways you can show your love and support to a loved one dealing with cancer. You don’t have to make any big gestures; simply being there will mean the most. Scott Sanders is the creator of CancerWell.org, which provides resources and support for anyone who has been affected by any form of cancer. He is also the author of the book Put Yourself First: A Guide to Self-care and Spiritual Wellness During and After Cancer Treatment.
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Patient came to seek treatment for complaints with hiatal hernia and heartburn. Patient is an avid athlete, involved with surfing, kite surfing and paddle boarding all year long. His symptoms started 3 years ago and patient was told to follow a low acid diet and was given medications to control his heartburn symptoms. However he did not want to rely on medications and was wondering whether acupuncture could help his symptoms. Upon questioning he revealed that he had a kite surfing injury 3.5 years ago where he got slammed against his board and broke his ribs in the front. He never got proper treatments for it and decided to let the ribs heal on their own, because “it wasn’t that bad and I didn’t want to stop surfing in mid July” Upon checking his posture, he displayed a forward tilt of his pelvis and a noticeable bump on the fractured site. After all his ribs never really healed properly (ouch).
For treatment I picked Motor Points of the low back, the core and the pelvis to help correct his postural alignment, I used Trigger Points to release the diaphragm (it twitched a lot!) and I also used Traditional Acupuncture Points to calm his nervous system and to support his overall digestion. We sealed the treatment with this exercise: After a few treatments patient reported lessening of his original heartburn symptoms. related post: Broken rib treatment with acupuncture and herbs
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 Potatoes are considered one of the most completely nourishing foods if eaten with its skin. Also great for neutralizing body acids which help relieve arthritis, rheumatism, inflammations, stomach and duodenal ulcers. The juice applied externally help healing burns. In Chinese Medicine it is said that potatoes increase the yin aspect of the body and improves one's receptive, nurturing and compassionate nature.
Do you often get injured while you are training? You got the best shoes, invested in the fancy newest gears but you still finish your long training sessions with knee or dull low back pain? Or perhaps you are experiencing daily tension headaches, fatigue, difficulty breathing, digestive disorders? Did you ever think the source of your pain may be coming from your posture? And did you ever think that by paying attention to your body mechanics you could possibly completely eliminate your pain and discomfort? Your body works at its best when it is in its correct postural alignment. So what is the optimal posture?
pictures found on google. please email for credit In an ideal world (sideview) the ear, shoulder, hip bone and the ankle bone are stacked one on top of the other. From the front the shoulders, hips, knees and ankles are in one straight line, facing forward, feet are stacked under the hips.
The body is symmetric; this way the forces are spread evenly between the muscles and joints. Every deviation from this ideal posture predisposes you for discomfort, pain & arthritis and possible nerve impingement. You may ask, if good posture is the most energy efficient way to stand and sit then why is it harder to stand straight than to slouch? When you want to change your posture, at first, maintaining good posture will be difficult because your postural stabilizing muscles are weak and fatigue easily. And the “slouching muscles” (muscles always work in pairs) are too strong, overacting and pulling you out of alignment. To fix this, you have to reduce the tension in the muscles that are overacting. This will reduce the need for the postural muscles to work extra hard. And you will also need to strengthen the postural muscles so they're able to hold the better, new you. In time, - I promise - posture correction feels more natural and becomes progressively easier. Posture correction, in itself, is a legitimate exercise that most people don't like to do because it doesn't offer the feeling of an aerobic workout. But with correct alignment and good posture, your workouts will be more efficient, you will feel more energized, less likely to get injured, and to top it off you'll look and feel more confident. Correct your body mechanics, get the strength your sport requires. The best gear and fancy toys can wait.
Here is a quick break down on what and how much fluids should you be consuming before - during and after your exercise:
The Chinese Medicine’s view on drinking: You probably have heard that in Chinese Medicine drinking cold beverages - in fact anything cold is generally not recommended because cold fluids and foods are believed to slow down organ functions, contracting, slowing, shrinking and causing stagnation. Picture a frozen river! Nothing is moving. Chinese Medicine is advocating for drinking room temperature or even warm liquids. Hot water and warm water improves circulation and blood flow and reduce painful contractions of the muscles. Do you have painful periods and cramps? Drink warm water. Having hard time getting pregnant? Give up your iced coffee - you want to provide a warm home (uterus) for your growing baby. Do you feel sluggish or bloated or have abdominal pain? Guess what! Give up iced drinks and cold foods. Chinese Medicine also believes that drinking cold water after exercise shocks the organs and does not aid in helping the body to properly and naturally cool down. During exercise, internal body heat moves to the body’s surface causing sweating and hot exterior sensations, while in fact the interior has become cooler (that is why you feel cool after a long exercise session). Drinking cold water aggravates this already-cold interior. Switch to warm water and have your body cool down naturally.
 You train hard to be the best version of yourself. Adding supplements that claim to boost your performance and give you a mental or physical edge can be very tempting. An almost never-ending array of products advertise their performance-enchancing (ergogenic) properties. But be careful, there is so much misinformation out there:
- Dietary supplements are regulated differently than conventional foods and drugs. Manufacturers are not required to prove that a supplement is safe before it is sold, or even that it works. The FDA can take action to remove or restrict the sale of a supplement only after it has been on the market and been shown to be unsafe. - Most products advertised as having ergogenic properties do not, and those that do work would lose their ergogenic properties if you followed a diet plan that satisfied your energy and fluid need. Most supplements are taken to counter ongoing dietary shortcomings. Think about it, it is cheaper, safer and more effective if you correct your diet. (For example: the amino acid delivery from protein and amino acid supplements is more than 10 times more expensive than the consumption of a small piece of chicken or meat and the chicken is known to be safe. Also: a single ounce of meat provides about 7000mg of high quality amino acids vs a typical amino acid supplement provides only between 500-1000mg.) - Long term safety studies have rarely if ever been performed. - Many herbs sold as ergogenic aids have no known chemical content or known active ingredients. - The legality of some of these products is also in doubt. Studies have shown that many of the supplements are laced with banned substances not listed on the label. Regardless of whether this contamination is purposeful or a result of poor quality control, this could place you at a risk of failing a banned substance blood or urine test! Takeaway: Instead of focusing on a magic bullet - take a safer, cheaper and more realistic approach:
Always support growth and improve your performance naturally. Use supplementation only when real foods are not practical or not available. Marine advocates for veterans, one record at a time: last year 5862 pull-ups in 24hours, this year flipping a 450 pound tire up on 5th Avenue. All in an effort to motivate fellow veterans to make the same dedication to their health and fitness as they did to their country.
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CANCELLATION:
To ensure a consistently high level of service, a 24 hour cancellation policy applies to every appointment. If you cancel with less than 24 hours notice or "no show" for your appointment the full price will be due. Late arrivals may result in a shortened treatment time. 
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