Spas For Your Health

In the earliest times, spa meant either a place where you drank water for you health or a place where you went and bathed yourself, again for your health and relaxation.

Taking the waters in the seventeenth century could either have involved drinking some quite vile tasting stuff as it bubbled out of the ground - once you have tasted the waters at Bath in England, you will never forget it - or wallowing in water in one of many different ways. An early German text book on spas suggests that there are over 300 ways to take a spa, some of them involving some very odd positions and odder practices such as being blasted by a high pressure hose.

An 18th-century advertisement for the waters at Bath in England proclaims that they can cure 'forgetfulness, the pox, lethargies, the scratch, rhumes and weakness of any member'.

Nowadays it is generally agreed that spa means a place where you can bathe and relax and have a massage and generally indulge yourself. And come out feeling a much better being. The British International Spa Association, in their newsletter of Spring 2002, defines a spa as 'a place where therapeutic treatments are given using healing waters'. Which is a good working definition.

There has always been a lot of anecdotal evidence that spa treatments are especially good for musculo-skeletal problems, including arthritis and backache but also for metabolic and digestive disorders.

Plainly, it is understood that a session in a spa and a massage will help relieve stress and anxiety, especially if your mobile phone is in the dressing room, but has anyone proved that it does anything else? Is there evidence that a spa is good for you, does improve your well-being. For a long time it was all anecdotal evidence.

The Greeks and the Romans had a civilization almost built around the bath. In Japan, the hot bath and massage has a great and long tradition. In Europe the spa, probably named after the German town of Spa which, yes, has spa baths, has been popular as a cure for what ails you for centuries.

Even in Britain, where bathing was never considered a social essential, in the 18th century there were 200 mineral springs and healing wells and spas throughout the country. Most closed over the last century, although the habit of bathing in public baths remained in place until about 1950.

Now spas are coming back all over the world. And a spa and a massage is a great and wonderful and relaxing experience.

But is it good for you? Will it help a healing process? Will it relieve problems?

Very little research was done. It was taken for granted. Then, according to Gerhard Strauss-Blasche at the University of Vienna, Austria, in the 1960s scientific literature on spa therapy began appearing mainly in German scientific journals. But there was activity in other places as well.

The Dead Sea has often been named as an ideal spa. The Israeli Journal of Medical Science has an article which refers to ten years of controlled studies which have 'demonstrated that treatments provided at the Dead Sea have a positive effect on patients with inflammatory arthritis such as rheumatoid and psoriatic arthritis, and on non-inflammatory arthritis such as osteoarthritis.' It was found that even Dead Sea salts dissolved in regular bath water were effective to a degree, 'although to a lesser degree than when applied at the Dead Sea area itself.'

Then a group of Italian scientists found a link between the therapeutic application of thermal mud and subsequent increased beta-endorphin and decreased stress hormone levels, suggesting a possibility that reduction of inflammation and pain could result in lowered stress. Other studies have shown improvement of lower back pain with effects sometimes lasting up to a full year.

Gerhard Strauss-Blasche and his associates have recently published three articles. The first examined the overall effects of spa therapy on well-being, gives us a basic understanding of the traditional European spa approach. The other two projects looked at the contribution of individual spa therapies in the reduction of chronic pain.

In the first article on well-being, which came out in 2000, the team wrote that spa therapy could be considered a medical approach for treatment of non life-threatening chronic disorders.

They also pointed out, "Next to the treatment of the specific disorder, the second generally acknowledged aim of spa therapy is to increase and sustain well-being. Study results indicated an immediate and significant general improvement in physical and emotional well-being from beginning to end of a spa treatment. Although the study refers to a stay of more than a week at a spa it came to the conclusion that 'spa therapy may be a powerful tool in enhancing well-being in progressed middle-aged adults with common health ailments."

The reports state that just being in the spa environment, away from the stresses of normal life, is likely to have therapeutic effect.

Which is why we go to spas.

Arthritis Treatment: What Is Tendonitis?

The definition of a tendon is that it is a tough band of connective tissue that connects muscle to bone and is capable of withstanding tension [Wikipedia].

Tendon disorders are ubiquitous among Baby Boomers. Together with bursitis, ligament injuries, and muscle disorders, afflictions of these areas are termed "soft tissue arthritis."

In a future article I will discuss the treatment of this condition. In this article I will talk about what tendonitis is. Tendons consist of a matrix of collagen and proteoglycans (complexes of proteins and sugars). Within this matrix are cells called fibroblasts which are the cells that manufacture tendon tissue.

Tendons have a unique structure. Tendon fibers are wavy, stretchable, and strong. Tendons act as springs transmitting forces of muscle to bone and provide stability and efficiency.

Tendon disorders arise as a result of repetitive activity, exertion, exposure to vibration, mechanical stress, and prolonged static posture.

Tendon problems occur through a sequence of events including an initial injury, followed by degeneration of tendon fibers. Inflammation is rarely seen in chronic tendon injury. As a result the term "tendonitis" is a misnomer. The proper term is "tendinosis."

Tendons prone to injury have "watershed areas", areas with poor blood supply. Examples are the Achilles tendon, the lateral epicondyle of the elbow, the rotator cuff, and the posterior tibial tendon of the ankle.

Other common sites for tendinopathy are the biceps tendon in the shoulder, the outside of the wrist, fingers, and hips.

Some tendons have a sheath around them. The tendons move inside the sheath. The sheath is lined by synovial tissue, the same tissue that lines the inside of joints. What this means is that sometimes the sheath can become inflamed. This is called "peritendonitis" or "tenosynovitis". The tendon is not inflamed but the sheath is. The problem here is that if the sheath gets inflamed, the tendon cannot move freely inside the sheath; it gets "stuck". An example of this would be a condition like trigger finger, where inflammation of the tendon sheath causes the finger to get stuck.

One complication of tendinopathy is tendon rupture which can be catastrophic. Risk factors for tendon rupture are: kidney disease, steroid therapy, rheumatoid arthritis, gout, and the use of fluoroquinolone antibiotics. This latter risk factor is one that few people know about. These antibiotics are frequently used to treat upper respiratory and urinary tract infections. Examples would be drugs like Cipro or Levaquin. Unfortunately, they are also a risk factor for tendon problems.

How Can You Get Rid of Arthritis?

Many people suffer form join pain and inability to move their limbs because of arthritis. Generally arthritis is caused to the aged people but now irrespective of the age many of the people have this disease. Arthritis is a common health condition which will result in many other ailments. This disease will cause pain, stiffness and swelling in the joints.

Mainly the elbow, hip and knee joints are prone to this disease. The pain in the joints will be severe and the patient will be unable to move. The inflammations are causing the pain and this can happen to any parts of the body. There are many kinds of arthritis and they can happen in both men and women.

One of the essential things to prevent arthritis is to take diet rich in all essential nutrients and vitamins. This will improve the immune system of your body and reduce the chances of getting arthritis. You will have to take certain essential nutrients if you are suffering from this disease. This can be overcome by a balanced diet.

Another effective method to cure arthritis is to take herbal anti arthritis pills. These herbal pills have proved to be effective for a wider range of arthritis and other related diseases. You can consume these products as they are completely made of natural herbs. They contain no artificial chemicals in it. All the components are organic which has the least chance of causing allergies and other side effects. The anti-inflammatory property of these herbs will give a great relief from the pain for a longer period of time.

Erosive Osteoarthritis

Erosive arthritis affects multiple small joints of the hand. Patients who have never had a trauma or injury and do not have any history of metabolic or inflammatory condition are the ones who are diagnosed with erosive osteoarthritis which is classified as primary osteoarthritis. X-ray of the affected joint is the most effective test for the diagnosis of this condition.

Erosive osteoarthritis is the most prevalent form of osteoarthritis. Though the disease is not uncommon in men and women, but particularly people in their sixties are the most susceptible to this condition. It is believed that it often occurs mostly due to genetic traits. It usually occurs in women after their menopause but no clear relation with the level of hormones in the patient and the onset of the disease has been established as yet.

In the early stages of the disease, the treatment usually aims at reducing the enormous amount of pain caused by the various conditions brought forth by the disease. Attempts are also made towards reducing the load felt by the joints. Using walking sticks and weight loss programs are common methods for doing the same. Mobilization of the joints, through prescribed exercises is also a part of the treatment at this stage.

In the intermediate stage of the disease is osteotomy, which is a surgical operation where a bone is cut to lengthen, shorten or change its alignment. This operation is usually performed for younger patients.

In the later stages of the disease, the incessant pain requires drastic methods of treatment. In such a case, Arthroplasty is performed on patients over the age of 60. It is a surgical process in which a malformed or degenerated bone is either replaced or reconstructed. However, this operation is not suitable for treatment of younger patients as the demands placed on the affected bones physically are much greater and many a times, the surgery is only a temporary remedy.

Arthritis Cure - How to Beat Osteoarthritis Pain Through Your Diet (Part 1)

Osteoarthritis, also known as degenerative joint syndrome (DJD), is the most common form of arthritis and by far the most prevalent form of joint inflammation. More than half of adults over age thirty suffer some form of it. In fact, it affects about 16million Americans.

Osteoarthritis results from the breakdown of the cartilage between the bony surfaces that form affected joints. This degeneration leads to bony growths ('spurs') next to affected joint. Cartilage in joints deteriorates from stress, overweight, or injury and typical trouble spots include the fingers, feet, knees and hips.

The main symptoms of osteoarthritis are pain and stiffness. These symptoms can be greatly minimized by the eating habits or diets of its sufferers. There are different types of food you can incorporate into your diet to help you fight the scourge. They are categorized as follows:

1. Antioxidant-Rich Foods

Antioxidants help in fighting free radicals in the body. The free radicals roam about the body, attacking and destroying healthy tissue, including the tissue found in the joints.

Vitamins A, C and E, as well as the mineral Selenium, are powerful antioxidants and they are readily available.

Vitamin A, beta carotene and the carotenoids are found mostly in apricots, sweet potatoes, pumpkin, carrots, mangoes, papaya and dark-green leafy vegetables. It is also found in liver, turkey, and milk.

Vitamin C is a powerful antioxidant in many fruits, such as grapefruit, papaya, kiwi, pineapples, tomatoes and red peppers. Fruits and vegetables should be as fresh as possible. Only cook or microwave them for a short time if you have to, because vitamin C is heat-sensitive and easily destroyed by cooking or processing. Cutting these foods after cooking those (rather than before) helps to maintain the vitamin C content

The primary sources of vitamin E are vegetable oils such as sunflower and safflower; sunflower seeds, nuts, avocadoes, wheat germ, whole grain breads and cereals, peaches, spinach, broccoli, asparagus, dried prunes and peanut butter.

Selenium has been proved to help keep the immune system functioning properly, apart from its antioxidant activity. Good sources of selenium include salmon, tuna, swordfish, sunflower seeds, oysters, shrimp, and cracked wheat bread.

The mineral Boron also possesses some antioxidant properties although it is not considered a true antioxidant. It is important in maintaining overall health and helps to keep some cells from releasing free radicals. Studies have shown that people whose boron intakes are low have more risk of developing osteoarthritis.

Good sources of Boron are apples and cauliflower with their skins.

If you choose to take these antioxidants as food supplements, the recommended daily doses are as follows:

Vitamin A- 5000IU
Vitamin C- 500- 4000mg
Vitamin E- 100-400 IU
Selenium- 55-200mcg
Boron- 3mg for adults

Hip Arthritis Symptoms - How Can I Tell If I Have This Disease

When an individual suffers from hip arthritis, she or he will, under most circumstances, have a condition known as osteoarthritis which a particularly common form of arthritis, and which is often sometimes called wear-and-tear arthritis and even degenerative joint illness. This form of hip arthritis is distinguished by steady damage to the cartilage of an individual's joints and when the cartilage that protects the joints becomes worn out due to such a kind of arthritis, the bones become exposed in the person's joints leading to a great amount of trouble.

Though anybody can have hip arthritis, it is usually related to folks that are 50 years old or older, and the issue is also more ordinarily seen in patients that are large, and also that when the same person starts to lose pounds there's a gentle improvement in the condition and indications of arthritis begin to fade away. Doctors also believe that hip arthritis can be caused due to genetics and so if you belong to a family in which someone has this form of arthritis, then you may be in danger of affected by the same.

There are certain other considerations too that will result in a person to be afflicted by hip arthritis and these include having shock with the hip and even due to fracturing of bones that are located close to joints. There are certain symptoms that you're going to notice if you suffer from hip arthritis and these symptoms have a tendency to get worse as the condition deteriorates further.

However, it's also not true the symptoms will become worse with the passage of time and it can happen a patient has some months that are good so far as their status is concerned while other months may turn out to be bad, and symptoms might also are influenced due to changes in the weather conditions. So , hip arthritis symptoms spotted on a selected day may not appear on other days, and they could also not be a correct illustration of the way in which the condition is progressing.

Common indicators of hip arthritis include agony when performing activities, limitation to how much somebody can move about, hips becoming stiff and needing to limp while walking. It's also advised to be treated as fast as the symptoms appear, and the treatments can either are very basic in some instances, while other examples may even warrant surgery to be performed. In any case, you'll need to get expert medical recommendation to grasp what the best treatments for your personal case of arthritis warrants.

Understanding Arthritis - Part 1

The term arthritis literally means 'inflammation of the joint/s'. There are around 206 bones in our body and each of them forms a joint with another bone. So a joint is made up of two articulating bone surfaces which are covered with a cartilage. The space between the two bones - the joint space, is filled with a fluid known as synovial fluid. The synovial fluid is secreted by a membrane present in the joint known as 'synovium' and the function of the synovial fluid is to lubricate the joint and ensure smooth movements. Inflammation or long term damage to any of these structures is likely to result in arthritis.

The first symptom of arthritis would naturally be painful joints. The site of the pain is according to the joint affected and more advanced the disease worse will be the pain. In some cases, particularly in arthritis of the joints of spine, nerves may become compressed between the affected joints leading to pain which will be radiating away from the joints into the area of supply of those nerves.

Arthritis is divided into two main sub types depending on the underlying disease process. First is inflammatory arthritis; most of the causes of arthritis like rheumatoid arthritis, ankylosing spondylitis, infective arthritis are of inflammatory origin. In this type of arthritis the person's own infection fighting cells come and attack the joints. The second is degenerative arthritis which results from the wear and tear of the joints over a prolonged period of time, the most common example of this type of arthritis is osteoarthritis.

The different types of arthritis have their own specific symptoms and signs.

Here are some of the medical terms that are used.

• Monoarticular: arthritis affecting only one joint
• Polyarticular: arthritis affecting more than one joint.
• Migratory: arthritis moving from joint to joint.
• Small joints; joints of the hand and feet
• Large joints: any other joints besides hands and feet.
• Contractures: abnormal and permanent contraction of the muscle surrounding the affected joints, resulting in severe limitation of movements.

INVESTIGATIONS

The diagnosis of arthritis is based mainly upon the history and examination. However in most cases certain tests are done.

• Tests for rheumatoid factor (RF): the major value of RF is to confirm the diagnosis of rheumatoid arthritis.
• ESR and C reactive protein: provide a guide to the activity of inflammation. These are blood tests with little diagnostic value but are very useful to monitor the response of treatment.
• Blood uric acid level: good confirmatory test for gout.
• Synovial fluid exam: synovial fluid is drawn from the joint with a long needle and examined. This test is of particular importance if infective arthritis is suspected.
• Antinuclear antibodies (ANA): these are a variety of antibodies including (ANCA), anticardiolipin antibodies, antibodies against double stranded DNA. The level of each of these antibodies rises in specific types of arthritis.