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PPS and Poliomyelitis

February 21, 2010 – 2:11 pm

What is PPS and poliomyelitis? How is it diagnosed and what are the symptoms and treatment? What is PPS? Post-Polio Syndrome, is a disease that affects the muscles of people who have had polio. Usually 15 to 40 years afterward the original infection Post-Polio Syndrome will strike. The symptoms of PPS are:

– Progressive muscle weakness
– Severe fatigue
– Severe pain in the muscles and joints
– Muscle atrophy
– Breathing and swallowing difficulties
– Sleep disorders
– Intolerance to cold

The exact process by which PPS causes these symptoms is not yet understood however it is thought to be related to gradual loss of nerve cells that make contact with muscle fibers and the loss of nerve messages to those fibers.

During the original polio infection motor neurons are destroyed resulting in loss of muscle function. However to compensate for that loss nerve cells grow extra branches called axonal sprouts which can attach themselves to the muscles that have lost their fortify stock. This allows the muscle fibers to work again, sometimes as well as before.

Some researchers suggest that these axonal sprouts can not hold up forever especially if over exerted. Eventually, the sprouts degenerate causing the muscle fiber to lose their ability to lessen.

While there are no definitive tests for diagnosing PPS, research into the causes and the development of guidelines as being diagnosing, treating, and rehabilitating people through PPS are on going.

Poliomyelitis – Is it still a men health concern?

Poliomyelitis otherwise known to the degree that polio is an extremely infectious disease caused by a virus.

What are the symptoms?

– Fever
– Headache
– Vomiting
– Stiffness in the neck
– Pain in the limbs

Who is at risk?

Immune and partially immune adults and children may still be affected by the polio virus, further mainly its it children under the age of 5 that are affected.

How is polio spread?

Polio is spread by person to person contact. The virus enters the environment through the passing of feces of an infected person, then is spread through contact especially in cases of poor hygiene in less developed areas of the world. It enters the material substance through the mouth and then travels to the intestine and multiplies, then entering the blood stream and striking the forcible system where it can cause paralysis in a matter of hours.

The Polio virus can be carried by people that are immune after having had the vaccine and then be passed on to people in less industrialized countries or to people who have not had the vaccinations or failed to respond to the vaccine.

What happens if your infected?

1 in 200 cases lead to irreversible paralysis. Less than 1% of polio infections result in paralysis. 5-10% of people die due to their lungs becoming immobilized after becoming infected with poliomyelitis. Polio can be widely spread before there are any indications of paralysis. After one becomes infected the virus is shed through feces for several weeks, during which time polio can be spread through a community very very rapidly.

Preventing Polio

Through the 1950’s and 1960’s with the introduction of vaccines polio was brought under control and pretty well eliminated as a public health problem from industrialized countries. While polio can be prevented by vaccination, there is still no cure for polio. The polio vaccine is given multiple times and usually protects children for life.

Today through most of the world the disease has been eliminated with only seven countries remaining polio-endemic, 98% of all cases today are found in India, Niger, and Pakistan.

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How to Deal with Stress with Hypnosis

February 20, 2010 – 10:41 am

The two important approaches when it comes to dealing with a stress complaint in a hypnotherapy session with a client. There are two main approaches that should be used to help clients deal with stress in a hypnotherapeutic session since stress is caused by two ways. Stress that is caused by means of the environment, or by forces outside of the person, and the other being through the individual’s interpretation or responses to experiences or outside influences.

Ego strengthening – This method is important and necessary but in the majority of cases it only deals with the symptoms of stress and not the actual causes of it. If by the use of ego strengthening the stresses are cured or fixed then it would highlight the certainty that the external influences that did form the original stress are largely minor or scanty. If upon the other hand the use of ego strengthening only succeeds to bring short term gains it may highlight the fact that the client has a self image problem. Someone with a self image problem can he helped by using ego strengthening suggestions in a hypnosis session such as “in every way in every day, you are getting better and better at being calmer”

Stress Management – Regardless of whether ego strengthening practices have been used in the hypnosis, most people who suffer stress need to determine ways in which the stress can be limited and removed. In most cases it’session difficult to remove oneself from the causes of stress but talking by a client to help them limit their exposure to the stress can have positive results. For example, one that suffers from stress due to over exposure to a working environment may be helped by decreasing their working hours and finding ways in which to ‘enjoy themselves’ through participating in hobbies and the like.

At our clinic at Hypnotherapy Melbourne we see a lot of clients with lots of stress related problems and issues. Stress can destroy our mind and our immune system. Get it looked at if you’re struggling through the effects of urgency.

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Get Fit With The Help Of Your Child

February 19, 2010 – 3:47 am

Most women gain weight after a pregnancy. This extra fat is hard to shake off, as most new mothers hardly find the time to take care of themselves.

There is hardly enough time to exercise and the excuse of breast-feeding the baby, is enough not to diet.

Most women carry their child at around 12-18 months of age. That’s the time the child has learnt to balance and walk independently. This could be the perfect time to lose weight. In fact your child could help you get back into shape.

Surprised? Well you needn’t be. Your child is learning to explore the world on his two feet. Join him in his new adventure and lose some weight in the bargain.

The mere act of playing with your child and running around with them can help you burn calories. Take you child out to the community park and become a child with him.

Teach your child to run and jump in the park. Run and jump with him. Teach him to become an airplane with his arms spread wide and zoom around the park.

Have fun with your child. Roll around on the soft grass, play, jump, and hop and run around with your child. Your child will love you for being a child like he is and also learn these gross motor skills.

A balanced diet and good eating habits along with all the physical activity that you do with your child can help you burn plenty of calories and lose some weight too.

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Slow Burn Pilates? What Is That?

February 18, 2010 – 2:44 am

Slow burn Pilates is a nice and steady movements that are more effective and yield quicker fitness results than do Pilates otherwise.

This fitness class involves massaging one’s back by lying on foam rollers and doing bicep curls using flex bands, just performing all the movements slower and more steadily.

Slow burn Pilates is as effective as regular Pilates in strengthening, toning and sculpting the body, except that the emphasis here is on slow and steady movements.

Connie English, proponent of Slow Pilates suggests that going slower rather than faster yields better results. Less is more she says. Slow Pilates stresses on safety rather than speed and also seeks to make a qualitative effort as opposed to quantitative ones.

The practitioners of this variety of Pilates concentrate on balancing correctly and in more controlled, conscious moves.  For instance flex bands that are used for bicep curls slow down the movement, but at the same time add resistance and therefore intensity to the workout. Increased physical coordination and flexibility is achieved through proper form used with deliberation.

A program that stresses on ‘Slow’ in a fast paced world may take some getting used to, but it is seen to work; the trick is to find out what works for each individual and what does not.

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