Help for walkers and runners AND Alerts on your prescriptions

Okay . .it's time for the sneakers to hit the pavement. Tomorrow's the RACE FOR THE CURE and the Family Fun Walk.

If you're a newbie you may not be familiar with how to stop side stitches in their track.
It's not fully clear why we get that nasty pain .. although many experts think it's because of tension on the ligaments that attach the diaphragm to the organs below, particularly the liver.I want to share an article from ACTIVE.COM .. written by Frank Claps, M.Ed., C.S.C.S.
.." When you exhale, the chest cavity contracts and pulls the diaphragm upward. This pull coupled with the jarring of the organs strains the ligaments and causes the pain.
To relieve a side stitch, slow down to an easy walk and gently press your hand upward on the right side of your abdomen just below the rib cage to lift the liver. If the stitch is really bad, lie on your back with your hips and knees elevated to relieve pressure on the diaphragm. To prevent the pain, take longer, deeper breaths. Short, shallow breathing places more tension on ligaments. A full stomach also stresses ligaments during exercise, so avoid eating or drinking too much a couple of hours before running."

Hope that helps .. ( I find the pressure coupled with some strong breaths out, works well)

Have a great time this weekend at the race and if you get a chance, post a response after the event to let me know how it went.
See you all at the finish line with big smiles!


THE SECOND STORY:

This looks neat. Got a heads up from a firm today about something called IGUARD .. basically, you sign on and enter the names of any prescribed medications you're taking. If there's an alert or update, you get the skinny delivered to your inbox. Not bad. You might want to check it out at www.iguard.org

Relaxation: it's not an indulgence

Okay, do you chew on events of the day?

Not a good thing.

A new study on stress finds mulling over issues that occurred earlier only increases stress and can lead to taking it out - the anger- on others.
The key, move thoughts in another direction- it can allow irritation to fade away.
Just a couple of pointers in a study looking at the importance of relaxation.
The report in the Mayo Clinic Women’s HealthSource finds relaxation is a vital process that decreases wear and tear on the mind and body.

It's important to make relaxation a regular part of your day whether it's through meditation, taking a walk, journaling or massage.

Regular relaxation helps reduce heart rate, lower blood pressure, increase blood flow to major muscles, reduce muscle tension, reduce headache and back pain, improve concentration and reduce emotional responses such as anger and frustration.

So go smell the flowers - the hippies were right.

Sleep: finding the happy medium

If the kids, pets or spouse get you out of bed earlier than you'd like, thank them.
A large study finds 7-8 hours is the optimal amount of sleep. Much more or less can increase your risk of death ( before your time) .
The Finnish study looked at a host of other studies to reach this conclusion. They particularly focused on men.
Interestingly, snoring had no bearing on these results and while the effect of sleep on mortality varied by age, the strongest effects were seen in young men.
So, make hay while the sun shines applies even nowadays.

btw, the study is in the latest issue of SLEEP

Mammography and Ultrasound

Today marks the start of breast cancer awareness week and with that in mind there's a new study out looking at the effectiveness of mammography along with ultrasound. The short answer is YES, it does find more cancers BUT it also yields more False positives meaning you may have a few days of worry or extra testing.
If you want to check out the entire study check out:
http://www.newswise.com/articles/view/533827/?sc=dwtr