Archive | February, 2012
Article

Purchasing an Overhead Traction Unit

Traction is one of the most accepted medical treatments for helping people get relief from pressure on the spine or other parts of the body. An overhead traction unit provides a way to get relief from the pain caused by some of the most common injuries in the modern era. For example, there are a great many people who have trouble with their necks because they work at computers all day and because they end up putting the entire weight of their head on their neck and their shoulders as they lean forward to see the screen. An overhead traction unit can help reduce the symptoms of the injuries that this type of stress causes.

If you’re working with a healthcare professional that recommends that you purchase an overhead traction unit to get more relief from your pain, you’ll want to make certain that you consult with that professional about any products that you find. You can usually find products for affordable prices on the Internet. These are easy to operate; some of them use a water pack to provide the weight, making it easy to adjust how much force is exerted on your head.

A good overhead traction unit shouldn’t need to be replaced for a very long time. In addition to this, these units are quite affordable, so you don’t have to worry about this being one of the medical supplies that cost a lot of money and that end up making it difficult for you to pursue an effective treatment to a condition that is causing you pain and suffering. In fact, considering the benefits that you’ll get out of using these devices properly, the cost is really quite negligible.

Make sure you have a proper set up for installing one of these devices. They come with instructions that tell you everything you’ll need and, for the most part, it doesn’t take anything more than the most basic handyman skills to set up one of these devices. Most people should be able to do it within an hour. Once you have one of these devices ready to use, you can use it as much as you need to, in accordance with your doctor’s instructions. Simple devices like these, that don’t cost that much money and aren’t difficult to use, can provide very real relief from some of the most debilitating issues that stem from the chronic conditions that result from illness or from injuries.

Article

The Empi TENS Unit as a Tool for Pain Management

There are always new developments popping up in the chiropractic industry. Reading the regular chiropractic industry news outlets, you can see how electrotherapy has become a standard practice across the board. If you aren’t familiar with the newest TENS devices making waves in the industry, you ought to read about these incredible machines, which could separate your practice from the rest and put you among the industry’s elite.

For example, an Empi TENS unit is a device that chiropractors are making sure is part of a modern office’s repertoire. The use of electrical currents when treating muscle damage and other types of impact wounds has been around for decades, something that was attempted by army physicians during World War II. Chiropractors familiar with the practice will know that these devices can help people suffering from chronic pain.

Once someone gets used to taking medication for pain, he or she may give up on the hope of getting better. They become dependent on prescribed drugs to make them able to work without becoming distracted. However, there is no reason why one needs to accept this fate as permanent. Using an Empi TENS unit in your office, you can help reduce the pain felt by a patient and in some cases decrease or eliminate the amount of medication he or she must take.

Transcutaneous Electrical Nerve Stimulation (TENS) is the electrical pulse that delivers this relief. Looking at the options in Empi TENS unit products and other TENS units, you will see that your office can acquire these devices and offer them as a service to patients every day. In fact, chiropractors can advise a patient on an affordable device to be used for relief in between office treatments. Showing patients you care about them beyond the dollar signs will help you develop a strong bond that could lead to years of loyalty.

After all, if you think about why you got into the business in the first place, you’ll recall that it was the desire to help those suffering from back trouble and other maladies. Relieving pain is the motivation behind any chiropractor’s career choice. Knowing the pros and cons of the different TENS devices will help you achieve that goal. Since the technology can improve quickly, make sure your information stays current. As soon as you fall behind the times in the industry, you will find yourself wondering where your patients went.

Article

A Cervical Pillow Will Give You Relief

Suffering from constant shoulder or back pain is no picnic. When you are constantly aware of aches and pains in your body, going about your daily business can be ten times harder than it has to be. You might be able to get some relief by visiting a chiropractor. Having a chiropractor give you adjustments can be seriously beneficial. However, you can’t go to the chiropractic therapist everyday. In the meantime, you can learn about things that you can do to get relief in between chiropractic sessions. One small thing that you can do to help give yourself relief is purchase a cervical pillow.

One of the primary causes of back and shoulder discomfort is sleeping positions. The way that you sleep every night could have a serious effect on the way that you feel during the day. Most Americans do not get the proper support from their beds and pillows. When you are not giving your body the proper support that it needs, it can translate into serious pain and discomfort. A chiropractor can fix this momentarily. However, if you really want to put an end to your suffering and discomfort, you should change the way that you sleep every night.

One way that you can really make a difference in your sleeping habits is by purchasing a pillow that will give your neck and spine the support that it needs. When you purchase a cervical pillow, your neck and spine will be supported so that they will stay in a position that will keep you from experiencing pain. When you use a cervical pillow you will not need as many appointments with a chiropractor. Instead, you will be able to keep yourself aligned all by yourself. You may also consider purchasing a new mattress designed with spinal support in mind.

You can find cervical pillows and learn about mattresses by going online. When you use the Internet as a medical resource, you can find all of the supplies that you need to keep yourself healthy and pain free. You can also use the Internet to read information about back pain and back support so that you can learn about other steps that you can take to keep yourself as pain free as possible. Whenever you go online, it is important that you know that you are practicing safety. Contact the Better Business Bureau before purchasing supplies from a site online.

Article

Many Patients Prefer the Activator Chiropractic Tool

A visit to the chiropractor’s office should not be brought on by an accident. Chiropractic treatment is beneficial to people who are both injured and healthy. The misalignment of the spinal cord is called vertebral subluxation, and while the main cause of this is sports injuries and car accidents, it could also be brought on by sitting for long periods of time or from other activities that put strain on the vertebrae. In many cases, the individual may not know that the spinal column is misaligned but may have symptoms in different areas of the body.

Chiropractic therapy has been known to help people with disc problems, shoulder pain, knee pain and neck pain, amongst other medical conditions. Healthcare professionals trained in this arena have the ability to pinpoint the misalignment in the spine and conduct the proper techniques for realignment. This often involves positioning the patient several different ways to create access to certain areas of the body. Some patients prefer a more physical approach to their treatments, while others prefer a more gentler or low force approach.

One of the instruments your chiropractor may use treat your condition is The Activator chiropractic tool.  This tool is used to administer adjustments quickly and comfortably for the patient. This form of low force treatment is safe for patients of all ages, and is recommended for use with children and seniors. The Activator chiropractic tool used in conjunction with other techniques by a skilled chiropractor can have a significant influence on a patients overall health. Some patients report a decrease in symptoms immediately after treatment.

When visiting a chiropractor for the first time, be sure to ask questions about their personal approach and make sure you understand the difference between a high physical and low force treatment. A high physical treatment normally does not involve any instruments, only the chiropractors’ hands. During these sessions the patient will be able to hear the joints being realigned in their body. For some, this type of therapy is too intense. The Activator chiropractic tool is a more suitable solution for low pressure therapy.

Chiropractors are available in virtually every city. You should be able to find one in your local business guide or by searching an online health resource. Take time to research your condition and the chiropractor that you plan to hire. Education is the best way to prepare for your first visit.

Article

Learning about Physical Therapy

If you have been in a car accident, sports injury, or any other sort of physical trauma, there is a high chance that you will require physical therapy.  Physical therapists help you feel better and help you regain your mobility and comfort back through a series of exercises, stretches, and other various treatments.  In order to provide the most effective treatment most physical therapists utilize physical therapy equipment that is specifically designed to help you regain control of very specific body parts.  Some examples of equipment that is used in physical therapy sessions include exercise balls, treadmills, whirlpools, and others.

Sometimes physical therapy is similar to massage therapy.  Not all trauma injuries require the patient to regain control of a body part.  Sometimes simply manipulating the muscle and tissue on a regular basis is enough to rid the body of pain and allow the patient to continue on with their life as normal.

There are many kinds of physical therapies, but they are all based on rejuvenating your body and mind and getting you feeling the best you possibly can.  Massage releases endorphins, which cures pain naturally, allowing you to reduce your intake of pain relieving pain medications. Instead you feel better without becoming dependent on harmful pills.  By manipulating the muscles and tissue a well-trained physical therapist can work out the tightness and pain in all parts of your body.

Physical therapy is one of the most ancient forms of holistic healing in the world.  The act of rubbing something to make it feel better dates back to the caveman days and today it is more prominent than ever.  We have developed many techniques and methods that make physical therapy more effective than ever before.  These days, if you have had an injury or traumatic experience, there will be a specialist available who has made a career out of learning how to get you back on your feet and feeling as good as new.

While going through physical therapy may be a trying experience, in the long run you will benefit greatly from it.  Physical therapy can even help you learn new exercises and ways to increase your strength and health naturally.  Many times physical therapy can be performed at home by you or your loved one, making it a very convenient healing method.  As you can see, learning about physical therapy is the first step in the journey to recovery.

Article

Physical Therapy Supplies Needed to Be Successful

When a physical therapist finishes schooling, he or she often has to shop around and find the perfect place for work, whether opening their own practice or joining an established one. For those that wish to enter the business solo, there are a number of physical therapy supplies they’ll need to purchase in order to completely service their clientele. Having these allows a physical therapist to handle even the most complicated cases and patients.

For hand and arm strengthening and manipulation, few items beat putty, bands and tubing. These weigh very little and can be easily stored, yet provide the same amount of resistance as their free weight equivalent. Bands and tubing use rubber or polymer construction to provide resistance and can be used for thousands of exercises. Putty comes in prepackaged resistance weights, usually color-coded. Putty brings back the fine motor coordination and strength needed for everyday tasks.

Bedding and towels are also an absolute must. No matter how small an office, a physical therapist should always have a comfortable bed for patients when they need rest or recuperation. This makes it easier to recover from an intense workout session. Towels are always necessary since physical therapy can be very intense. These should come in a variety of sizes, from simple hand towels to massive bathing towels.

A staple of the physical therapist office is the topical analgesic Biofreeze. Not only does this provide intense and instant relief from muscle soreness and strain, but when used before a workout, actually helps increase the strength of the muscle and numb the body to soreness. It works by increasing blood flow to the applied area, speeding up the healing process. It comes in gel, spray, roll-on or tube units and can be applied during a workout or at home for “homework” rehabilitation.

Electrical muscle stimulation devices are a handy but slightly expensive addition to physical therapy supplies. These allow trained specialists to individually stimulate muscles to relieve pain and build strength. Suited perfectly for patients unable to perform many traditional exercises, they have come down dramatically in cost over the last decade.

These are only a few of supplies needed to get a successful physical therapy practice started, but will provide a good start in getting the business off the ground. Although the initial investment might be substantial, the majority of the equipment is reasonably rugged and will last for years or even decades.

Article

Pumping Iron with Finger Weights

When someone is feeling chronic pain in any part of their body, the first thought that comes to mind is probably not exercise. Taking an aching body part and putting it through the rigors of a workout may not sound like optimal treatment. Yet, that is exactly what many health professionals recommend. One unusual workout you may be surprised to hear about is finger weights. These clever finger sized weights have been made in response to the need for innovative workouts that cater to individuals suffering with chronic pain in their fingers and hands. The finger weights have been of special help to those who cope with arthritis.

Of course, a workout for your fingers may not be what you were expecting to get when you see your health care professional for arthritis. The image that most people have of arthritis is of people with limited mobility and who are unable to handle daily tasks with ease. So, why finger weights?

The idea behind finger weights is not to create a high impact workout but instead high-intensity exercise for the muscles. While a high-impact workout can cause an arthritic flare up and increased pain, a high-intensity yet low-impact workout has been shown to be very beneficial for the sufferer.

Since the hands and fingers are a common location for arthritis to settle in, a need for exercise equipment that caters to these body parts was required. The finger weights are simple and easy to use. They also do not require the user to wear them for extended periods of time. Finger weights are meant for short bursts of intense exercise. They are not meant to be worn while doing daily tasks.

Arthritis health news has been shedding light recently on the importance of exercise for sufferers. For many years, persons with this frustrating disease were encouraged to take it easy and essentially avoid any kind of strain. However, the benefits of arthritis specific workouts with the aid of things like finger weights have been proven to yield positive results. A few of the health benefits that have been noted are increased stamina, reduced pain, improvement in swelling and better mental disposition.

Though arthritis may limit how much exercise someone can do, with gradual progression, many people are seeing results that offer them more mobility and freedom. This news comes as a relief to many sufferers who may have felt that the only options left to them were medication and a very limited lifestyle.

Article

The Importance Of Medical Supplies

Much like any other business out there it is important that medical providers are able to stay up to date with the latest in medical supplies as well as medical news in order to manage a successful hospital.  Buying medical supplies isn’t going to be as simple of a task as purchasing equipment for any other type of industry though.  Medical equipment is much more advanced than say equipment that you are going to find at any other common business.  Most businesses are going to be able to get away with somewhat dated equipment.  Obviously it can’t be anything that is more than a few years old, but for the most part the equipment required isn’t going to change that much in a few years time, and the equipment itself is going to be used for relatively simplistic tasks, so there are only so many advancements that can be made in such a short period of time.

With medical equipment it is going to be a little more different.  Yes, there are many pieces of equipment out there which are going to be specialized for a few basic tasks, but the majority of medical equipment can be adapted to suit many different purposes.  When tending to patients medical providers are going to be working with the assumption that each patient is going to be unique.  Yes, there are going to be many instances where the standard tests and procedures are going to be enough to treat these patients, but there are always going to be at least a few cases where standard procedures aren’t going to work for a patient, which is when having adaptable medical equipment is going to be key to tend to those unique patients.

Medical equipment is of course not going to be of any use to medical providers if they don’t know how to best use that equipment, which is really where staying up to date with medical news really comes into play.  Medical news is just going to do more than provide information on the latest in medical equipment, something which is awfully important in its own right when you consider the fact that medical companies are going to be quite biased when they are advertising their products.  Really though, where medical news shines is providing medical providers with new information on how to tend to their unique patients, offering techniques and the like which may very well save lives.

Article

The Medical World

When it comes to hospitals and other medical buildings the last thing that people are going to be thinking about is competition.  Really, what is going to first ever come to mind when people are thinking about hospitals is patient treatment.  For the most part this is going to be all that people need to think about when it comes to hospitals, as obviously their main concerns are going to be that hospitals are there to provide them medical care whenever they need it, not really caring too much for the inner workings of the hospital.  The simple fact of the matter though is that hospitals are going to operate in a similar fashion as any other business out there, even if they acquire their funding in a different fashion.

Hospitals are going to be in direct competition with each other because the more patients that they have, then the more likely they are to get funding.  Getting additional funding means that they are going to be able to buy more medical supplies, which is something that will be able to ensure that they are able to continue to draw in more patients, which just means more medical supplies and essentially ensures that they are always going to be receiving the right amount of funding to stay in practice.

While medical supplies are certainly something that are going to be able to give hospitals an edge over their competition that equipment isn’t going to do them any good if they don’t know how to properly use them.  One of the complications that doctors face when tending to their patients is that there are going to be many instances where patients aren’t going to always respond to the basic and standard treatments, so sometimes they’re going to need more specialized equipment.

This is where having the latest in medical news is going to come into play.  Medical news is something that is always going to be coming out, and something that doctors are always going to have to stay up to date with.  Once a doctor has graduated from medical school they are far from being done with their education and are going to constantly have to stay up to date with the latest findings as well as case studies.  A big part of practicing medicine is being able to do research as the medical field is constantly evolving and changing.

Article

Tips for Selecting Blood Glucose Meters

For diabetics who are insulin dependent, and for those who do not rely on insulin, blood glucose meters are an important tool for keeping track of blood sugar levels to prevent problems from occurring and to maintain health. Before we go over some top tips for choosing the meter that is right for you, we’ll take a quick look at how the newest meters work.

How Standard Blood Glucose Meters Work

Most monitor models are designed to work with a sample taken from the tip or side of one of your fingers, and most of these work in a similar fashion. First, you insert one end of a compatible test strip into the device, following the manufacturer’s instructions. Next, you prick a pre-cleaned fingertip with a lancet in order to draw a drop of blood for the test. You then carefully touch the protruding end of the test strip to the drop of blood, and wait a few seconds for the blood glucose reading to either appear on the screen or be announced by one of the “talking” models. After this, either you can log the reading in a special book, or you can save it with a blood glucose meter that stores hundreds to thousands of records to be shared with your doctor at your next appointment.

How Alternate Test Site Meters Work

Alternate test site blood glucose meters work in the same way as standard models do, with the exception that they are designed to measure blood sugar levels from other body parts, such as the palm of the hand or the arm. If you are interested in alternate testing, be sure to talk to your doctor before you purchase a meter. Some people cannot use alternate test sites.

Choosing the Blood Glucose Monitor That is Right for You

Selecting from the many blood glucose monitors available on the market might seem like a daunting task at first, but once you take some time to ask yourself just a few questions, you’ll find that narrowing the field and making a selection is much easier. Begin by deciding how much you want to pay for the meter and the test strips it takes, and find out how much of the cost will be absorbed by your insurance company. Next, decide if you want any special features, such as logging ability, or the ability to download information to your cellphone or computer. After this, just select a model and compatible strips, and you’ll be well equipped to monitor your health.