Health

Medical Spa Treatments for Post-Surgical Recovery

Recovering from surgery can be a challenging and uncomfortable process. In addition to following your doctor’s orders and taking any prescribed medications, medical spa treatments can also help you to recover more quickly and comfortably. Let’s take a look at some of the medical spa treatments that can aid in your post-surgical recovery.

1. Massage Therapy

Massage therapy can help to reduce pain, swelling, and inflammation after surgery. A licensed massage therapist can perform lymphatic drainage massage to improve circulation and help the body to eliminate excess fluid that can cause swelling. They can also perform trigger point therapy to help release tension in the muscles surrounding the surgical site, which can help to reduce pain and improve range of motion.

2. Infrared Sauna Therapy

Infrared sauna therapy can help to speed up the healing process after surgery. It works by increasing blood flow and oxygenation to the affected area, which helps to reduce inflammation and promote healing. It can also help to relax the muscles, which can reduce pain and stiffness.

3. LED Light Therapy

LED light therapy can help to reduce pain and inflammation after surgery. It works by stimulating the production of collagen and elastin, which can help to improve the appearance of scars and promote healing. It can also help to reduce swelling and discomfort.

4. Hyperbaric Oxygen Therapy

Hyperbaric oxygen therapy involves breathing pure oxygen in a pressurized chamber. This treatment can help to increase the amount of oxygen that is delivered to the body’s tissues, which can help to speed up the healing process after surgery. It can also help to reduce inflammation and improve circulation.

5. Cryotherapy

Cryotherapy involves exposing the body to extremely cold temperatures for a short period of time. This treatment can help to reduce pain, inflammation, and swelling after surgery. It works by constricting the blood vessels, which can help to reduce inflammation and promote healing.

Medical spa treatments can be a valuable addition to your post-surgical recovery plan. By working with a licensed and experienced medical spa professional, you can choose the treatments that are best suited to your needs and recovery goals. These treatments can help to reduce pain, swelling, and inflammation, improve circulation and oxygenation to the affected area, and promote faster healing.

Pemmican: The Ideal Food for Backpacking and Hiking Trips

Pemmican is a high-energy, nutrient-dense food that is perfect for backpacking and hiking trips. It is a traditional food that has been used for centuries by Indigenous peoples and early settlers in North America, and it continues to be popular among outdoor enthusiasts today. Here are some reasons why pemmican is the ideal food for backpacking and hiking trips:

1. Lightweight and Compact: Pemmican is lightweight and compact, making it easy to carry in a backpack or hiking bag. It takes up minimal space and can be packed into small, lightweight containers.
2. Long Shelf Life: Pemmican has a long shelf life, typically lasting for several months to a year. This makes it an ideal food for longer backpacking and hiking trips, where fresh food may not be readily available.
3. High Energy Content: Pemmican is a high-energy food, providing a significant amount of calories per serving. This makes it an ideal food for individuals who need to perform physically demanding tasks during a backpacking or hiking trip.
4. Nutrient-Dense: Pemmican is a nutrient-dense food that is high in protein, healthy fats, and essential vitamins and minerals. It provides the necessary nutrients to sustain individuals during times of physical activity, stress, and illness.
5. Easy to Prepare: Pemmican is easy to prepare, requiring no cooking or refrigeration. It can be eaten as a snack or incorporated into other meals, such as stews or soups.
6. Versatile: Pemmican is a versatile food that can be made with different types of meat and fat, and can be customized to individual tastes and dietary needs.
7. Easy to Digest: Pemmican is easy to digest, making it ideal for individuals with sensitive stomachs or digestive issues. It can also be a good option for individuals who need to maintain a low-fiber diet.

In conclusion, pemmican is the ideal food for backpacking and hiking trips due to its lightweight and compact nature, long shelf life, high energy content, nutrient density, ease of preparation, versatility, and easy digestibility. It provides the necessary nutrients and energy to sustain individuals during physically demanding activities, and is a great option for individuals who want to pack a nutritious and convenient food source for their outdoor adventures.

Creating a Spa Ambiance in your Home

Spas give you a relaxing and calming feeling and it feels great. Bringing this relaxing effect into our home has many benefits to our well-being and can be achieved easily without having to do a complete transformation. Here are a few tips on achieving this.

What you’ll need

Candles (soft colors, white, beige)

broom/vacumm

mop

cleaning supplies

essential oil(lavander, eucalyptus, peppermint, rosemary, jasmine, grapefruit…etc)

The most important and first thing to do is to clear out the clutter in your home. Clutter makes you feel uneasy, overwhelmed and it definitely does not fit the spa ambiance.

Clean, clean & organize. As simple and silly as this may sound, cleaning your home thoroughly provides a cleansing feeling to your life. Organizing gives you a sense of achievement, order and organization. This may sound like a lot of work and it may be, but trust me it feels amazing once you’ve done it.

Once you’ve cleaned and organized your home. Place scented candles around your home. If you can not find a scented candle that you like, you can put a few drops of any essential oil you like into an unscented candle.

Dim the lights. If you do not have a dimmer, you can simply turn off any harsh lighting and light a lamp that has softer lighting.

Light the candles and enjoy!

Source: Spa in Barrington

Holistic Acupuncture for Preventative Health

As healthcare reform continues to be a leading focus of political and public health initiatives, many Americans continue to seek out acupuncture as a way to not only treat disease but also to prevent disease and improve health. As an ancient Chinese form of treatment, more and more adults recognize the analgesic effects of holistic acupuncture as well as the benefits this form of therapy has upon the immune system. If you are considering ways in which to naturally boost your immunity, it is important to become familiar with the ways in which holistic acupuncture can improve health in the short term and long term.

Generally, there are three areas of physiology that are affected, positively, by the use of holistic acupuncture. In terms of immunity health, the areas affected are most commonly referred to as the local, neuronal and the neurohumoral systems – terms that are going to be important to you as you seek out acupuncture treatment.

Local immunity benefits from acupuncture refer to the areas of the body that are most superficial. These areas of local immunity benefit include the holistic acupuncture points that stimulate the capillaries, nerve endings and the areas normally considered ordinary skin points in acupuncture. Typically, this would be the superficial areas where not much pain or feeling would be sensed.

At a deeper level, holistic acupuncture stimulates the neuronal system by reaching deeper into the central nervous system. When inserted, the acupuncture needle will improve the immune system by eliciting some degree of minor pain. When this is done, the body’s natural response results in the release of potassium and other natural healing chemicals as a defense to the perceived danger the body is in. Logically, the body is not in danger but because the neuronal process activates the lower and deeper levels of the central nervous system, resulting in a release of endorphins and other “feel good” chemicals.

As endorphins are released into the body, the next stage of acupuncture treatment stimulates the third level of immune therapy – resulting in a passing of “feel good” hormones through the blood-brain barrier. When passed through the barrier, the pituitary gland begins to affect the activity of the various other cells, tissues and organs in the body. Ultimately, this leads to better physiological responses which then improve the immune system response.

Acupuncture has long been used as a form of treatment for improving and treating diseases and ailments. For preventative medicine, many adults are turning to acupuncture as a way to reduce healthcare costs – asking for treatment in a tertiary level of care – applying acupuncture to not only the local regions but also the neuronal and neurohumoral regions.

Concerns with Online Counseling

With the growing internet community, several counselors have decided to take advantage of this opportunity to deliver services online. Many people affirm that online therapy is unethical, while others suggest online counseling only differs because the settings of the counseling session is online. It is not being addressed thoroughly, but is being practiced. A lot of mental health professionals are asking the questions is online counseling ethical and how can one ensure that clients are gaining improvements throughout the sessions. Will online counseling be as effective as face to face counseling?

Therapist training concerns: Most counseling programs do not even address the possibility of becoming an online therapist, so with little to none training – can it still be ethical? Online therapists need to be aware of problems that they may have during the counseling session. The therapist needs to guarantee that the client is computer literate. Online therapists should adequately understand word processing and troubleshooting concerns as well as assisting their clients with the same problems. Having access to technological support can help the therapist in an emergency, but he or she should be aware of the confidentiality that can be broken if outside help is used. Confidentiality is not guaranteed when using online resources for counseling. There are firewalls and software that can help minimize problems with confidentiality. The therapist wants to be careful of the speech that he/she uses. A few shortcomings of online counseling are that clients remain unseen; therefore, if the client is intoxicated, you will not be able to smell the alcohol.

Therapeutic relationship: Some researchers have questioned whether or not the therapeutic relationship can be established throughout the online process. According to the article “Suggestions for the Ethical Practice of Online Psychotherapy,” researchers ponder whether or not counselors can show empathy, warmth, and congruence with the clientele. There is extreme caution that needs to be raised if the client is in a domestic violence situation; it could be deadly if the partner retrieves this electronic information. The therapist and client should also have a coded subject line, so other members of the client’s family will not read the personal entries. It is also good to be aware of the online lingo. Many are used to typing in abbreviations, so it is good to be familiar with them to make it easier on the client. Also be aware that the client may send an e-mail, but that through technology timing it may be retrieved late. Online therapists should have the awareness of whether or not the client has internet addiction. Some research suggests that is why certain clientele seek out online therapy.

Client Comfortability: Comfortability from the counselors and the client’s perspective can affect the ease and flow of online counseling. According to the article “Suggestions for the Ethical Practice of Online Psychotherapy,” reasons for people to opt for online counseling is that expansive communication permits people who live in rural areas, people with disabilities, people who are older, and people with social phobia to have admittance to therapy from the privacy and convenience of their own home or surroundings. Specific individuals would like to use online counseling so that they can be comfortable in their own surroundings. On the other hand, some counselors are not trained to do online counseling and may lack their own comfortability within themselves.

In conclusion, online counseling has several things that have to be addressed before practicing. Some things have to be in place before deciding to become an online therapist. For example, a screening requirement must be completed in order to weed out certain clientele. It is critical that the client’s information is identified during the session in case the client expresses suicidal ideation. Some researchers suggest that online therapy should only be performed in conjunction with face-to-face counseling. According to the article “Suggestions for the Ethical Practice of Online Psychotherapy,” most researchers agree that there should at least be an initial meeting, but this brings up a problem if the client is out of the counselor’s state. There tends to be a relative agreement that individuals with severe disorders such as psychotic or bipolar disorders, and suicidal or homicidal clients need to be screened out. It is suggested that the therapist use their best judgment in determining if the clients are appropriate for online therapy. There can also be lots of miscommunication between the therapist and counselor as well, so it may be difficult when developing the therapeutic relationship. Overall, numerous individuals and counseling organizations have dodged conversing about online counseling and lay the responsibility to the online therapist to follow his/her own ethical guidelines and state regulations.

Being Lazy Can Be Harmful To Your Body

You think that by not moving your body you’re conserving energy, well being too lazy to move can actually kill you. According to the study released on a medical issue of the Lancet, inactivity brought death to a stunning 5.3 million citizens of the world on a yearly basis, surprisingly the same mortality rate due to smoking. The most common causes of death for those not receiving the recommended 150 minutes of moderate aerobic physical exercise per week is heart problems, Type two diabetes, bowel melanoma and breast cancers.

We’re always reminded to exercise and constantly being nag about the benefits of being active and staying fit, but few are reminders on the harm in being physically idle or lack of exercise. And so from 16 nations, scientists congregated and released series of issues on inactivity thanks to the Lancet. They’re giving lazy bodies a different approach for people to take it more seriously and they’re like saying “people, it’s not a joke. Get of that couch and start moving!” Or something like that. The group of 33 scientists pulled together from companies across the world also said that government authorities are advised to look at ways to make physical exercise more practical, cost-effective and more secure.

Source: Acupuncture in Arlington Heights IL