Here are some most important facts about rheumatoid arthritis:
About one half of one percent of the population has rheumatoid arthritis, about 20 million people around the world and most of these people (about three-quarters) are women
The condition usually appears in middle life, in the forties or fifties
In rheumatoid arthritis, the synovial membrane lining (joint synovium) in the joint becomes inflamed
Because of the bulk of these inflammatory cells, the joint becomes swollen (swollen join capsule), and feels puffy or boggy to the touch.
The increased blood flow that is a feature of the inflammation makes the joint warm
The cells release chemicals (called enzymes) into the joint space and the enzymes cause further irritation and pain .
If the process continues for years, the enzymes may gradually digest the cartilage and bone of the joint, actually eating away parts of the bone.
This, than, is rheumatoid arthritis, a process in which inflammation of the joint membrane, over many years, can cause damage to the joint itself.
Ted Tanaka, doctor of pediatric medicine in interview also about wearing high heels and their impact on womans body:
For women, it’s hard to escape wearing high heels. Are they really that bad for the feet?
When you raise your heels more than two inches off the ground, the biomechanics of the whole body dramatically change. You force more weight on the balls of your feet, which adds more pressure onto joints and nerves and than changes the pull of the tendons and muscles. Wearing high heels continually over a matter of years can actually cause the calf muscle to shorten and tighten, which can cause arch cramps, achilles tendinitis and knee and hip joint pain. The back can become tired and sore because your muscles will try to keep you in balance.
So you would say don’t wear them?
Not higher than two inches. They look nice, but they aren’t very functional. They’re made purely for for cosmetic reasons – not long walks.
Every year, 1.2 million Americans have a heart attack.
Exercise affects the function of hearth muscle, but it also affects the blood vessels, from the large aortic artery to the large capillaries.
Exercise:
can boost your HDL (“good”) cholesterol
makes the lining of blood vessels more flexible
has beneficial effects on risk factors for heart disease like lipids, blood pressure and insulin sensitivity
If partially blocked arteries are more elastic, they can relax better and send more blood to the heart muscles.
You don’t have to be an athlete to protect your heart.
In a study that tracked nearly 40 000 women for five years, those who walked briskly for at least an hour a week were half as likely to be diagnosed with hearth disease as those who did no regular walking. The risk was even lower for women who jogged or did other vigorous activity.
What’s more, researchers have tested the impact of exercise training on people who already have heart disease.
“If they are assigned to an exercise program, they have a lower risk of dying and dying from heart disease,” says I-Min Lee, associate professor of epidemiology at Harvard School of Public Health in Boston.
Lots of people were asking me lately about arthritis, osteoarthritis and osteoporosis and how exercise helps to prevent or improve these conditions. I decided to do research about these diseases and find the most effective exercise program to prevent or improve conditions caused by them.
1. Arthritis
There are over 120 kinds of arthritis, all of which have something to do with one or more joints in the body. The word arthritismeans “inflammation of the joint.” The problem is that in many kins of arthritis, the joint is not inflamed. A better definition might be “problems with the joint, or the ligaments, tendons, and muscles near the joint.”
Now that you understand what arthritis means, the next step is to understand what a joint looks like and what the various parts do.
Where arthritis attacks
1. Cartilage
The end of each bone is covered with cartilage, a tough material that cushions and protects the ends of the bone.
2. Synovial membrane
Around each joint is the synovial sac, which protects the joint and also secretes the synovial fluid, which oils the joint.
3. Bursa
A bursa is a small sac that is not part of the joint but is near the joint. It contains a fluid that lubricates the movement of muscle: muscle across muscle and muscle across bones.
4. Muscle
The muscles are elastic tissues that, by becoming shorter and longer, move the bones and thus move you.
5. Tendon
The tendons are fibrous cords that attach the muscles to the bones.
6. Ligament
The ligaments are fibrous cords, much shorter than tendons, that attach bone to bone and make up the joint capsules.
When someone says, “I have arthritis,” it means that something is wrong with one or more of these parts. For example, when the synovial membrane becomes inflamed, this is true arthritis. The joint is inflamed. However, if the muscle becomes stretched from overexercise or is injured, this is not arthritis. The joint itself is not affected.
From fitness magazine: A cold water is a better bet than hot bath to help prevent muscle soreness after workout. Immersing yourself in chilled water is like an ice pack for your entire body.
When you exercise, your blood vessels open wider and stay that way for at least an hour afterward. Soreness occurs when waste products like lactic acid settle in your muscles through these dilated vessels. Colder temps constrict vessels, limiting the amount of waste product that accumulates. If you’re feeling brave, fill your tub halfway with cold water and add a bucket of ice cubes. Gradually submerge your body into the water to your waist. Don’t submerge your chest; the extreme temperature could cause injury. Work up to soaking for 30 seconds to one minute (a cold shower won’t yield the same results)
If you really feel brave, try it. It works! I did and I really felt great after. It is good to do it after long exhausting hike, moving furniture, long soccer game or any kind of hard and long physical activity.
From fitness magazine about benefits of jumping-kind of exercise:
You know high-impact exercise builds bone mass, but how much does it take for results?A recent study found that women who did an average of just one 60-minute high-intensity exercise session a week (running at a 7.5-minute-mile pace, jumping and aerobic stepping), as well as two 10-minute workouts (again high intensity), gained small but significant increase in thighbone density.Do your bones good and add sprints, jumping jacks, rope jumping, jumping with weights to your exercise plan two or three times a week for 10 – 15 minutes.
