Posts tagged Alternative medicine
Learn Qigong quickly and easily at home
If you are reading this then you have already made the important decision, you are looking at qigong as a way to improve your life. Whether you are researching qigong as a way to improve your physical health or mental well being it doesn't matter, what matters is that you have taken the first step.
The big question when someone starts studying Qigong (or most other natural health processes) is "Will books on Qigong be enough?". Books are much cheaper than personal instruction in just about anything, but are qigong books going to be as much help as a personal qigong teacher?
Whether you choose to use books on qigong or find a personal teacher who will guide you through the gradual stages of qigong training depends on many things. Do you have a qigong teacher in your area, being the main one but of course there are other reasons that you may choose to learn from books rather than from a personal teacher.
If you do not have a qigong class near enough to you or you just want to try and learn qigong at your own pace using books then you will need to put some time aside not just to read the book but to actually try out the lessons you read. Reading your qigong book in bed is good but it is also necerssary to re-read the book at the time when you are ready to do the exercises.
Having a regularly scheduled time when you will do nothing but study and practice qigong will help you to stay on your desired course. This regular schedule is why many people join classes when they want to learn anything, it isn't always possible to find a qigong class so the only other option is to learn it yourself through books and DVD's.
Don't be tempted to jump from one page to the next and skip a few pages of the qigong book along the way. When you look at the book with a couple of hundred pages it can be tempting to look further into the book
Take your qigong book with you to the space that you are going to use to study and exercise, the space you use for your qigong lessons should be somewhere quiet and undisturbed. It can be hard to absorb all the information you need to if you are constantly being interrupted so pick not only a quiet place but a time of day when you are least likely to have people calling you or needing your assistance.
Ankylosing Spondylitis Treatment by Physiotherapy
Ankylosing spondylitis belongs to a group of disorders called the spondyloarthropathies, a group which also includes psoriatic arthritis, reactive arthritis and arthritis related to inflammatory bowel disease. All these conditions are linked by the genetics of a gene on white blood cells called HLA B27 and by the presence of enthesitis, inflammation at the points where ligaments and tendons insert into bone. This can lead to fibrosis at these sites and then bone formation, causing joint fusion (ankylosis) in some cases.
The commonest spondyloarthropathy is Ankylosing spondylitis, which occurs as a reflection of the occurrence of the HLA B27 gene in the population. The gene occurs much less commonly near the equator and much more commonly in northern latitudes, and this is also the pattern with the development of AS. White race people are more commonly affected with around 0.1 to 1.0 percent overall, varying with latitude. Only 1 or 2 people of a hundred with the HLA B27 gene actually develop AS, but if they have a close relative who has the condition the likelihood rises to 15 to 20%.
Three males to every one female is the ratio of patients with Ankylosing spondylitis, as female patients may have much less obvious symptoms and so be missed from the diagnosis. Young men are the commonest presenting group with most consulting a doctor before they are 40 and up to 20% before they are sixteen years old. 25 years is the average age that someone goes down with the symptoms and is uncommon to find a diagnosis of AS in a person over fifty. It is easily overlooked as it can look like mechanical back pain if care is not taken. On questioning how they are in the morning, a typical answer is very stiff.
Low back pain is the major diagnostic alternative but AS patients are generally younger and the inflammatory process leads to different symptoms:
Morning back stiffness lasting half an hour and often longer Back pain improved with exercise Back pain worsened with rest Night pain later on in the night Other joints may be affected Fatigue is common Active inflammatory disease can cause systemic affects such as unwellness, weight loss or fever
On examination the physiotherapist can find a stiff lumbar spine with reduced movements from normal, postural abnormality such as a flat lumbar spine and an increased thoracic kyphosis. In later stages neck movements may also be involved and chest expansion will be reduced from normal. In the third of patients who get peripheral involvement, enthesitis develops in areas subject to mechanical stresses, the most common being the insertion of the plantar ligament in the foot and the insertion of the tendo Achilles to the heel. These areas will be palpated by the physio to help confirm the spread of the disease, helping to focus the treatment plan later on.
The physiotherapist initially notes the postural changes which have occurred in an AS patient such as any spinal deformities, round shoulders, bent knees or an increased cervico-thoracic curve and poking chin posture. The physio will record ranges of movement of the spine and include the neck, thorax and lumbar ranges, also assessing any peripheral joints which may be affected. Any entheses which are reported as painful are palpated to confirm the presence of an inflammatory process, and if the AS is very active then the physiotherapist might also find effusions in the joints, perhaps with a feeling of unwellness, night sweats and poor rest.
Physiotherapists will concentrate on treating the inflamed areas first such as the areas where the ligaments insert into the bone, using insoles, cold, ultrasound and stretching techniques. Routine spinal range of motion exercises are taught to patients with an emphasis on getting to end ranges, concentrating initially on the anti-gravity muscles such as thoracic and lumbar extensors. Neck rotation and retractions and thoracic rotations are also important functional movements not to lose. Patients should rest themselves in good postures such as prone or supine with only one pillow, to avoid accentuating the typical spinal deformities. Treatment for AS in a hydrotherapy pool is beneficial and soothing and patient education important so they keep up their programme.
