Exercises to Help Manage Back Pain

 Source: Exercises to Help Manage Back Pain

When we suffer from back pain all we want to do is sit still in a position that doesn’t cause pain. But in fact, this is liable to worsen it. Strengthening the muscles in other areas helps support the body and takes weight off the spine, leading to better posture and less pain. SomTetimes when we begin exercising and we have back pain, we can feel a pinching or another slight pain. But as your muscles grow in strength back pain and pain while exercising should decrease. If you feel a significant pain lasting for longer than 15 minutes during the routine call your physician.
Be sure to stretch and warm up a little first. Avoid toe touches however. This exercise stresses the ligaments and disks in the spine and could make your pain worse. If you have lower back pain, partial crunches are good. They will strengthen the muscles in the back and stomach. Here you lie on the floor crossing your arms in front of you. You tighten your abdominal muscles and lift yourself up. Take a breath every time you rise and breathe out as you descend. Don’t use your elbows or arms to lift up. Make sure your feet are flat and that your tailbone never leaves the mat. Do eight to 12 of these and slowly increase as you get used to doing them.
Sit-ups are actually not so good. They put pressure on the spine and only really exercise the hips. Hamstring stretches are good for the back. Lie down and take a towel about the size of a hand towel with you. Put it on the middle of the bottom of your foot. Extend your leg out slowly and hold on to each end of the towel, guiding the leg up. Hold for 30 seconds then bring it down again. Do each leg two to four times. Practice these and you’re bound to notice the difference.
Talk to your doctor before taking on a new regimen of exercises for your condition, and see which ones are right for you. For serious conditions a physical therapist may be necessary. For others, a personal trainer who knows how to accommodate back conditions also proves helpful. Exercises that are not recommended for your condition could actually make it worse, so make sure to discuss the issue at length with a professional.

Protect Yourself this Cold & Flu Season

Temperatures are dropping and the holiday season is upon us! 

Although we’re immersed in quite a magical time of year, it’s also the beginning of cold and flu season. Not so magical after all!

When you have lupus, you have to take extra precautions to protect yourself from viruses. Not only will you feel horrible from the illness itself, but the virus could potentially provoke a flare! A double whammy during such a busy time of year! Not to mention, the use of strong immune suppressants may put some of you at a higher risk for contracting a virus. This is because the goal of lupus treatment is to suppress an overactive immune system so that it does not produce auto (self) antibodies that cause lupus symptoms. When your immune system is suppressed, you have the potential for increased chances of catching viruses and infections.

With that being said, what are the best ways to avoid catching a cold or the flu? A good starting point is to discuss the annual flu vaccine with your doctor.

While nothing is 100% fool proof, some simple steps you may want to keep in mind to help lessen the possibility of getting a cold, the flu or other viruses include:

• Avoid anyone- including family members- with symptoms of fever (over 100° F), nausea, vomiting, or diarrhea. Specifically you should avoid close, personal contact such as hugging, kissing, and shaking hands.
• Wash your hands (tops, palms and fingers) frequently with hot, soapy water for at least 15 seconds.
• Remember that surfaces- especially in bathrooms, on shared office equipment, on store countertops, gas pump handles, any surface of the car, and in restaurants- can expose you to germs. Keep alcohol-based gel or wipes handy, both out in public and at home.
• Avoid touching your eyes, nose or mouth. Germs spread this way
• Shield coughs or sneezes with the crook of your arm. Do not use your hands or handkerchiefs as they carry moisture and spread viruses.
• Stay home from work or school if you are sick.
• Please remember that you should never discontinue medications used to treat your lupus without first consulting your doctor!

Soup from Scratch is Easy

Posted on November 8, 2015 by Andrea Lewis

Vegetable and Chipotle Beef Soup

We make soup stock all winter long by saving chicken bones and pieces of vegetables in a bag in the freezer. You know those ends of carrots, green peppers and other veggie bits you don’t eat? Well, don’t toss them. Save them up and then once you get enough, put them in a pan and cover with filtered water and simmer for a few hours on the stove or in a slow cooker. Then strain it and you’ve got the basics to make a great soup. Keep in mind, for best flavor you probably want to keep cruciferous vegetables to a minimum when making stock since they tend to give up off odors when boiled for a long time.

Soup stock made this way contains minerals like magnesium and potassium that are very easy for your body to absorb. Since many of us are deficient in magnesium this is a good thing. And you also have control over what goes into it. You add the salt, avoid MSG (aka yeast extract and many other names) and make it with organic ingredients. Plus it does not cost anything but the power to cook it!

The soup pictured  has a stock made from chicken bones, celery bits, carrot ends, red pepper tops, bay leaves, fresh rosemary from my garden and a few other vegetable bits. Once I strained the stock (and tossed the solids) I added celery, zucchini, tomatoes, chard, garlic, salt and other seasonings. You can also add meat. In this case I had some beef sausage from the farmers market that I cooked in a pan.

If you start making soup from your own soup stock, you’ll be pleasantly surprised how good it can be.

4 Steps to Manage Your Lupus for Life

1. Learn About Lupus - Learn as much as you can about lupus and the effects it can have on your body. Don't be overwhelmed or angry as you learn. Since lupus is a disease of varying issues it's important to know that every lupus journey is different.

2. Know Your Lupus ABCs - A - Know ALL of your tests and levels. Work with your doctor to find out what tests they are taking and why. Keep on track of your levels as they show inflammation and other things that happen in your body. B- BLOOD PRESSURE If your blood pressure gets too high, it makes your heart work too hard. It can cause a heart attack, stroke, and damage your kidneys and eyes. C - CARING for your self. Find out how you can properly care for yourself while battling lupus on a daily basis.

3. Learn How to Live with Lupus -It is common to feel overwhelmed, sad, or angry when you are living with lupus. Learn to cope with lupus through limiting your stress, eating healthy, being active and sticking to the plan of treatment every day.

4. Get Routine Care to Stay Healthy - See your health care team to find and treat any problems early. You will see many doctors, so make sure you are communicating well with every doctor and keeping them in your lupus loop together. Don't feel intimidated to be your best healthcare advocate.

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Lupus Transformation

This lupus transformation through cocoons of pain is hard. You can’t deny it and you can’t ignore it. You can only understand that this difficult but beautiful metamorphosis will create a strong butterfly of change, power, bravery and strength in you.

Originally posted on Lupus In Color:

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