Vinyl windows for your house

If you are at all curious about learning more about replacing your windows with vinyl ones this video is helpful.

Energy efficient vinyl windows provide a lot more benefits that just saving money, your home will be:

1. quieter
2. cleaner
3. safer

 

Really cool video on the power of words.

Well done video.

http://youtu.be/Wgi0t2ap-us

 

Icing for Inflamation of Illiotibial Band

I read a blog post recently by a woman who was experiencing knee pain when she ran. She set about to self diagnose the cause of her pain and the treatment. She use the Runners World Where Does It Hurt guide (which is a pretty cool injury diagnosis tool by the way) to determine her pain was caused by osteoarthritis which is a degeneration of the cartilage, along with IT (Illiotibial) Band pain.

Further research led her to a treatment plan. She also smartly adopted a prevention element into her plan. Her plan involves tretching and strengthening exercises, along with compression and warmth to the area to increase circulation and healing.

She purchased a knee compression sleeve to wear during her runs which she said took some getting used but helped tremendously. She also added a Jillian Michaels workout to her plan to help strengthen the area and prevent further injury.

Her plan sounds solid, especially the proactive elements of stretching and strengthening. She should also consider using ice therapy for 20 minutes after her runs to reduce the inflammation to the area. If she used a knee ice wrap she could apply the ice therapy while she could ice her knee without having sit or lie down for 20 minutes.


You can read her post here.

Icing is a "Miracle Worker" for Knee Pain

I read an article recently by Adam Friedman, CSCS, CN, CMT who is a kinesiologist, certified strength & conditioning specialist, certified nutritionist, and certified massage technician. In the article he laid out a four step process to treat the symptoms and cause of knee pain. One of the four steps he discussed was icing. He called icing a "miracle worker" when done religiously. About the only to ice religiously is with a knee ice wrap. not only are they way more convenient than a bag of ice cubes but they are more effective too.

Below is the excerpt about icing from Adam's article.

Ice: Do this as soon as possible after activity for 15-20 minutes daily to reduce the pain and inflammation. An inflamed knee may or may not be noticeable to the eye, but is most likely present if you’ve recently had knee pain. Otherwise the healing will be much slower. Icing promotes a healing environment, and is a “miracle worker” when used religiously for pain.

You can read the compete article at http://www.smmirror.com/?ajax#mode=single&view=31876

Knee Injuries and Kids

If you have kids that play soccer or any other sport, knee pain is a real concern. This article talks about some of the various types of knee injuries kids can sustain and how to diagnose the different types of injuries and the recommended treatment. Do your kids a favor, keep a knee ice wrap in the house to treat soccer or other sport related knee injuries. Prompt ice therapy can often reduce the severity of the injury and related recovery time so your youngster can get back in action quicker.

Knee Pain in Young Soccer Players

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Knee Pain in Young Soccer Players

Overview

Children who play soccer are especially susceptible to knee pain and injuries. The knee, one of the largest, most complex joints of the body, potentially can twist into the wrong position with each kick of a soccer ball. If you suspect your young soccer player has a knee injury or if he is complaining of pain, consult your child's doctor.

Adolescent Anterior Knee Pain

Adolescent anterior knee pain is pain that occurs in the front and center portion of the knee. This problem is often the result of poor alignment, over-training, heavy participation in sports or overuse. Adolescents are susceptible to this type of knee pain because of muscular imbalances in the quadriceps and hamstrings, poor flexibility, improper training techniques and poor alignment of knees, hips and ankles. Pain may occur at night and during participation in weight-bearing activities. A young soccer player may also hear a popping or crackling sound in the knee. Adolescent anterior knee pain is treated conservatively with rest, ice, exercises and anti-inflammatory medications.

Osgood-Schlatter's Disease

Osgood-Schlatter's disease, inflammation and swelling just below the kneecap, is another common cause of knee pain in young soccer players, especially adolescents. Pain in the front and top portion of the knee is an indicator of Osgood-Schlatter's disease. Children feel pain as they run, jump, squat, climb stairs and stretch their leg muscles. Osgood-Schlatter's disease is also treated conservatively. Treatment may include rest, ice and stretching the calf and hamstring muscles. Surgery is rarely required to treat this condition.

Osteochondritis Dissecans

Osteochondritis dissecans -- OCD -- can be aggravated by participation in soccer. This condition is the result of a bone fragment that causes pain, swelling, locking and irritation in the knee. The exact cause of this condition is unknown, but physicians believe it can occur as the result of previous trauma to the knee. OCD can be treated conservatively with rest, medications and activity modification. Surgery is also an option to remove the fragment. The recovery from surgery for OCD lasts four to six months.

Other Causes of Knee Pain

Youth soccer players can be stricken with a wide variety of other painful knee ailments that range from mild to severe. These include growth plate fractures, tumors, infection, patella dislocations, juvenile arthritis, knee deformities and meniscal injuries. Knee pain can also be the result of hip pain. It is very rare for children to sustain ligament injuries such as damage to the anterior cruciate ligament or ACL. Children with ligament injuries are treated in the same way as adults -- with surgery to repair the damage.

References

• American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons: Adolescent Anterior Knee Pain
• KneeClinic.com: Knee Pain in Athletes

Testimonial for Using a Quality Ice Wrap Made for Knees

Below is a great testimonial to using quality, body specific knee ice wraps instead of a bag of frozen peas, a zip lock of ice cubes, an all around ice wrap or even a cheap body part specific ice wrap. When you consider how much longer a quality wrap will last, how much better it will work and the fact that you will most likely use it more often because of how convenient and well it works you will soon find it was money well spent.

Review: Activewrap, the Mack Daddy of Wraps

Because when when you’re a runner, sometimes you need a little ice.

But hey, a wrap’s a wrap and ice is ice right? Who needs a fancy schmancy wrap when you’ve got frozen peas anxiously awaiting you in the freezer?

Not so fast there. Well…ok, maybe in a pinch a random bag of ice (or your favorite frozen vegetable) will do. But come on now, we’re running moms here. Do we really have time to sit around and ice? Me…not so much.

I bought a real actual (cheapo) ice wrap for my knees (sensitive little buggers) last year in training for my marathon. Bought it from Meijer for around $12-15 (best I can remember). But you know what they say, “you get what you pay for,” and that I did. I could never seem to get that wrap just exactly the way I wanted it and if by chance I did happen to get it just right, it would slide right down within taking a few steps. And really, if I’ve got to just sit down while I wear it, I might as well just use that bag of peas after all. On top of all that, it’s pretty much completely falling apart now. Awesome.

So when Ashley from ActiveWrap contacted me to see if I’d like to give one of their wraps a try, oh yeah. I was all about having a little upgrade. Wait. Scratch that. When you go from a clunker to a Cadillac, “little upgrade” isn’t an entirely accurate description. I moved waaaaaay up.

These wraps are heavy duty baby. The minute I opened the package and took a look at the knee wrap, I could just tell it was really solidly made, which is probably why they feel totally comfortable putting a warranty on their wraps.

There are three parts to these wraps: the hot/cold pack (you can freeze or microwave it for cold OR heat therapy whichever you desire), the bag you slip the pack in, and the outer wrap that you attach the bag to via some serious velcro then wrap around your knee. 

Besides the fact that I think this sucker is going to last a REALLY long time despite the ridiculous number of times I may be using it, here’s what I LOVE about these wraps:

1.) You can wrap them really tight around your leg so it doesn’t move if you walk around, but it’s not so tight that it’s uncomfortable.

2.) The cold part of the cold pack doesn’t get bunched up in any one particular area. It stays spread out all across the area you are icing.

3.) You get two cold/heat packs. With my other wrap, there was only one. I’d always forget to put mine in the freezer when I was done using it. Then the next time I needed it, I’d pretty much be screwed. While really you can ice anytime, it’s not nearly as effective as icing immediately after you finish running. So having to wait an hour or so for my cold pack to freeze up kind of seemed like a waste. I’d just use something else. But with ActiveWrap, I’ve always got a cold pack ready to go.

4.) They are REALLY REALLY cold. And yeah, I know cold is cold, BUT if you happen to be wearing running tights,  you can just strap that puppy right over top of your clothes and let me tell you, it is PLENTY cold. You can ice right through a pair of blue jeans if you have to. (I know this because I did. See the picture)

5.) You can adjust the position of the hot/cold pack within the wrap because of the various locations of velcro so you can get it right where you need it.

So all and all, this wrap gets two thumbs up for me and I am super excited to have it for my next marathon. Unfortunately, I only received one so I don’t have another one to giveaway. I could give away mine. But really, who’d want a wrap I’ve worn it on my sweaty smelly knee a fee times? (ahem…ok. Maybe it’s also completely washable and I just REALLY REALLY want to keep it. Can you blame me? My other one is falling apart for crying out loud!)

BUT I hear you can possibly score yourself a little discount if you follow along on Twitter or you like ActivWrap on Facebook. So you might want to check that out. Also take a peek at their website if you get a chance. You’ll find more detailed information on all their wraps for just about any body part that might cause you some grief for being an athlete and far better pictures than I was able to take with my silly little camera phone.

Big thanks to Ashley & the good people at ActiveWrap for giving me the chance to try out such a sweet product for runners. And especially thanks for all their patience, waiting around for me to write this review. I got the wrap in the mail just prior to the plague hitting and here a month later, I’m finally getting around to writing the review and letting you all know what I thought.  I’m sure they were starting to wonder if I just took their wrap and ran. Literally. If Ashley is representative of what their customer service is like, you all should go buy a wrap just to chat with them. So friendly, polite, and did I mention patient yet? Just an all around good company. Seriously, go check them out when you can.



P.S. So maybe no ActiveWrap giveaway, but there’s still a few hours to get in on that No Snow Snuggler giveaway for your little ones. Speak now or forever hold your peace (and toddler with frozen popsicle fingers as you carry them into the house sobbing because MOM, they want to play in the snow gosh darn it and for more than a few minutes! Details on that one here. And don’t forget the newly announced CaptivCrochet Giveaway for the grownups too!

P.P.S No my foot is not a freaky shade of glowing white. Nor is  that a digitally imposed foot. That’s just the flash people making it look all bizzarro. The flash.

Be Careful with Gel Ice Wraps Around Pets and Kids

Don't let this happen to you. Before your dog or child bits into a gel ice pack replace all your with food grade ice packs like those from Pro Ice. Their ice packs are made from same formula used to ship frozen foods and are completely for human or pet consumption.

Puppy Bit Into a Gel Ice Pack

He is a 4 month old shih tzu
He bit into the packet but by the looks of the packet, it doesn't seem like he may have ingested any of the plastic
HOWEVER, we do not know for sure if he ingested any of the blue gel substance inside the packet.
The brand of the gel ice pack was "Rapid Relief Hot/Cold Gel Pack" and it said "non toxic"
I think he may have ingested some seeing as he is young and likes to eat everything he sees.
Now I need to know what are some symptoms I should expect to see
He has jus eaten his dinner and drank water and so far he hasn't done anything unusual
What should I do??