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

Jupiterimages/Comstock/Getty Images

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??

When and How to Use Ice Therapy

Below is a good article on the benefits of ice therapy, the many issues of ice therapy and why ice therapy is beneficial in treating various injuries. Since knees are one the most injured and most painful joint in the body I thought this was a applicable and shows the usefulness of having a knee ice wrap on hand to be able to apply ice therapy as soon as possible after a knee injury

Ice Therapy: Effective Methods To Treat Ice Sprains, Strains, And Other Injuries

How to use ice therapy (cryotherapy) for injuries such as ligament sprains, muscle strains, overuse injuries, and other muscular pain.

By: Nancy Hausauer

Ice is a wonderful self-care tool for muscle strains, sprains, and other injuries. When used properly, it's safe and effective. It's as close as your kitchen freezer, and it's free!

When to Use Cold Therapy

Many people are confused about when to use ice therapy--also called cryotherapy. Here's a memory aid: Use Ice for Injuries and Inflammation.

Heat will just make inflammation worse, and that will increase pain and swelling in a recent injury--i.e. one that happened within the last 72 hours. If it's still hot, red, or swollen--don't put heat on it!

Cryotherapy on the other hand, constricts blood vessels and capillaries and slows metabolic activity, helping to prevent excessive swelling. It reduces pain and helps you heal faster.

Methods of Ice Therapy:

How do you use ice? Read on for the most effective methods.

Ice pack:

This is the good old standby. Use a commercially prepared ice pack, or put crushed ice from your freezer in a sealable bag with a little water.

Conformable Ice-Pack

Another great trick is to buy an old-fashioned hot water bottle and fill it part-way with a mixture of water and alcohol. Put it in your freezer for a few hours, and it's ready to go. It won't ever freeze completely, making it able conform to your body better than a solid block of ice. Return it to your freezer when you're done.

Conformable Ice-Pack 2

Dedicate a bag of frozen peas for t

he purpose of injury treatment. They also conform to body contours. Mark the bag with a permanent marker, because the peas will be melting and re-freezing multiple times, making them unfit for eating.

Ice Massage:

Freeze water in a small paper cup. Peel the top of the paper cup away and use the remaining paper as a kind of handle to help you hold on to the ice. Massage the ice over the injury for five minutes or until the area is numb. Keep the ice moving slowly and steadily. This is great for tendonitis and smaller areas and can provide considerable pain relief.

Icing Safely

A few tips will help you use ice safely and effectively:

1)  Don't put ice directly on your skin (except in the case of ice massage, when you're constantly moving it). Keep a barrier of cloth between you and the ice.

2) Apply ice until the area feels numb, but no more than 15 minutes at a time. Remove the ice after numbness sets in. You can actually cause yourself frost-bite by icing too long.

3)Don't use ice if you have rheumatoid arthritis, Raynaud's Syndrome, cold-allergic conditions (e.g. ice causes you to break out in hives), paralysis, or areas that don't have full feeling.

More Tips on Icing Effectively

For more tips on using ice effectively and safely, visit my massage website.

Nancy Hausauer is a licensed massage therapist, energy healer, and writer specializing in natural healing and wellness techniques. She has a private practice in Tacoma, Washington, U.S.  To learn more natural ways to support health and wellness, visit her websites at http://www.Tacoma-Massage-Therapy.com/ and http://www.The-Energy-Healing-Site.com/

Using Ice Wraps to Loose Weight...For Real

Below is an interesting recap of a recent Dr. Oz Show with guest Tim Farris of The 4 Hour Work Week fame.  The part that is relevant to this blog is using ice/cold to loose weight. Tim has certainly come up with another use for ice wraps. I have highlighted the portion related to using ice wraps to loose weight in case you don't want to read through the entire post.

Dr Oz did a segment called 4 Hours To The Perfect Body with Timothy Ferriss, author of The 4-Hour Body and The 4-Hour Workweek.  Tim Ferriss joined Doctor Oz to teach us three cutting edge techniques to lose weight including Ice Therapy, Eat 30 Grams of Protein Within 30 Minutes of Waking Up, and Pig Out Once a Week.  Sounds too good to be true, right?  These are definitely some weight loss and fat burning techniques worth checking out!

Dr Oz: Timothy Ferriss 4-Hour Body

Dr Oz said that Tim Ferriss spent the past 15 years testing out every diet, product and weight loss premise to figure out what really works with the minimal amount of effort.  Could it really be possible to lose 20 pounds in 30 days and increase your fat burning potential by 300% by making simple changes?  Ferriss had been called a Life Hacker and teaches people how to triple the fat they lose with ice baths, how to get Michelle Obama arms with three 5 minute workouts per week, and how to enjoy wine and coffee while still losing fat.

Dr Oz: 4-Hour Body

Dr Oz asked Ferriss what is a 4- Hour Body?  Timothy Feriss said that it is about making the smallest changes in a consistent way that result in the biggest desired impact.  The idea is to not spend a lot of time and effort but to achieve profound changes.  Dr Oz said to Ferriss that critics say that his approaches are not medically sound, so how does he respond to this?  Tim Ferriss said that he is not a doctor, but he has worked with many doctors and most of his critics are trying to sell products that conflict with the suggestions in his weight loss plan called The 4 Hour Body.  Dr Oz said that he had his medical unit check all of the ideas in The 4-Hour Body, and almost everything checked out for medical soundness.

Dr Oz: Ice Therapy: 4-Hour Weight Loss Strategy #1

Dr Oz asked Timothy Feris what is Ice Therapy and how does it work?  He said that Ice Therapy triggers hormones that are helpful for fat loss.  You can do something as simple as a cold ice pack on your upper back and your upper chest for 30 minutes when you watch tv at night.  Then you can buildup to taking a cold shower the next morning.  And Ferriss said that the final step, which is what he does, is to take an actual Ice Bath up to your waist for 10 minutes, three times per week.  But take it slowly – you should not go from doing nothing straight into an Ice Bath.

Dr Oz: Why Do Ice Baths Make You Lose Weight?

Dr Oz said that he checked out this theory of Ice Therapy and that when you are cold, your body has to do a lot more work to do the same things as when it is warm – so you burn much more fat.  You have something called Brown Fat that is located around blood vessels and keeps your blood warm.  By cooling off with ice, your body is forced to burn a dramatically larger number of calories.  I have heard that sucking on ice cubes or drinking cold water also helps you to lose weight because your body has to use energy to bring the cold water or ice up to your body’s temperature.  Sounds like a similar phenomenon!

Dr Oz: 30 G Protein For Breakfast: 4-Hour Weight Loss Strategy #2

Timothy Ferris said that the next fat burning tip is to eat 30 grams of protein within 30 minutes of waking up.  For example, you can eat 5 eggs, turkey sausage, or protein shakes made of unflavored whey protein.  Ferriss says that this is critical because it starts your day off with the right fat burning hormones.  Dr Oz said that eggs are a safe way to get protein and generally do not increase your cholesterol unless you have a genetic pre-disposition.  Tim Ferriss said that this will also help you not to get a mid-afternoon slump after lunch.  You should always follow how you feel as an indication of how much fat you are burning.

Dr Oz: Pig Out Once A Week: 4-Hour Weight Loss Strategy #3

Dr Oz sounded slightly hesitant about this tip, but Ferriss said that by spiking your calories once a week, you improve your thyroid output (which is especially good for mothers), and it makes the weight loss plan more sustainable so that you will be strict the other 6 days.  You can limit the damage to your body from this once-a-week eating extravaganza by drinking grapefruit juice and doing squats after the big meal.

Dr Oz: Grapefruit Juice & Squats

Ferriss said that you have roughly one hour from when you eat junk food to drinking grapefruit juice and doing the squats to counteract the “mistakes” you make on your diet.  Dr Oz said that when you have grapefruit juice and do squats, you open up all of your receptors in the muscles so that the sugar goes into your muscles to become fuel rather than the sugar being deposited as fat around your belly.
Dr Oz and Tim Ferriss demonstrated how to do an Air Squat by putting both arms out in front of you for balance.  Make sure to sit slowly in a pretend chair until your thighs are parallel with the ground (or as far as you can go).

Using Viso Flushing to Relieve Knee Pain

Below is an excerpt from Charlie's Diary -The blog of Charles Stross that talks about a technique called vaso-flushing to relieve muscle pain. This method would work well to relieve pain in the knee and surrounding area as well.

Second, I'll tell you how to relieve muscle pain.

This technique is called vaso-flushing and I learned it from my wife, who makes her living doing sports massage. It works best on injuries that happened more than 48 hours earlier, and it's also good for chronic pain (including my own.)

It's simple: First, you apply ice to the painful area for three minutes. Then, you apply heat for one minute--this is best done by immersing in a hot tub or jacuzzi if you can swing that. After that minute of heat, you go back to three minutes of ice, then another minute of heat, then ice and heat again.

When the three rounds are done, you finish up with a minute or two of ice. That's it. I do this at my gym to take advantage of their giant ice machine and jacuzzi, but I've used an ice pack and electric blanket at home. It works surprisingly well.

Using and electric blanket is a great idea for the same reason that body part specific ice wraps are superior to a a general purpose ice pack, zip lock full of ice cubes or bag of frozen peas, it is able to contour to the body to ensure continuous, even contact over the entire area. A knee ice wrap is the ideal device to use if you are trying to relieve pain in the knee or surrounding muscles.


 You can find the complete post at http://www.antipope.org/charlie/blog-static/2011/02/lets-be-practical.html