Since women have more fragile frame than men, they are more prone to spinal cord injuries (SPC) especially those that are caused by heavy falling. Experts say that there’s an increasing number of women who suffer from SPC mainly because their bodies are not “strong enough” to endure pressure when they meet accidents that involve their backs or the spinal column area.

Spinal cord injuries refer to the inability of the nerves in the spine to feel. Some say that this is somehow similar to back injuries. The only difference is that unlike in back injuries where they might be broken bones and pitched nerves, in spinal cord injuries, everything remains intact, only that, the function of mobility is greatly affected.

Studies show that in order to protect oneself from the impacts of hard falling, one should have a stronger frame. For women, the best way to achieve this is through strength training.

A good alternative

Strength training has become a popular choice of exercise in keeping the body fit and healthy because it is the fastest way in improving muscle as well as endurance and strength. Referred to as an exercise that requires a person’s muscles in exerting force against different forms of resistance like free weights, strength training is one sure way of yielding healthy body results especially in the spinal column area.

Experts say that doing strength training exercises at least 3 times weekly for 20 minutes or so is the most ideal. This may result to firm muscles especially if it is targeted for the back area. Aside from giving you firm muscles for a great looking physique, strength training can also increase the endurance and strength of the developed muscles that can allow women perform tasks daily with lesser exertion and effort.

Aside from making the spinal area get used to endure more pressure, strength training can also enable a person to do tasks for a longer span of time without having to endure sore muscles and painful joints after. This is because the muscles are already used to such tolerable force and this makes it possible for somebody to increase work capacity. Aside from improving the working capacity of the muscles, strength training can also help improving the body’s coordination, balance, and blood circulation as well as the strength of the bones and the ligaments especially in the back area.

Some women may be apprehensive about strength training because they think it not safe and will only make them look masculine. If done properly, no injuries can take place because weight lifting is the most common activity in strength training. When it comes to looking muscular, experts say that getting as bulky as men is not possible with strength training for women because the latter cannot produce as much testosterone needed for big muscles.

Experts say that to be able to develop muscle and achieve muscular strength through strength training, women should always make it a practice to stretch before she starts and after she has performed some weight exercises. Stretching is important especially for beginners because it can reduce soreness after the exercises.

The most common stretching exercises for to avoid spinal cord injuries include warm-ups that include flexibility and stretching exercises performed at least 8 minutes before any strength training exercise to keep the muscles supple, increase the joints’ range of motion, heart rate and body temperature, and blood flow to muscles, enhance flexibility, and improve coordination.

It seems as though many Americans are living a life that leads to high blood pressure or hypertension. As people age, the situation gets worse. Nearly half of all older Americans have hypertension. This disease makes people five times more prone to strokes, three times more likely to have a heart attack, and two to three times more likely to experience a heart failure.

The problem with this disease is that nearly one third of the folks who have hypertension do not know it because they never feel any direct pain. But overtime the force of that pressure damages the inside surface of your blood vessels.

However, according to experts, hypertension is not predestined. Reducing salt intake, adopting a desirable dietary pattern losing weight and exercising can all help prevent hypertension.

Obviously, quitting bad habits and eating a low fat diet will help, but the most significant part that you can do is to exercise. And just as exercise strengthens and improves limb muscles, it also enhances the health of the heart muscles.

Heart and Exercise

The exercise stimulates the development of new connections between the impaired and the nearly normal blood vessels, so people who exercise had a better blood supply to all the muscle tissue of the heart.

The human heart basically, supply blood to an area of the heart damaged in a “myocardial infarction.” A heart attack is a condition, in which, the myocardium or the heart muscle does not get enough oxygen and other nutrients and so it begins to die.

For this reason and after a series of careful considerations, some researchers have observed that exercise can stimulate the development of these life saving detours in the heart. One study further showed that moderate exercise several times a week is more effective in building up these auxiliary pathways than extremely vigorous exercise done twice as often.

Such information has led some people to think of exercise as a panacea for heart disorders, a fail-safe protection against hypertension or death. That is not so. Even marathon runners that have suffered hypertension, and exercise cannot overcome combination of other risk factor.

What Causes Hypertension?

Sometimes abnormalities of the kidney are responsible. There is also a study wherein the researchers identified more common contributing factors such as heredity, obesity, and lack of physical activity. And so, what can be done to lower blood pressure and avoid the risk of developing hypertension? Again, exercise seems to be just what the doctor might order.

If you think that is what he will do, then, try to contemplate on this list and find some ways how you can incorporate these things into your lifestyle and start to live a life free from the possibilities of developing hypertension. But before you start following the systematic instructions, it would be better to review them first before getting into action.

1. See your doctor
Check with your doctor before beginning an exercise program. If you make any significant changes in your level of physical activity – particularly if those changes could make large and sudden demands on your circulatory system – check with your doctors again.

2. Take it slow

Start at a low, comfortable level of exertion and progress gradually. The program is designed in two stages to allow for a progressive increase in activity.

3. Know your limit

Determine your safety limit for exertion. Use some clues such as sleep problems or fatigue the day after a workout to check on whether you are overdoing it. Once identified, stay within it. Over-exercising is both dangerous and unnecessary.

4. Exercise regularly

You need to work out a minimum of three times a week and a maximum of five times a week to get the most benefit. Once you are in peak condition, a single workout a week can maintain the muscular benefits. However, cardiovascular fitness requires more frequent activity.

5. Exercise at a rate within your capacity

The optimum benefits for older exercisers are produced by exercise at 40% to 60% of capacity.

Indeed, weight loss through exercise is an excellent starting point if you wan tot prevent hypertension. Experts say that being overweight is linked to an increased risk of developing hypertension, and losing weight decreases the risk.

Fear of flying or aviophobia is considered as among those that are very common to people. Although some might find the overall concept of fear of flying somehow absurd, experts say that it is something that is very serious. And people who experience this should get started in overcoming fear of flying as soon as possible to avoid further complications in their emotional and mental state.

What makes flying safe?

Statistics show that flying is the safest form of travel there is. Why? because the airplane is managed by a professional and licensed pilot who spent years and years of expertise to perfect the art of flying. Aside from that, owners of airline companies themselves spend billions of dollars just to ensure that the facilities are of great quality not only to ensure the safety of their passengers but to make sure that they are comfortable and taken care of during their flights.

Aside from that, no plane ever flies without strict inspection-mechanical and technical aspects-by a crew of people who are also experts in the field of flying. This is to ensure that there would be no problems when the aircraft is thousand feet up in the sky. And, most of all, all airplanes comply with AIR Transportation rules to ensure that they are obeying all the rules and following all the guidelines of safe flying.

The key to success

Experts say that although air travel is safe, the number of people who fear it continue to increase. This is because the fear itself is a phobia that is hard to explain. So, the best way to go about it is for the person to understand what he or she is afraid of in air travel. Once he or she knows what it is about flying the he or she fears the most, these issues can be slowly addressed.

After knowing and acknowledging that fear, the next best thing to do is to be more familiar about the symptoms of the condition. Experts say that every individual have different perceptions and reactions to their phobia. Although the degree and intensity of these fears may vary, there would be commonalities in these symptoms-they are manifested through physical, emotional and psychological aspects.

1. The physical symptoms. This is the easiest way to identify the condition. Physical symptoms may include drastic changes in respiration or heavy breathing, nausea, dizziness, and vomiting. Other common symptoms include involuntary muscle tensions, excessive sweating or perspiration despite the cold temperature, and mild to extreme tremors of the body.

2. The emotional symptoms. Trust issues are the main culprits in this aspect. This is because the fears of the person are deeply rooted and linked to his or her emotional responses. The problem here is the person does not trust the people who will be manning the flight. He or she thinks that the pilot as well as the cabin crew are not capable of protecting her or him during the flight that is why the panic attacks sink in and the passenger may start to be over anxious.

3. The psychological symptoms. This is the hardest part to deal with in overcoming fear of flying because you will need to seek professional help for the psychological issues to be addressed. These issues may involve matters of self-control, the inability to cope, and the struggle to fight the fear that grip the person once the airplane takes off.

A financial forecast is a fundamental road map necessary for your personal injury practice. It helps you save a lot of money and impractical decisions. It gives you the needed focus and control on the finances you risk as you start and progress in your career. Although risk is always at hand in the practice of personal injury, you can at least minimize risk by using the appropriate investment strategy.

There are three questions you need to answer before opening door for clients. First, is how much cash will be required to start the law practice? Second, is how much additional cash will be needed later in financing cases? Third, is how much salary the lawyer will need to meet living expenses during the start up stage of building the practice? K. William Gibson says you will need to consider the following expenses as you start your practice:

1. Office space

2. Furniture and office decorations

3. Communication equipment

4. Advertising logistical requirements

5. Web site development costs

6. Malpractice insurance

7. Equipment like computer, printer, photocopier, camera and others

8. Law books and periodicals

9. Internet connection expenses

10. Stationery, business cards, announcements and postage

11. Other office supplies

12. Secretarial services

Consider to reduce your expenses as your career gets going. Your ongoing expenses will be office rent, employee salaries, advertising and marketing. Make a list of these expenses to make sure you have a projected office expenses. You have an absolute control when it comes to advertising and marketing of your law office. However, you still need to do a marketing plan and measure return of investments (ROI) s. Many lawyers find it effective to market their services thru Yellow Pages Directory. While it is important that your service can be viewed in Yellow Pages, you should not present an image more than you can afford.

How much a client does should cost? In personal injury cases, an average case will only require a large sum of money if it has taken to trial. When the case goes on trial, you need to pay for the services of a doctor, engineer, and other professionals. The most expensive is the testimony of your client’s doctor.

As your career in personal injury practice progress, you may eventually want to add more personnel, open another office, and expand your experience in handling cases. If you decide on this, draft your long-term goals and fine-tune your financial forecast depending in your new set of needs. Your long-term goals must ensure you to serve more clients. Your financial planning should keep up with unexpected changes such as legislative changes. Some states implement tort reforms that could wreak havoc on your financial planning. When this happens, clients will have a hard time to have claims for personal injury damages.

There are times of drought in a personal injury lawyer’s career. Sometimes it can be very difficult to smooth out the cash flow curve especially when a lawyer has so little control over the case to settle. Armor yourself with financial plan that recognize the annual income of a full-time personal injury lawyer even through wild swings of career. Plan ahead your expenses. You can also pay for income taxes to reduce your taxable income in the current year.

Stress has always been a part of our daily lives. We often find ways to deal it with but can become unbearable when you’re tightly under its grip. The important part here is to take control of stress before it ends up controlling you — which is to say that you will be making a lot of mistakes that will take quite a lot of time and effort to fix. This is where stress management comes in.

Why Get Rid Of Stress

We can never deny the fact that stress can be a big hindrance in everything you plan to do with your life. It can get in the way of business, career, or even with your family and friends. If you give in to the irritation and anger that is often the result of stress, you are bound to make wrong decisions and plenty of mistakes that will bring you down.

You can lose your job, do badly in a business deal, or even make enemies left and right when you let your stress control you. Learn to control stress and get rid of it every time it crops up for self-improvement.

Find The Source Of Your Stress

Knowing the source of your stress gives you plenty of options to counter it. If your stress stems from overwork, then take some time off from your busy schedule to relax. The home can also become a stressful environment, especially when it’s disorganized. If you think that the design of the interior is giving you problems, then take some time to rearrange the furniture around or add some home décor to make it comfortable to look at. Once you are able to determine the problem then you can take the necessary steps to correct it.

Learn To Relax Once In A While

Everyone would agree that work, or the demands of work, is mostly the cause of stress. If you think that you have that wild look in your eyes every time your boss asks you to do something, then you better ask for a vacation leave to relax yourself outside your work area before it leads you into trouble.

Take some time off from your busy schedule and visit the local spa. Pamper yourself by indulging in a full-body massage or get an aromatherapy session going on to help you relax. You can always take a vacation if you really want to get the thoughts of work out of your system, but a massage will do just fine if you can’t afford to be absent from it.

Find The Child Within You

Kids are known to be stress-free. Even if you scold them or force them to eat vegetables, you will never see them suffer from stress. The reason here is with their mindset to enjoy life as they see fit. You can take your cue from them and enjoy life more.

Find your inner child and just play. You can grab your Playstation out of the cabinet and bring out the games you usually play during your free time. Another idea is to listen to your favorite music or read some comics on the Internet. You can even play online games if you like just to get your mind off your work.

Keep in mind that the gist of stress management is not the methods you take for getting stress out of your system. The idea here is to learn how to divert your mind from the problems that causes stress to give yourself time to relax and face the problem with a clear mind.

Personal injury (PI) practice differs from other law practice mainly because of financial requirements. In this kind of law practice, a lawyer have to spend his or her time and money getting the case ready for settlement or trial; then gets paid in a year or two, if the lawyer wins the case. Lawyers don’t necessarily get paid for all the time that they spend in the cases and have to do a lot of work. A PI lawyer usually needs to hire doctors, engineers, accident reconstruction experts, and other professionals needed to analyze critical issues and testify in court. If a lawyer happens to handle many cases, he would have a hard time managing these people and get them paid on time. Thus, a personal injury lawyer needs to generate money to have the capability of handling cases. Given the financial and personal risks involved, you must examine yourself if you can really tolerate such difficult situations before embarking on personal injury practice career.

Obtaining a favorable verdict at trial is harder for personal injury cases. Many states are implementing “tort reforms” legislation that places upper limits on the amount of claims of an injured person. Also, a lot of insurance companies and corporate defendants are less motivated to settle before trial. This means that you are most likely to go through the process of filing a lawsuit which entails expenses on filing fees, depositions, expert witnesses and other court costs for the lawyer and long wait for the court decision for the client. Sad to say, because of the long process, many clients end up settling for a fraction of what the case is really worth.

The public’s attitude towards personal injury cases is quite discouraging to law practitioners but the rewards of winning a case are enormous. Oftentimes, we heard news on insurance fraud, scams, and conspiracies involving personal injury lawyers, doctors, and their clients. But on the bright side of things, nowhere in the practice of law is there more of a David versus Goliath scenario than a person on a court battle with gigantic insurance company or corporation. PI lawyers come in different personality types, interests, aptitudes, strengths and weaknesses but practicing this profession can give you an opportunity to help other people who are wronged and truly in need. There is no better feeling in the world than having put up with all that abuse from the other side and having his or her cause validated by a jury. With this, you gain a measure of confidence and assurance that will motivate you to stay in the game for a longer time. If you can manage your practice wisely, then you will be able to experience moments of triumph constantly.

It is quite possible to be successful personal injury lawyer without handling high-risk cases. You can opt for handling routine cases that requires you to go to court once or twice a year. You can also consider working first with a lawyer or firm that handles personal injury cases before going out on your own. When you have decided to go on your own, always remember to keep the following solid foundation to achieve success in the law practice:

Commitment – You must always work hard to make your practice succeed.

Management – You must always manage wisely your time, money and people.

Adequate capital – Since personal injury law practice requires you to risk finances, you might need to gamble your own money first before reaping monetary gains. In this practice, you cannot expect to get rich but you can try investing your wealth in other ventures not connected to the practice of the law if you want to have other income.

You must have the sincere desire to do the right thing for your clients.

We are creatures of impulse, desire, poor long term planning, and all the bad traits companies rely on to make their sale. But if you’ve ever made a painful decision to say no to buying something, in exchange for some long term gain, you know what a mature delay in gratification can benefit you. Opting to save for tuition instead of buying designer jeans is a good example So is opting to stick with your crappy-looking buy efficient cellular phone, instead of getting a shiny and sleek iPhone. So is the decision to stop smoking to prevent medical complications from happening to you, and costing you tons of dollars; not to mention preventing you from living a healthy life.

If you’ve been following the logic of the foregoing, then you already have a clear picture of what it takes to stop smoking. The best way to do it is to fully understand giving it up costs you, what not taking part in that hip and addictive habit will end you up with, and how much discomfort, for a time, quitting would mean, physically, emotionally, mentally.

Will power is the best way. The problem is this method requires your soul to understand, to want to stop smoking altogether. A pregnant mother decides to quit drugs when the medical checkups showed her baby was declining in health while in her womb. A father goes gambling-sobber after his eldest straight-A daughter failed to pay her student loans. A single mom decides to devote more time at home, and leave her night life, when she notices how much her son needs her.

We just need to find a reason. Our will power will provide the strength to get us through our nicotine addiction. It will not be easy. And those who try to quit end up relapsing unless they are convinced, to their bones, that they want to quit. Maybe not for themselves, but for the sake of someone else. A son, a mother, a husband.

Those who go through this, suffer the pains of withdrawal, and emerge addiction-free, report that they feel like having been a different person when they had their addiction. Different from the person that emerged from the addiction. Like it was all a bad dream, or memories of a person just trying to make do with her naive worldview.

The thing about quitting smoking through willpower is that you need no rationalizations. You stop smoking because, insert reason here. And you see that reason as inevitable, as true regardless of anyone else who listens to you. Like a mathematical fact. True, regardless how much you rationalize against it, whine about it.

You will receive all sort of discouragement. Most people have smoking buddies and the media is filled with ads encouraging a life incomplete without a puff. But these will not hamper you if you know in your bones you want to quit because you have to. Not want to. That there are compelling reasons outside one’s selfish circle of reasons that demand you to be better than who you are.

So if you want some non-hypocritical reason to stop smoking. There it is. Find a reason. The methods won’t matter as much as long as you will is convinced you have to quit. You will emerge a better person for this.

Some people are really born to have a hard time to get better sleep. While there are those who were able to develop this problem because of unhealthy practice. Either way, the problem still lies that one is having a hard time lulling into that good slumber.

The best way to go about it is that first, one needs to address the problem of sleeping. These include knowing the reasons why that person is having a hard time sleeping. The focus areas should include the personal issues, status at work, health conditions, and sleeping environment.

1. Personal issues. The may include stress factors that affect the overall emotional state of a person. If one if stressed by personal issues, it will be harder for him or her to get better sleep because that person is thinking too much. If it’s possible to address these problems and problems immediately, it would really help a person to get better sleep. If not, one should seek help from professionals so he or she can cope with the issues and will have better chance of getting sleep at night.

2. Status at work. Studies show that more and more people are having a hard time sleeping because of their status in work. With the overall global crisis that the world experiences now, it is only common for people to worry about their security. If you think that this is one factor that won’t let you get better sleep at night, then now is the right time to face it and be prepared for the worse. If you are prepared that no matter what happens, you will still have your job or you are confident that you can easily find one, then you will have peace of mind and will lead you to sleep better at night.

3. Health conditions. Some people are able to develop sleeping disorders without them knowing. These sleeping disorders are usually caused and triggered by so many factors. If you are having hard time sleeping and you think that the reasons are something that you can no longer control, then it is best to seek professional help.

4. Sleeping environment. This is also among the things that affect the overall sleeping state of a person. If you have bad sleeping environment, then the tendency of your body is to resist sleeping.

The natural way

In the market today, there are so many products and even medication that promise to help one get better sleep. But, these artificial substitutes may have a side effect. To avoid further complications, it is best to try sleeping techniques the natural way. Some may include routines that will only help you get better sleep but help improve your overall health as well.

The first thing that you could do is to develop and practice good sleep hygiene. These include eating the right foods that can help you sleep better and avoid those that affect sleeping patterns. It also includes having regular exercise and avoiding napping in the afternoon so you will sleep well at night. You may also want to develop a routine that will help you sleep better such as doing relaxing activities before your bedtime such as taking a warm bath, reading, or writing in your personal journal.

To get better sleep, you can also try soundproofing your room to avoid unnecessary noises, adjusting the lights so you will be more comfortable, getting into a comfortable sleeping position and practicing deep breathing to relax your senses.

Many people are diagnosed with spinal cord injuries yearly. This is usually caused by accidents involving vehicles, gunshots, heavy falls and even certain kinds of diseases such as polio or ataxia. These causes are the ones that could be inevitable since all people are prone to it no matter what they do.

But, there are things that could be done in order to prevent spinal cord injuries. One of which is through regular exercise. Experts say that if people were into regular exercise, their spinal cords would be stronger to endure impacts and are more immune when it comes to fighting certain diseases. Of course, this strength could only be achieved if the person puts enough much effort in keeping the body healthy and fit.

Regular exercise is the key

To be able to achieve successful long-term fitness and health goals, a fitness center should be able to provide people with a safe, clean, and well maintained environment for them to be encouraged to keep on working out.

Since the person will be staying inside the fitness center during your work out, it is a must that he or she feels comfortable with its facilities as well as with its staff. It must also provide the customer the convenience needed to be encouraged in doing exercises and workout everyday. The following are some of the things that people should look out for in a fitness center that could encourage them to maintain daily exercises, which in the long run, will help them prevent spinal cord injuries:

– The location. This should be the major consideration when choosing for a fitness center. This is very important because it can provide the convenience the person needs every time he or she feels like working out. The location of the fitness center is quite important because it fuels the drive of the person in going to the center. The most ideal location of the fitness center-especially for those who are prone to spinal cord injuries-is near the home or in the workplace. When the fitness center is nearby, people will be encouraged to drop by thinking they will not have to worry about going home or to the office late because the center is just within the area.

– Affordability of monthly fee or membership fee. In choosing a fitness center, make sure that you enroll in those that offer fees that would suit your budget. Don’t opt for fitness centers that are charge high prices because you can never be sure if they offer the services and facilities that would suit your needs. It is always best to choose a fitness center that offer lower charges for trials, if you are not satisfied with it, you can always look for another one.

– Offers flexible schedule. If you have decided to do your work outs in a fitness center, choose for those that offer services that can suit your schedule. This will ensure that you can work out because the place is open for you.

– Quality of facilities and equipment. For people who want to spinal cord injuries, it is a must that they choose fitness centers that will meet your requirements when it comes to facilities in order for you to enjoy your stay inside the center. Before finally signing up for the fitness center, it is a must that you visit the condition of the facilities and equipment so you’ll have an idea if these worth the fee that you have paid for.

Smoking is a bad habit that is very difficult to give up. It is not only dangerous to the smoker, himself, but to the people around him as well. Once a person becomes addicted, it becomes difficult for him to stop smoking. However, despite all the reminders regarding the bad effects of smoking to health, a lot of people are still drawn into the aroma of cigarette smoking.

People should not have started to smoke. Because as you all know, once you have become dependent on nicotine, it would be very difficult for you to eliminate it from your system. Advertisements have constantly reminded people that cigarette smoking is dangerous to health, yet it is as if they have not heard a single reminder. Well, people who do not admit that they are addicted to smoking have a really big problem.

Smokers who are trying to stop smoking can attest to the difficulty of the process of quitting. Determination and will power are needed in order for one to reach his goal of being a non-smoker.

Most people would say that a gradual cutting down of the cigarette smoking is a good method for quitting. Small steps are taken, one at a time to ensure that the process is going in the direction that is more beneficial to the smoker who plans on quitting.

Preparation Necessary to Stop Smoking

Preparation is necessary when you feel like stopping. Reflect on your reasons for smoking, and take note of when you usually smoke and how you typically go about it. You may want to deviate from your usual smoking habits, and try things that you son not usually do when smoking. For instance, you may want to try new things as a replacement for smoking, like when you are urged to smoke, you may just chew a gum or munch on healthy snacks. Or, if you really want to smoke, you may do so but not with the hand that you usually use when smoking. If you are used to holding the cigarette with your right hand, you may try your left hand instead. You need to learn these things so that you can make a good plan that you can follow as you cut down the sticks you smoke.

The Beginning of the Actual Renouncement

Get rid of all the things that may remind you of smoking. You may want to keep your ash trays way from your view, or you may also, for the time being, avoid people who smoke. This way, you are not constantly reminded of your tendencies to smoke. Think of ways activities that can keep your mind off the idea of smoking. Give yourself a reward when you have not smoked for the whole day, this way your act of not smoking will be reinforced. You may also want to visit your dentist so that you can get your teeth cleaned from all the nicotine that may have stained them.

Living a Smoke-free Life

There may be times when you feel irritated or depressed; these may just be the withdrawal symptoms. You should learn to avoid smoking despite these symptoms. It may be difficult at first but as time passes by, you would realize that it gets easier and better. Think of all the benefits that you may have if you stop smoking – financially, physically and socially.