If you plan to exercise on your own and under a trainer then t important that you learn the right technique of using the gym equipment rather then hurting yourself later. The injuries caused because of improper usage of gym equipment could prove to be hazardous to one’s muscles.

Let’s take an example of weight reduction program that is mostly undertaken by many to reduce unnecessary flab and weight. It is a good decision to follow a proper work-out to remain fit and healthy but the equipments used for weight reduction program are quite heavy and need to be used cautiously to avoid injury.

A squat rack, for instance is a weight bar that allows a person to do squat exercise. It ensures that you hold the rod properly in position so that it does not hit your shoulder or muscles. It makes sure that your concentration is on your exercise and not the rod held in your hand.

Another equipment used for weight reduction is bumper plate, it is important to ensure that these plates are covered with rubber because if you happen to drop them anytime, they can cause damage to the gym floor or other gym equipments. Since there are many sizes available in the gym equipment shops, it is easy to find a one that’s customized according to your requirement.

There is also an equipment called the gym boss that keeps a check on the time taken by you to do each gym activity and rings an alarm when you need to change the exercise. It also tells you the amount of time you need to spend on each gym exercise. The volume is sufficient to alarm you among the routine activities at gym environment.

All said and done, it is not only sufficient to join a gym to maintain a healthy lifestyle but choosing the right gym equipment can ensure that you definitely follow a healthy and happy life, because without following a proper workout regime with proper gym facility and guidance, one cannot achieve the set goal of following a physically fit life.

The causes of primary bone cancer are not yet known, but there may be a genetic link because it often seems to run in families. This form of cancer most often occurs in the leg, with it painful swelling just above or below the knee. The pain may be worse while standing or while in bed at night.

HOW IS IT DIAGNOSED?

Patients will he referred to a specialist to have X-rays taken and further tests such as a computerized tomography (CT) scan or magnetic resonance imaging (MRT) will he carried out So that the diagnosis can he confirmed. The most common primary bone cancer is called osteosarcoma.

Tumors are highly malignant and the disease will often spread to the lungs, so patients may also be sent for a chest X-ray.

TREATING BONE CANCER

In most cases the tumorous surgically removed and any bone that is taken away is replaced either by artificial bone or by a section of bone from elsewhere in the body or from a compatible donor. Radiotherapy or chemotherapy is normally given after surgery to get rid of any remaining cancer.

This specimen of a femur – thigh bone – shows a cancerous growth. Bone tumors are highly malignant and the cancer often spreads quickly to the lungs.

BONE METASTASES

Bone metastases or secondary bone cancer are terms for tumors that have spread from other parts of the body. Cancers prone to metastasize to bones include breast, lung, thyroid, prostate and kidney cancers. Bone metastases are more common than primary bone cancers.

Bone metastases tend to occur in elderly people and most often affect the ribs, pelvis, skull and spine. There is a tender swelling of the area and severe hone pain, which is usually worse at night. The affected bones are weakened and may easily fracture.

Patients who have already been diagnosed with cancer elsewhere in the body may have an X-ray or radionuclide scanning to discover if the cancer has spread to the bones. If this is the first sign of cancer, further such tests may be necessary, to locate the site of the primary cancer from which the metastases developed.

Treatment focuses on the primary site. A bone fracture may be fixed with metal plates or screws. Once cancer has spread to the bone any treatment is palliative not curative – chemotherapy, radiotherapy or hormone therapy may relieve pain only.

TREATMENT OPTIONS

The first line of treatment is not medication. Your doctor will recommend lifestyle changes to reduce high blood pressure. These changes include losing weight if overweight, reducing alcohol intake, cutting down salt consumption, taking regular exercise and, most importantly, giving up smoking.

Some doctors advocate biofeedback training. In biofeedback, you learn how to enter a relaxed state at will. Specialized equipment feeds back information about your heart rate, muscle tension and stress levels. You receive a continuous stream of this information as you practice certain relaxation techniques. In time, you learn to control your body’s responses and help to reduce your high blood pressure.

If such measures fail, the next line of attack is drug therapy, which is a lifelong strategy. There are many antihypertensive drugs available; the common groups are:

• Thiazide diuretics.

• Beta-blockers.

• ACE inhibitors.

• Calcium antagonists.

• Alpha-blockers.

Many doctors use a thiazide or beta-blocker as first-line treatment; although ACE inhibitors work better for people with diabetes. Many antihypertensive drugs can cause side-effects, making people reluctant to continue taking their medicine. It is important to bear in mind that the benefits of treatment include significantly reducing the risk of a heart attack or stroke. This is particularly pertinent for people with diabetes, who are more susceptible to the effects of high blood pressure.

It is quite usual to have to take two or more drugs. Furthermore, you may have to try several combination until you find the one that works for you.

HIGH BLOOD PRESSURE DURING PREGNANCY

Pregnant women will have their blood pressure checked at regular intervals during their pregnancy as high blood pressure can indicate one of two serious conditions – pre-eclampsia and eclampsis. These conditions occur in about 5-10 per cent of pregnancies and in severe case can be life-threatening for both the mother-to-be and her developing baby. Left untreated, pre- eclampsia and eclampsia can cause seizures and result in coma. Pre- eclampsia and eclampsia are probably caused by a placental problem.

It is usually possible to recognize when levels of stress become unmanageably. high. Stress tends to manifest itself in either psychological or physical symptoms, but sometimes as both.

HOW TO DEAL WITH STRESS
As soon as you begin to feel that things are getting on top of you and your health is starting to suffer, try any or all of these approaches, first to identify, and then to deal with, stress in your everyday life.

• Work at identifying sources of stress in your life and consider whether or not you can make an’ changes that will leave you in greater overall control.
• Learn to manage your time better. Many, people’s stress is due to an overwhelming workload. To make work more manageable, write it list of goals for the day and list them in order of priority-. Ticking off tasks as you complete them gives you -it sense of achievement.
• Breathe deeply a very, effective and easy, way, to relieve stress is to focus oil breathing and make your breaths progressively deeper.
• A number of illicit drugs worsen feelings of stress and anxiety, including crack, cocaine and ecstasy.
• Look after your health. Eat healthily and drink alcohol and caffeine in moderation. By maintaining good overall health you reduce your tendency to illness and increase your ability to COC with whatever life throws at you.
• Try to avoid substances that might increase anxiety. A few cups of strong black coffee may wake you up in the morning but caffeine can increase levels of anxiety especially in people already suffering from the effects of stress.
• Get into the exercise habit. Regular exercise helps to mobilize and utilize excessive amounts of adrenaline (caused by stress) and so helps to calm you down.
• Try, to include some positive relaxation techniques oil daily basis. There is a range of alternative therapies that are all effective methods of relaxing and so reducing anxiety levels. These include yoga, massage, shiatsu, aromatherapy, reflexology and acupuncture.

WHAT IS YOUR STRESS SCORE?
Many life events can be a major source of stress; even when an event is a wholly desirable one, such as a wedding or house move. Read through the following stress “ratings” to see how they are linked to various major and minor life events. This will help you to focus on the factors that may be causing stress in your life and to establish if you can make any changes to alleviate the problem.

• Very, high stress – Death of a spouse; divorce or marital separation; loss of job; house move; personal injury or illness.
• High stress – Retirement; pregnancy; change of job; death of close friend; serious family illness.
• Moderate stress – Large debts such as mortgage; trouble with parents-in-law spouse starting or stopping work; trouble with boss; legal proceedings over debt
• Low stress – Change in work conditions; change in schools; change in eating habits; small mortgage or debts; Christmas or other family holidays.

GET A GOOD NIGHT’S SLEEP

We spend approximately one-third of our lives asleep but many of the elements of this fundamental biological process – exactly why we sleep and how our bodies know when to sleep – still elude sleep science researchers.

An adequate period of sleep is necessary to allow the body and mind to rest properly and what is adequate will vary from person to person. Making sure that you have enough sleep is vital in terms of stress management so it is perhaps surprising then that many people do not allow themselves adequate periods of sleep.

An increasingly complex lifestyle that means you are continually struggling to deal with competing demands may lead you to feel that you cannot allow time for the luxury of a good night’s sleep. But studies have shown that long-term sleep deprivation will eventually predispose a person to a range of physical and psychological problems.

PROBLEMS SLEEPING

If you are having difficulty sleeping or feel that you have poor-quality sleep, it may well be helpful to discuss the situation with your doctor. If you have already tried some of the self-help suggestions then it may be that you need a mild hypnotic drug to help you to re-establish a sleep pattern.

Over tiredness is a leading cause of reduced productivity at work as well as being a major cause of road accidents. Insomnia may also be a manifestation of anxiety and/or depression, both of which require specific treatment.

Half of all people affected by kidney stones will develop further stones within seven years. Kidney stones occur more frequently in young to middle-aged men. People living in a hot climate have a higher chance of developing kidney stones if they don’t drink enough fluid to replace that lost through sweating. Some individuals may inherit a predisposition towards the condition.

HOW IS IT DIAGNOSED?

Your doctor may suspect kidney stones after taking your medical history. Then you may be referred for further investigations, including a plain X-ray and/or intravenous orography, to sdentifs’ the presence and location of stones. Some kidney stones are made from calcium salts and show up well oil images. Other stones, made from oxalatc, phosphate or uric acid, can be more difficult to see. More tests may he done on urine to cheek for secondary infection, any presence of blood in the urine and to measure kidney function.

TREATING KIDNEY STONES

Treatment for the condition depends on the size of the stone.

• Small stones may pass with rest, plenty of fluids and some appropriate pain relief. Occasionally smaller stones may become lodged in the ureter, and these can he removed during examination with an instrument called a cystoscope.
• Larger stones call more problems. They may not pass spontaneously and are more likely to become lodged in the kidney. These stones are usually treated through a process known as lithotrupsy. This method uses high-energy shock waves to break the stones down into a powder, which can then be expelled in the urine.
• In some cases, stones have to be removed surgically, although this is rare and generally only used as a last resort.

SIGNS AND SYMPTOMS

Small stones may cause no symptoms whatsoever. However, larger stones are usually very painful because they cause the ureter to go into acute spasm. This is known as renal colic and the symptoms of renal colic are:

1. Intense pain that radiates from the back (usually on one side) to the groin. Sometimes it can be felt in the genitals as well.
2. Frequent, painful urination.
3. Blood in the urine.
4. Nausea and vomiting.

Renal colic subsides as soon as the offending stone is passed. An episode of renal colic may be an isolated incident. but some people are more prone to the condition and they may experience repeated attacks of kidney stones and renal colic.

PREVENTING KIDNEY STONES

• Drink plenty of fluids, approximately 2-3 litres (3Ii.-5 pints) a day.
• Increase your fluid intake during hot weather and after exercise.
• Avoid too much rhubarb, spinach and asparagus, as these promote the formation of oxalate stones.
• Check with your doctor in case you should limit your intake of calcium- rich substances, such as dairy products or calcium-based antacids.
• People who are prone to kidney stones may be advised to avoid, or reduce their consumption, of dairy products such as buffer and cheese.

1. Essential or primary hypertension – Nine out of ten people with high blood pressure have this type and the exact cause is unknown, although it involves many risk factors.
2. Secondary hypertension – About 10 per cent of people have high blood pressure due to another disease, such as kidney­ disease, rare endocrine disorders or heart valve problems, or in rare cases it is due to interactions with a drug.
3. Malignant hypertension – In this rare type, blood pressure can soar to dangerous levels, requiring urgent hospital treatment.

MEASURING BLOOD PRESSURE

Doctors usually use a device called a sphygmomanometer to measure blood pressure, although some doctors now have electronic machines instead. This device has an inflatable cuff linked to a column of mercury or sprung dial. The blood pressure values are given in millimeters of mercury (written as mmHg for short).

A blood pressure reading is shown as two numbers, for example. 140/90 mmHg. The first number on the reading is the systolic pressure – the pressure when the heart attacks and when the pressure is at its highest. The second number is the diastolic pressure and corresponds to the resting and therefore the lower pressure between the heartbeats

The cuff is placed around the upper arm over the main artery – the brachial artery – and inflated to block the blood flow. The doctor places a stethoscope just below the cuff on the inside of the elbow. As the cuff is gradually deflated, blood rushes through the artery and this turbulent fleet can be heard via the stethoscope (or microphone in electronic devices). The doctor can monitor the changes in the sounds and identify the point at which the blood is flowing smoothly (through the unsquashed brachial artery), this is the diastolic pressure.

Routine blood pressure tests are vital for at-risk groups such as the elderly because hypertension may show no symptoms. High blood pressure can run in families, so if .his is the case in your family makes an appointment for a check with your doctor.

KNOW THE RISK FACTORS

High blood pressure can run in families, but doctors have identified other factors that can put you at risk of high blood pressure; some are similar to those for heart disease.

• Increasing age (as you get older, your arteries become stiffer and push your blood pressure tip).

• Being overweight.

• Excessive alcohol consumption.

• Smoking.

• High-salt diet.

It can be enormously beneficial, psychologically and physically, to make an effort to integrate positive thinking into every aspect of your life. You will reap the health rewards if you fallow a few basic guidelines:

• Consider that it is often much easier to be negative and critical so make an effort to be positive and encouraging to yourself and to others.
• Keep crises in perspective and if possible try to see them simply as problems that you can solve.
• Focus on the good things in your life.
• When faced with a situation that you find stressful, try calming strategies such as raking deep breaths or visualizing tranquil scenes or images.

Education on health-damaging habits, such as smoking, can also begin at a very early age and probably has the best effect when your children can see plainly that you yourself, for example, don’t smoke.

Positive health influences can take many different forms, from promoting a healthy diet to making an effort to organize family- group activities on a regular basis. Bike rides or walks to the woods, for example, that allow you to spend time together as a family, will set a pattern for later in life.

Your health is something that you can influence – for better or for worse – through the lifestyle choices you make every day. People today are generally^, much better in formed than their parents’ generation and the expectations of what medicine can do is also higher. It is possible to make small changes to the way you live which will lead to a healthier and longer life. Simple, realistic changes are by far the best – drastic measures usually prove difficult to sustain and tend to be followed for only a short time Healthy choices are those that you make for life.

In the 21st century more people are living for longer – in fact, most of the world’s population is living 20 years longer than their parents. What’s the secret? Today, we have access to better food, sanitation and health care services.

CHANCE AND CHOICE FACTORS

Having a health lifestyle comes down to two factors – chance and choice. The chance factors are those you cannot change, such as your genetic make-up, which may protect you from or predispose you to illness throughout your life. But, if ^you find out

Spending lime doing things you enjoy can be invaluable to both your physical and your mental health. Gardening can be an active pursuit while giving your mind something to focus on during any stressful times.

That you are more likely to develop a condition, you can take positive steps to help you prevent the situation from arising. The choice factors are being aware of the foods you eat, whether you drink alcohol (and to what extent), whether you smoke, how much exercise you take and how you deal with day-to-day- stress.

Persistently high blood pressure is a common problem and it is important to treat it when it occurs because it significantly increases the risk of a stroke.

There are times when everyone’s blood pressure is high. Your blood pressure fluctuates throughout the day, being lowest during sleep then rising on getting up, and reaching its higher value sometime mid­ morning. On top of your normal values are times of stress, nervousness, excitement and physical activity – all of which raise your blood pressure.

Although people’s blood pressure has a range of values that are acceptable, doctors will consider 120/80 mmHg as a ‘normal’ reading. The first number of the reading relates to the blood pressure when the heart muscle contracts – systole – and the second number relates to pressure during its relaxation phase – diastole.

Urine is 95 per cent water and 5 per cent uric acid, urea, salts (such as sodium, potassium and chloride) and creatinine. The nephron is part of the filtration unit through which the blood passes in the kidneys. Through this filtration system useful substances are reabsorbed into the bloodstream, and waste substances become urine, which is eventually passed from the kidneys by the ureter.

The urinary system is a sophisticated filtration unit which maintains fluid and chemical balance within the body. Many chemical reactions occurring in cells all over the body produce unwanted by-products and the kidneys filter these from the blood and excrete them in the form of urine.

The urinary system is made up of a pair of kidneys, two ureters, a bladder and a urethra. As well as their important excretory function, the kidney’ s also produce hormones that control red blood cell production and help to regulate blood pressure.

The kidneys are the main organs of the urinary system, with many vital functions:

• Removing toxic waste products from the blood and excreting them as urine.

• Returning useful substances to the bod^y’s circulation.

• Regulating water balance. Your kidneys conserve water at times of relative dehydration and eliminate any surplus.

THE KIDNEY IN DETAIL

Your kidneys arc about 12 cm (5 in) long and 6 cm (2.5 in) wide and are at the back of ^your abdomen, just in front of your spine. The kidne^y has several regions, each with a different function:

• The cortex – This outer layer houses filtering units called nephtons.

• The medulla ^-The next inner layer is full of cone-shaped urine-collecting ducts.

• The renal pelvis -This is at the heart of the kidney and is where urine collects before passing on to the bladder.

FILTERING THE BLOOD

Blood is transported to each kidney through the renal arteries.

These blood vessels stem from the body’s main artery, the aorta, and carry a rich blood supply, that accounts for a quarter of the blood pumped b^y the heart.

Blood passes from these arteries through a sophisticated filtration system. The principal unit of the system is the nephron, which is made up of a glomerulus and a renal tubule.

PASSAGE OF URINE

Once fluid reaches the end of the renal tubule it is urine. Urine from the fleplirofls travels via collecting ducts in the kidney’s medulla to storage areas that feed into the renal pelvis. Each kidney is drained by a ureter, which is a thin muscular tube about 30 cm (12 in) long. Ureters carry urine to the bladder, which stores the urine until it is emptied. The bladder has a highly folded lining that smoothes out as it expands and fills with urine. A healthy adult excretes 0.5-2 liters (1-3 pints) of urine every day.

After boy reaches puberty, his testes create sperm at a rate of approximately 125 million sperm a day. These gather in the testes and then move on to the coiled tubular system known as the epidemiologist, where they mature. The epidemiologist drains first into the vas deference and from there into the ejaculatory ducts. During sexual activity, these ducts contract and push sperm through the urethra during the process of ejaculation.

Sperm are carried in fluid produced by the seminal vesicles and the prostate gland. This fluid, which is known as semen, is rich in nutrients and provides an effective medium within which sperm can stay alive. For about 20 minutes after ejaculation, the sperm hardly move at all, remaining in the gel-like substance. After this, the semen liquefies, and the sperm swim towards their ultimate goal – a female ovum (egg). It is here that fertilization takes place.

Other elements of the male reproductive system are related to the penis and include the urethra, the foreskin and the glans penis. The urethra is the tube through which semen is ejaculated during sexual activity and it is also the tube through which urine passes. The glans penis is the conical swelling at the tip of the penis. In uncircumcised men, the glans is enclosed by the foreskin, which is attached at the neck of the penis.

After about three years of age, the foreskin, or prepuce, usually becomes retractable so that the glans may be exposed up until this time it sticks to the glans. The inside of the foreskin is covered with sebaceous glands that secrete a substance known as smegma, and this should he removed by regular, careful cleaning of the penis. It is hormonal changes in the male and female bodies during puberty that prepares thorn for their ultimate purpose: sexual activity and reproduction.

HORMONES AND THE MENSTRUAL CYCLE

The ovaries produce two hormones – estrogen and progesterone. These two hormones are controlled b^y the pituitary gland, which produces follicle-stimulating hormone (FSI I) and luteinizing hormone (LII), which regulate the menstrual cycle.

During the first half of the menstrual cycle the pituitary produces FSH, which causes an egg to mature within the ovary in preparation for release. Towards the middle of the cycle, LH levels start to rise and trigger the release of the egg (this usually occurs about 14 days before the onset of menstruation). The hormone progesterone causes the uterine lining to thicken during the second half of the menstrual cycle, in preparation for possible implantation of a fertilized egg, should fertilization take place. Whenever fertilization does not occur, the uterine lining is expelled menstrual bleeding.

When a woman’s ovaries stop responding to the effects of FSH and LH (usually between the ages of 45 and 55), she starts to produce less estrogen and progesterone; this is the of the menopause, when menstruation gradually fades out and fertility ceases.

Puberty is the major developmental stage for the reproductive s^ystems of both genders. It is at this time that hormonal changes in the body bring great physical and mental changes, maturation to the reproductive systems for their adult role. Both the male and female systems are perfectly for designed o their unique ultimate function sexual activity and reproduction.

• Skeletal muscles - The bulk of the body’s muscles are skeletal muscles, which move the body. Skeletal muscles are voluntary muscles – they do not contract on their own. In response to a nerve impulse from-the brain, the muscle contracts, pulling on the bone and moving it. Muscles can only pull and never push so they work in pairs. When the biceps contracts it pulls the firearm towards the upper arm, bending the arm at the elbow. The triceps on the opposite side of the upper arm relaxes, allowing this to happen. When the triceps contracts, the biceps relaxes and the movement is reversed.
• Smooth muscles – Situated in the walls of the body’s hollow organs, such as the digestive tract, they perform automatic tasks such as propelling food along.
• Cardiac muscle – This forms the non­stop pump that is the heart.

• Some bones protect the vital organs. The skull acts as armor for the brain, and the pelvic hones keep abdominal organs from being damaged. The movement of the ribs aids the process of breathing and they also protect the organs of the chest, such as the heart and lungs.
• The bones of the ear help with hearing. They act as amplifiers when sound passes from the outside world through on its way to the brain.
• The bone marrow inside flat bone as the shoulder blades and breastbone a range of blood cells.

THE JOINTS

• A joint is the junction between two or more bones. Some joints are fixed, such as of the skull, while others, such cartilaginous joints between the vertebrae of the spine, have hardly any However, most joints in the both freely and are known as Synovial joints. The ends of the bones meeting at synovial joints are covered with a thin layer of cartilage to stop them grinding against each other. They are lubricated, to allow smooth by a thin layer of fluid called Synovial fluid. The ligaments are strong fibrous strips that hold bones together at the joint them from moving too far apart.