Working through a knee injury with VertiBaX: Sensory Muscle Therapy

VertiBaX: Sensory Muscle Therapy is bringing revolutionary knee pain relief to many active people across Europe suffering from knee pain. Due to the success of VertiBaX: Sensory Muscle Therapy, road tested by UK and International Gymnasts, it is being pursued by Incredible Discoveries a company specialising in half hour infomercials involving incredible discoveries in Florida, USA (www.incrediblediscoveries.com). VertiBaX products are also becoming an increasingly popular aid for NHS physiotherapists, working with patients in the rehabilitation of joints through exercise.

The Product: VertiBaX: Sensory Muscle Therapy is an advanced technology which enhances joint rehabilitation following injury and reduces the risk of further injury on returning to exercise. It is applied using two VertiBaX knee products, the Healthcare Sensory Wrap and the Active Support.

The Knee Active Support is worn during exercise, providing compression support at key points around the joint, enhancing balanced muscle activity, reducing the risk of further injury during exercise, improving the body’s biomechanics, reducing the risk of referred injury. This is then replaced by the Knee Healthcare Sensory Wrap following exercise to keep muscles warm and relaxed, increasing the rate of blood flow, preventing the build up of muscle tension, stiffness and related pain.

One comment made by many users of the VertiBaX Knee products is how effective they are at staying in place around the knee, regardless of the level of physical activity undertaken. Many long distance runners, walkers and endurance athletes are reaping the benefits.

In simple terms, VertiBaX products work in harmony with the body, according to the level of physical exertion and are the product of choice for many sports men and women of all abilities, helping the individual rebuild muscle groups around the joint as they return to exercise.

Product Help Clinic:

For more information on VertiBaX joint pain relief products visit www.vertibax.co.uk.

For a full range of knee supports and knee wraps visit www.support4physio.co.uk , on-line Physiotherapy Supplies: Direct to the Public and Practitioner.

Disclaimer: Professional independent medical advice should be taken before acting on any of the information given in this article.

Angus BR Macnab
BSc (hons) Medical Biochemistry

Fibromyalgia is also called as FMS. Fibromyalgia is a disorder classified by the presence of chronic widespread pain and tactile allodynia. The disorder is not directly life-threatening. While fibromyalgia is one of the most common diseases affecting the muscles, its cause is currently unknown. Fibromyalgia is a clinical syndrome defined by chronic widespread muscular pain, fatigue and tenderness. Fibromyalgia affects predominantly women (over 80 percent) between the ages of 35 and 55. The degree of symptoms may vary greatly from day to day with periods of flares. Fibromyalgia is a chronic condition characterized by widespread pain in your muscles, ligaments and tendons, as well as fatigue and multiple tender points places on your body where slight pressure causes pain.

Fibromyalgia is agreed upon as one thing—a disease entity or a painful entity. In fact, fibromyalgia really is a calamity. Tender points are places on the neck, shoulders, back, hips, arms or legs that hurt when touched. Every muscle in their body shouted out in pain. Treatment programs are most effective when they combine patient education, stress reduction, regular exercise, and medications. In addition, they felt devoid of energy as though someone had unplugged their power supply. The pain is biological, psychological, and social. It affects all parameters, including even a spiritual or religious component. Many medical conditions can cause pain in different areas of the body, mimicking fibromyalgia.

Cause of fibromyalgia

Genetics

Sleep disturbances

Dopamine abnormality

Changes in muscles metabolism

Abnormal levels of Substance P in their spinal fluid

Symptoms of Fibromyalgia

abnormal sleep architecture

heightened sensitivity

fatigue

sensitivity to noise and temperature

mood changes

musculoskeletal pain

Environmental change

physical problems

memory problems

anxiety and depressive

irritable bowel syndrome

Diagnosis for Fibromyalgia

However, blood tests for TSH (thyroid stimulating hormone) and ESR (erythrocyte sedimentation rate) values can differentiate these diagnoses from fibromyalgia. The diagnosis of fibromyalgia is made purely on clinical grounds based on the doctor’s history and physical examination.

Treatment for Fibromyalgia

Medication, while important, is not the only treatment. Patient education, exercise, self-management skills and alternative therapies help treat fibromyalgia symptoms.

Low doses of sedating antidepressants (e.g. amitriptyline and trazodone) have been used to reduce the sleep disturbances that are associated with fibromyalgia.

Considering nontraditional treatment options for your fibromyalgia pain.

Some topical remedies ar used for the treatment of fibromyalgia.

Current studies indicate the best pharmacologic treatment for treating pain (and improving disrupted sleep patterns) is low doses of tricyclic compounds including cyclobenzaprine and amitriptyline .

Muscle relaxants, anti-epileptics (such as Neurontin and Lyrica) and other drug categories may be prescribed as well. Each issue of the Fibromyalgia Network Journal contains information about new treatment options, as well as advice about how to make use of existing medications to minimize fibromyalgia symptoms.

Prevention for Fibromyalgia

Schedule time to relax each day. Deep-breathing exercises and meditation will help reduce the stress that can bring on symptoms.

Do exercise regularly.

Stress reduction might include simple stress modification at home or work, biofeedback, relaxation tapes, psychological counseling, and/or support among family members, friends, and doctors.

Cardiac arrhythmia is a group of conditions in which the electrical activity of the heart is irregular or is faster or slower than normal. Cardiac arrhythmias comprise any abnormality or pertubation in the normal activation sequence of the myocardium. Arrhythmias stem from several causes. The heart’s natural timekeeper—a small mass of special cells called the sinus node—can malfunction and develop an abnormal electrical impulse rate. CPR can prolong the survival of the brain in the lack of a normal pulse, but defibrillation is the intervention which is most likely to restore a more healthy heart rhythm. A slow rhythm, known as bradycardia (less than 60 beats/min), is usually not life threatening, but may cause symptoms. When it causes symptoms implantation of a permanent pacemaker may be needed. Either dysrhythmia requires medical attention to evaluate the risks associated with the arrhythmia. The signs and symptoms of cardiac arrhythmias can range from completely asymptomatic to loss of consciousness or sudden cardiac death.

Complaints such as lightheadedness, dizziness, quivering, shortness of breath, chest discomfort, heart fluttering or pounding, and forceful or painful extra beats are commonly reported with a variety of arrhythmias. Beats are generated by electrical impulses in the atria (top chambers of the heart) and are then conducted to the ventricles, where they produce the powerful muscle contraction that pumps blood. People may have allergies or idiosyncratic reactions to many other foods and beverages that cause transitory arrhythmias. Long-term nicotine exposure and any cocaine exposure can cause much more serious arrhythmias. Oxidative stress is a common feature of ischemic-reperfusion injuries, which occur when the heart is temporarily deprived of oxygenated blood (a state known as ischemia), followed by the reintroduction of oxygenated blood (reperfusion). The development of arrhythmias include congenital heart defects, coronary artery disease, high blood pressure (hypertension).

Advances in medicine and technology have created new treatment options for cardiac arrhythmia (commonly known as heart rhythm disturbances). Cardioversion is the application of electrical current across the chest wall to the heart and it is used for treatment of supraventricular or pulsed ventricular tachycardia. Defibrillation differs in that it is used for ventricular fibrillation and pulseless ventricular tachycardia, and more electricity is delivered with defibrillation than with cardioversion. Arrhythmias may involve medications (anti-arrhythmic therapy), catheter ablations, and implantation of pacemakers or implantable cardioverter defibrillators (ICD). Cardiac resynchronization therapy (CRT) or CRT-D (CRT with defibrillator therapy) is an innovative therapeutic option for patients with refractory HF. Defibrillation differs in that it is used for ventricular fibrillation and more electricity is delivered with defibrillation than with cardioversion. Antiarrhythmic medications help to change the electrical signals within the heart to suppress or prevent the arrhythmia.

Treatment for Cardiac Arrhythmias Tips

1. Using a small, battery-powered generator to deliver timed, electrical impulses to the heart muscle through tiny wire leads.

2. The treatment for some patients is a technique called cardiac ablation.

3. Magnetic Guidance in the Heart While transcatheter ablation is very effective, it can be difficult.

4. Stereotaxis Niobe Magnetic Navigation System uses two superconductive magnets, a magnetic-tipped guide wire and advanced computer imaging techniques.

5. Atrial fibrillation can also be treated through a procedure, e.g. pulmonary vein isolation.

6. Fibrillation differs in that it is used for ventricular fibrillation and pulseless ventricular tachycardia.