Pain Relief Newsletter April  2003 [ Send a copy to a friend ] Good Nutrition Helps Ward Off Pain Food is the most neglected of medicines.  Day in and day out, the foods you choose as fuel either build your body up or tear it down.  A low-fat, moderate-protein diet, based around vegetables, fruits, legumes and grains is what the human body was designed for.  Making the right food choices -- starting with an emphasis on plant foods in as close to their natural state as possible - is one simple way you can ward off pain and help ensure good health in the years to come. (READ ARTICLE)   Spring Cleaning Can Mess Up Your Body In their ardent efforts to perform the ultimate "spring cleaning" around the home, many people wind up in pretty bad shape.  They pull muscles, twist tendons and otherwise abuse parts of the body that are often conditioned to accommodate little more than sitting on the couch. (READ ARTICLE) The Bowen Technique and Migraine Relief A migraine is certainly no ordinary headache.  If you have ever suffered a migraine you are in no need of creative descriptions to convey the agony it brings.  If you have had to witness the pain and disruption of migraine on friends, family members or clients, then you have longed to do something to help. But now, thanks to the resullts of a new study, there is documented work to show that the Bowen Technique can dramatically reduce the severity and frequency of migraine attacks. (READ ARTICLE)    Managing Chronic Pain Pain is undertreated:  That was the conclusion of the Joint Commission on Accreditation of Healthcare Organizations, which recently issued new guidelines for monitoring and treating pain that will require hospitals and medical facilities all over the country to pay more attention to pain.  This is good news for the estimated 50 million Americans who experience chronic pain, and whose daily lives are often restricted by it. (READ ARTICLE)    No More Headaches, No More Migraines - BOOK REVIEW This husband-and-wife team (Zuzana, a California-based doctor; Francis, a professor at UC-Irvine) believe that all headaches, even migraines, can be prevented or diminished in frequency and severity by changes in lifestyle. The authors outline the different types of headaches, as well as the underlying diseases of which headaches are often symptoms, and the physiological processes that occur during a headache. Based on Zuzana's studies at Loma Linda University's School of Public Health in California, the authors contend that high levels of fat or sugar in the blood, as well as physical inactivity and stress, create a biochemical imbalance that triggers headaches. Rather than focusing on removing headache triggers, the Bics emphasize the positive in their headache prevention program: eat a diet low in fat and sugar, with an emphasis on natural foods; exercise regularly; and manage your stress. With the use of charts the authors condense their argument to its basics, showing how diet, stress and a sedentary lifestyle cause biochemical changes. Simply written, the book is a useful introduction to how headaches work and how they might be managed. Their program, however, may seem too simplified and too general for longtime headache sufferers. From Publishers Weekly, Copyright 1999, Reed Business Information, Inc.    No More Headaches - No More Migraines Sports Injuries Weekend athletes can run into problems.  Boring as it sounds, you well know that regular and moderate are key concepts in health, whether you apply them to sports, relaxation, relationships, food or even oxygen.  If possible, try to get up and shake your booty a bit each day -- walk, dance around the living room, try a yoga or aerobics class, go to the pool, do a sustained spell of gardening or housecleaning.  Just move!  And when you do go out for the weekend hike, kayak trip or soccer match, make sure you warm up and cool down. (READ ARTICLE)   Bowen Technique: Gentle Touch Produces Miracles For as long as I can remember, I've suffered from back pain. Although I have experienced some relief using heat, cold, massage, chiropractic and acupuncture, invariably the pain has always returned. Until one day I visited a friend in California who had similar back problems. She told me she had some body work done called Bowen. Her back and hip pain were gone after just one session! I was definitely intrigued. I couldn't wait to find out more. When I arrived back home I got on the internet and learned that the Bowen Technique involves a series of very gentle rolling moves on the body using thumbs and fingers. It was developed in Australia in the 1950's by Thomas Bowen, a gifted healer who devised a simple but powerful method for releasing pain. Hoping to find a Bowen practitioner near me, I emailed close to 40 practitioners around the U.S. and asked if they could refer me to someone. After 39 "no's" I got one "yes!" I arranged to have three Bowen sessions. After the third session, my back pain and sciatica were "history!" I got so excited I decided to become a Bowen practitioner. (READ ARTICLE)   Newsletter Archives September 2002 October 2002 November 2002 December 2002 January 2003 February 2003 March 2003