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Different Ways of Lowering High Blood Pressure

There are several ways of lowering high blood pressure and the most popular among them is the DASH (Dietary Approaches to Stop Hypertension) method of dieting. The DASH diet requires the following:

1. Fruits, vegetables and low-fat dairy foods should be eaten.
2. Lesser intake of foods high in cholesterol and saturated fat.
3. Eating more wheat products, poultry, fish and nuts.
4. Reduce intake of red meat and sweets.
5. Eating foods that are rich in calcium, magnesium and potassium.

The DASH diet program is proven to be effective in lowering high blood pressure. Studies show that people with hypertension who have undergone the DASH diet program reduced their blood pressure in just 1 week. Another diet is the DASH-Sodium diet. This method calls for salt intake reduction of up to 1,500mg (2 to 3 Tbsp.) of salt a day.

Less intake of salt helps in lowering high blood pressure and can also reduce risks of getting a heart attack. Sodium or salt is needed in our daily meals but we most of the time eat more than what is required. To avoid too much salt intake, please follow the guidelines below:

• Check the labels when buying foods from the grocery store. Go for low-salt cereals, crackers, spaghetti sauce and canned vegetables.
• When you feel like you are eating meals that are high in salt, neutralize it by eating high-potassium foods like fruits and vegetables.
• When eating in restaurants, you can ask the chef not to add too much salt on your food.
• When cooking your own food, you can put salt to it at the end. When you put salt on your food while cooking, the salty flavor is neutralized. This causes the salty taste to go onto the top layer.

Scientists believe that moderate intake of alcohol can be good. There have been studies showing that drinking moderately can keep a sharp mind as well lowers the risk of having diabetes. However, too much of it can be harmful to your health. You should always consider the amount of alcohol that you drink plus your age and other conditions.

Another efficient way in lowering high blood pressure is to lose weight by regularly exercising. You do not really have to go to the gym everyday but you can buy exercise machines from sports shops that you can use at the comfort of your home. You can buy a cheap treadmill or stationary bicycle, or if you want you can take a walk in your neighborhood every morning. The above information serves as guidelines in lowering high blood pressure. To obtain more information about treating hypertension, it is best to consult your physician.

Lower Back Pain Treatment

At some point in their lives, four out of five adults will experience lower back pain. It is one of the most common conditions in the United States and one of the leading reasons why people visit the doctor’s clinic every year.

The consequences of lower back pain can be great. But ironically enough the extent of the pain is wholly unrelated to the extent of the damage. For instance, muscle spasms as a result of back strain can be so excruciating that persons suffering from it will find it difficult to walk or even stand. Whereas, degeneration of one of your vertebral discs (herniated disc) will cause virtually no pain at all to arise.

There is no definitive cause of lower back pain. Sometimes, the causes of the condition are so complex that it is difficult to pinpoint just a single one. For this reason, lower back pain treatment largely aims only to help patients manage their pain by providing relief.

Below are a few common lower back pain treatment methods suggested by therapists and other healthcare professionals:

Rest

The good news is that most cases of lower back pain last only for a couple of days. The suggested lower back pain treatment method therefore is rest. This will allow the muscles of your lower back to regain its supply of blood, nutrients and proteins which are necessary for healing to take place.

However, if pain persists even after a couple of days or a period of a couple of weeks, then resting as a lower back pain treatment method is not advisable. That’s because resting for longer than two weeks will lead to weakness of the muscles, which would in turn slow down the healing process, or worse, lead to atrophy (muscle wasting).

Exercise

Lower back pain that lasts more than two weeks should be treated with exercise. The general rule is that people who are active and well-conditioned are less likely to suffer from lower back pain. Regular exercise will stretch the muscles of your lower back, thus reducing the risk of strain, tear, or spasm.

Manual Physical Therapy

Sometimes, rest and exercise, the most common forms of lower back pain treatment, may not produce the desired results. Even so, pain may still be treated without going for surgery. Manual physical therapy is a method of lower back pain treatment that uses a specialized type of physical therapy to relieve pain.

Basically, this lower back pain treatment method delivers with the hands as opposed to a device or machine. The practitioners of this type of therapy will be using their hands to decrease back pain by applying pressure on the muscle group affected.

There are several more forms of lower back pain treatment options available for those seeking to relieve pain due to muscle strains of the lower back.