injuries Archives - Custom Calm

Yoga: 5 Ways to Tell if you are Overdoing

Posted by Ellen Sichel on February 27, 2012

A recent article in the Atlanta Journal Constitution focused on injuries while practicing yoga.

The main reason is we push beyond our limitations because we pay attention only to our thoughts. Our body has infinite wisdom, and the practice of yoga is to stay in awareness from the inside-out. Being aware means noticing what the mind is telling you and checking in with your body.

Your body will tell you the truth and your mind will tend to judge.

At times it is difficult to know whether you are pushing too much or you are really able to go a bit further. Here are a few simple tips that will help.

If you are comparing yourself to someone else, chances are you are overdoing it.
If you are going further because a teacher told you to, you are not listening to your body.
If you cannot breathe into the pose when it is painful, then back out.
If you feel a stretch and you can breathe and relax into it, then you are okay.
If you feel a stretch and when you take an easy breath and you cannot release and go deeper, then you should ease out a bit.

Let me know in the comments below what you noticed. Did you push beyond your limitations? If so, why do you think that happened?

Tags: awareness, breathe, injuries, stretching, yoga

Posted in: Technique of the Week

Military to Implement Integrative Medicine for Comprehensive Pain Management

Posted by Ellen Sichel on September 7, 2011

A recap from an article from the Army Pain Management Task Force:

In June 2011, senior military medical leadership met with The Bravewell Collaborative and renowned scientists and physicians at the Pentagon to discuss improving pain management for warriors and veterans through the use of integrative medicine.

The 2009 Army Pain Management Task Force report called for building best practices for the continuum of acute and chronic care based on a “holistic, multidisciplinary, integrative approach to care.”

“We have an extraordinary generation in the military right now,” Schoomaker noted. “Today’s wounded warriors do not want to be defined by their injuries.” They want to live fully and in some cases, they want to return to active duty.

It is estimated that millions of our nation’s warriors and veterans live with chronic pain and research shows that pain reduces quality of life, work and relationships.

Integrative strategies, have been shown in clinical research to reduce pain scores by as much as fifty percent.

The practices employed by Custom Calm are backed by clinical research. The integrative approach brings help and hope to those suffering from stress, pain and illness. In addition to directly helping the symptoms of pain, the techniques teach how to change their relationship to the pain, stress or illness.

Let me know what you think of this article. If you have questions feel free to ask in the comments below.

Tags: Army, illness, injuries, Integrative Medicine, military stress and pain, pain managment, stress, veterens

Posted in: This Stuff Works

Chronic Pain Costs U.S more than Heart Disease

Posted by Ellen Sichel on July 13, 2011

Washington Institute of Medicine study published in the Philadelphia Enquirer June 30:

Nearly a third of Americans experience long-lasting pain costing the nation at least $558 billion a year in medical bills, sick days and lost productivity.

“We are viewing this as a critical issue for the U.S.” said Philip Pizzo, Stanford University dean of medicine.

All kinds of ailments can trigger lingering pain, from arthritis to cancer, spine problems to digestive disorders, injuries to surgery. Chronic pain can also be a disease all its own, the report stressed.

Dr. Doris Cope, pain chief at University of Pittsburgh Medical Center states:

“Too many think a pill’s the answer, when there are many ways to address pain. The population is getting older and less fit, and more survivors of diseases such as cancer live for many years with side effects from treatments.”

The article concludes: Too few doctors are trained to manage pain as well as insurance might not cover time consuming counseling in pain-management techniques, consultations with specialists, or even nondrug care.

It is clear that other options are needed. Custom Calm techniques are a cost effective way to lower pain. Teaching clients how to take charge of reducing their pain gives them the ability to greatly improving their daily living.

Tags: arthritis, cancer, chronic pain, digestive disorders, injuries, medical costs, pain management, spine problems

Posted in: This Stuff Works