How can a balance be achieved? Its a good question.

Check out this humerous video by Nigel Marsh for some helpful tips on how you might regain some work/life balance in your life.

Did you hold your nose and take your daily dose of fish oil this morning? Or perhaps you opted for an odour-free capsule? Well, you’re not alone. Around one in four Australians take fish oil supplements to improve their health. After all, it’s supposed to be good for all sorts of things. Right?

Fish oil has been shown to help the symptoms of inflammatory arthritis, such as rheumatoid arthritis, ankylosing spondylitis and psoriatic arthritis. However, there is little evidence to suggest it provides any benefit in cases of osteoarthritis. Long-term intake of fish oil has been shown to reduce the reliance on NSAIDs (such as Ibuprofen) in some cases of arthritis.

So… how much fish oil is recommended to control symptoms of arthritis?

Arthritis Australia suggests the dose needed to reduce inflammation is a whopping 2.7 grams of omega-3 (EPA plus DHA) daily. That’s approximately:

• 9 to 14 standard 1000mg fish oil capsules or five to seven capsules of a fish oil concentrate per day, or
• 15mL of bottled fish oil or five to seven mL ofconcentrated bottled fish oil per day.

And, how long do you need to take fish oil for before seeing some benefits?

You may need to take fish oil supplements regularly at the recommended arthritis dose for two to three months before you notice improvements in your arthritis symptoms. If there is no change by then, the supplements are probably not effective for your arthritis.

According to doctors, up to a million people in the UK are suffering from “completely prevetable” severe headaches caused by taking too many painkillers.

They said some were trapped in a “vicious cycle” of taking pain relief, which then caused even more headaches. The warning came as part of the National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence’s (NICE) first guidelines for treating headaches.

It is estimated that between 1-5% of all headaches are caused by medication overuse. Generally most people suffering from this form of headache start with either an everyday tension-type headache or a migraine.

Neurologists have put the tipping point at which the use of pain relief drugs became the issue at around 10-15 days per month.

Check out the article here.

Other headache characteristics that can indicate a serious condition requiring immediate medical attention include:

• headaches that strike suddenly and cause severe pain
• are accompanied by vision changes, confusion, loss of consciousness, numbness or any similar changes.
• wakes you up during the night
• become more frequent or severe
• follows a blow to the head
• occur with fever or a stiff neck
• occur in young children or older adults
• repeatedly affect the same area such as an eye or ear
• are accompanied by convulsions

As a general rule, we are most concerned about new headaches. If you get the occasional headache, a new headache means that it feels different from any you’ve had before. The majority of new headaches turn out to be harmless. Most turn out to be a migraine or tension headache. However, if you have experienced a new headache you should have it evaluated by a health care professional.

The osteopaths at Harbour Osteopathy have years of experience in the treatment of patients with various types of headaches.  We provide an individualized osteopathic approach for each patient that incorporates the best available scientific evidence regarding the diagnosis, treatment and management of headaches. To make an appointment call us today on 02 9977 8007.

So, the clinic will be relocating at some point in the future. It could be two months, it could be six months. Exactly when is yet to be determine. However, rest assured, I definitely be letting you all know ahead of schedule.

In the mean time if you’d like to check out the current state of the renos at the future clinic location, check out the video below. Any moral support would be appreciated.

Osteoarthritis can occur throughout the body but is most commonly found in the big weight-bearing joints of the hips and knees, as well as the spine, and also the much used joints of the fingers. Symptoms can range from mild discomfort and stiffness that is generally worse after rest and eases once you start moving again, all the way up to severe pain and disability. The symptoms are generally worse in the cold and by being over-weight (especially if the hip and knees are affected).

Certainly, some people seem to get is worse than other.  To this we could blame bad genes or even more likely, how they have used (or abused) their body’s over a lifetime. Its also been found that an injury to a joint often makes that joint more susceptible to developing osteoarthritis sooner.

One of the most common side effects of having a painful arthritic joint is that the surrounding muscles tighten to protect the joint further. Unfortunately this can put more pressure on the joint surfaces, and thus lead to more pain. In many cases osteopathic treatment can help relieve the symptoms of osteoarthritis by addressing the muscle tightness that often develops. To find out how we can help you please call us a the clinic today on 9948 9934.