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Self-Care

TMJ Dysfunction

Have you ever had pain, stiffness, grinding, clicking, or locking of your jaw? These are most often clear signs of TMJ (temporomandibular joint) Dysfunction. This is a common condition, affecting over 10 million people! The severity of the condition varies greatly, with some people experiencing only mild symptoms on occasion, while others suffer a great deal daily. And if you notice your symptoms getting worse, now’s the time to start taking care of it. That grinding, clicking, pain, and locking are all signs that the joint isn’t moving and functioning properly, meaning damage is being done, and without intervention that damage may very well be irreparable.

How Walking Changes Your Body

You probably know that being active is important to maintaining your health. Most of the time when we talk about being active, we think about lifting weights, running, or taking some intense aerobics class. But did you know that walking can have a major impact on your health?

RICE vs MEAT

There’s a hot debate going on when it comes to injury recovery concerning the well-known method of RICE and the newer, lesser known method of MEAT. So let’s quickly go over what these are and then we can look at which is best and when.

Myths about muscle soreness

If you’ve ever done any activity out of the ordinary, you know what it’s like to be sore after. If you’ve done squats, you know walking up and down steps is like torture the day after. Or have your arms shaking after an intense workout. Whether you’re still working toward that New Year’s resolution of getting into shape, or just pushing yourself a bit past your normal, it’s important to be aware that there are many misconceptions about muscle soreness.

Top 5 Energy Boosting Foods

There’s not much worse than the mid-afternoon slump; that part of the day a couple hours after lunch when you feel like curling up and taking a nap instead of finishing out the work day. You shouldn’t have to deal with that day in and day out, but it is a normal part of life and work for a lot of people.

How to Pick the Right Workout For You!

Workout; the word that so many of us dread. I wish that we all woke up one day and just had the inspiration to do it naturally like some, but many of us don’t. For me, my relationship with working out has been a love/hate relationship. I love how I feel afterwards, but I hate waking up early and getting motivated to do it. For me, I know that if I don’t do it first thing in the morning, I will not come back around to it, and by the end of the day I feel defeated that I didn’t get my workout in. Here I will give you a few tips on how to choose the perfect workout for you to help you be more motivated to work out.

6 Ways to Be More Productive in the New Year

Struggling with productivity is something that many of us deal with daily. We live busy lives and it’s easy to let our lack of energy and lack of focus prevent us from accomplishing tasks we need to. However, there are ways you can improve your productivity that don’t require buying the latest program to help get you there. Here are 6 easy steps to help improve your productivity that you can implement today.

Realistic Ways to Implement Your New Year’s Resolution

Along with the hustle and bustle of the holiday season that is upon us, this time of year brings the pressure to create resolutions for the new year that’s right around the corner. Benjamin Franklin once said, “Without continual growth and progress, such words as improvement, achievement, and success have no meaning.” While many are content with their place in life, there are many people who feel they haven’t met their true potential or made it to the goals they have set.

Exercises for Knee Pain

Did you know that 18 million people each year see a doctor for knee pain? While there are a larger number of people who experience knee pain as they get older, there are quite a few causes that have nothing to do with age. Runner’s knee (which also affects those who participate in activities that require repetitive bending), Osgood-Schlatter disease (which is found in children & adolescents), chondromalacia patella (the softening and breakdown of the cartilage on the underside of the kneecap), and osteoarthritis are all common causes of knee pain. While in some situations, surgery is a necessity, there are certain exercises you can perform to help strengthen your knees as well as keep pain at bay.

How Muscle Imbalances Can Lead to pain and Injury

A muscle imbalance is simply when one muscle or muscle group is stronger than another. For example, your right arm may be stronger than your left, or your biceps are stronger than your triceps. It’s typically not much of a problem; we’re rather asymmetrical beings in general anyway, but muscle imbalances in some areas can play a role in creating problems within the body leading to injuries and pain.