Category Archives: Going Healthy

Going Healthy, Going Strong, Health, Life, Parenting, Tips

4 Tips to Stop and Prevent Soreness When Playing With Your Kids

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As a parent, no matter your age, you will want to spend quality time with your kids, whether it’s some fun wrestling, hiking, or even playing football. No matter what you’re doing, there’s a chance that you’re going to get sore. It’s just something that comes with old age. Not everyone can easily get assisted stretching for back pain, or any other pain. So, how can you stop or at least prevent that stubborn soreness when you’re physically active with your little ones? Keep reading on to find out!

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Take a Eucalyptus Bath

A eucalyptus bath is a great way to relieve soreness and help you relax. The two main benefits of using eucalyptus are that it is anti-inflammatory and has antiseptic properties. Eucalyptus also helps with respiratory problems, colds, and other viruses. It can also help with sleep issues and improve your mood. 

In addition, it is an all-natural product with no harsh chemicals or artificial ingredients. Something known for being just as effective would be some Epsom salt in the bath. However, if you don’t have a bathtub, then letting the water hit your muscles as you shower can also help you out.

Dress Comfortably When Playing

There are two things that you should remember when playing with your kids. One is to dress comfortably, and the other is to ensure you are doing it in a way that will not cause pain or injury. Just as children need to have “play clothes” or “outdoor clothes,” the same thing can be said about you as the parent. It’s vital to dress comfortably when being physically active with your kids. 

Your clothing choices are going to help you a lot. Plus, it’s going to help add some mobility too. So, while you’re out there creating a healthier life for your little ones, make sure to dress comfortably.

Drink a Cup of Hot Tea

There are many ways to prevent muscle soreness, such as ice, heat, and massage. However, one of the most popular methods is drinking hot tea. The idea behind this is that the warmth of the tea helps relax muscle tension and pain. This makes it easier for muscles to recover from the strenuous activity they may have done in the past few hours. 

It has been used for centuries as a natural remedy for soreness prevention. Does it matter what type of tea? Usually not, though you may want to steer clear of any that has caffeine in it.

Let Your Kids Know Your Limits

The older you get, the more your muscles will ache and the harder it will be for you to move. As a parent, you need to know your limits, so your children do not push themselves too hard. There is a fine line between pain and discomfort when it comes to muscle soreness. When you are feeling sore, taking a break from your activities and giving your muscles time to recover is important. 

You have to know your limits. Maybe this means you can’t tackle anymore during football, pick up your kids, or even push them as high on the swing set. They can still have much fun with you, even with these limitations.

Going Green, Going Healthy, Health, Lifestyle, Tips

How You Can Help Create A Healthier World

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Keeping ourselves healthy is, naturally, priority number one. Taking care of the health of our family is tied with that. But, even if you weren’t already concerned with the wider world, that’s a feeling that can tend to come as we get a bit older. The desire to help leave one’s mark on the world and to help face health issues across society is a common one. But you might be wondering, what can you do to help? The truth is, you might be able to do quite a lot.

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Raise awareness

The age of information technology and digital media has done a lot to make us all much more aware of health problems out there than ever before. However, you can help, when it comes to things like cancer awareness or campaigns around specific illnesses, lend what platform you can, talk to family members, and be aware of symptoms and warning signs to look out for.

Donate blood

When it comes to offering some practical and accessible help, then you should never doubt the importance of those who donate blood, especially on a regular basis. That blood can be used to save lives, including for infusions for those who are going through life-saving surgeries. Finding a blood donor center near you is always a good idea.

Contribute to disease eradication

It’s not always that diseases are here to stay and we just have to accept them and find ways to better live around them. Smallpox and rinderpest have already been eradicated and there’s a good chance that we can get rid of some others. Polio eradication is one of the big medical fights going on right now. Contributing donations to help with the eradication of this disease could end up in another major win for the history of human medicine.

Volunteer your time

There could always be more people on hand to help those who are in need. Volunteering your time and learning the skills necessary to be there in a crisis situation can result in life-changing help for people in your community. You can learn to become a volunteer EMT, for instance, when there’s an emergency and the usual services really need some additional help. For those who don’t want to be in a crisis situation quite as much, there are plenty of care services that can use volunteers, too.

Teaching good family health habits

While “charity begins at some” shouldn’t be used as a cop-out to avoid helping those beyond your front door, there’s no doubt that some of the biggest influence you play is going to be felt at home. Taking a serious look at the health habits of the family, from how much everyone works out to the meals that you’re putting on the table every night, will have a ripple effect on the health of your kids for years to come, and perhaps even how they raise their own kids.

You’re not going to cure cancer by yourself. However, by contributing and collaborating with the helpers already out there, you can do a lot more to improve the health of the world than you might otherwise.

Going Healthy, Health, Life, Tips

Put Your Best Foot Forward: Essential Foot Health Tips You Can’t Afford To Ignore

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We all know how important taking care of our physical health is, but how many of us include our feet in our care? Probably too few as there are many ways our foot health can be less than optimum. Fortunately, you can read about some of the most common foot health issues, and how to deal with them in the post below. 

Choose the right footwear 

One of the most important actions you can take to promote foot health is to choose shoes based on fit and comfort. Unfortunately, many of us put the look of our footwear before anything else and this can lead to discomfort while wearing, as well as damage to our feet long term. 

Concerning shoe size, it’s important to remember that you may not take the same shoe size across all the different brands you wear. Just like clothing shoe manufacturers use patterns that can differ from one another, so you must try them on before you buy. 

Also, when trying shoes on you should do it at the end of the day rather than the beginning. This is because our feet swell during the day, and you will ensure a much more comfortable fit this way. 

When it comes to comfort there are a few things you need to look out for when choosing your next pair of shoes. The first is there is enough room in the toe of the shoe so your toes can move about. Secondly, it’s important to choose a shoe that is wide enough to accommodate your foot comfortably, this may mean choosing a special wide-fit shoe sometimes. Lastly, be sure that the sole of the shoe you are buying is thick enough to provide a cushion against the impact of your foot repeatedly hitting the ground. Shoes with thin soles will wear down faster too and generally are a poor choice for your feet, usually if you are wearing them regularly. 

Take care of your heels 

Our heels are some of the most neglected parts of our feet, if not our whole body. After all, we can’t see them very easily and it’s often a case of out of sight, out of mind. 

However, our heels can get very dry and cracked, and even become vulnerable to infection if we don’t take proper care of them. With that in mind, regularly filing our heels and using a moisturizer specially designed to keep them supplied is the best course of action. 

Never ignore foot pain 

You won’t ignore pain in any other part of your body, so why do it with your feet? While it can be tempting to hope foot pain will resolve itself on its own, our feet are very complex structures full of tiny bones, ligaments and muscles that all need to function in the right way to ensure operation. With that in mind, treating foot pain is crucial if you want to preserve function. 

The good news is that a pedorthic specialist like Healthy Steps can help you. Indeed, pedorthic specialists can offer a range of treatments such as custom orthotics, compression therapy, bracing and recovery products, and even custom footwear and footwear modifications which help minimize your pain and maximize your function. 

Guard against ingrowing toenails 

If you have ever suffered from ingrowing toenails you will know just how painful they can be. Fortunately, there are ways of preventing them, and the chief among these is to make sure you cut your toenails in the right way. This means trimming straight across the nail and filling any sharp corners with an emery board. You must never cut down into the corners because this is the main cause of most ingrowing toenails. 

Also, if you find yourself in a position where you already have ingrowing toenails, there are several treatment options you can choose from. The first is to treat them at home yourself with products you can buy from pharmacists or online. Although home treatment is only really ever advised for minor cases. For ingrowing toenails that are more serious seeing a Podiatrist is the best option. In some cases, surgery may be needed to correct an ingrown toenail, but it’s always best to try and treat them before you get to this point. 

Exercise regularly 

Last of all, to maintain foot health it is very important that you exercise. The best exercise for foot health is walking because it keeps the foot mobile without putting too much weight or strain on it. 

Exercise is also crucial to foot health because it can help you maintain a healthy weight, which means less stress on the feet over time.