Many Chicago Bulls fans have been wondering why Derrick Rose has missed so many games with his turf toe injury. This is a common injury with soccer, basketball, and football players and in martial arts. Turf toe is an injury involving the structures that surround the big toe joint. It is a very common sports injury, and it frequently occurs in the following situations: play on hard surfaces, use of shoes which are not supportive and are too flexible on the bottom, and in sports that involve rapid change in direction and jumping. Turf toe involves rapid a hyperextension of the toe (or upward movement of the big toe joint) which then stretches and strains the soft tissue structures around the joint and can also irritate the joint surfaces of the big toe joint. This injury is often sudden and involves pain and swelling of the big toe joint.

This injury is diagnosed through a physical examination and radiologic testing. X-rays are ordered to rule out a fracture or break, and MRIs and CT scans may also be ordered to rule out further bone and soft tissue injuries that are not visible on the X-rays.

Turf toe injuries can take weeks or months to heal properly, but if untreated, the condition can be a chronic problem. Conservative treatments can include any or all of the following: ice, rest, anti-inflammatory medication, immobilization in a walking shoe or boot, strapping and taping, physical therapy, and orthotic devices. After the condition resolves, more supportive shoe gear and orthotic devices are utilized to prevent another injury of the area.

Dr. Bender has clinics at the Oak Park, Drexel, and 63rd Street locations of Advanced Physical Medicine. She is also a clinical instructor at William Scholl College of Podiatric Medicine at Rosalind Franklin University.

Even though essential oils have been used for centuries in other cultures, they have only become popular in the states and the last few years. Essential oils for sleep are a powerful ally that can help you go to sleep without dependence on prescription or over-the-counter sleep aids, which often come with negative side effects such as addiction.

When choosing essential oils, select aromas that are pleasing to you since aromas that you do not like are unlikely to bring about the desired effect. However, sometimes a professional blend or even one that you have created yourself will contain an ingredient that you do not like on its own but is acceptable in the blend, much like individual ingredients in a recipe for cooking. Essential oils often differ in their effects on each individual, so a little experimentation may be in order.

While essential oils are safe, there is a potential for an allergic or unwanted reaction, so if you are sensitive to many substances, add only one or a few types to your regimen at a time. If you are trying to get pregnant, or are pregnant or lactating, many essential oils have contraindications for use. Nearly all the essential oils must be diluted before using them on your skin, but there are some exceptions.

A good book written by a knowledgeable author on essential oils can help you achieve the greatest benefits by advising you about how a particular essential oil affects most people. With some experimentation, you can learn how the various aromas and properties of essential oils affects you. The best way to learn quickly is to pay attention to your body, and be ready to take a break, even from aromatherapy blends that are very effective for you.

How to Choose a Quality Essential Oil

While there are many brands of essential oil, only a few are of therapeutic grade. If an oil is not of therapeutic grade, then it usually has inferior ingredients to dilute it, or even synthetic ingredients. The price of an oil is determined by what parts of the plant are used, the rarity and difficulty of growing the plant, the extraction method used, the packaging, and whether or not the plant is grown organically. The bottle or the accompanying literature should state the botanical name of the plant in Latin, the country or region of origin, the extraction method used, and if applicable, the USDA or other governing body's organic seal. Quality oils are also bottled in amber or cobalt blue to lessen the amount of light entering the bottle, since light degrades the properties of the oil. Keep essential oils in the refrigerator or in a dark, cool place to extend their useful life.

Essential Oils for Sleep

Many essential oils have been proven to be relaxing and conducive to sleep. There are many recipes online as well as professional blends, but you can just use a single ingredient. Choose an essential oil for its aromatherapy qualities depending on what issues are causing your lack of sleep.

Lavender (Lavendula) essential oil is one of the more popular aromas to induce sleep. It is typically one of the less expensive varieties, since the whole plant is processed for its essences. There are many varieties of lavender with different properties, and some smell more medicinal whereas others have a sweeter aroma. Experiment with several types until you find one that you like and respond to well.

Neroli (Citrus aurantium amara) is used for insomnia, stress, and grief. Neroli is extracted from the blossoms of sweet orange or bitter orange trees.

Patchouli (Pogostemon cablin) may be familiar to you from the 1960s. Patchouli has been prized for hundreds of years for its sweet, musky aroma, and its ability to bring about a meditative and serene state of mind.

Clary sage (Salvia sclarea) is for its sedative qualities for insomnia, tension, nervousness, and general well-being. Its somewhat floral, musky, or the aroma is often mixed with other essential oils.

Cedarwood (Cedrus atlantica) has a calming and grounding effect. It has a sweet and balsamic aroma this often mixed with other oils, especially lavender, thyme, and rosemary. Since it is harvested from several types of cedarwood from different parts of the world, different brands may have different aromas.

Valerian Root (Valeriana fauriei) has been used for sleep, relaxation, and calming effects since Hippocrates time. It has a musky, woody, balsamic aroma that is often blended with lavender, cedarwood, pine, and patchouli.

Essential Oils For a Cold or the Flu

For cold and flu symptoms eucalyptus (Eucalyptus globulus) essential oil has proven effective to loosen mucus and soothe the throat.

Fir (Abies siberica) has anti-infectious and antiviral properties and is used to alleviate cold and flu symptoms.

Both fir and Eucalyptus can alleviate aches and pains associated with colds and the flu.

Aromatherapy is as much an art as it is a science, so it may take a little experience to bring about the best remedies. If you invest in several essential oils, investigate recipes to use them for other purposes besides sleeping, such as skin care, first aid, odor elimination, and for cleaning your home.

Our website provides great resources on choosing essential oils in order to fall asleep faster.You will find many resources on how to go to sleep better by visiting our website. Please visit us today to learn more about different ways on how you can sleep better, faster, and more
peaceful.

When people imagine going to the gym it fills many of them with dread, thinking it has to entail an hour or more slugging your guts out on the treadmill, cross trainer or bike in order to burn enough calories to see the scales drop at the end of the week.

But how wrong they are and how poorly educated this country is. Speak to anyone who has lost a lot of body fat or any decent Personal Trainer and ask them the very best and scientifically way to burn body fat fast and effectively and with minimal time in the gym and they will all say……interval training.

Interval training along with heavy compound resistance training is a phenomenal way of burning lots of fat with only a short time in the gym each week. In fact some studies even showed people who undertook intervals rather than slow steady state cardio (sssc) burnt off 9 times more calories.

So what is interval training and who can do it? Well that’s the beauty of intervals, anybody can do it! Literally anybody as it can be adapted to an individuals exercise history, experience, fitness and injuries.

Interval training involves slow periods of exercise with short bursts (intervals) of speed to speed up the heart rate but not for long. This means you will raise your metabolic rate due to the increases of intensity and is manageable for everybody due to the ‘recovery’ periods.

An example would be a 15 second sprint then a 30 second recovery repeated 10 times. This of course can be adapted to the individual as it is very challenging and the main obstacle is the mental challenge of getting motivated to do it, but when you give someone the choice, 15 minutes cardio or 45 minutes?  Then the motivation is easy especially when the 15 minutes of cardio will yield greater results!

A beginner would be advised to start on a piece of kit that supports their body such as a bike or x-trainer, then once their basic strength and fitness increases they can move onto more challenging pieces of kit such as treadmills and rowing machines. It is also extremely important to ensure a thorough warm up is completed before high intensity training is undertaken.

So interval training can yield excellent fat loss results and in limited workout time and not only that but due to the increased yet manageable intensity will produce better fitness levels, lung function and stamina and decrease in blood pressure and stress levels.

But….yes there is a but, it is important to remember that interval training is much harder on the body and isn’t for everybody, if someone doesn’t have the mental strength or motivation to do intervals to lose fat, but would prefer longer slower cardio then this can still be beneficial as they are more likely to continue a training regime that they feel they can cope with.

The point of this article is train smarter not longer!