Cervical Traction..

A couple weeks ago my chiropractor brought up an option I had not yet heard of or considered. This particular therapy is aimed at my biggest problem, neck pain. Associated with the neck pain comes bad headaches, and even nausea at times.

Cervical traction sounds kinda extreme, but it's actually not. Think of a neck collar, like those used on accident victims. Only a lot more technical and fancy.

I should be receiving the device this week, and none to soon in my opinion as my neck pain is at an all time high, thanks to countless hours of sewing getting costumes ready for dance competitions.

I will of course report back. Happy Tuesday!
Sarah

My research journey continued ... trial & error takes time ...

So there are a few things I will be trying in the next months to see if I can improve my pain, stiffness and fatigue myself vs. trying more medications. I'm just not much of a medications kind of person, especially since I'm seeing no results and feel like what's really happening is just masking the problems with more problems.

Here's what I have started -
Chiropractic care. Now, this is not necessarily new, I have used chiropractic care sporadically for years. However, what I am trying now is to use it regularly and to also talk to my chiropractor about my diet, supplements and other alternatives.
Chiropractors are much more than just "bone snappers." They really do have a vast amount of knowledge on alternative therapy. Your mileage may vary depending on whom you choose as a practitioner. But, i recommend trying it, it does seem to really help some of my pain, especially in my neck and hips.

More information about proper body alignment and health can be found here -
How Chiropractors Benefit Your Health (Via Fox News 2012)

Mayo Clinic Basics on Chiropractic Care

Another good explanation of Chiropractic Care (Alive has lots of information on natural health & wellness)

The other thing I am incorporating into my diet right now are essential fatty acids, in the form of Fish Oil Supplements. I talked briefly about this in another blog post. But here is some information on this supplement as well as a few other things that can naturally help your body fight joint pain & inflammation as well as boost your immune system.

Fish Oils (from Arthritis Research UK)

Omega-3 Fatty Acids (University of Maryland Article - talks about many diseases Omega-3's can help)

So that's where I am at right now. Chiropractic care & fish oil for now. Researching many more supplements, diet changes & lifestyle changes. So please stay tuned and SHARE this blog with anyone you think may benefit from this information, that's why I started it ;-)

Sarah

Happy Birthday to me... a reflection on being 37 years o l d ....

So this year, turning 37 has become just a reminder that I am feeling O L D. I mean my neck is so stiff and sore. My hands are so slow working some days, and other times they just don't plain work right. It hurts to walk for too long because my ankles and feet become so sore, that taking another step just doesn't seem worth the pain. At night it's hard to sleep because my hips hurt so badly that no matter how I lay, I am not comfortable.

Should a 37 year old woman be feeling this way? I don't think so.

So I continue on my quest to change that. I'm determined, though tired thinking about it so much. Currently I am putting several plans into action, I will share more on each of the things I'm doing in the coming weeks.

That's all for today. Enjoy your day. Enjoy your family. Savor the good things in your life. Stay positive that you can change the negative.

Advice for myself but happy to share with you all too!

Sarah

Chiropractic Care & Exercise for RA

I have found a lot of information out there about Chiropractic care and Rheumatoid Arthritis. As usual you will find some swear by it's help, others say it's no help. *shrug* I suppose it's best to say "your mileage may vary". I however and hopeful that this more natural approach to tackling my disease will work. I am already frustrated by the Dr. mentality of "throw some pills at it and see if it helps". I would much rather focus on range of motion, moderate exercise and nutritional changes & supplements.

What am I hoping regular chiropractic care will bring me? My goals are -
Improve my range of motion of my joints.
Have more flexibility & stamina to exercise without pain.
Greatly improve my muscle tone and my strength.

I am exploring nutritional supplements and diet changes as well.

At this point I have absolutely no exercise program. I am just too sore and in pain from everyday household activities to even consider extra exercise. But, I realize this is super important to get myself out of this flare. I'm already finding that "resting" my joints that hurt does not help, they just feel stiff and sore. No improvement comes from simply trying to not use them. Instead, I am finding that using them the best I can is helping keep them limber. For example, one might think knitting is a really bad idea for someone with pain & stiffness in their hands. I am finding the opposite. Short intervals of knitting (an hour or two max) seems to help me feel like my hands are less stiff. I experience no extra pain when I spend a short amount of time knitting.
The same I am finding true for sewing. The biggest complaints I have for pain related to sewing is the neck pain i have from the focused attention it requires. The ergonomics of my sewing area need to be addressed to help with the stiffness & pain i have in my back, shoulders and neck. It's for sure a work in progress.

My chiropractor is working hard with me on getting those shoulders & neck loosened up. I am even considering a special medical device to help my cervical spine, but more about that later.

For now I encourage you to do your own research. Find what's going to work for you. I will share more along the way.

Happy Sunday! Sarah

Chiropractic Care & RA (and fibromyalgia too)

I'm doing a lot of research on the benefits, and potential negatives of choosing Chiropractic care for your RA & Fibromyalgia pain.

I've used Chiropractic care for years on and off, always finding it very beneficial. I had stopped going in the fall, choosing to give the various medications my Dr was prescribing a chance to work. Clearly that isn't happening, and I'm rather disheartened with the traditional medical field at the moment.

Not only am I back with my chiropractor, I'm also looking a much more homeopathic course of treatment.

Will I still see my Dr. Yes, for the time being anyway.

LOTS more to come on this subject in the coming weeks. For now, do you use more holistic or homeopathic remedies for your pain? Comment and let me know.

Sarah

Valentine Giveaway on my Business Facebook Page

I will have much more pertinent content soon. But, in the meantime stop by my business Facebook page to enter my Valentine Giveaway.
SEWsational Sarah's BIG BIG Valentine Giveaway

BLAH !!!!!

That pretty much sums up my feelings on just about every subject lately. I'm so so so sore. I'm so so so tired. I'm so so so grumpy. And to top it off I'm also sick. Antibiotics are on board so hopefully that will at least take care of the sinus, ear & throat infection.

Progress is being made on the house. The girls are fully in their new bedroom, just need to do a bit more arranging of toys and such and it will be good.

My sewing space here in the house is also coming right along. However, now I have to stop all projects and start on the big dance studio order. I have 12 snowmen costumes and 16 various animal costumes to get put together.

I hope to have time to do some more research and provide more interesting content to the blog soon.

Please comment and let me know you are reading, I'd really like to hear from you.

Sarah

So sorry I have been MIA ...

I guess MIA isn't really the right term. I am not really "missing" am more just tired, sore and not feeling very inspired to say much at all.

I was supposed to have an appointment with the DR today, but thanks to good ole mother nature, I had to reschedule until Monday. What's another 5 days right? I'm already in pain so eh, whatever I suppose.

As you can probably tell from the tone of my writing, I am grumpy. My little one had strep throat and ear infection last week. I think she passed on the strep throat to her mom, great :( I'm also just in a boatload of pain right now. I tried doing some sewing yesterday, and it was a slow process full of mistakes, I hate sewing like that. When I can't clear my mind fog and my hands are just working so slow.

Taking today off. So working on it Wednesday has become, taking a break Wednesday this week.

Hoping to be back to a more optimistic, cheerful self soon. Stay tuned :)

Sarah

Painful weekend ...

Yesterday my daughter had basketball and a girl scout event. I sat on bleachers at the basketball game and did some standing & some sitting on a metal folding chair at the other event. Last night I was so very sore. And I woke up this morning in horrible pain.

I am so very tired of RA making even the most stupid simple things so hard for me. I have a follow up this week with my Dr and I am hoping she has a new plan for pain management because so far it's definitely not working.

I hope to get back to regular blogging this week. My little one finally started feeling better yesterday. Today I am moving the girls bedroom, despite the RA pain. I'm just going to power through and get it done.

Happy Superbowl Sunday. By the way, I do not watch sports, but I do like the Super Bowl commercials. LOL

Sarah