Don’t let the pain destroy you
Okay here’s the deal!
As you know I’m very interested in natural and alternative treatments for chronic pain.
So I was fascinated when I came across the idea that certain types of sound frequencies can help with chronic pain.
But does it work?
This is what I want you to help with with please.
Can you listen to the sound clip below and then take the one question poll below that.
Many thanks in advance.
World Kidney Day
World Kidney Day has been running for 10 years and aims to promote awareness of kidney diseases in the population. As many as 1 in 10 adults may have kidney disease and often this is not recognised until the disease is very advanced. If not detected and treated, kidney diseases can lead to kidney failure and the need for kidney transplantation or dialysis. Kidney disease also increases the risk of cardiovascular diseases such as heart attacks and strokes. Around 60,000 people in the UK currently undergo regular dialysis or have had a kidney transplant. In Leicestershire there are over 1000 such people.
Certain demographics are more at risk of kidney disease than others and the day aims to highlight this. Older people, people of South East Asian or Afro-Caribbean origin, people with diabetes mellitus, high blood pressure or those who are overweight are all more likely to develop forms of kidney disease.
This year’s theme for World Kidney Day is ‘Kidney Disease and Obesity’. Graham Warwick, Consultant Nephrologist at Leicester’s Hospitals, explains further: “Being overweight not only increases the risk of kidney diseases directly but also increases the risk of diabetes and high blood pressure. This year’s campaign aims to promote healthy eating habits and exercise for people with kidney disease. We are encouraging staff and patients to maintain a minimum level of physical activity in any way they can regardless of their physical condition. Therefore, we have organised a day of events to highlight exercise for people with kidney disease.”
The kidney department at Leicester’s Hospital has a large team of clinicians and researchers led by Dr James Burton and Dr Alice Smith looking at exercise therapy for kidney disease. There are a number of themes for this research including cycling during haemodialysis sessions using static bikes. Patients receiving haemodialysis have to attend three times a week for four hours per session and often report subjective improvement while cycling during these sessions. This is now being carefully assessed in a scientific study.
Several patients will be cycling during dialysis at Leicester General Hospital on World Kidney Day including Kristina Bradshaw. Kristina, a retired receptionist from Leicestershire, explains why the department means so much to her: “I was diagnosed with glomerulonephritis in 1977. I had dialysis at home for three 3 years followed by a transplant that lasted 26 years. I returned to dialysis 11 years ago. I am cycling to improve my heart and muscles and taking part in World Kidney Day to show others the benefits and to encourage others to take part. What I like most about the team at Leicester General Hospital is that they are friendly helpful and efficient.”
Staff and patients will also be taking part in a fun 5-a-side football match on the old hospital lawn to mark World Kidney Day to encourage all to get active.
Giulia of the Medico website got in touch to tell us about a new infographic they have just released.
Frankly I found the statistics astounding!
Medico tell us “The average human being is living longer than ever before. Nearly every country on the planet has seen an increase in life expectancy since the beginning of the 21st century.
But though we are living longer, not all of us are living healthier.
Health Adjusted Life Expectancy (HALE), or healthy life expectancy, is a metric used by the World Health Organization to measure the number of years a person can expect to live in good health, taking social and economic factors into account alongside disease and disability rates.
When we deduct healthy life expectancy from actual life expectancy, we see the average amount of years someone can expect to live in bad health – or ‘Bad Health Years’.
This infographic takes a country-by-country look at the change in bad health years since 2000 to see where people are living a longer, healthier life.”
The top 5 causes of premature death
Thousands of people in England could avoid an early death from one of the five most common killers:
cancer
heart disease
stroke
lung disease
liver disease
A child born today should expect to live a longer, healthier life than ever before. Yet, a Government report, Living Well for Longer (PDF, 1.6Mb), blames the top five killers for more than 150,000 deaths a year among under-75s in England alone and the Department of Health estimates two-thirds of them are entirely avoidable.
This chart shows the premature death toll by illness. Heart disease and stroke are together referred to as cardiovascular disease.
More than one in three people will develop some form of cancer during their lifetime. Although there are more than 200 different types of cancer, lung, breast, prostate and bowel cancer account for more than half of cases.
According to Cancer Research UK, an unhealthy lifestyle is the root cause of about a third of all cancers.
Smoking causes almost all lung cancer. Poor diet has been linked to bowel cancer, pancreatic cancer and oesophageal cancer. And heavy drinking has been implicated in the development of breast cancer.
While healthy lifestyle changes can prevent many cases of cancer, screening aims to drive down cancer cases even further.
National programmes for breast cancer screening, cervical screening and bowel cancer screening help identify cancer at an early stage when it’s more treatable.
make sure you know the key symptoms of the main cancers
take up the offer of cancer screening. Find out more about the NHS screening programmes for breast cancer, cervical cancer and bowel cancer
lifestyle changes to reduce your risk of cancer
Experts say most cases of premature death from heart disease are completely preventable.
Smoking, being overweight, having high blood pressure and/or high cholesterol, heavy drinking and physical inactivity are all key risk factors.
If you’re over 40, ask your GP about the NHS Health Check, a free five-yearly mid-life MOT to look for things like high blood pressure and high cholesterol.
Exercise reduces your risk of heart attack by 30%. Try to do more exercise, especially aerobic exercise like walking, swimming and cycling. Find out how you can benefit from being more physically active, and try this 12-week exercise plan for beginners combining running and strength and flexibility workouts.
Carrying extra weight puts a strain on your heart. For help losing weight sign up to Change4Life’s healthy eating smart swaps campaigns and the NHS-approved 12-week weight loss plan.
Stroke is the third leading cause of death in England each year and the leading cause of disability.
More than 150,000 people have a stroke every year in the UK but, according to The Stroke Association, up to 10,000 of these could be prevented if more people were aware of the symptoms and sought out emergency treatment.
High blood pressure is the main cause of stroke. Almost one in three people in England have high blood pressure and nearly half of them aren’t receiving any treatment for the condition, says the British Heart Foundation.
watch out for the symptoms of stroke
a good way to reduce high blood pressure is to reduce your salt intake. Find out how to cut down on salt and read articles on how to have a healthy diet
Respiratory disease covers a variety of conditions ranging from asthma to chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) one of the most common causes of death.
COPD is almost completely avoidable. Most cases (around 85%) are caused by smoking. The other 15% of cases are triggered by exposure to fumes, chemicals and dusts at work or, very occasionally, because of a rare genetic tendency to develop COPD called alpha-1-antitrypsin deficiency.
find out how the NHS can help you to stop smoking including how stop smoking advisers can help you quit and the benefits of stop smoking treatments
download this free NHS Smokefree app for daily tips and support
read how to stop smoking in pregnancy
Liver disease is on the increase in England with a 20% increase in cases over the last decade. The disease develops silently and many people have no idea there’s anything wrong until they develop liver failure and it’s too late.
The three main causes of liver disease are heavy drinking, obesity and viral hepatitis (inflammation of the liver).
More than a third of men and over a quarter of women regularly exceed the recommended level of alcohol intake. Find out how to cut down.
Get Change4Life tips on how to take control of your drinking.
Use our BMI calculator to find out if you are a healthy weight and read articles on how to lose weight including the NHS-approved 12-week weight loss plan.
Have a hepatitis B vaccination if you’re at risk of infection.
What are the world’s healthiest diets?
How these diets can help with cancer, Parkinson’s and strokes!
