Ankylosing spondylitis is typically associated with inflammatory back pain that can impair movements and reduce the quality of the patient s life. Here are 5 exercises that can be used to treat ankylosing Spondylitis.

Walking: Walking is a low impact workout that can be very beneficial for ankylosing spondylitis patients. This is the ideal way to ease the body into exercising. Start with a short 5-10 minute walk and gradually increase the duration of your walks to half an hour at a stretch. Try and keep your spine as straight as possible and hold your head high while you walk. Walking can help relieve pain and increase the range of movements.
Swimming: Swimming is another low-intensity workout that can help. This type of exercising helps strengthen the muscles and heart while minimizing joint pain. Swimming puts no pressure on the joints and hence is ideal for ankylosing spondylitis patients. The breaststroke can help build chest expansion and make your neck and shoulders more flexible. For a little extra pampering, you could go for a swim in a heated pool.
Lightweight Training: Look for lightweight training exercises that help strengthen your muscles without putting pressure on the joints. Plank exercises are great as they work many muscle groups simultaneously. You could also try lifting light weights or household canned goods to strengthen your limbs. Exercise machines can be helpful but must be used with caution. The key to exercising is to start slowly and gradually increase the duration of time you hold a position and the number of repetitions.
Yoga: Yoga is very beneficial for patients with musculoskeletal conditions. It reduces pain, increases flexibility and helps open out the joints to make them more mobile. Yoga also helps boost mental health and reduces stress and anxiety. When practising yoga, start by stretching the muscles and gradually work your way through the asanas. Do not be in a hurry to move from one position to another. You should ideally aim to fit in half an hour yoga into every morning.
Dance: Dancing is the most fun way to exercise. This helps burn calories that in turn helps with weight management. The lower your weight, the lower the pressure on your joints. Pick a tempo that you are comfortable with and limit repetitive motions to avoid straining any part of your body. If you like you could even join a dance class.

5 Exercises For Managing Ankylosing Spondylitis!

Summer vacations can make you very lazy and it becomes difficult for you to indulge in physical activities because of the hot and sweaty weather. However, here are a few ways in which, you can avoid weight gain during the season:

Never Arrive Hungry: Eating before hand can help you stay away from different kinds of temptations as you go to a celebratory event or a gathering. This way you do not end up eating a lot of junk food.
Redirect Your Attention: Many people overlook that there is a whole other world to an event or a party than the food. Try not to look at the gathering as only a feast occasion.
Pace Yourself: In case that you pack in as much as you can in thirty minutes, you bite faster. Biting slowly will fill you up easily and this way you do not consume too much.
Number Your food items: At the point when there are food items that you can count as you eat them, put a toothpick in your pocket for every bite you take. Set the farthest point for a number of toothpicks you can collect.
Outmanoeuvre the buffet: At the point when food is served in buffet-style, use a small plate and do not stack your food. Restrict your servings to a small amount. 
Restrain Alcohol: Abstain from drinking an excessive amount of liquor at parties. It is not just about calories but rather about control. In case that alcohol does tempt you, try to drink some water and then ask yourself if you still need that drink. Most of the times, it is because of lack of water that you feel the urge to drink other beverages.
Be Choosy About Sweets: With regards to sweet, be extremely particular. Confine your desires to little servings and only to what is exceptionally tempting to you. In case that you know you are the type who cannot stop at one chomp, it could be very unhealthy for you. Try to tell someone else about it and let them help you.
Present to Your Own Treats: Whether you are heading off to a gathering or an office potluck, think about bringing as a low-calorie treat that you know you will appreciate. Bringing your own pastry will make other options less enticing.
Confine "Tastes" While Cooking: In case that you do a great deal of cooking during the occasions, get serious about every one of those "tastes." People lose their cravings when they have been cooking than they have been eating the entire time.
Walk It Off: Other than consuming some additional calories, this will make tracks in an opposite direction from the food for a while. Get people off the chair and move. Go out for a stroll as a family before or after the dinner.

10 Tips To Avoid Weight Gain During Summers!

Panchakarma is an ayurvedic technique which is used to detoxify the body, boost the immune system and restore the balance in the body. Due to lack of exercise and a poor diet, the waste material generated by the body is not effectively discharged. This causes accumulation of toxins in the body that can result in diseases.

Panchakarma can be used to treat and heal the pain in the joints and the spine. There are specific treatments in panchakarma that targets these regions, they are:

1. Abhyanga - Abhyanga is a technique where warm oil is used to cover the entire body. The oil is then gently massaged so that it can penetrate the underlying tissues. It is used to lubricate the joints, muscle toning and to increase blood supply around nerve endings.

 2. Pindasweda - In this technique hot cotton bags consisting of herbs, rice, and sand or medical powder are used to massage the body. This rejuvenating therapy induces perspiration in the body by which the herbs and the heat penetrates into the body. It is used to treat problems of the joints such as gout, arthritis, and sciatica.

 3. Upanaha - A combination of herbal medicine is applied to the affected part and then covered with medicinal leaves. The herbs help in easing the muscles and tendons of the affected part. It relieves pain, reduces swellings and improves mobility in the joint.

 4. Kati vista - In this treatment, medicated oil is pooled into a collar made from dough and then placed on the lower back for a specific amount of time. It strengthens the lower back, lubricates the spine and acts as a muscle pain reliever.

Soothe Your Joint and Spine Pain with Ayurvedic Panchakarma

Seldom you will come across a person who is satisfied with their body weight. While some people try everything under the sun to lose the extra and unwanted kilos, other pray for some healthy weight gain. There can be a plethora of factors responsible for the weight gain (unhealthy and sedentary lifestyle, overeating, or medical condition such as Hypothyroidism) and the weight loss (chronic illness, depression, parasitic or viral infections, to name a few). However, leaving the condition attended for too long will further complicate things.

Ayurveda for effective weight loss

As per Ayurveda, one of the underlying factors that result in excess body weight or obesity is an elevation of the Kapha Dosha and vice versa (obesity can also trigger a vitiation or an increase in the Kapha in the body).
Thus, to treat obesity and to facilitate a healthy weight loss, it is necessary to balance and pacify the Kapha.
Yoga and exercise, without any doubt, contribute significantly to the weight loss.
Be it the Surya Namaskar or Anulom Vilom, the yogas or pranayamas are powerful and helps to relax and calm the body (physical as well as mental). It also contributes significantly towards the detoxification process to ensure the body is free of the harmful Ama.
According to Ayurveda, the digestive capacity of the body is the most powerful in the period between 11am-2pm. Thus, Ayurveda suggests that the lunch should be your main meal
The dinner, on the other hand, should be light and preferably between 6pm-7pm.
Munching on snacks in between should, however, be avoided.
The diet should help to pacify the Kapha. Opt for light and warm foods.
Enrich the diet with foods such as asparagus, onion, carrots, celery, broccoli, spinach, winter squash, wheat bran, rice, quinoa, apples, pomegranate, cherry, berries, pears, figs, to name a few.
Keep the body hydrated and maintain a healthy sleep cycle.
Ayurveda for weight gain

Severe weight loss (underweight) is triggered by disorders that affect the Vata Dosha.
Pacifying the Vata Dosha can work wonders for a healthy weight gain.
The Ayurvedic approach includes switching over to a Vata pacifying diet along with exercise, yoga, meditation, healthy lifestyle practices, and a body detoxification.
If you want to gain weight, proper rest, a sound sleep (6-8 hours daily) and minimizing the physical, mental and emotional stress are a must.
A 15 minutes yoga, especially the Nadi Shodhana is known to have a soothing effect on the Vata Dosha. Practice the yoga daily without fail.
3 meals a day is also recommended for weight gain.
The diet should contain ghee and a variety of oils (olive oil, sesame oil, sunflower oil).
Warm, smooth, and oily foods are highly beneficial. Include berries, avocados, pistachios, dates, peach, banana, apples, beets, avocados, garlic, cilantro, pumpkin, onion, and carrots (cooked), wheat, rice, quinoa, oats, sesame seeds, pumpkin seeds, cheese, butter, buttermilk, yogurt, eggs, fish (salmon, tuna, sardines), meat (chicken, turkey, duck, beef).
Ayurveda suggests that the body should be well hydrated.


Weight Loss & Weight Gain - Know How Ayurvedic Tips Can Help!

If you are looking to lose weight, it is of utmost importance to focus on your diet. Eating a balanced diet along with regular exercise is your key to losing weight. You need to focus on picking the right foods to lose weight.

Carbohydrates are classified into three types - simple carbohydrates, complex carbohydrates and fiber.

Simple carbohydrates consist of foods such as fruits and sugar. These foods should be consumed in limited amounts as they tend to spike your blood sugar levels. Excessive consumption of simple sugar ups your risk of diabetes and leads you to gain weight.

Complex carbohydrates are foods like whole grains, oats and millets that have a different digestive mechanism compared to simple carbohydrates. These foods are digested slowly and thus, the energy is released slowly into the bloodstream. This means that there is no blood sugar spike during the process of digestion. However, it is important that you should not consume these foods in excess. Overconsumption of these foods may lead to weight gain.

Fiber is a type of nutrient that is also known as roughage and it is present in vegetables and fruits. Fiber rich foods are cabbage, broccoli and carrots. Fiber helps in improving digestion as it adds bulk to your stool. The other important benefit of fiber is that it enhances your heart health by reducing bad cholesterol levels in the body. Fiber is helpful in weight loss as it improves satiety and promotes digestion.

Protein is another component that is emphasized on when you try losing weight. Good sources of protein are eggs, chicken, turkey and lentils. It helps in building muscle in the body, which in turn increases your metabolism rate, so that your overall calorie burn increases. It is recommended that you consume 1 g of protein per pound of body weight. Protein lets you hold on to your muscle mass which increases your lean muscle mass that burns fat.

Can Specific Proteins and Carbs Keep Weight Off?

When is your pain chronic?

Your pain is chronic if it last for more than a period of six months. Chronic pain is a long-term pain whose nature can vary from mild to excruciating, and it may trouble you either continuously or at short and regular intervals. Chronic pain is so dangerous that it does not only cause discomfort and inconvenience but also robs you entirely of your capacity to work for a long time.

Chronic pain can occur in a number of organs of the human body like head, joints, back, shoulders, neck etc. In fact, pain in any part of your body can turn into chronic pain. Here are a few symptoms that can help you identify if what you are going through is, in fact, chronic pain:

- persistent and severe body pain

- burning sensation accompanied by the body pain

- fatigue and sleeplessness

- weak immune system

- stiff and sore joints

The 4 types of chronic pain disorders that you should be aware of are:

1. Nociceptive pain

The pain that affects the soft tissues of the body such as the skin and the muscles or the organs that have sensory nerves present in them is called nociceptive pain. The sensory nerves, known as nociceptors can detect the stimuli of pain and send information to the brain and the spinal cord for interpretation. The pain could be either somatic (originating in the outer body) or visceral (originating in the internal organs).

2. Neuropathic pain

This pain is caused when the nerves stop functioning normally. It is caused due to nerve disturbances that result in pain stimuli being spontaneously transmitted to the brain and spinal cord. If you are suffering from this type of chronic pain disorder, you will feel a sharp, shooting and stabbing pain. Neuropathic pain can also be caused due to the formation of neuroma (abnormal growth of the nerve tissue).

3. Psychogenic pain

The pain that is caused by psychological disorders like depression and anxiety is known as psychogenic pain. Sometimes this pain can be accompanied by physical complications like fatigue, body pain and muscle weakness.

4. Idiopathic pain

The pain that exists even though there is no physical or psychological cause for it is known as idiopathic pain. This pain is more common in people who have suffered from a pre-existing painful disorder. Some common examples of idiopathic pain are fibromyalgia (intense pain all over the body) and tmj disorders (pain in the jaw area).

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Related Tip: Why does PAIN occur? Understand the Mechanism of Pain

Your Pain is Chronic if it Falls Under These 4 Types of Chronic Pain Disorders!

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