5 Simple Steps to a Comfortable & Carefree Holiday

Travelling is one of the greatest things in life that we should savour for as long as we live. After all those years of hard work, you’ve earned yourself some well-deserved time off at your dream destination. Mature travellers should take extra care when doing so, keeping in mind health is the single most important thing. The knee is especially known to be the most vulnerable part of the body. Cut down or eliminate pain and discomfort while travelling with these easy tips.

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1. Be practical when packing

First and foremost, pack light because a heavy bag can be more than just an inconvenience – it causes unnecessary strain. Along with the essentials (such as documentation, clothes, and medicine), you’d be wise to bring along a knee guard or joint protector for any other joints that are hurting. Comfortable mobility is required for you to fully enjoy your trip, so don’t take any chances. You also get the extra benefits of improvement of bone and tissue strength.

Travelling to countries with a cold climate (or sitting in an air-conditioned aeroplane) will take a greater toll on mature travellers. Bring along massage socks whenever you need warmth during long or cold journeys. Bio-Ray is a man-made far-infrared formed by natural mineral elements and trace mineral elements. It emits an energy ray that can penetrate deeply into the flesh and bone of the human body, enhance the supply of oxygen and also stimulate the circulation of blood and oxygen to burn away more fats, thus creating more energy to relieve pain.

2. Choose aisle seats

You have much more freedom to move about when you have an aisle seat. This is crucial especially if you’re on a long flight. Sitting in one position for extended periods of time puts stress on the spine. Moving stimulates blood flow and prevents the tissues in the lower back from stiffening and aching as well as deterring the formation of blood clots in the leg. Even 10 seconds of stretching within your seat is better than nothing. In addition, book a direct flight instead of a connecting flight because you’ll cut down on travel time.

3. Mind your medication

Enter medication reminders into your phone so you remember to take your tablets. Carry items in their original containers or with their original prescriptions from the pharmacy so that doctors have the information they need wherever you go. It’s best to keep this in your carry-on luggage for easy access. Consider bringing extra along in case you are delayed with your flight or some get misplaced in transit.

4. Stay safe

If you’re travelling alone, always keep your carry-on luggage between your feet when standing, or with the shoulder strap looped around the leg of a chair when sitting. Take note of the medical facilities available at the destination so that you know where to go in the event of an emergency. A place with disability access (for those in wheelchairs) and ease of transport will be a good choice. This is because mature travellers are more prone to injury due to their limited range of motion. Don’t be afraid to ask for help from flight crew or hotel staff instead of risking the health of your joints.

5. Take it light and easy

5 Step to a Comfortable & Carefree Holiday

When selecting your accommodation, location is very important. Ensure you do lots of research and stay close to all the local sights so you can save travel time and lessen strain on your knees. Mature travellers often tire easily from long periods of standing or walking. Whether it’s queueing at a tourist attraction or navigating a new city, mature in years means slower recovery. Hence, walk at your own pace no matter how slow.

In the case of sudden knee pain, wearing a knee guard is necessary for health and support. Pain and discomfort can be relieved through the use of Bio-Ray, a type of healing mineral that enhances blood and oxygen circulation. It is advised to wear knee guardto support the knee and joints during the trip or even daily movement if you have discomfort it is necessary for health and support. Pain and discomfort can be relieved through the use of Ebene Bio-Ray products that proven to enhances blood and oxygen circulation. Go on to choose activities that are both fun and easy, especially if you have mobility issues. Riverboat cruises, museum visits, food hunts, theatre shows and walks in parks can make for a terrific time. Allow for breaks throughout the day and make sure you get sufficient rest.

Whatever your age, it helps to plan ahead. Thinking ahead will help to free yourself from the stress of travelling and ultimately make your holiday even better.

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How to Pain-Proof Your Knees: Physiotherapy & Wellness Pointers

We’re here to ensure your knees are at their best. With 70% of your body weight always resting on the strength of your knees, it is no surprise that the knee is one of the body’s biggest and most common injury to active sports people and the elderly.

You only notice the necessity of protecting your knee when it becomes difficult to complete the simplest of tasks. Suddenly, it takes longer for you to walk from your bedroom to the front door.

Stationary cycling, walking or water exercises are great ways of building knee strength. Knee-bending  activities, such as hill-walking and high-impact exercises, such as running and ball games should be avoided as they can cause further strain. To be on the safe side, wear a protective knee guard before you begin your warm-up.

The next time you feel weak at the knees, know that there are many ways out of this discomfort. With these physiotherapy and wellness tips you can try at home, your knees will be kept healthy and happy.

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1. Build strength and flexibility

It is always better to prevent the likelihood of a serious knee injury occurring than to fix an injured knee. When your knees are healthy, the muscles will act as natural knee support. To maintain the strength and durability of your knees, it is wise to start building the strength of the supporting muscles around the knees regularly.

To achieve that, do exercises that target your quadriceps and hamstrings. Try these three at home – short arc quads, wall slides and bridges. For more challenging exercises to advance your strength program, try out seated knee extensions and hamstring curls at the gym with resistance heavy enough to struggle with 3 sets of 10 reps. All of these exercises help build strength in the front and back of your thigh.

Improve your flexibility by stretching regularly. Gentle progressive stretching improves blood flow to stiff joints and aids range-of-motion. Extremely helpful for preventing injury where instances of joint hyperextension may occur within sports participation.

2. Practice the RICE technique

RICE stands for Rest, Ice, Compression and Elevation and helps to promote healing. One of the most common and effective resolutions to managing knee injuries. It is renowned as one of the most common and effective resolutions to managing knee injuries in the early stages.

  • The problem with arthritis is that too much rest causes stiffness and too little causes irritation. Resting for more than 20 minutes tends to lead to stiffening of the knee in most people. In cases of immediate injury to the knee, immobilization helps to aid the healing process with the connecting of scar tissue to the injured muscle stump, but should be limited to the first few days of injury only.
  • Ice packs are useful as treatment. Whether you’ve injured your knee or suffered an arthritis flare-up, ice around the joint for 20 minutes each hour lowers inflammation.
  • Wearing a knee compression sleeve is necessary for pain relief. Formed by minerals, Bio-Ray is a far infrared ray capable of stimulating blood and oxygen circulation to produce this effect.  The use of compression, allows sturdy alignment and stabilisation of the muscles and tendons to successfully support the knee joint for maintaining normal joint movement.
  • It is recommended to elevate the sore body part above the level of your heart. This will bring down any pain, throbbing or internal bleeding. If your knee is hurting, you can prop your leg up on pillows while sitting or lying on the sofa.

3. Invest in low-impact exercise

Don’t let the pain stop you from staying active.

Stationary cycling, walking or water exercises are great ways of building knee strength. Knee-bending activities, such as hill-walking and high-impact exercises, such as running and ball games should be avoided as they can cause further strain. To be on the safe side, wear a protective knee guard before you begin your warm-up.

4. Wear supportive shoes to reduce knee pain

Choose the right shoe before you get back on your feet.

Properly fitting shoes are necessary for exercise. Cushioned insoles reduce stress on your knees (and they feel much more comfortable). The more comfortable the shoe, the less force is placed upon the knee during activity. Soft, flexible sneakers or ballet flats are a great choice.

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5. Eat anti-inflammatory foods

Inflammation exacerbates knee pain.

Certain foods are known to inhibit a key enzyme in inflammation. Apples, onions and green tea are the most common sources next to spices such as turmeric, ginger and red pepper. Cold water fish such as salmon, mackerel and tuna can also help, due to their omega-3 levels.

6. Don’t overlook your emotional state

Your mental wellbeing is just as important as your physical health.

It is far from surprising that arthritis pain has a negative impact on how we feel. Pain that consistently disrupts your abilities can escalate to a cycle of hopeless thinking, making your pain harder to manage. A form of therapy often sought to foster positive mind-body interaction is relaxation therapy. Relaxation can be achieved through mindfulness meditation, yoga and deep breathing.

Many of these steps offer the bonus of helping you avoid other diseases in addition to our physiotherapy and wellness tips aforementioned. Lastly, it is recommended to strap on a knee guard so you can continue living life on your own terms. Bio-Ray is our healing technology that will help you do that. This man-made far infrared emits an energy ray that penetrates deep into the human body, to stimulate blood and oxygen circulation and provide relief.

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Post-Exercise Recovery: Managing Arthritis Pain

Whether it’s a gym workout or even a game of tennis, a sore body is a common problem most of us will face during old age. Here are types of treatments you can try for relieving aches, joint pains and for those suffering with arthritis.

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Modern Western Treatment

Cold Therapy

This technique is best utilized when your body has sustained recent tissue damage. Cold therapy works well to treat the pain and the resulting inflammation.

Benefits of Cold Therapy

  • It reduces your metabolic rate, inflammation, circulation, muscle spasms and pain.
  • Cold therapy cools your skin’s surface and underlying tissues, which results in the narrowing of your blood vessels. This constriction causes a reduction in the blood volume to the site of injury, resulting in decreased swelling and relieving pain.

When using cold therapy, it’s essential to keep in mind to never apply a cold compress for more than 20 minutes at a time. Also, always apply the compress immediately after the injury occurs.

Hydrotherapy

Hydrotherapy uses the principles of water to allow exercise and to alter exercise intensity. Increased buoyancy allows for more exercise than is permitted on land. Increased temperature and hydrostatic pressure promote increase in circulation and flexibility and decrease in swelling. Hydrotherapy is considered one of the safest treatments for managing arthritis and back pain.

Benefits of Hydrotherapy

  • Pain relief.
  • Reduction in muscle spasm.
  • Increased joint range of motion.
  • Strengthening of weak muscles.
  • Increased circulation.
  • Improvement of balance and coordination.
  • Re-education of paralyzed muscles.

Modern Eastern Methods

Heat therapy is best for chronic pain as heat allows muscles to relax and blood vessels to expand. You can use a low-level heat wrap on the painful area for up to 8 hours at a time to bring relief. If your injuries or soreness are in your knees, the Ebene Bio-Ray Knee Guard with Tourmaline provides effective heat therapy through the generation of bio-ray and far-infrared rays from natural mineral elements called tourmaline. The act of warming muscle fibres encourages the promotion of blood and oxygen circulation to reduce swelling and muscle spasms. Together with the added benefit of knee support and stabilisation, this product is extremely beneficial for those struggling with osteoarthritis in their later years. Not only is it comfortable to wear, it also prevents and protects from further injury by providing firm support.

Ebene specialises in pain relief products for common joint injuries with the kneeankleelbow and wrist. With scientifically proven technology, it’s best to select products that promotes circulation through body warming as it not only reduces joint soreness, but also boosts vitality, physical performance and recovery speed while minimizing the pain of arthritis.

Benefits of Heat Therapy

  • Applying heat to your tissues increases your circulation or blood flow and causes your connective tissue to become more flexible.
  • It also promotes a transient reduction in your joint stiffness, pain and muscle spasms.
  • Using heat therapy can help you reduce the congestion in your tissues.
  • Heat therapy has even been used to treat cancer, according to the American Cancer Society.

Acupuncture

Acupuncture is the practice of inserting needles into the superficial skin, subcutaneous tissue, and muscles at particular acupuncture points and manipulating them. In Traditional Chinese Medicine, there are as many as 2,000 acupuncture points on the human body that are connected by 12 main meridians. Pressure, heat, or electrical stimulation may further enhance the effects of recovery.

Benefits of Acupuncture

  • Acupuncture improves bodily functions and promotes natural self-healing processes by stimulating specific anatomic sites- commonly referred to as acupuncture points or acupoints.

Traditional Eastern Methods

One of the many traditional Eastern methods that can aid with pain is soaking the injured area in a mixture of hot water, ginger and salt. There are also herbal poultices that can be wrapped around the area for relief.

Other Recovery Options

With these helpful tips to bear in mind, you’ll be fast-tracked for a speedy recovery towards healthier days.

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Exercise Safety Tips for Hiking

Spending quality time in the great outdoors is an amazing way to appreciate nature with your loved ones while getting some exercise into the day. This article will recommend tips on what you should consider packing with you, how to hike the right way and how to correctly warm up before starting your hike.

The Right Attire

  • You will need sturdy boots or hiking shoes that provide good underfoot support to reinforce your back and legs, as well as sufficient stiffness at the ankle to keep you from twisting your ankle on uneven ground.
  • The Ebene Bio-Ray Foot Massage Socks is a great option to pair with your sturdy footwear. It promotes blood and oxygen circulation, relieves pain and stress on the legs through a massaging effect that prevents foot cramps.
  • The best kind of raincoat is waterproof and breathable. It should not be too tight that it limits your movements and have enough room to accommodate layers.
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  • Cargo pants are generally light and quick drying, making it perfect hiking pants. They are also very tightly woven so it protects you from sun damage and limits the entry to bugs of all kinds.
  • Lastly, for the more challenging climbs, it is essential to protect your knees with a good knee guard. Using a Knee Guard with Bio-Ray & Tourmaline or Metal Support Knee Guard with Bio-Ray helps to relieve pain and discomfort, as it provides lateral stabilization that aligns muscles, tendons and ligaments through its Bio-Ray energy.

Nature Hike Essentials

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  • Don’t forget to bring along a sun hat, preferably a large brim all the way around and a dark under-brim. It will keep the sun from reflecting back into your eyes and protect your head from the heat. As for your skin, a layer of sunscreen is advisable in order to protect yourself from the harmful UV rays.
  • It would be wise to bring a basic first-aid kit that contains wound care, over-the-counter drugs for pain relief and allergic reactions, and moleskin bandages.
  • There are some tools that are necessary for you to carry in your backpack. A map or GPS system will help in case you lose your way, an illuminating device such as a torchlight for when it gets dark and a whistle can draw attention to you in case of an emergency.

Pre-hiking Warm Up Exercises

  • For Your Quads: Your quads will be a key component for conquering uphill terrain, which means it will be vital to prepare these muscles by doing a short 10-minute jog beforehand, coupled with some light stretches. A nice and effective alternative would be cycling for getting the quads ready.
  • For Your Shoulders: For those that require a hiking stick, it is recommended to perform some rotational arm movements to get the torso ready for a hike.
  • For Your Calves: Another essential body part to your climb is your calf muscles. By using a skipping rope or by doing some light jumping will prepare the muscles for a tough climb ahead.

Hiking Techniques

  • Pace: Find a rhythm between your breathing and stride. This will keep you walking at the speed at which you started. This is useful for uphill climbs on relatively even terrain.
  • Mix It Up: Adopt an even balance of shorter and longer strides, on your toes and back on your heels so that you minimize muscle tension. If you are heading downhill, shorter steps are the way to go.
  • Take breaks: Keep your breaks short and regular rather than long and occasional. This allows less time for your muscles to stiffen up, making your nature hike easier. For seniors, this is especially vital.
  • Downhill Trails: Your center of gravity should be low and over your legs. In other words, try to not lean forward or lean back. Keep your legs slightly bent on impact to minimize stress on the knees.

With our exercise safety tips, you’re ready for any outdoor adventure that comes your way.

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Beat Joint Pain the Smart Way

We know joint pain can be extremely frustrating and inconvenient. Hear us out for effective self-care tips you should know.

Have you ever woken up with a cramped foot, or stiff knees? Do you feel a sting of knee pain after a walk back home?

If you believe pain is just a normal part of ageing, then you’re wrong! As people age, our ligaments and tendons are not as strong. That’s when the wear-and-tear really sets in.

The most common symptoms are:

  • Pain
  • Tenderness and stiffness around the joints
  • Inflammation
  • Reduced movement and function
  • Redness and warmth
  • Muscle weakness

Luckily, there are ways to minimise hurting joints. Don’t let your pain put the brakes on your daily routine. As we know, our joints decline naturally over the passage of time, so we have to get smart about how we go about our day-to-day.

Get your body moving

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Moving is the best medicine.

It can be difficult to get out of the bed when you’re in pain. Experts suggest that gentle exercise on a regular basis helps to alleviate joint pain. Choose an exercise that is within your limits.

Jogging, walking and cycling are simple exercises to strengthen the joint muscles. Wear a knee guard for protection while you exercise. Stretching both before and after exercise will also help reduce risk of injury.

Stick to a nutritious diet

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When you’re carrying too much weight than you should, your knees may be in for a rough ride. Aside from exercising, eating well helps to maintain your weight as well as your joints.

The important nutrients to include in your meals are:

  • Omega-3 fats to reduce pain and stiffness (salmon, pecans, hazelnuts)
  • Calcium and magnesium for healthy bones (dairy products, whole grains)
  • Antioxidants and vitamin C to fight inflammations on the joint (berries, citrus fruits)

Alternatively, reduce your portion size or use a small plate when you eat. Make sure to constantly keep track of your body weight and food intake to avoid overeating.

Don’t overwork

Take it easy when you’re tackling housework.

Cleaning tasks usually take a longer time for those with mobility issues and may even pose danger if not done carefully. Repetitive tasks such as mopping and scrubbing can tire one out easily.

Try changing the way you accomplish a task. Invest in a vacuuming robot to clean your house effectively on your part, or try sitting down when you fold your laundry. You could also delegate the work to other family members who can help.

Nobody likes feel sore after doing house chores. Put on an ankle guard to provide firm support and minimise risk of falling, particularly if you’re going up and down the stairs.

Seek medical advice

Don’t be shy about sharing your aches and pains with your doctor.

Make an appointment right away with your physician if any of your joints hurt. Find out the real cause of the pain and seek professional medical advice from your doctor.

If you have symptoms that interfere with your daily life, proper medical attention is necessary. Different health conditions may aggravate arthritis, hence getting the right diagnosis is important in order to get the right treatment.

Learn to manage your pain

Seniors are rather prone to experiencing joint pain often from long distance walks, workouts or even completing daily tasks. It is advisable to treat painful joints with heat or cold treatment.

Wearing a knee guard helps promote blood circulation, reduce inflammation and swelling through Bio-Ray heat therapy. This also helps to ease the pain and your range of motion as you walk. For immediate relief, cold treatments are conducive to reduce inflammation and swelling.

Follow these tips to enjoy a pain-free life. Keep in mind that talking to other people about your symptoms and experiences can help. Share your stories with us!

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