Simple Tips to Help you Stay Flu-Free this Season

With winter just around the corner, many people are getting ready for another cold and flu season. With the accessibility of the flu vaccine, many people forget the basic steps you can take to ensure that you’re less likely to catch something.


First thing to remember may seem like a simple one, but it is often forgotten. Washing your hands frequently and thoroughly is one of the best ways to avoid getting sick. If you’ve touched something with cold or flu germs, then you touch your mouth, eyes, or nose, now you’ve gotten sick. Wash your hands often during this season, and if you don’t have access to soap and water, you can always carry hand sanitizer with you.

Another tip is to avoid touching your nose, mouth and eyes. If you can keep your hands away from your face during the day, you are greatly reducing your chance of getting sick from the germs you may have on your hands.

It’s important also to keep your distance from others who you know are sick. This goes the same if you are sick- keep your distance from coworkers and others you see everyday. Try to get lots of bed rest and drink plenty of fluids to help your body heal faster.

Also, if you are sick, remember to always cover your nose and mouth if you cough or sneeze. Someone else can get sick by breathing your germs in, but by covering your mouth with a tissue, your hands, even your sleeve, you can prevent those around you from getting sick too.

Finally, use a hypoallergenic neck pillow.  This not only will hold less germs and dust mites than your old pillow but keeping the body in good alignment helps to keep it healthy.


Visit Arc4life.com for your online selection of cervical support neck pillows, orthopedic pain relief products and Home traction units. Products for pain relief. Bookmark this on Delicious Stumble It!

Why do I have Numbness and Tingling down my Arm but no Pain?

Numbness & Tingling In The Arms

This is fairly common. It all depends on which nerve fibers are affected. In fact, the majority of the nerves in our body don’t even detect pain. This is why something can be happening but you don’t even know it. This is a subject for another blog however.

If you have numbness, tingling, burning, or another sensation, we know there is nerve irritation somewhere. Typically what happens is that inflammation in the region puts pressure on a nerve causing the symptoms. Usually a spinal shift, muscle strain, or injury creates this problem. All of your neck bones or vertebrae are attached to muscles and ligaments so a muscle strain or muscle spasm will create a spinal misalignment. The irritation to the muscle creates inflammation and the vertebral misalignment adds to the pressure. Aligning the spine often helps the inflammation dissipate. This will also help relax the muscles allowing the spinal column to stay in its normal position.

This is also why it takes some time to heal. It sometimes takes some time to correct alignment and relieve the pressure allowing the body to again work at 100% without tingling and numbness or pain for that matter. Both ice and heat can also be used to speed muscle recovery and relaxation.


Visit Arc4life.com for your online selection of cervical support neck pillows, orthopedic pain relief products and Home traction units. Products for pain relief. Bookmark this on Delicious Stumble It!

How to Relieve Neck Pain After Cracking Your Own Neck

"I hurt my neck Thursday morning by cracking it. It's a bad habit of mine and I did it without thinking about it. It kills to turn my head to the right or to look up. Is there anyway I can help my neck get back to the way it was before? To make it heal faster or to make the pain subside?"- Devon

First of all, cracking your own neck is not a good idea- you can seriously injure yourself. I have a few suggestions for you:

1. Get a good supportive cervical neck pillow for sleeping. Try Arc4life's linear gravityneck pillow- it comes in 3 sizes: small, medium or large. You get two soft neck rolls to choose from:
2. Do neck exercises at home- neck stretches
3. Use a cold ice pack. It will help to decrease inflammation and also provide a pain relieving effect. Ice used with biofreeze natural pain relief gel works well together:
4. stretch your neck- you can use a simple neck traction device
5. If you are having muscle tightness or spasms, try a tens unit for pain relief."TENS" stands for Transcutaneous Electrical Nerve Stimulation. This "TENS unit" is a pocket size, portable, battery-operated device that sends electrical impulses to certain parts of the body to block pain signals. The electrical currents produced are mild, but can prevent pain messages from being transmitted to the brain and may raise the level of endorphins (natural pain killers produced by the brain).
6. see a chiropractor if you are having neck pain. Leave spinal adjustments to the profesionals. Here are some chiropractors Arc4life Recommends:
   • Dr. Matt Bellinger, Glastonbury CT http://www.ctbackdr.com/
     
   • Dr. Eben Davis, San Francisco, CA http://www.executiveexpresschiro.com/
     
   • Dr. Steve Shoshany, New York City, NY http://www.livingwellnewyork.com/
   • Dr. Nona Djavid, Newport Beach, CA http://www.wellnesschoicecenter.com/
     
   • Dr. Ron Spallone, Lakewood/Denver, CO www.denverchiropractor.com
   • Dr. Kathy Hunter, Simi Valley, CA http://www.gladback.com/
     
   • Dr. Andrea Mills, Lancaster, CA http://www.natural-arthritis-relief.com/serngeti-chiropractic.html
     
   • Dr. David Livingston, Delray Beach, FL http://www.delraybeachchiropractor.com/
   
   

Additional Reading

• How to Get Rid of a Kink in Your Neck
• Neck Traction Devices that really work
• Exercises for the neck
• Hot and Cold Therapy
• Treatment of neck pain for the serious athlete

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Horrible Pain In The Upper Neck...Help!

I've had this horrible pain in my upper neck on my left side whenever I turn my head to the right. What can i do to fix the pain? It's almost unbearable...

Try massaging the occipital muscles. These muscles attach from the skull to the 1st 2 vertebrae. They are easy to find. Run your fingers down the back of your skull until you feel the base of the skull (the hard bone feeling changes because you then hit muscle). You can take your fingers and massage or press up towards the skull. Pressing on one tight area for about 7-10 seconds then moving slightly to the side works well. It only takes a little while and you can get significant relief. You can also massage with your fingers in a circular fashion.

This pain in the upper cervicals can also create a headache too; usually one that travels up the back of the head. When you turn to the right it hurts on the left because you are stretching the muscles when you do that. It may be your left occipital muscles that need the most work. There are alot of other muscles in this region as well but the circular massage and trigger point pressure will help them as well.

Visit Arc4life.com for your online selection of cervical support neck pillows, orthopedic pain relief products and Home traction units. Products for pain relief. Bookmark this on Delicious Stumble It!

I Think the Colder Weather Caused my Neck to Hurt??

There is no question the "cold weather" can be tougher on the body. Maybe that’s why so many people move to Florida. Just kidding, there are many reasons people move to Florida or somewhere similar.

The bottom line here is that any deterioration or arthritis may act up with a change in weather. The cold weather also tends to mean we tighten up more; tighter muscles, rolled-shoulder posture... Think about when you’re cold, you kind of curl-up, that head, neck and shoulders roll forward and most likely you end up starting to wear a jacket or heavier clothes that your body has to get used to again.

What usually happens is the combination of the cold and your body not being ready; you turn quick and your neck isn’t warmed up, for example. Sometimes, you do something to strain the neck, but don’t realize it until the next morning. This makes it sometimes difficult to figure out how it got started. Use some neck exercises and stretches to keep your neck muscles relaxed. Sometimes a hot shower may help warm up the muscles as well. Also, nothing works better to strengthen the spine and ward of degeneration than keeping the neck in it strongest healthiest position - Its ideal alignment!



Cold Weather Is Tougher on the Body



Additional Reading:
• memory foam holds more heat
• Allery Relief Pillow
• Herbal Remedies good for the cold seasons
• Cure Neck Pain

Visit Arc4life.com for your online selection of cervical support neck pillows, orthopedic pain relief products and Home traction units. Products for pain relief. Bookmark this on Delicious Stumble It!

"Poor Neck Alignment Leads to a Weaker Neck"

Neck posture is extremely important. Our bodies are made so that we can move, twist, etc … and also so we stay as strong as possible. We are always fighting the pressure of gravity!

We Can't Escape Gravity, Keep Your Spine Aligned!

Not only does adequate spine alignment mean limited nerve pressure which will help us to stay healthy and pain free, but it also helps us withstand the downward pressure gravity puts on us.

By investing some time in strengthening neck exercises and proper neck alignment, not only will you reduce pain now, you will be investing in a strong neck for the future to help prevent more serious problems down the road...

Properly withstanding these pressures prevents spinal breakdown and future nerve pressure also. Let’s look at the neck or cervical spine. Remember when I told you for every inch of forward head it increases the weight gravity puts on you by 10 pounds. This is a perfect example- whose neck do you think will break down faster, one with forward head posture and an extra 10 pounds on it everyday, or someone with perfect posture? I think you know the answer.

So, you can see how you don’t need to be a power lifter to want to strengthen the neck. Ultimately, correcting your neck’s alignment will strengthen your neck and prevent neck degeneration.


Visit Arc4life.com for your online selection of cervical support neck pillows, orthopedic pain relief products and Home traction units. Products for pain relief. Bookmark this on Delicious Stumble It!

Using a Hot and Cold Pack to get Maximum Relief

At Arc4life.com one of the products we specialize in is hot and cold packs. Whether you have acute pain or chronic pain, having a versatile hot and cold pack at home is a necessary for healing.

One simple idea is use a bag of frozen peas or carrots right out of the freezer. We have all done that in the past. You have been playing basketball outside with your friends, and you fall on the hard pavement bruising your knee. You run inside, clean the area, and see that it is swelled. Right away, you are probably thinking ice this knee down for maximum pain relief. Using frozen vegetables maybe the first thing that comes to mind. But frozen vegetables may not retain the cold for a long period of time, they may start to melt all over the knee, into your socks and then you could have a faint odor of carrots on you, then may not go away quickly. Also, you cannot use that frozen vegetable for food now. Well technically you can, but freezing and refreezing can ruin the taste of a product.

A better idea is to use a gel filled hot and cold pack. Why? Because first of all you can use your therapy pack for hot or for cold. Simply putting the therapy pack in the microwave for 1-2 minutes can provide wonderful heat therapy. Second, gel filled hot and cold packs retain their temperature longer. A cold pack will stay colder longer and a hot pack will stay hotter longer. Third, you can use and reuse as many times as you need. These therapy packs last a long time. Fourth, the cover on the hot and cold pack is gentle against the skin. It is always advised that you wrap the therapy pack in a towel before using, but you don’t have to with basic hot and cold packs. Finally, you can get a therapy pack in many different sizes, suited for many different body parts. So if for example you know that you are getting knee surgery and the Dr has advised you to use a hot pack on your knee you can get a gel therapy pack that will fit your knee area perfectly. You can even buy therapy packs that have a strap on them. The elastic strap attaches to the pack to hold it in place. Great for arms, knees, elbows, necks and shoulders. These are called Dual Comfort Hot and Cold packs.

These Dual Comfort Hot and Cold Packs comes in 5 sizes (see below for sizes available). These hot and cold packs have an elastic strap that attaches to the pack to hold the therapy pack in place. Also, there are two surfaces to the therapy packs. The light blue is a rapid-release surface (quicker results for acute injuries), and the dark blue is the slow release surface (sub-acute injuries). These hot and cold packs can be heated in the microwave or in a hot towel cabinet.

Which Hot and Cold Pack Size is Right for You?

Size		Strap Size	Great for:	Hot and Cold Therapy Pack: How to Use it
3”x 5”		6” Strap	hand, arm, foot, finger, ankle	Click here for more info
6”x10”		18” Strap	shoulder, hip	Click here for more info
10”x13”		28” Strap	lower back, leg, midback, between the shoulder blades	Click here for more info
6”x 20”		12” Strap	neck, shoulders, upper back, lower back	Click here for more info
9”x 16”		28” Strap	upper back- will cover the neck, upper neck, shoulders, trapezius, and upper back area	Click here for more info

Additional Information on Hot and Cold Packs and Related information:

• Hot and Cold therapy products
• THE BENEFIT OF HAVING A HANDY ICE PACK AND HEAT PACK
• I I’m sore after using my new neck pillow for the 1st time.
• Acute Neck Pain and Chronic Neck Pain
• Cure Shoulder Pain + Rotator Cuff Injuries. Top quality product (doctor approved!) for quickly resolving shoulder pain at home.