Text: Sue Ramsey. Always consult your doctor before you change your health routine.NEW
HEALTH
- Warm baths, to help
relieve stress. - Exercise, to release
endorphins – the natural
feel-good hormones. - Complementary therapies,
including acupuncture, or
discuss taking magnesium
and fish oil with a qualified
naturopath.
If period pain is so bad it’s
interfering with your daily life,
Jean Hailes advises discussing
this with your doctor.
FOOT PAIN
Foot pain can be caused
by a variety of
conditions, including
bunions and plantar
fasciitis, says podiatrist
Daniel Fitzpatrick from
Alternative Foot Solutions
in Sydney.
What can help? “Many of these
issues relate to tight calves, but
you can avoid this by stretching
three times a day,” he says.
Here, Daniel explains how
to stretch your calves.- Find a wall and place the
palms of your hands on it at
around shoulder height.- Place one foot in
front of the other, toes
pointing in the same
direction and feet parallel
to each other. The back heel
should touch the ground. - For the first stretch, bend the
front knee, keep your back knee
straight. Hold for 30 seconds. - For the second stretch, bend
the knee of the back leg.
Hold for 30 seconds.
5. Repeat on opposite leg.
HEADACHES
There are many causes
of headaches: allergies,
stiff neck, eye strain,
hormones and tension,
says physiotherapist
Clare Singleton from
Clear Physiotherapy,
in Melbourne.What can help? “To effectively
treat headaches we must
determine the cause,” says Clare.
“You can then alter lifestyle
factors such as diet, posture,
eyewear and the like to improve
or eliminate symptoms,” she
says. Dehydration can also cause
a headache. “If someone has a
headache, I always recommend
starting with a big glass of
water,” says Samantha. “Many of
us are chronically dehydrated.”
If a headache persists, however,
always see your doctor.WHEN PAIN DOESN’T
G O AWAY
Persistent or chronic pain affects
3.24 million Australians, says
Painaustralia. It can be caused by
surgery or injury, or as a result of
disease or a chronic condition, such
as arthritis, or lower back pain. For
more information on managing
chronic pain, visit painaustralia.org.
au or nationalpainweek.org.au.NATIONA L^
PAIN WEEK
JULY 22-28
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