DRINK WATER ON EMPTY STOMACH

By Thenaturesfarmacy's

It is popular in Japan today to drink water immediately after waking up every morning. Furthermore, scientific tests have proven its value. We publish below a description of use of water for our readers. For old and serious diseases as well as modern illnesses the water treatment had been found successful by a Japanese medical society as a 100% cure for the following diseases:

Headache, body ache, heart system, arthritis, fast heart beat, epilepsy, excess fatness, bronchitis asthma, TB, meningitis, kidney and urine diseases, vomiting, gastritis, diarrhea, piles, diabetes, constipation, all eye diseases, womb, cancer and menstrual disorders, ear nose and throat diseases.

METHOD OF TREATMENT
1. As you wake up in the morning before brushing teeth, drink 4 x 160ml glasses of water

2. Brush and clean the mouth but do not eat or drink anything for 45 minute

3.. After 45 minutes you may eat and drink as normal.

4. After 15 minutes of breakfast, lunch and dinner do not eat or drink anything for 2 hours

5. Those who are old or sick and are unable to drink 4 glasses of water at the beginning may commence by taking little water and gradually increase it to 4 glasses per day.

6. The above method of treatment will cure diseases of the sick and others can enjoy a healthy life.

The following list gives the number of days of treatment required to cure/control/reduce main diseases:
1. High Blood Pressure (30 days)
2. Gastric (10 days)
3. Diabetes (30 days)
4. Constipation (10 days)
5. Cancer (180 days)
6. TB (90 days)
7. Arthritis patients should follow the above treatment only for 3 days in the 1st week, and from 2nd week onwards – daily..

This treatment method has no side effects, however at the commencement of treatment you may have to urinate a few times.
It is better if we continue this and make this procedure as a routine work in our life. Drink Water and Stay healthy and Active.

This makes sense .. The Chinese and Japanese drink hot tea with their meals not cold water. Maybe it is time we adopt their drinking habit while eating!!! Nothing to lose, everything to gain...

For those who like to drink cold water, this article is applicable to you.
It is nice to have a cup of cold drink after a meal. However, the cold water will solidify the oily stuff that you have just consumed. It will slow down the digestion.

Once this 'sludge' reacts with the acid, it will break down and be absorbed by the intestine faster than the solid food. It will line the intestine.
Very soon, this will turn into fats and lead to cancer. It is best to drink hot soup or warm water after a meal.

A serious note about heart attacks:

• Women should know that not every heart attack symptom is going to be the left arm hurting,
• Be aware of intense pain in the jaw line.
• You may never have the first chest pain during the course of a heart attack.
• Nausea and intense sweating are also common symptoms.
• 60% of people who have a heart attack while they are asleep do not wake up.
• Pain in the jaw can wake you from a sound sleep. Let's be careful and be aware. The more we know, the better chance we could survive...
A cardiologist says if everyone who gets this mail sends it to everyone they know, you can be sure that we'll save at least one life.
Please be a true friend and send this article to all your friends you care about.

PLEASE DON'T IGNORE SHARE IT. THIS MIGHT SAVE SOMEONE'S LIFE.

Transformers : Age of Extinction - Super Bowl TV Spot

Why sex is good for your Brain

By Anna Magee

Why sex is good for your brain and also staves off everything from heart disease to cancer and headaches - if you keep at it!

Having more sex could not only make us feel good, it could provide far-reaching health benefits.

Unfortunately we are having less of it - on average we have sex fewer than five times a month, compared to six-and-a-half times 20 years ago, according to the National Survey of Sexual Attitudes and Lifestyles.

Yet studies have linked regular sexual activity to emotional well-being, reduced migraine pain and even a lower risk of prostate cancer.

In a typical session lasting 25 minutes, men burned an average of 100 calories, women 69

A Canadian study last month found that half-an-hour of sexual activity could burn more calories than walking on a treadmill - the researchers claimed sexual activity could be considered significant exercise.

The study measured the sexual activity of 21 couples aged between 18 and 35 - they were monitored using an armband to calculate how many calories the wearer burned, and the intensity of the activity. 

In a typical session lasting 25 minutes, the men burned an average of 100 calories, the women 69. The intensity of the activity was measured in METs (the Metabolic Equivalent of a Task); for men, the average reading was six METs, for women it was 6.6.

It's roughly the same as playing doubles tennis, or walking uphill, for 20 minutes, 33 minutes of golf on a driving range, 40 minutes of yoga or 19 minutes of light rowing.

The Canadian findings chime with past campaigns by the British Heart Foundation, which suggested that 30 minutes of daily sex is as good for you as walking the dog.

Indeed, research is now showing that sex provides a 'triple-whammy' of benefits by combining a workout for the heart and lungs, the release of hormones that could lower stress and the production of new brain cells. And - for women - the added plus is a toning effect on the muscles in the pelvic floor.

Increasingly doctors view sex as 'an under-used resource in terms of physical and emotional well-being'

Graham Jackson, a consultant cardiologist and president of The Sexual Advice Association, says we've known for a long time that sex has health benefits, but it's only in the past decade that the taboo has been lifted from sex research in Britain.

'This has led to more studies in the area,' says Dr Jackson.

A BOOST FOR THE HEART, LUNGS AND BRAIN

Increasingly doctors view sex as 'an under-used resource in terms of physical and emotional well-being', says Dr Arun Ghosh, a private GP with a special interest in the health benefits of sex. 'Plus, it's not emphasised enough as a really good form of exercise.' 

The Canadian research suggests it  can be classed as a moderate intensity exercise - if you do enough of it, but more of that later.

And it's not just the heart and lungs that get a workout. Last week, scientists at the University of Maryland in the U.S. discovered that middle-aged rats made more brain cells after mating. 

The process, called neurogenesis, is thought to restore brain function lost through ageing. In particular, the benefits were seen in the hippocampus, the region of the brain where new memories are formed.

The rats' brain function improved after long periods of sexual activity, specifically in this hippocampus area.

'A huge amount of brain stimulus occurs during intercourse,' comments Dr Ghosh. 'It's why we feel so overtaken when we orgasm,' he says. 'When researchers do MRI scans on people in orgasm, they observe both sides of the brain being stimulated, including parts of the brain we wouldn't normally use.' 

'Researchers found men who kept up a regular sex life in their 50s - ejaculating more than ten times a month - were at a lower risk of prostate cancer'

 

Still, it's important to note the study was on rats and we still don't know if neurogenesis happens as significantly in humans, says Dr Simon Ridley, of the Alzheimer's Research Council.

'Plus, any improvements in brain power were lost once the animals' sexual activity stopped, so we can't assume any benefits to their brains will be long-term.'

Though the study showed the new cells remained, 'there's as yet still no compelling evidence to support the idea that regular sex can help stave off dementia or cognitive decline in humans', adds Dr Ridley.

However, there is no doubt that sex provides a substantial workout to women's pelvic floor muscles. As Andrew Hextall, a consultant who specialises in genito-urinary medicine at Spire Bushey Hospital, London, explains, a stronger pelvic floor can help reduce the risk of prolapse of the womb, which affects half of women over 50. 

And a stronger pelvic floor also reduces the risk of stress incontinence, which affects one in four women over 40. 

'During intercourse, the muscles in a woman's pelvic floor naturally contract and squeeze,' says Mr Hextall. 'This increases muscle tone in the area, as the pelvic floor is like any other muscle, it responds to use by getting stronger.' 

Even if your sex sessions only last a short time it's likely you would still get the effects, he says. 'The recommendation for exercises to strengthen the pelvic floor are to squeeze the pelvic floor only eight times at any one time,' he explains. 'It's likely that during sex you will be contracting your pelvic floor at least that many times, so there's no need for prolonged sex sessions to get these benefits.'

IT LOWERS MEN'S CANCER RISK

The good news for men - for older men, anyway - is that regular sex may be linked to a lower risk of prostate cancer, according to a study from Nottingham University. 

The researchers, who questioned 840 men about their sexual histories, found those who kept up a regular sex life in their 50s - ejaculating more than ten times a month - were at a lower risk of prostate cancer, the most common form of cancer in British men. One theory is that if men don't clear the sperm, it can be re-absorbed by the prostate gland.

Men who kept up a regular sex life in their 50s were at a lower risk of prostate cancer

'Sperm needs to be regularly flushed out to allow new cells  to develop. It's a bit like cleaning out a pipe, it may help stop the build-up of old cells that might be more likely to turn cancerous,' says Dr Ghosh.

A previous study from the National Cancer Institute in the U.S. of more than 29,000 men found that those having the most orgasms had a third lower risk of prostate cancer.

However, the Nottingham University research, which was published in 2009 in The British Journal of Urology International, also found that ejaculating more than 20 times a month in their 20s and 30s could increase prostate cancer risk later in life. This is possibly because higher levels of sex hormones in some men, which may be responsible for a high sex drive, may also be linked to the development of prostate cancer later.

IT'S EVEN GOOD FOR HEADACHES

Sex may also have a positive effect on emotional well-being.

A study published in the Archives of Sexual Behaviour found young women felt more depressed the longer they hadn't had sex.

One theory is that vaginal absorption of hormones in semen such as prostaglandins, testosterone and luteinizing hormone could help improve the mood of women, says Stuart Brody, professor of psychology specialising in sexual behaviour at the University of the West of Scotland. orgasm also releases feel-good brain chemicals such as serotonin, adds Dr Ghosh. 

'Routinely now, when our patients - male or female - are diagnosed with depression or anxiety we encourage them to maintain their sex lives because it's so beneficial for mental well-being'.

Research by Professor Brody and his team has confirmed that sex is a stress reliever.

They studied a group of German adults and found those who had sex at least once over two weeks were better able to manage the stress of public speaking and recorded lower blood pressure in response to stressful situations.

Meanwhile, in women, orgasm might help a headache, killing the age-old excuse for abstaining.
'Orgasm is associated with an upsurge of blood flow from the brain which could reduce headache,' says Dr Ghosh.

Researchers found that oxytocin may help sustain feelings of love and commitment in long-term relationships

One study of 83 women with migraine found that more than half experienced relief after orgasm. The research, published in the journal Headache in 2001, found that 30 per cent reported some pain relief while 17.5 per cent said it had in the past relieved their symptoms altogether. Orgasm is also associated with a surge of the chemical oxytocin in men and women. This is often called the 'bonding' hormone because it induces feelings of fondness and affection.

'Anthropological research has found that for humans, quite aside from the pleasure we glean from sex, one of the main drivers behind our need for sexual activity is to bond with other humans,' says Dr Ghosh. 

Last week, researchers found that oxytocin may help sustain feelings of love and commitment in long-term relationships.

The study gave 40 men oxytocin, then showed them pictures - one of their partners and one of a woman they'd never met.

Brain scans showed in the majority of the men the brain's reward systems lit up when they saw their partner's picture.

'Regular sex stimulates the brain's pleasure and reward system through the release of chemicals such as oxytocin and dopamine,' Dr Ghosh explains. 'It's one thing that keeps us going back to our partners for more.'

YOU HAVE TO KEEP GOING FOR 30 MINUTES

Dr Jackson says sex could form a part of an overall, varied exercise regimen - if you can make it last long enough. For most long-married couples, sex sessions last around 15 minutes rather than the 30 minutes achieved by the couples in the Canadian study.

'One study of 83 women with migraine found that more than half experienced relief after orgasm'

 

The peak moments can lead to an increase in heart rate of around ten beats per minute and sometimes more, he explains. Foreplay is equivalent in activity terms to running for a bus. 'A typical game of tennis or squash is around 40 minutes of sustained cardiovascular activity, so to compare these to sex in fitness benefits you would need to perform your peak periods of sex for around the same amount of time,' says Dr Jackson. If you last 30 to 40 minutes 'quite vigorously', 'you could get a good cardiovascular workout during sex'. But a paper in the New England Journal of Medicine last year concluded the average bout of sexual activity was only six minutes, expending about 21 calories. 'Sexual activity is meant to compliment other more sustained forms of exercise,' says Dr Jackson. 'You can't say, “I have sex, I won't exercise”.'

WHY ARE MEN SO SLEEPY AFTERWARDS?

Research in the journal Neuroscience and Behavioural Reviews in 2012 has explained the sleeping-pill like effect sex has on men. Brain scans showed the pre-frontal cortex, the area associated with consciousness, alertness and mental activity, 'switches off' after an orgasm.Other research has shown that in men an orgasm's tension-relieving effects are like taking 2mg of diazepam (a sedative). 'This  explains why men want to sleep after sex,' says Dr Ghosh. And hormones released in orgasm - melatonin, oxytocin and vasopressin - are also all associated with sleep.

Teen who fell into a coma last year after getting breast implants

By Daily Mail Reporter

Teen who fell into a coma last year after getting breast implants is allowed to move home but can barely move or speak

• Linda Perez, now 19, fell into a coma in the hour after her August 2013 breast augmentation surgery finished
• Was 'a vegetable' for two months and showed the 'stirrings' of life in October before being released to go home in November
• She can barely move, needs to be carried through the house, and can only say a few words
• Her parents are filing to become her legal guardian as well as the guardian for her now-4-year-old son because she cannot care for him
• Doctor claims she failed to tell him that she had complications when anesthesia was used during her son's birth years before implant surgery

A young woman who fell into a coma last year after getting breast augmentation surgery has been allowed to go back to her home but is still unable to move on her own and can only say a few words. Linda Perez now has to be under constant supervision as she has dropped to a skeletal weight. Doctors fear that the now-19-year-old may never recover, but her mother is holding out for a recovery, citing the fact that she is now off of her feeding tube as a good sign.

Scroll down for video

Heartbreaking: Linda Perez has to be carried by her father Fernando Izquierdo because she can still barely move her limbs after complications during her August 2013 breast augmentation surgery

Questions: Perez, pictured with her father, paid around half the price of a typical breast implant surgery

'I still have hope because she is alive and she's home,' Mariela Diaz told The Miami Herald.

While she may be remaining upbeat, her daughter has not come to terms with her inability to move her own limbs.

'She goes into depression and crying,' Mrs Diaz said.

'She sees that she cannot walk, and when she realizes what happened to her, she cries.'

Linda suffered brain damage in the hour after the breast augmentation finished but now the doctor who performed the surgery is filing to have access to her earlier medical records because he feels she hid key facts from him.

She allegedly had a complication from anesthesia that she was given during the birth of her son, and if she had told the doctor about that incident he would have approached the procedure differently.

Serious: Linda Perez was in a coma for two months after the August 2013 cosmetic surgery and still has not recovered fully as her doctors fear that she may have permanent brain and heart damage

Breast implant surgery leads to coma for 18-year-old

F

or months following the August 2013 operation, the then-18-year-old's toddler son was not told about his mother's illness. She first showed signs of life in a coma in October and was allowed to go back to the family home in November. 

Now her parents have told The Miami Herald that they plan to petition a court in order to become the now-4-year-old boy's legal guardians- as well as getting the same title for their daughter.

They also are in the process of gearing up for a court battle as they are planning on filing a lawsuit against the doctor who put in their daughter's breast implants. 

While the medical explanation for what exactly happened is still being debated, it is visible that something terrible has happened to the girl because she is so thin.

Before the worst: Linda's parents described her as vivacious and spirited before the August 2013 surgery

Changed roles: Now Linda's parents are considering filing to be considered the legal guardians of both their 19-year-old daughter (right) and her now-4-year-old son (left) since she can no longer care for herself or the boy

Linda had the breast augmentation surgery at The Coral Gables Cosmetic Center in August 2013 after paying $2,800, which is believed to be about half of the normal price of the procedure. 

Her family were told that her heart stopped during the operation and she was 'effectively' dead when she was transported to hospital. She suffered brain and heart damage during the procedure.

Perez was admitted to Mercy Hospital following her procedure and her family's attorney, Mark Eiglarsh, said that finding out what went wrong will require litigation.

Questions: Her doctor now believes that she left critical information about her medical history out of their pre-operation consultations 

Dr Jacob Freiman, who performed the surgery, has a clean record and is a board certified plastic surgeon, according to the Florida Department of Health. 

Dr Freiman is calling for an investigation into her medical history because he claims that the girl knew she had suffered complications when she gave birth to her son. 

'They put a spinal aesthetic, and she needed to be intubated,' Dr Freiman said in a report filed by the medical center to gain access to her earlier records. 

He says that the information was purposefully kept from him in order to keep him from calling off the plastic surgery. 

She told the doctor during one of their consultations that she had a history of seizures eight years before the breast augmentation but had stopped taking medication as the seizures stopped and had no known history of lung or heart problems. She also said that she had stopped smoking.

Young mom: Linda was 15 years old when she gave birth to her son While Dr Freiman has a clean history with the medical board, it later emerged that the anaesthetist Dr Mario Alberto Diaz had previously served time for illegally selling pain pills over the internet. 

Dr Diaz served time in federal prison in 2006 for illegally dispensing at least 53,000 doses of pain pills over the Internet. He also had his Florida medical license suspended for six months. 'What they gave me is essentially a vegetable,' her mother Mariela Diaz told NBC 6. Perez was admitted to Mercy Hospital following her procedure and her family's attorney, Mark Eiglarsh, said that finding out what went wrong will require litigation.

Bone to Pick

By Reema Gehi

Why are adults as young as 30 queuing up at ortho clinics with joint pain?

Make hay while the sun shines carries a literal meaning for Bandra entrepreneur Preet Motwani. She gets out every morning at 8.15 am to soak in an hour of bright sunlight.

It wasn't like this nine months ago. The 35-year-old was fighting time to get her eight-year-old ready for school before heading to her interiors store in Andheri.

But a severe stomach infection she contracted in January, that she overcame with a light, nutritious diet and medication, left her weak, irritable and lethargic. "I was experiencing excruciating pain and spasms in my neck, which travelled down my shoulders and spine," says Motwani. This lasted a month before she decided to visit a doctor who suggested she get her Vitamin D3 and B12 levels tested.

While her B12 reserves were sufficient, Motwani's Vitamin D level stood at 12.20 ng/ml, way below the normal range of 30 to 100 ng/ml). "The deficiency was responsible for the pain that was a result of weakened bones," she says.

Other than the mandatory hour of sunshine, Vitamin D supplements and physiotherapy have seen her through the year.

Age dropping

Mumbai's orthopaedics and physiotherapists have reported a rise in the cases of poor bone health compounded by muscle weakness, as in Motwani's case.

Orthopaedic surgeon and head of orthopaedics at Seth G S Medical College and KEM Hospital, Dr Pradeep Bhosale, says the situation has worsened in the last five years. "Most female patients also complain of pain in the heels, irritability and short temper," says the doctor, who sees four such cases a week. Across the city in Bandra, physiotherapist Dr Poonam Bajaj treats 30 odd patients a day, teaching them exercises that will rid them of joint and muscle pain.

Medically, they use the term osteopenia or the lack of bone density mineral to describe such cases. It's a step before osteoporosis, a condition that refers to the degeneration of bones.

The thinning of bones due to ageing is a natural process. Most adults reach their peak bone mass density (BMD) at 30, after which there is a gradual bone mass loss that kicks in. In fact, by middle age, the body reabsorbs existing bone cells faster than new bone cells are made, resulting in minerals, mass, and structure loss, leaving bones weaker. Brittle bones are more susceptible to fractures.

Doctors say, owing to a poor lifestyle most people don't end up reaching their peak BMD at 30. This is why they are noticing more cases of weak bones in patients in their 20s because they haven't built their reserves.

Lack of Vitamin D is the biggest culprit, with orthopaedics calling it India's 'urban epidemic'. Dr Ameet Pispati, consulting orthopaedic surgeon at Jaslok and Bhatia Hospitals, explains, "The bone has a trabecular network. Think of it as a honeycomb. Its main source of constitution are Vitamin D and calcium. They are the lime and cement of the bone's building structure." If a person is deficient in either of these, the network's foundations are affected, leaving him more prone to pain and fracture.

What's wrong?

Doctors are not ruling out poor posture, sedentary lifestyle, and high impact workouts without warming up as factors, too. Likewise, lack of exercise, high stress, excessive smoking and drinking, a poor diet, an overdose of caffeine and colas (they increase calcium excretion and reduce absorption) and hormonal imbalances are contributors, too.

Women are especially vulnerable since they have a lower peak BMD to begin with. Besides, loss of bone mass tends to speed up as hormonal changes kick in with menopause.

Dr Fixit

The easiest and cheapest remedy, experts will tell you, is to expose yourself to morning sunlight for 40 minutes every day.

Playing tennis, jogging, dancing and climbing stairs together with the right diet (see below) helps slow down bone loss. "It easier to prevent bone weakness than treat it. Once bones are weakened, it is a longterm uphill battle," says Dr Pispati.

FEED YOUR BONES

Where to get your Calcium from

Dietician and fitness expert Sheela Tanna suggests dairy products (milk, ghee, yoghurt and cheese). Go for eggs, dark green leafy vegetables and soyabean.

Replace the junk food

High sugar and fat intake leads to bone weakening. Since fast foods are deficient in calcium, Vitamin C and zinc, all necessary for bone maintenance. Instead of snacking on chips and farsan, eat fruits like orange, guava and sweet lime, rich Vitamin C. Have khakra and bread or rotis made from whole grains.

Living with pain

By ARUNA RATHOD PANVEL

 

Often told off for 'imagining aches', young patients with fibromyalgia flounder for medical answers.

Anuradha Khanna Pentapalli calls her life a "good one". It would be for anyone if they were married to the one they loved, and had a job that satisfied them creatively.

Then things started to change.

"Three years ago, I began to notice mild aches. Gradually, my entire body was reeling under constant pain," says the 35-year-old Panvel resident.

The pain, which she likens to a persistent toothache — except, it's all over the body — made it impossible for her to sleep peacefully.

As the pain was often accompanied by mild fever, Pentapalli consulted a general practitioner who diagnosed it as plain fatigue and sent her home with pain killers.

But when the copywriter found it tough to perform simple tasks like making a cup of tea, and typing. This is was more than exhaustion.

Six months after she first noticed the pain, Pentapalli and her husband consulted an orthopaedic surgeon who diagnosed her condition as seronegative spondylo arthropathy — a type of joint disease — and prescribed traction.

The treatment would relieve pressure on her vertebral structure, she was told. When that too didn't help, Pentapalli consulted a rheumatologist. Pentapalli was suffering from fibromyalgia.

Tough diagnosis

Characterised by widespread musculoskeletal pain accompanied by fatigue, sleep loss and trouble with memory and depression, fibromyalgia affects between 3 per cent and 6 per cen of the world's population, says the National Fibromyalgia Association.

Because it mimics symptoms of other ailments (vitamin D, B12 deficieny and thyroid), it's often misdiagnosed, says rheumatologist Dr Shashank Akerkar.

Prof. (Dr) U Gauthamadas, consultant at Chennai's Neuro-Behavioural Medicine, explains, "Fibromyalgia amplifies painful sensations by affecting the way your brain processes pain signals.

People with fibromyalgia have a lower threshold for pain because of increased sensitivity in the brain to pain signals. This is the result of an abnormal increase in levels of neurotransmitters, chemicals that communicate information about sensation."

Why this happens, Dr Gauthamdas says, is still not known. For the condition to be diagnosed as fibromyalgia, the pain must occur at more than 10 'tender' (see box) points on both sides of the body, above and below the waist, with no other underlying factors for it. What makes diagnosis tougher is that no single lab test exists to detect fibromyalgia — it's diagnosed via a process of elimination.

Doctors treating Pune resident Smita Gadgil (name changed), took two years to arrive at the right diagnosis. "I started showing symptoms when I was 19 after I had a casual fall. I was repeatedly asked to go for Rh factor tests, but they always turned out negative," says the 26-year-old.

Memory loss is common in fibromyalgia. Pentapalli recalls an incident at a railway station. "I couldn't figure out which direction to head in. I sat down on a bench and waited till I I remembered. I was in tears."

Coping with pain

Treatment includes analgesics and medicines that act on the neurotransmitters to help a patient's pain threshold increase, and ease fatigue. "The emphasis, however, is on minimising symptoms and improving health," says Dr Gauthamdas, adding that low-impact exercises such as yoga, swimming, cycling, walking and tai-chi have been shown to restore the body's neurochemical balance by boosting its endorphins and serotonin levels. Exercise also keeps the muscles and joints supple.

Over time Pentapalli's doctor's visits have reduced, as have the aches. But, small changes in her lifestyle betray her condition. "I cannot work full-time or sit for long. I must be surrounded by soft cushion support, and lifting heavy bags, kneading dough or cutting hard vegetables is a no-no," she adds.

With low awareness about the condition, both Pentapalli and Gadgil have set up support groups for those battling the condition. With no external indication of pain, family and doctors tend to think patients are overreacting.

"Doctors often tell you, you have a psychological issue. My advice to those suffering from pain is to consult another doctor if you are not satisfied with one diagnosis," suggests Pentapalli.

MANAGING FIBROMYALGIA

Tender points are located at the back of the head, between shoulder blades, top of shoulders, front sides of neck, upper chest, outer elbows, upper hips, sides of hips and inner knees. To be considered as fibromyalgia, the pain must occur at more than 10 tender points on both sides of the body and also above and below the waist, with no underlying factor that could be causing the pain. Here's how to manage it:

» Caffeine is known to make your muscles tense. Avoid it

» While at work, ensure you have a comfortable seat with a firm, upright back. Place your computer monitor at a height that does not require you to strain your neck

» Reduce trudging up and down the stairs. Avoid carrying heavy weights and stooping. Move around and stretch frequently. And take a power nap if you feel tired

» Take special care during periods of illness (viral fevers, a flu, or common cold) and hormonal changes (menstruation) that are known triggers