Happy 2015! Hope everyone has had a relaxing/exciting/joyous/productive holiday. Now, whether we are still savouring memories of our vacations or eagerly anticipating new ones, as normal daily routine ensue for many people across Australia, most of us would also be feeling a little tired, some exhausted or even anxious about returning to stressful daily routines. It’s completely normal to feel like that after a long break. This anxiety will normally fade once the initial period passes, for some however, it can be difficult to smoothly merge back to a stressful working environment.

Retoring balance of diet is the first step that we can do to help.
Holidays is always the time of the year where food and drinks (often high calories) galore, at the same period there is less energy expenditure as our work load drops considerally. This sudden congestion/disruption can be quite unsettling for our internal systems and the effect can linger, and finally when call of duty comes, we often don't immediately regain our sharpness.

From the perspective of Traditional Chinese medicine and philosophies,  baked treats, food high in fat such as those usually topping our holiday dining table packs heat in our bodies, fortunately "antitode" - food of "cool" properties are easy to source, one doesn't have to look beyond the summer greens, in addition, fish (protein but lower fat content), rice (carb but not baked) among many things that grows in aquatic environment are not only "cool" in TCM but provide a welcoming alternative for the taste bud.
   
Gastric gourmet or not, it's the combination of many things that work together to make great holidays. Whether it is holiday treats or scenic spots, our brain perceives these desired destinations/objects as happiness, measurable ones too, as this corresponds with a hightened level of endorphin. Sudden void in these"happy stimuli" then due to change in lifestyle for example, can lead to lowered Endorphin level in the immediate period, which explains most cases of post holiday anxiety (it's like smoke cessation).

Fortunately at Sydney Laser Health Solutions, we know just what to do to make the transtision more smoothly,  we recommend 3-4 sessions of Low levele Laser Therapy (LLLT), which when applied to the right spots, helps to stimulate endorphin. Apart from this, LLLT also helps to energise us through a series of photochemical effects as light is absorbed by our cells. Get a fast start in 2015, call Sydney Laser Health Solutions 9389 9699 or 0481 354 188. We have a special protocol individually to help you!

FDA is recommending healthcare providers to discontinue or limit prescribing medical products that contain more than 325mg of Acetaminophen (Paracetamol) per dosage unit over concerns for increased risk of liver damage due to high or prolonged doses.

In a January post under Safety Alerts For Human Medical Products, FDA states “There are no available data to show that taking more than 325 mg of acetaminophen per dosage unit provides additional benefit that outweighs the added risks for liver injury. Further, limiting the amount of acetaminophen per dosage unit will reduce the risk of severe liver injury from inadvertent acetaminophen overdose, which can lead to liver failure, liver transplant, and death.”

Acetaminophen, commonly known in Australia as Paracetamol, is the main ingredient in analgesic drugs such as Panadol, which is widely available as an over the counter (OTC) drug. In addition, strong dose of Paracetamol is also present in stronger painkilling pills such as many opioid analgesics, often used in pain management and prescribed for patients with chronic pain or for those who require pain control following surgical procedures.

The use Paracetamol containing medications should not be a decision made lightly, simply because many consumers are often unaware that many products (both prescription and OTC) contain Paracetamol, let alone knowing potential adverse side effects with improper use, making it easy to accidentally take too much. This is especially a concern for the aforementioned Paracetamol containing opioid analgesics as they pose the chance of drug dependency, further increasing risk of liver failure.

Sydney Laser Health Solution would like to recommend Low Level Laser Therapy (LLLT), made available through advanced medical laser technology, and following numerous double blind, placebo controlled clinical studies, as an effective alternative therapeutic method for pain management. LLLT takes a non drug approach in pain treatment (hence minimises the possibility of adverse side effects), its mechanism instead relies on laser light irradiating and stimulating injured cells, to achieve activation of a series of physiological response to achieve the goal of pain relief, tissue healing and more efficient immune response.

Last month, LLLT was featured in a small segment of A Current Affair (ACA), giving chronic pain sufferers hope. In what was titled "Aussie first treatment could put neck pain to bed", a treatment dubbed the "Hot Spot Therapy" was introduced by Dr Mark Rogers. What is this "miracle" therapy for chronic pain? How is it effective? Is it also applicable to other conditions? What are some scientific evidence? These are just a few questions that had been asked in my clinic, not only by patients, but professionals too.

First I'd like to direct your attention to the picture above. In the apparent thermal image of a person, where a collection of contour displays different temperatures, a couple of bright white spots stand out. These are the hot spots of our interest.

Thermal cameras captures heat patterns across the skin through detecting infrared radiation as emitted from our bodies. Cells with inflammation, generally showing signs of redness, swelling and heat due to increase of flow of body fluid, which raise local temperature, can then be detected. A good infra red camera can detect temperature gradient for up to 5mm in depth, making it a very useful tool for clinicians like Dr Rogers and I because typically, the hot spots detected give strong indication of area of tender points or trigger points in the body. However, to find the exact points, careful examination through palpation by an experienced person is still absolutely important.

While the "hot spot" method assist in finding the root of chronic pain, it gets only half of the job done. To manage the condition, such as initiate healing, it is where Low Level Laser Therapy (LLLT) come to prominence. LLLT is the area that I have always had great interest in. In fact, it's being with me for almost 30 years, researching and practicing it, I have also had the chance to collaborate with Dr Rogers on many occasions, fighting off our patients' painful conditions. Currently in my clinic, I use my experience to detect both superficial and deep lying inflamed tender points. I have treated neck pain, thoracic pain, lower back pain, joint conditions fibromyalgia etc. with good results approximately 90% of my patients respond to laser, their conditions then begins improving.

And no, LLLT is no miricle treatment. Good healing really relies on the laser being delivered accurately to the area of injury, where a series of photochemical reactions ensue (Professor Hamblin summarised it best here)all the while with the laser's wavelength, time and dosage carefully managed.

 
All in all, LLLT is an excellent way to combat chronic pain, doing so in a non-invasive (therefore no chance of negative side effects),non manipulative (therefore not causing any pain in the duration of treatment) and above all, an experienced clinician would help to make the difference.

People around their 50s start to have changes, physically and physiologically. A lot may feel that sleep starts to become a problem. Some wake up in the mid of night and could not fall asleep again, while others find it difficult to sleep at all. Poor sleeping then affects their daily activities, easily fatigued, mentally tired even cognitive functions drops. Recently, a published research paper titled "Poor Sleep Predicts Musculoskeletal Pain in Older Adults" by Lara C Pullen, revealed link between poor sleep and widespread pain in the body of those aged 50 or more. Another research (McBeth, Lacey and Wilkie) yielded similar finding. When pain severely affects one's sleep, the patients usually seek medical help and take sleep pills or painkillers to maintain their conditions. Only these put them in a vicious cycle, of drug dependency or worse that the dosage must increase in order to relieve the pain, which lead to more chance of side effects hence bringing about negative impact to their daily life greatly.

In Sydney Laser health solutions, we provide low level laser therapy and laser acupuncture to modulate patients hormone level, reduce their pain and fatigue, improve their sleep and help them break the vicious cycle and boost energy in the body. Do not let pain ruin your life, we can help