Tuesday, April 27, 2010

Mid Back Pain: Relief Without Drugs

By Lewis Phillips

Once an injury to the spine has occurred, regular, often persistent mid back pain can follow; proprietary medication is often the first route to back pain relief; While there are a host of prescription medications that help with pain relief, many are doing nothing more than masking the symptoms instead of tackling the underlying cause of the pain.

Long term medication of pain killers is something that should be supervised as other problems can occur because of their continued use. Back pain is often caused by muscle strain, repeated strenuous exercise and poor sitting posture.

It can also be caused if you are lifting heavy loads and usually characterized by a sharp pain to your lower back. However, a number of mid back pain relief treatments can be used without the need for drugs. Stretching can be effective at reducing back as it relaxes the muscles which are often tense.

Success at reducing pain and providing relief has also been found by people using reflexology to the feet. It is often successful at treating people with long term conditions. In addition to this, reflexology can also help to improve the blood circulation which in turn provides relief to aching and tired muscles.

The Chinese medical art of acupuncture can also be used to help bring mid back pain relief, something which has only been recognized a short while in the West. If you follow Traditional Chinese medicine, then you will know that they believe all people have a unique energy force running through their body called qi or chi.

Chi is blocked energy in a sick body and needles inserted into specific points are reported to ease many types of pain. Like reflexology, acupuncture seems to be used by people who suffer with chronic conditions like mid back pain.

Relief can also come from another Chinese treatment like tai chi which is a form of yoga but not so strenuous. This method uses breathing control as the main source of relief with some stretching involved. It is so easy to learn by the young and old alike.

It would be a shame not to finish by remembering that exercise can provide mid back pain relief and that regular exercise is also one of the best preventative medicines available.

About the Author: For more free tips on mid back pain relief and the benefits of exercise, visit Free Exercise Program

Digital Cable Boxes

By Ray Lam

Television has improved by leaps and bounds in the last two decades. Though this is a technology that has always been evolving, today's HDTV broadcasts and digital televisions have made viewing television programming all the better to view. Cable television is still very popular, though some find that satellite is more to their liking. If you have cable, you are probably using digital cable boxes in your home. These are becoming more and more advanced as well, and that can only enhance your television viewing experience.

Digital cable boxes are far more advanced then they were just fifteen years ago. Back then, they were rather easy to tinker with, and that meant many could get pay channels and events that they have not paid for. Today, messing with digital cable boxes is much harder, though I am sure there are still ways it can be done. However, security is a number one consideration, and cable companies make their cable boxes in digital form so that they are harder to break through. This also offers the opportunity to have more features.

One of the best features with new digital cable boxes is the ability to record programming right on the box. You don't need a VCR or a DVD player to do so, though you would need one of those if you wish to save it forever. Some digital cable boxes allow you to record up to 40 or 80 hours of programming, and some have much more than that. The only problem with this type of recording is that cable boxes sometimes need to be reset, and if that happens, you may lose what you have saved on there. You should still save anything important to DVD if possible so you are sure you don't lose it.

Updated versions of digital cable boxes allows you to order movies right from your television, and you don't have to pick up a phone to make a payment. Payment is made throught your television cable connection. You also have the ability to get HDTV service through your box if you have a compatible television set.

The possibilities for what can be done through a digital cable box are endless, it would seem, and there can only be great new things on the horizon for the cable companies and those that subscribe to their services. With things like telephone and even Internet coming through the cable lines, your box could be the center of your home communication and entertainment needs one day.

About the Author: This free reprint article is courtesy of tech-lover.info. Learn more about digital cable box by visiting http://tech-lover.info, a popular website that provides free tech tips, information and advice.