Categories
Exercise

Kegel exercise

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Other name: Pelvic floor exercise

Description:
Kegel exercise, consists of repeatedly contracting and relaxing the muscles that form part of the pelvic floor, now sometimes colloquially referred to as the “Kegel muscles“. The exercise needs to be performed multiple times each day, for several minutes at a time, for one to three months, to begin to have an effect.

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Exercises are usually done to reduce urinary stress incontinence (especially after childbirth) and reduce premature ejaculatory occurrences in men, as well as to increase the size and intensity of erections.

Several tools exist to help with these exercises, although various studies debate the relative effectiveness of different tools versus traditional exercises.

They were first described in 1948 by Arnold Kegel.

Health effects for women:
Factors such as pregnancy, childbirth, aging, being overweight, and abdominal surgery such as cesarean section, often result in the weakening of the pelvic muscles. This can be assessed by either digital examination of vaginal pressure or using a Kegel perineometer. Kegel exercises are useful in regaining pelvic floor muscle strength in such cases.

Urinary health:
Pelvic floor exercise is the recommended first-line conservative treatment for women with urinary incontinence of the stress, urge, or mixed types.[8] There is tentative evidence that biofeedback may give added benefit when used with pelvic floor muscle training.

Pelvic prolapse:
The symptoms of prolapse and its severity can be decreased with pelvic floor exercises. Effectiveness can be improved with feedback on how to do the exercises.

Sexual function:
In 1952, Dr. Kegel published a report in which he stated that the women doing this exercise were attaining orgasm more easily, more frequently and more intensely: “it has been found that dysfunction of the pubococcygeus exists in many women complaining of lack of vaginal feeling during coitus and that in these cases sexual appreciation can be increased by restoring function of the pubococcygeus”.

Direct benefits of Kegel Exercise for woman:

*Leaks a few drops of urine while sneezing, laughing or coughing (stress incontinence)

*Have a strong, sudden urge to urinate just before losing a large amount of urine (urinary incontinence)

*Leak stool (fecal incontinence)

Kegel exercises can be done during pregnancy or after childbirth to try to prevent urinary incontinence.

One should keep in mind that Kegel exercises are less helpful for women who have severe urine leakage when they sneeze, cough or laugh. Also, Kegel exercises aren’t helpful for women who unexpectedly leak small amounts of urine due to a full bladder (overflow incontinence).

Health effects for men:
Though most commonly used by women, men can also use Kegel exercises. Kegel exercises are employed to strengthen the pubococcygeal muscle and other muscles of the pelvic diaphragm. Kegels can help men achieve stronger erections, maintain healthy hips, and gain greater control over ejaculation. The objective of this may be similar to that of the exercise in women with weakened pelvic floor: to increase bladder and bowel control and sexual function.

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*Urinary health:
After a prostatectomy there is no clear evidence that teaching pelvic floor exercises alters the risk of urinary incontinence (leakage of urine).

*Sexual function:
A paper found that pelvic floor exercises could help restore erectile function in men with erectile dysfunction. There are said to be significant benefits for the problem of premature ejaculation from having more muscular control of the pelvis
How to do Kegel exercises

To get started:

*Find the right muscles. To identify your pelvic floor muscles, stop urination in midstream. If you succeed, you’ve got the right muscles. Once you’ve identified your pelvic floor muscles you can do the exercises in any position, although you might find it easiest to do them lying down at first.

*Perfect your technique. Tighten your pelvic floor muscles, hold the contraction for five seconds, and then relax for five seconds. Try it four or five times in a row. Work up to keeping the muscles contracted for 10 seconds at a time, relaxing for 10 seconds between contractions.
Maintain your focus. For best results, focus on tightening only your pelvic floor muscles. Be careful not to flex the muscles in your abdomen, thighs or buttocks. Avoid holding your breath. Instead, breathe freely during the exercises.

*Repeat three times a day. Aim for at least three sets of 10 repetitions a day.
Don’t make a habit of using Kegel exercises to start and stop your urine stream. Doing Kegel exercises while emptying your bladder can actually lead to incomplete emptying of the bladder — which increases the risk of a urinary tract infection.

Disclaimer: This information is not meant to be a substitute for professional medical advise or help. It is always best to consult with a Physician about serious health concerns. This information is in no way intended to diagnose or prescribe remedies.This is purely for educational purpose.

Resources:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kegel_exercise
http://www.mayoclinic.org/healthy-lifestyle/womens-health/in-depth/kegel-exercises/art-20045283

Categories
Herbs & Plants

Solanum aviculare

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Botanical Name : Solanum aviculare
Kingdom: Plantae
Order: Solanales
Family: Solanaceae
Genus: Solanum
Species: S. aviculare

Synonyms: Solanum laciniatum Aiton

Common Names :Kangaroo Apple, New Zealand nightshade

Habitat: Solanum aviculare is native to Australia, New Zealand. It grows in the coastal and lowland forest margins and shrubland on North South and Chatham Islands in New Zealand.

Description:
Solanum aviculare is an evergreen Shrub growing up to 4 metres tall. The leaves are, 8–30 cm long, lobed or entire, with any lobes being 1–10 cm long.
Its hermaphroditic (having both male and female organs) and are pollinated by Insects. It is in leaf 12-Jan It is in flower from Jul to October, and the seeds ripen from Aug to October.

The flowers are white, mauve to blue-violet, 25–40 mm wide, and are followed by berries 10–15 mm wide that are poisonous while green, but edible once orange.

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Suitable for: light (sandy), medium (loamy) and heavy (clay) soils and prefers well-drained soil. Suitable pH: acid, neutral and basic (alkaline) soils. It cannot grow in the shade. It prefers moist soil.
Cultivation:
Succeeds in most fertile soils in a sunny position. Tolerates temperatures down to at least -7°c in Australian gardens but is not very hardy in Britain. It sometimes succeeds as a shrub outdoors in the mildest areas of the country but is more usually cut to the ground by winter cold. It can, however, be grown at the foot of a warm sunny wall and be treated as a herbaceous perennial. As long as the roots are given a good mulch in autumn they should survive quite cold winters. Alternatively, it is possible to grow the plant as an annual. If the seed is sown in early spring in a warm greenhouse and planted out after the last frosts it can fruit in its first year though yields will be lower than from plants grown as perennials. A very ornamental plant, it has been cultivated for its edible fruit by the New Zealand Maoris. It is a fast-growing but short-lived plant. There is much confusion between this species and S. laciniatum. Some botanists unite the two under S. aviculare whilst others say that S. laciniatum is a tetraploid form of this species. S. laciniatum is treated as a distinct species here.
Propagation:
Seed – sow spring in a warm greenhouse. Germinates in 2 – 3 weeks at 20°c. Prick out the seedlings into individual pots when they are large enough to handle. If growing the plants as annuals, plant them out after the last expected frosts and give them some protection such as a cloche until they are growing well. If growing as a perennial, especially in areas at the limits of its cold-hardiness, it will probably be better to grow the plants on in the greenhouse for their first winter. Give them fairly large pots (12cm or larger) because they have very strong root growth. Top growth might die back over winter, but the roots should survive if temperatures in the greenhouse do not fall below about -5°c. Plant them out in early summer of the following year. The plants will be somewhat hardier in their second winter. Cuttings of half-ripe wood, July/August in a frame. Very easy, the cuttings root within a couple of weeks. Pot them up in fairly large pots and overwinter them in the greenhouse before planting out in early summer.
Edible Uses:
Edible Parts: Fruit.

Fruit – raw or cooked. It must be thoroughly ripe because the unripe fruit is poisonous. It can be used as a sweet fruit or as a vegetable. Best harvested once it has fallen from the plant, the fruit will then have lost its unpleasant acidity. It tastes much worse than it looks, the fruit is sickly sweet and often bitter. The quality varies from plant to plant and even from year to year from the same plant The fruit is up to 2cm long and contains a large number of flat seeds.
Medicinal Uses:
A source of steroids, much used in the pharmaceutical industry. The unripe berries are the richest source.

Other Uses:    in warmer climates than Britain this plant is often used as a hedge
Known Hazards: All green parts of the plant are poisonous and so is the unripe fruit.

Disclaimer : The information presented herein is intended for educational purposes only. Individual results may vary, and before using any supplement, it is always advisable to consult with your own health care provider.
Resources:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Solanum_aviculare
http://www.pfaf.org/User/Plant.aspx?LatinName=Solanum+aviculare

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