By Emma McAdam, Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist and Creator of Therapy in a Nutshell You know that feeling you get when you're angry, anxious, or scared and you can feel your body start to spiral out of control, like your falling from a plane without a parachute. Well, stick around, because I want to tell you about the built-in emotional parachute your body has, and how you can deploy it whenever you feel the need. Today you’ll learn about your body's natural counterbalancing response to the Fight, Flight, or Freeze response. I’m just going to cover four simple ways that work quickly to calm you down and put you and soothe that anxiety response. We’ll cover: Deep Breathing and Vagal Tone Peripheral vision and softening the eyes; The Valsalva Maneuver, and The Yawn. But first a little biology for context. Our bodies have what’s called the autonomic nervous system. This part of our nervous system automatically regulates breathing, heart rate, blood pressure, and a whole bunch of other stuff. When we experience a stressful situation, the autonomic nervous system kicks on the Fight, Flight, Freeze response, also called the sympathetic response. This response is also automatic and it controls how much cortisol and adrenaline are released into our system. It increases our blood pressure and breathing rate. Your hands may start to sweat, your stomach may start to clench up or your voice may start to shake just a little. These are the physical manifestations of anxiety. However, our brilliant, wise, beautiful body has a counterbalancing force called the parasympathetic response. That's Para as in Parachute. And this is the body's natural way of slowing down and creating a sense of calm and safety. So it works like this, If your brain thinks you're in a dangerous situation, your body triggers Flight, Fight, Freeze response. But, when the dangerous situation is resolved and your brain knows you're safe, your body then triggers this parasympathetic response, which is also sometimes called rest and digest. It’s called this because, as your body starts to relax and transitions from that Fight, Flight Freeze response, other systems in your body which had temporarily been switched off, like digestion, come back online and start functioning normally again. Your breathing automatically slows down, your immune system turns back on, and you’re able to relax, calm down, and your body has time to heal. Now, this is how your body naturally transitions between these two states, and as I’ve said it’s all automatic, so it may feel like this is all out of your control. But, with some training, you can actually teach yourself to kick on that parasympathetic response. And to do that you first need to know about your Vagus nerve. The Vagus nerve is the longest nerve in the autonomic nervous system and this nerve does two really important things. First, it can trigger that parasympathetic response that we want, and second, it transmits signals in both directions- meaning that it can send information from your brain to your body about whether to be stressed or calm, and it sends information from your body to your brain about whether to be stressed or calm. So when we practice bodily calming techniques, we actually send a message along this Vagus nerve to our brain saying things are ok, we’re safe. And that in turn calms our stress and anxiety. So let's go over these four body-calming techniques that will allow you to send calming signals from your body to your brain and better help you regulate your emotions in stressful situations. 1. Deep Breathing and Vagal Tone So first let’s talk about Vagal Tone. Vagal Tone is a measure of how strong your parasympathetic response is. It indicates how good your Autonomic Nervous system is at calming down. And, just like muscle tone in your arm would indicate how much you exercise your arm, vagal tone is a measure of how much you use your parasympathetic nervous system and how strong it is.. To start, I’m going to first show you how to feel your vagal tone and you’ll be doing this by measuring your heart rate variability. First, find your pulse on your wrist, or if you hold really still you should be able to feel your heart beating. Now breathe in and breathe out very slowly, and pay attention to what happens to your heart rate when you breathe in and when you breathe out. Did you notice that? When you breathe in, your heart rate increases, and when you breathe out slowly, your heart slows way down. That’s heart rate variability. For people who have stronger vagal tone, their heart rate slows down even more on the out-breath, than people who have weaker vagal tone. And just like exercising your arm muscles, you can exercise with deep breathing to strengthen your Vagal tone. Higher vagal tone is associated with better general health. It leads to better blood sugar regulation, better heart health, improved digestion, and a reduction in migraines. Most importantly, it improves emotional stability and resilience. Lower vagal tone is associated with mood instability, depression, PTSD, diabetes, chronic fatigue syndrome, cognitive impairment, and inflammation. Deep Breathing You’ve probably heard that deep breathing helps with stress and anxiety, and this is why: deep slow breathing helps to increase your Vagal tone and trigger that parasympathetic response through the vagus nerve. You may feel yourself relax, you may notice that you start to salivate, or your eyes may soften. And that’s all thanks to how deep breathing and Vagal tone affect that vagus nerve. So practicing deep breathing, and especially those long, slow outbreaths can help you soothe that stress response, and train your body to be better at kicking on that calming parasympathetic response. This is a really helpful skill for people with Anxiety disorders and PTSD. 2. Peripheral Vision and Softening the Eyes So I just mentioned that your eyes soften. I don’t mean they become squishy or something like that, but rather they lose focus on any one particular thing. They relax, and your focus shifts from a specific visual point to more of your peripheral vision and everything around you. You’ve likely experienced eye softening when you've been lost in thought or daydreaming. Your eyes are open but you're not really looking at anything. This is what I mean when I say your eyes soften. Have you heard the term “Tunnel vision”? That’s where your vision seems to get really narrow when you’re stressed. Again, your brain is sending signals along that vagus nerve to get into Fight, Flight, Freeze mode. I’ve only really noticed it happen to me once. I was rock climbing up a scary route, and there was a high risk of a fall. I came to this one spot on the route, and I was gripping the holds in the rock as tightly as I could while looking for my next hold to keep moving. I was really nervous and my arms were gripped and running out of strength. I was looking as hard as I could but just couldn’t see any holds. I was starting to shake and just then my belayer yelled up to me that there’s a huge hold basically right in front of my eyes, and yep, there it was. But because I was feeling nervous and my body was getting all stressed out, it’s like it shut down my ability to see around me. Well, turns out that tunnel vision is a sympathetic response, again part of Fight, Flight, Freeze, and when we soften our eyes, we can trigger a parasympathetic response. A.K.A, we can use our body to send signals up the vagus nerve to the brain and tell it to calm down. Buddhists and yogis have known and practiced this for centuries. So here’s the second way to trigger that parasympathetic response- start by softening the muscles around your eyes. If you don’t know how to consciously do that, you can start by squeezing them closed and then relaxing them to gain awareness or you can gently touch the sides of your eyes. Gently close your eyes, and then open them and then try to expand your awareness to the sides of your vision while keeping your eyeballs straight ahead. Again, kind of like you would while daydreaming. Instead of focusing on what is in front of you, you’ll then bring your awareness to your peripheral vision. So, using your peripheral vision is a way to trigger that calming parasympathetic response. 3. The Valsalva Maneuver Ok, A third way to calm anxiety is to increase the pressure in your chest cavity- This is called the Valsalva maneuver. My five year old would love this because she loves potty talk, but basically, you’re going to bear down as if you’re pooping. Or you can plug your nose and close your mouth and push out as if you’re going to exhale or like you’re stifling a sneeze. The vagus nerve actually comes into contact with your pelvic floor. When paramedics are working with someone who has tachycardia- that’s a fast heartbeat, they’ll often tell them to bear down, because this triggers the heart to slow down. So bearing down is another way to stimulate that nerve and send signals to your brain to calm down, to trigger that parasympathetic response. Try breathing in for 5 seconds. Then hold and bear down for five seconds. Don’t push hard, you just need to create a little pressure in your chest. Finally, breathe out for 5 seconds. Do this once or twice in a row, breathing regularly in between so you don’t get light-headed. This can help trigger that vagus nerve. 4. The Yawn Finally, the 4th action to trigger your Vagus nerve is to Yawn. My favorite way to do this is to make the R sound. Open your mouth big and try to lift your soft palate in the back of the roof of your mouth. There’s a decent chance this will make you yawn, or you can try a fake yawn to trigger that response. This action makes me sleepy and relaxed almost every time. You may have seen this calming action in your fur babies. Have you ever noticed how after a dog gets super hyper, they’ll start doing these huge dog yawns as they calm down? My dog used to always do that in the car-she loved car trips and would get so excited, and then to calm down, she would start yawning. And you know how yawns are contagious? Well, that’s because yawning is actually a herd behavior. These contagious yawns keep the pack from going wild with excitement. The yawns send a message to each animal's vagus nerve to say, "chill out, calm down, you’re ok." So those are four quick ways to trigger the parasympathetic response. If you’ve tried these techniques before or have others that have worked for you leave a comment. I’d love to know about them. Learning to turn on that parasympathetic response can be a great skill to have when dealing with anxiety disorders, PTSD, depression, and stress. If you’d like to learn more about how to ground your mind and body, check out my online courses-In my free Grounding Skills For Anxiety course I teach about 25 skills for ground and nervous system regulation, and in my Coping Skills and Self-Care course I teach dozens of ways to cope with intense emotions.

How to use this program: This is a free program made up of a series of videos designed to help you heal your plantar fasciitis. It is also a work in progress. We may add, delete, or alter information or videos based upon your feedback. Try not to be intimidated by the number of videos that make up this free program. You may not need to watch all of them. We do however recommend, at a minimum, you watch videos 1-4 to start. In addition, watch all videos whose titles appear relevant to you. If your plantar fasciitis is not getting better, you may want to watch them all. You can watch them over a several week period and absorb the information as you go. We recommend watching relevant videos several times. Those who understand and follow the details of relevant videos have a much greater chance at success. Print out the guide sheet that accompanies each video. The guide sheet will provide you with a portable copy of the information provided in each video. Questions? We cannot answer questions about your specific case of plantar fasciitis, but we absolutely value your feedback. Please let us know if a video is unclear, or if further information is needed. If you do have a question about a certain video, please include the title of the video with the question. Check out our question and answer section to see if your question has already been asked. Our question and answer section will also be a work in progress. What is plantar fasciitis? The plantar fascia is made up of three thick flat, fibrous bands on the bottom of your foot. These three bands help form the arch of your foot. With plantar fasciitis you may have sustained some micro tears in the band or bands. The micro tears result in inflammation of the plantar fascia. “Itis” refers to inflammation. Hence the name plantar fasciitis. The plantar fascia bands have a poor blood supply and generally do not heal quickly. How long will it take for my plantar fasciitis to heal. Recovery can take anywhere between 6 weeks to 3 years depending upon how quickly you address the problem and other factors. Quick Wins In all our free video series, we try to begin our program with some quick wins. A quick win is advice to help you obtain the most amount of benefit with the least amount of effort. Three quick wins are highlighted in the video of this series entitled: The 5 Things Everyone with Plantar Fasciitis Should Do Every Morning. For more information on the Plantar Fasciitis Treatment Program visit: https://www.bobandbrad.com/plantar-fasciitis-treatment-program https://youtu.be/Z-DsVgsrh6E

This article is a transcribed edited summary of a video Bob and Brad recorded in December of 2019.  For the original video go to https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G3UoaUaG6JU&t=283s Bob: #1 Anti-Cancer vegetable, fruit and nut. We’re going to go over all three categories. By the way, we are by no means experts on nutrition. Brad: So why are we doing this video Bob? Bob: Because I think it’s important to try to keep people healthy and fit. Brad: And we’re getting information from experts. Bob: Yes. If you can’t be an expert, you find an expert. I’m going to talk just a little bit on how I chose my expert. The expert I’m going to mention here is Dr. Michael Greger. He wrote the book, How Not To Die. That’s one of the reasons that I chose him, because he wrote this best selling book. This book has over 4,900 ratings and the ratings average 4.8 stars. That’s amazing. I think you could give away money in a book and I don’t think you’d get 4.8 stars. I really don’t, I mean, there’d be somebody who’s like, what do you think you’re trying to do, buy me or something. Number two, he’s got a medical degree with the proper specialization, he specialized in nutrition. Number three, his book and his website are highly referenced. He’s got loads and loads of research. I mean, you just look in here, Brad, it’s just filled with references, look at that. Brad: That third of the book. Bob: Yeah, it is the back third of the book. This guy does his research, and he knows how to weed through the research that’s false and he knows what research is worthwhile. He’s also got a website called nutritionfacts.org. That also has a lot of research on it. He’s got videos on it that I’d recommend you watch. Brad: What about the vegetables we should eat? Bob: We’re going to get there. I’m almost there. I think it’s important to mention because a lot of these guys are trying to hock things and make a lot of money off it. 100% of all the proceeds he’s ever received from his books, DVDs, or speaking engagements have always been and always will be given to charity. Brad: Really? Bob: Yep. Isn’t that amazing? This is a good guy. The fifth reason I’m going to recommend this guy is my wife and I have tried some of his stuff and it’s worked fantastic, you like the flax seed oil? It dropped her blood pressure. You tried the mother apple cider vinegar. Brad: With mother, yeah, the organic. Bob: Well, what did it do? Brad: Well, we’re going to do a video on that. I’m so impressed. Bob: Okay, here are the vegetables. We aren’t going to go into great detail on this because I don’t know the great detail. I’m not an expert on it. These are the vegetables he mentioned, and these were ones in two categories. Spinach and garlic. The best anti-cancer vegetables. Brad: Was there any way to eat them or prepare them? Bob: No, he just mentioned those, and he also goes over the other ones too. He ranks them on his website. Number one anti-cancer fruits, cranberries and lemons. Here you are, from the state of Wisconsin and I think they have a lot of cranberries. Brad: I think Massachusetts produces more then us. Or used to, I don’t know what it is now. But there are a lot of cranberries in Wisconsin. Bob: No lemons though. Brad: No. They have the lemon law though. Bob: Ok and finally, the number one anti-cancer nuts. They are actually all three of these were kind of grouped up fairly close. Brad: Fighting for the top? Bob: Yeah. Walnuts, pecans and peanuts. Almonds was number 4. I eat a lot of almonds. I also eat a fair amount of peanuts. I eat the non-salted type. Brad: You don’t like walnuts and pecans? Bob: I just never had a reason to try them but maybe I do now. Brad: That’s what we always used on our salads, those two. The pecans are just hard. You have to grind them up or something. That’s another segment. I just like the walnuts and the pecan. Pecan pie is one of my favorites, Bob. That probably doesn’t count. Bob: I hate pecan pie. Brad: Really? It’s terribly fattening though. Bob: I don’t think you should be putting nuts in a pie. Brad: They’re on top. Bob: I know but that’s just not right. Who do I talk to about that set-up? Brad: We better carry on. Bob: By the way, we can fix just about anything, Brad: Except for Bob: a broken heart. Brad: A pecan pie is a part of this broken heart thing though. I know it is, it's wonderful. Bob: I hope the pecans go out of business to be honest, ha-ha. Interested in learning about the products mentioned: 1) "How Not to Die" by Greger M.D. FACLM: https://amzn.to/2nfTsTg Visit us on our other social media platforms: YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/user/physicaltherapyvideo Website: https://bobandbrad.com/ Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/BobandBrad/ Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/officialbobandbrad/ Twitter: https://twitter.com/ptfamous Pinterest: https://www.pinterest.com/mostfamousPTs For this week’s Giveaway visit: https://bobandbrad.com/giveaways Bob and Brad’s Products: Grip and Forearm Strengthener: https://store.bobandbrad.com 15% off with code BLOG1 Wall Anchor: https://store.bobandbrad.com 15% off with code BLOG15 Booyah Stik: https://store.bobandbrad.com 15% off with code BLOG15 Knee Glide: https://store.bobandbrad.com 15% off with code BLOG15 Fit Glide: https://store.bobandbrad.com 15% off with code BLOG15 Massage Gun: https://amzn.to/36pMekg Hanging Handles: https://amzn.to/2RXLVFF Resistance Bands: https://amzn.to/36uqnbr Pull Up Bands: https://amzn.to/3qmI4Rv Bob & Brad Amazon Store: https://amzn.to/2RTSLLh Check out other products Bob and Brad Love: https://www.amazon.com/shop/physicaltherapyvideo?listId=3581Z1XUVFAFY Check out The Bob & Brad Crew on YouTube by clicking here: https://www.youtube.com/c/thebobbradcrew Medical Disclaimer All information, content, and material of this website is for informational purposes only and are not intended to serve as a substitute for the consultation, diagnosis, and/or medical treatment of a qualified physician or healthcare provider. 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This article is a transcribed edited summary of a video Bob and Brad recorded in October of 2019. For the original video go to: https://www.youtube.com/watch?app=desktop&v=3P2jRYNS1CI Bob: Today we are going to talk about CBD oils. Are there dangers or precautions? We are going to give you a pharmacist’s perspective. This is Chris, the pharmacist who we are very happy that he is here. I’ve been wanting to do this topic for months. It’s taken a while to get him on board. Brad: Well, he’s a busy person. Bob: Yes, busy guy. Again, Chris the pharmacist, we’ve had him here before and hopefully we’ll have him many more times in the future. He’s going to give us the real scoop on it, right? Brad: Right. Bob: All I’ve been hearing about CBD oil, Brad, is that it’s good. It’s a miracle drug. Brad: Right, you’re going to lose weight with it, you can cure your cancer, all kinds of things. Bob: Anxiety, depression. Brad: I’m thinking, well it’s a CBD oil. It’s in little bottles. Maybe it’s one of those things that can work, but we have to find out what’s behind this. So, we’ve got Chris here to help us. Bob: Do we want to say what it is first? Chris: Well, there’s the marijuana plant, and basically it’s got about 140 some odd chemicals that come out of it, but there are two that most people are interested in, there is THC, which is the one that gets you high. It’s the one that everybody seems to be all about. But CBD is the one that’s kind of catching on. It’s an interesting chemical compound, because you don’t get high from it. The new guidelines from each state, and you should probably check with your state’s laws and ordinances, but most of it’s pretty much decriminalized because the CBD oils that you see everywhere now, in gas stations, supermarkets, pharmacies, vape shops, they all basically come from, essentially, hemp. So, hemp, by design, for basically the laws, can only contain 0.3% THC. So, there’s no chance that you can get high from it. Bob: Or less THC, right? Chris: To a degree, and we say that with the degree because the products that are out there, not everything’s what it seems. Bob: Right, it not all monitored the way it should be. Chris: I mean, it’s the wild wild west right now and I think we really have to pump the brakes a little bit. Some of the claims with CBD are a little crazy and people want to gravitate to something that’s going to help them. If you have a problem like anxiety-depression, you want relief from the pain from cancer, or arthritis or what have you, and actually, more importantly, seize your control. I think it really does have applications for patients. We’re easily about 20 years behind the 8 ball in so far as trying to get up to date with the research that needs to be done. Bob: Yes, because it’s been around a long time. Chris: It’s been around for thousands of years. It’s not like its brand spanking new. I think with the decriminalization of marijuana and the states now legalizing it, I think you’re finding that people are gravitating towards alternate routes of healthcare. Again, there’s still lots of research that needs to be done, so it’s not just a simple cut and dry answer. It’s something that may work for you, but there’s risks associated with it too. We have to watch it. It can make you feel nausea or queasy. It can affect your liver. We do have to be careful. Bob: You mentioned the percentage of that, can you do that again? This was with seizures? Chris: Well, yeah, and there’s actually the only prescription CBD drug out there is a seizure drug call Epidiolex. It’s used for two very specific seizure disorders, typically in children. It’s right in their safety guidelines. It is a black box warning that says you do need to make sure that you’re taking liver tests on these patients. From 5-20% of patients have had either liver failure or at least liver injury. Bob: That’s a significant amount. Chris: That’s specifically for Epidolex, which is a very very potent prescription version of CBD so it’s not like the products that you’re getting anywhere else. So, there’s a clear distinction that needs to be made. Brad: So, isn’t that a topical use or is it oral? Chris: Well, CBD can be ingested in many different ways. For that one it’s an oral medication. So, you take it by mouth. From that standpoint, and again, it’s a very specific subset of people. Bob: Chris, talk about how people do take the oil. Chris: CBD can be ingested. Let’s say you’re somebody that has performance anxiety, if you’re going to do something like this, a video with Bob and Brad for example, I did not use CBD oil before we came on. Brad: We better test you maybe. Chris: Ha-ha. It shows up on tests. You have to be careful with that and we can touch on that later too. Let’s say somebody’s a little bit uncomfortable about speaking, or just an anxious situation or just has an anxious day, CBD does have a tendency to work for people to help them feel a little more relaxed in some cases. You should always check with your doctor to make sure it’s appropriate for you. Brad: What about doses? Is there any idea what does to take? Chris: Remember when I said, wild wild west? We’re really behind in the science that we need to do applicable doses. One interesting study that I read that was probably poor science, but at least showed some results, was a Brazilian study and it just took people that wanted to do it. They kind of did a public speaking simulation. They kind of came up with a target dose. They had about 53 people come through the study and basically set them in a scenario where they had to speak in front of people, so it created anxiety. They just didn’t quite feel right or comfortable. They tried varying doses of CBD and what it comes out to be is 300 mg which seemed to be the sweet spot. It’s an oral dose. It seemed to work really well. The interesting thing on the study was that a dose as low as 150 mg was useless and a dose as high as 600 mg was useless. But 300 was kind of right in the middle. That’s just one example. It wasn’t double blinded, so we didn’t see a placebo done with that. In my world, a lot of times doctors will prescribe Propranolol for people with speaking engagements. It works really well but you know, it’d be nice to see it get one-on-one, just to see what’s going on. I’m sure that there’s research facilities out there and the university setting, it’s a hot topic. But it’s hard to come by. It’s interesting that consumers can get it all you want, but the universities have trouble getting it to study it. It’s kind of an interesting conundrum. Bob: So, at your pharmacy, how is it offered? Chris: Where I work, it’s basically going to be something that’s going to be topical. It would be something that you would rub on. It’s gong to be for pain and it can actually be used for anxiety, can be used for rest. Brad: So, you just rub it on your skin? Chris: Yes. Non-prescription, right off the shelf. There’s drops that you can place underneath your tongue. We were talking about ways to ingest it. You could vape it. Bob: So, when you get it in your pharmacy, does it tell dosages to take it at? Chris: They have suggested doses. Bob: Or can they just take as much of it as they want. Chris: It’s interesting because I kind of looked at some of the products that we carry and so they have anxiety relief, pain relief, to help you rest, calms. They have all sorts of different names and packaging that suggests their uses, and they give guidelines. There’s not a controlled dose though. So, it’s very very difficult to figure out just how much is enough. So that’s a problem. We just don’t have enough controlled studies that show what we should be dosing it as. Bob: Are these large companies that are offering this that you feel that you can trust at this point as far as the quality of the product? Chris: I mean, as a businessperson, I think they are all trying to get it right. I would imagine that they’re all trying to make the best and greatness. So, there’s different ways to process it, to extract it and they’re working to try and make it emulsified so that it absorbs better, more effectively, so that you’re getting more bang for your buck. I think there’s a lot of good science that’s going into it. But what we need is the science, the research to show proper dose and proper frequency, minimization of side-effects, things that we have to be careful with as far as liver damage, which is actually a big thing with that. If you’re on a blood thinner, it’s certainly something we want to be mindful of because there is a risk for bleeding out, which is very very significant. Bob: A lot of people are on blood thinners, so this is really important for you to know. Brad: So, if you’re on blood thinners and you’re considering CBD, you better consult with your physician. Chris: I would just say no at this point. You just don’t know. We don’t know the doses. It varies from batch to batch. There was a study that showed that they took all these samples of products and only 20% actually had the right amount of CBD in there. Bob: That’s what I was wondering. Chris: There was stuff that had much to much and there was stuff that had much too little and there was stuff that had a lot of THC in there, which is the active component in marijuana. So, putting yourself at risk, you can test positive like I said earlier. With the decriminalization of it I think there’s a lot of employers that may or may not have problems with it, but again you should check with your employer, you should check with your doctor. These are things that you really want to be clear on. Bob: Right, if you’re in a position that there’s no tolerance for it. I mean, maybe a pilot or something like that. You don’t want to take a chance. Chris: It could cause problems, so we want to be really careful with that. With your own health too, you want to make sure that it’s something that’s safe with your medication. Bob: How long have you been a pharmacist? Chris: 24 years. Bob: So, 24 years, have you seen drugs like this before that, I know I’m putting you on the spot, but that seems like it’s having so much promise and then all of a sudden, they kind of unveil, take the wrapping off, and they find out that, no, this is not as good as they thought. Chris: Yeah, I’ve seen it on the prescription side of things. There’s many many things that the FDA has allowed to go through and then all of a sudden as we get into larger scale, more mass people taking it. All of a sudden there’s acute liver failure. Vioxx was a very popular one. Bob: I was going to bring up Vioxx. Chris: I figured you guys are physical therapists so I’m sure you guys remember that anti-inflammatory. Bob: Yeah, my mom was on it. Chris: It was a great drug. Bob: Yeah it was THE drug! Chris: But it caused cardiovascular problems. So, they pulled it off the market. Bob: So, we’ve seen this before. It comes out with great promise and then you realize, you know, take the veil off. Chris: There’s times when you have to pump the brakes. I think we just need to learn more so we can help people to maybe even help themselves. I think it works well when you have a physician that’s on board and is knowledgeable with the products as well, or your pharmacist or your nurse practitioner, or your PA or whomever you get your care through. I think it’s important to make sure that everybody has kind of a teamize approach to ensure that we do what’s safest for the patient. To ensure that they’re getting the safest thing that they can do for themselves. But we just don’t even know real doses. Touching on that earlier example I said. Bob: You go low, you go high and it’d be ineffective, and you have to really find that sweet spot. So how do you do that? Chris: And what are the dangers if you’re taking other prescriptions. Bob: Right. Chris: You want a grain of salt with this one. You want to be super careful with it. There’s lots of studies that are now showing that yes, it can help you with anxiety and depression. Is it something that we want to embrace? I think it’s certain something that we can reach out for and see if we can help some people. Again, you want to do it in a very professional setting in so far as allowing your doctor to be in on the care plan. I think that’s very important. Some people self-medicate and it’s certainly a choice that can be made by themselves but it’s just something to be aware of the risks. You want to make sure that if you’re going to be a user of it, that you probably see your doctor to make sure that they’re looking at your liver functioning. That’s one of the few organs we don’t replace well. That’s not a joke. It’s something that we have to be careful with that because we just don’t know these doses. If you’re going to choose something, be consistent. Probably go to the same source, go to the same product. Go to the same retailer. You can always guarantee that you’re getting at least the same quality product that your body’s adjusted to. Bob: You’ve mentioned anxiety and depression, is there any other areas you think that this is really showing promise in right now? Chris: If you want to look at specifically medical marijuana, it’s a little off topic, but medical marijuana has THC and CBD. You get the benefits of both. If you’re somebody that’s suffering severely from cancer pain, or glaucoma or actually seizure disorders, those three in particular probably show that medical marijuana probably has a real application in all three for very different reasons. Bob: What about CBD oil? Chris: Well, CBD oil will work in all those cases as well, but medical marijuana will be a step above that. If you are a cancer patient and you’re taking something like a very strong prescription narcotic. Just throw out Fentanyl for example, or Oxycodone for example. Which are buzz topics in the medical world as well. Some people have just found that the medical marijuana provides them better pain relief. They don’t feel as weird from the side effects as the opioids do. I think from the standpoint of quality of life, I think there’s an application but again we have to be super careful. We have to make sure that it’s legal in your state. We have to make sure that your doctor is on board with it. Brad: We were talking before, Chris, you and I and didn’t you mention there is a CBD oil-based prescription that is used for seizures? You’ve seen it very effective. Chris: Well, it’s a newer product that came out last year. It’s called Epidiolex. Brad: But isn’t that the one that you said is topical? Chris: Nope, there’s actually some for CBD oil and seizure control. There’s some incredible videos out there of patients that have had severe seizures and then they take a CBD oil product. I’ve actually seen it applied on a child’s feet and it actually abated the seizure. It’s almost miraculous what it can do. There are applications where they’re studying for Parkinsonism as kind of helping with the motor movement to try and help with the issues with that. There’s some interesting topically, they talked about its improvement for acne. It’s certainly something that can help out. I think the mainstays are going to be anxiety, depression, pain relief and seizure control. They are the main ones. But it’s got a lot of other claims. I think we have to be careful because there’s some wild claims out there that say it may cure cancer. I think the carrot is way out in front of the horse on that one. I think with proper medical research, large scale studies, I think maybe we can see some very positive effects that may occur from it. But we still don’t know the dangers of it. I think what we’re going to see when more and more people start to use these products, we’re going to start to see a litany of side-effects that do occur. Brad: Years down the road? Chris: Years, days, weeks, months. It just kind of depends. If you report it to your doctor, then they can put it into a database and then they can actually learn from it so we can do more for people. Bob: They’ll learn from experience, especially if someone’s been down the road for a long time here. These things start to crop up, so you really want to have shown caution. Chris: Oh yeah, very much so, very much so. Bob: Any final thoughts? Chris: No, I mean, I think, again, we just have to make sure that we’re being careful with our usage of it. I think it may have a place in medicine. I would just stress to anybody, if it’s an interest that you have, to discuss it with your physician. Bob: That’s step one. Chris: Yeah, that’s your first step. You want to know the sourcing of it and the dosing of it. Be consistent where you get it from. I think there’s a lot of knowledgeable people out there that to sell the products. It’s their livelihood so they are going to take the time and care about you and try and provide you with the best product. I don’t know that I would necessarily go to your local gas station and buy it. I don’t think they are going to be the knowledgeable ones, but when you go to a retail setting or retail store, I think you can get a little bit more information. Do research on your own too. I think there’s small volumes of evidence but be careful with it. That’s why I think it’s important to have a dialogue with your physician or caretaker, because they are the ones that can help kind of sift you through what’s right, what’s wrong. Was it really good data? Are we missing something? We just want to keep everybody safe. I think that’s the most important thing that we want to take away from this. Bob: Once again, we want to thank Chris for taking the time. Man, does this guy have knowledge in his head or what? Brad: Yeah, it comes out well. Chris: Thanks everyone. Bob: Thanks everyone for watching. Visit us on our other social media platforms: YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/user/physicaltherapyvideo Website: https://bobandbrad.com/ Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/BobandBrad/ Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/officialbobandbrad/ Twitter: https://twitter.com/ptfamous Pinterest: https://www.pinterest.com/mostfamousPTs For this week’s Giveaway visit: https://bobandbrad.com/giveaways Bob and Brad’s Products: Grip and Forearm Strengthener: https://store.bobandbrad.com 15% off with code BLOG1 Wall Anchor: https://store.bobandbrad.com 15% off with code BLOG15 Booyah Stik: https://store.bobandbrad.com 15% off with code BLOG15 Knee Glide: https://store.bobandbrad.com 15% off with code BLOG15 Fit Glide: https://store.bobandbrad.com 15% off with code BLOG15 Massage Gun: https://amzn.to/36pMekg Hanging Handles: https://amzn.to/2RXLVFF Resistance Bands: https://amzn.to/36uqnbr Pull Up Bands: https://amzn.to/3qmI4Rv Bob & Brad Amazon Store: https://amzn.to/2RTSLLh Check out other products Bob and Brad Love: https://www.amazon.com/shop/physicaltherapyvideo?listId=3581Z1XUVFAFY Check out The Bob & Brad Crew on YouTube by clicking here: https://www.youtube.com/c/thebobbradcrew Medical Disclaimer All information, content, and material of this website is for informational purposes only and are not intended to serve as a substitute for the consultation, diagnosis, and/or medical treatment of a qualified physician or healthcare provider. Affiliate disclaimer: Keep in mind that we may receive commissions when you click our links and make purchases. However, this does not impact our reviews and comparisons. We are highly selective in our products and try our best to keep things fair and balanced in order to help you make the best choice for you.

The Bob & Brad C2 mini massage gun has been available on Amazon for the US market for a while (https://www.amazon.com/Percussion-Massager-Handheld-Recovery-Soreness/dp/B08CKWVYMF) and received reviews by YouTubers from different perspectives. Tim Fraticelli, a professional physical therapist, considers it to be the best $100 massage gun. Scott from BeforeYouBuy, who had excellent performances in the sport show "American Ninja Warrior 2019", regards it as "the Best Massage Gun of 2020". Radcliff Lance, a fitness trainer and martial art enthusiast, calls it "his favorite massage gun". Kofuzi, an avid long distance runner, enjoys its good value for money and the high power brought by its small size. Why is the Bob & Brad C2 mini massage gun so warmly embraced by different users? The Bob & Brad C2 mini massage gun and all its accessories are neatly packed in a fashionable grey case with the logo "Bob & Brad" on the left corner. The case brings about a chic and low-key impression and does not take too much space in your gym bags or travel luggage. The length of the case is barely the width of a fitness bench. The massage gun, the five different attachments, the USB-C charging cable, and the user instructions are neatly packed in their own niches, so they won't be juggled around on the way and suffer from damages. Since nowadays USB-C charging cables are commonly used for smartphones and other electronic appliances, you don't run the risk of forgetting the charging cable or having to carry a specific charging set for your massage gun. The Bob & Brad C2 mini massage gun can be charged via the USB C cable by a 5 V/2 A adapter or by a power bank. Once fully charged, it doesn't need to be recharged for weeks under a moderate use, say, 15-20 minutes a day. The battery level is indicated by the LEDs on the bottom of the handle, so you know in time when to recharge it. Its battery of 2500 mAh is supplied by the same supplier for Telsa and its battery life can be guaranteed for five years. Once you take the Bob & Brad C2 mini massage gun in your hand, you will immediately notice how light-weighted it is and how ergonomically friendly the design is. Weighting only 680 g/1.5 lb, it is the lightest massage gun on the market. Compared to other pocket-sized "mini" massage guns, it won't fit into your pocket but still can be easily carried around with all its five attachments in its elegant case. The cylindrical handle with an oval-shaped cross section offers an easy and firm grip and its texture feels comfortable in hands. You can easily reach different body parts, even your back, with its small and compacted design. The ON/OFF button is in the back of the massage arm, so you can easily reach it with your thumb once you grab it in your hand. To start it, you need to press the ON/OFF button for about two/three seconds, so you won't start it accidentally and waste its battery juice. Once it is started, you can change the levels by pressing the ON/OFF button swiftly and different levels are indicated by the LEDs above the button. It provides five different intensity levels, from 2000 rpm (33 HZ) to 3200 rpm (53 HZ) with an interval of 300 rpm. A recent study shows that the percussive therapy by a massage gun is more effective in reducing lactic acid level than a massage and may help with the recovery of DOMS, a kind of muscle soreness often suffered from increasing the exercise intensity or trying a new type of workout, and the "sweet spot" is around 50 HZ. No matter which level you choose, the Bob & Brad C2 mini massage gun works quietly and you can continue a conversation, watch a movie, or do whatever you want without being disturbed or disturbing others. The Bob & Brad C2 mini massage gun comes with five different massage heads, that is, a round head, a head with cushioning, a bullet head, a fork head, and a hard flat head. They are suitable for targeting different muscle groups and can be chosen according to personal preferences. They can also be used in combination with different intensity levels to customize the massaging experiences. The massage head with cushioning is the most popular one, because it can glide across bony surfaces smoothly without hurting you. If you use the massage gun parallelly to your skin with the round head, you can also create a cross friction massage experience to break down scar tissues in muscles. In short, the Bob & Brad C2 mini massage gun is small but powerful, quiet, easy to use, and of high value for money. Besides, the YouTube channel "Bob & Brad" regularly uploads videos on pain relieve, injury recovery, and healthy life styles, and the Bob & Brad crew is always there ready to help you. Interested in the Bob and Brad C2 Massage Gun: visit Amazon at https://amzn.to/36pMekg

This article is a transcribed edited summary of a video Bob and Brad recorded in August  of 2020.  For the original video go to: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UXxjAUvsFLs&t=470s Bob: Today we’re going to talk about the #1 mistake we see people make with back pain, hip pain, knee pain, etc. This is a physical therapist viewpoint. Brad: Boy, that’s covering quite a bit of anatomy with one show. Bob: We don’t want to leave anybody out. So, the first mistake we see people do, if something hurts, what do they do?” Brad: Protect it. It’s not necessarily a mistake. Bob: Right, but if they continue to do it, it is. When you first hurt it, a lot of times, we want you to rest it. I just saw a study, Brad. They talk about the P.R.I.C.E. Method of protection. They thought, no it should be the M.I.C.E. Method. Movement right away. They talked about movement almost the first day. Brad: It’s like after a knee replacement. Bob: Right. Look at the trauma that the knee underwent. Brad: That’s true, that’s a good point. Bob: We’re not judging by the way. It’s completely understandable when you hurt an area, you don’t want to move it. It hurts to move it. The swelling increases and the blood flow decreases and tightness sets in. So, we’re going to just tell you ways to try to help get those areas moving, that maybe are going to be a little less painful. Brad: That’s a big core of physical therapy treatment, is range of motion, get things moving. There’s some little tricks that you can make it move without pain and that’s our specialty. Bob: We try to decrease the weight bearing on the area and we try to find the movement that works and you start off slow. Alright, let’s talk about back pain. I had a friend that worked in a back-pain clinic. I’ve told this story probably 100,000 times, but he worked in the back-pain clinic. All they saw was back patients. First thing they do, you get walking. You see a lot of people with back pain and they’re like, “It hurts,” so they just lie down, sit down, or they don’t move. Now you say, well, how do I decrease the weight on my back? Well, one, you avoid hills and stairs and stuff like that. Brad: Flat surfaces. Bob: Yes. But actually, if you increase your speed, that decreases the amount of weight on your spine. Brad: Now, that’s not saying that you should go speed walking. But from a slow cautious pace to a smooth little bit faster, can make it feel better and let things work in. Bob: You really want to have good posture when you’re walking. We tell people a lot of times to grab your wrist with the opposite hand and just pull back. That straightens you all up and sometimes we even have people walk like this with their hands behind their backs. Brad: Now, if your back pain is so bad that you can’t straighten up, then you’re going to have to go to one of our other videos. There are other exercises in those. Bob: Obviously there are people that can’t walk. I’ll tell you Brad, when I’ve had episodes of back pain, I’m running the next day. I’m back to running because it feels better with running, when I get to moving. Now the next one is we wanted to do a directional movement. The one that we find, the go-to movement, for people with back pain just to get things moving, is we bend the knees up, and call it the hook lying position. We just gently go back and forth. You’re just getting the little movement in the back, rotations, and if you find out one direction hurts, then just go to the opposite side and work it that way for a while. Brad: Bob’s shoulder and trunk stay stationary, if you will. The pelvis and the knees kind of rotate together and that puts a little movement in the back. Bob: Another one you could try, if you’re younger, I would say. Let’s say you’re less than 40 or maybe even 45. I would try press ups. You’re going to put your hands underneath your shoulders and you’re going to lift up. You’re not going to lift your pelvis up and you’re only going to go up to what is comfortable. We do what we call micro press-ups to start off with. When it starts to feel more comfortable, you can go further and further. Again, I’m keeping the pelvis down on the mat or the floor or the bed, where-ever you’re at. Brad: There are a couple groups of people, usually they’re older, but if you have spondylolisthesis, that could be any age, or stenosis, you’re going to try this movement then. Bob: A single knee to chest to start off with and then go to a double knee to chest. The next one is hip pain. We want to get the hip moving. Again, the movement we find out, is actually the same one we do for back pain. We have them lie down. I have people do this before they even get out of bed. I say, “you wake up in the morning and before you even get out of bed, put your legs in the hook lying position and move the hips.” Same thing holds true for them. If it hurts in one direction, don’t go that direction. Brad: You could actually go into the clamshell which would work more the hip joint itself. Like butterflies, kind of thing. Bob: Just getting some movement. What we find is that people after they’ve been sleeping all night, and that joint hasn’t been moving, it gets worse. That’s the thing you want to understand about arthritis. It actually can get worse at rest. The joint likes to be moving. We want to get that synovial fluid moving. We want to get the blood flow moving. Anytime you can get some movement, it’s going to generally be better. It can get to the point, I’ve seen it in shoulders, where arthritis got so bad, like it’s way advanced stages, that we don’t do any movement. It just hurts. Brad: That’s the extreme cases. But it’s rare. Bob: That’s usually when someone’s had it for a long time. Brad, do you want to show the FitGlide? Brad: Oh absolutely. Bob: Another way to get the hip and the knee, we might as well jump ahead, this one is also good for the knee. Brad: Right, it’s good for both. It’s not uncommon to have both. If you have hip arthritis, you may have some tightness in the knee. Bob: You can also go biking. If you have like a stationary bike. We like the FitGlide because, well one, we invented it, LOL. Two, it’s really light weight. Did we determine how much this weighs? Brad: This is under 5 lbs. Bob: You can lift it with one finger. Brad: The reason we invented it was because there was nothing out there that fit the ticket and we were always having a need for something like this in therapy. Something that would work both legs, something you could adjust the height on where you can have an incline or a flat floor. Something that would last forever and work well. Bob: Another point, Brad, is a lot of times, people, when they have a stiff knee or hip, they can’t go a full circle. You know what I mean, they can only go halfway.on a stationary bicycle. But they all can go back and forth. Brad: That’s a good point. Bob: It’s a great way for starting. The only negative thing I’m going to say here, Brad, I know you don’t like it when I say this, but it is not quiet. It does make a swishing sound. Brad: Yeah, but not very much. Bob: No, but not very much. Brad: If you use silicone, just a drop or two, it helps. I had a patient that used one in a quiet office and he just put a drop or two of silicone on it and it just quiets right out. Bob: You can use it lying down too and it works better with shoes or sometimes we just take a towel and put it under your feet. Brad: It’s a nice surface, it’s not going to cut you or anything. You can do this in bed, if you’re having a hard time getting out of bed, you need to exercise, prior. Bob: That’s what I like about this thing. I can’t think of anything else where you can work out in bed like this and start moving that hip and knee before you even get up in the morning. Brad: It’s very light. You can clean it very easily too. Everything about it is beautiful. Bob: Again, you can try, if you had a stationary bike, you could try that if you already have one. We aren’t saying you need to go buy one by any means. Alright, after you’ve done everything for hip pain, we also wanted you’re walking with the hip pain, but you’re probably going to want to walk with a cane. What you want to do is walk with the cane on the opposite sideas your pain. Brad: Okay, here’s my sore leg, my left one, I’m going to put the cane on the right side. A lot of people think you should have it on the same side, but it’s not true. When you advance your sore leg, the cane advances with it. Typically, what I do with a patient, I’ll say, “Put it in your right hand.” That’s the sore leg. I won’t give any instructions. Usually people naturally go to the same side. Bob: If you want to screw them up, you start giving them instructions. So, the knee pain’s going to be the same thing. You can also walk with the cane with the knee pain. Brad: Knee or hip, yes. Bob: So, get those joints moving. In most cases, it’s going to be the right thing to do, unless you have a fracture or something like that, some type of trauma. Obviously, then you need to see the doctor, but movement, movement, movement. Remember, Brad and I can fix just about anything, Brad: Except for, Bob: A broken heart. Brad: That’s right, Bob. Bob: You can count on us. Interested in learning about the products mentioned: 1) Fit Glide: https://store.bobandbrad.com 15% off with code BLOG15 2) Knee Glide: https://store.bobandbrad.com 15% off with code BLOG15 Visit us on our other social media platforms: YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/user/physicaltherapyvideo Website: https://bobandbrad.com/ Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/BobandBrad/ Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/officialbobandbrad/ Twitter: https://twitter.com/ptfamous Pinterest: https://www.pinterest.com/mostfamousPTs For this week’s Giveaway visit: https://bobandbrad.com/giveaways Bob and Brad’s Products: Grip and Forearm Strengthener: https://store.bobandbrad.com 15% off with code BLOG15 Wall Anchor: https://store.bobandbrad.com 15% off with code BLOG15 Booyah Stik: https://store.bobandbrad.com 15% off with code BLOG15 Knee Glide: https://store.bobandbrad.com 15% off with code BLOG15 Fit Glide: https://store.bobandbrad.com 15% off with code BLOG15 Massage Gun:https://amzn.to/36pMekg Hanging Handles: https://amzn.to/2RXLVFF Bob and Brad Resistance Bands Set: https://amzn.to/36uqnbr Bob & Brad Amazon Store: https://amzn.to/2RTSLLh Check out our shirts, mugs, bags and more in our Bob and Brad merchandise shop here:  https://shop.spreadshirt.com/bob-brad Check out other products Bob and Brad Love:  https://www.amazon.com/shop/physicaltherapyvideo?listId=3581Z1XUVFAFY Check out The Bob & Brad Crew on YouTube by clicking here:  https://www.youtube.com/c/thebobbradcrew Medical Disclaimer All information, content, and material of this website is for informational purposes only and are not intended to serve as a substitute for the consultation, diagnosis, and/or medical treatment of a qualified physician or healthcare provider. Affiliate disclaimer: Keep in mind that we may receive commissions when you click our links and make purchases. However, this does not impact our reviews and comparisons. We are highly selective in our products and try our best to keep things fair and balanced in order to help you make the best choice for you.

Written By: Mike Longsdon Image by rawpixel.com Caring for a senior loved one in decline is already incredibly challenging, and the global pandemic likely made your job a whole lot harder. You have to balance the need to protect your loved one from illness while, at the same time, providing the care and support that they need. This difficult situation may prompt you to start thinking about long-term care. Accessing long-term care through services can benefit your loved one greatly and reduce the caregiving burden on yourself. Here are some things to consider as you navigate this tough decision. Types of Long-Term Care As the Pain News Network explains, for seniors facing worsening chronic conditions, long-term care can provide the support they need to enjoy a higher quality of life. The National Institute on Aging explains that there are several types of long-term care, including home-based services and care provided in facilities like nursing homes or assisted living communities. Home-based services can help your loved one age in place while facility care may be better if they need round-the-clock support. The right option for you and your loved one will depend on your unique situation, so take the time to research and consider your options carefully. Paying for Long-Term Care Paying for long-term care is another important consideration. Whether you decide to hire a home health aide or move your loved one into an assisted living facility, expect the costs to be steep. Unless your senior loved one has long-term care insurance or robust retirement savings, you may need to discuss the possibility of selling their home to cover their care expenses. Selling a home during COVID-19 might sound a little scary, but the real estate market has quickly adopted virtual tools to allow for no-contact showings. For example, buyers can check out your home online with the help of 3D walkthroughs and live video-chat tours! To get the ball rolling, find a real estate agent who can help you navigate showings in the virtual age. Take Advantage of Medicare Medicare can also help cover some of the care costs for your loved one. Since Medicare can be complicated, take the time to understand exactly which services are covered and how you can make changes to your loved one’s coverage as needed. Keep in mind that you can only make changes to existing Medicare plans during the Annual Election Period (AEP), which runs between October 15 and December 7. Be prepared with all of the documents and information you need to make changes to your loved one’s coverage when the time comes. For example, you will need a list of their healthcare providers and medications, as well as their Medicare card. Coronavirus Safety Considerations It’s clear that seniors are vulnerable to COVID-19, so it’s important to take special safety precautions when providing care to your loved one. Make sure your loved one has all of the supplies they need so they can avoid leaving the house for essential things like groceries and prescriptions. When you’re providing care, wear a mask and wash your hands frequently. Keep in mind that isolation can also be harmful to seniors, so if you’re limiting your visits during the pandemic, keep in touch with frequent phone calls and video calls. Avoiding Burnout Taking care of a loved one with a declining physical condition can be very stressful, especially during the pandemic. Not surprisingly, this can take a huge toll on both your body and mind. Before the demands on your time, energy, and mental resources lead to caregiver burnout, take some steps to cope with stress. For example, AARP recommends joining a support group for caregivers and making your own health a priority. Reducing your caregiving responsibilities through long-term care services can also help. People around the world are finding ways to overcome the barriers of caring for senior loved ones during the coronavirus crisis. Whether you’re considering moving your senior loved one into a long-term care facility or hiring an in-home health aide, take steps to protect their health — and your own well-being — as you navigate these challenges.

This article is a transcribed edited summary of a video Bob and Brad recorded in June 2020. For the original video go to https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MZnbUAgD9gM&t=1s Bob: So, we, Bob and Brad, followed one simple rule and we lost 20 pounds. It’s called the 5 to 1 rule. Brad: 20 pounds a piece? Bob: 20 pounds a piece! Yup. Brad: 40 pounds total. Bob: Look back on our videos. We used to wear those billowy shirts, remember that? 2015 2020 Brad: Yeah, people used to complain that we didn’t have fitted shirts. Well we did that for a reason. Bob: It’s true though with the 20 lbs., and I think this was true for you too, Brad, we lost a lot of it around the middle. Brad: I have to say, my pants are all loose, so it had to be more then just the middle. Bob: Your buttock too? Brad: Yeah, ha-ha. Bob: So, the main thing that Brad and I did, we’re going to talk about the simple rule, but the main thing we did is we decreased the amount of our carbohydrates. Now, we’re not keto people. We do eat carbs, yet. But we decreased the amount because we were, I don’t know about you, Brad, but I was a carb fiend. That was the main part of my diet was carbs. Brad: You really need to define carbs because that’s a really broad thing. I really wasn’t clear before I started this. Bob: Carbs are mainly sugars and starches and the body breaks it into glucose which is a simple sugar. Brad: Yeah, but we’re talking like, bread. Bob: Yes, pasta and bread. Brad: I had no idea those were sugars. I thought sugar was table sugar, you know. Bob: Exactly, good point. I know one girl that works for us, Pat Beckman, I probably shouldn’t say that. Shoot, Pat B, all she did was eat less bread. That’s all she did, and she lost, oh I bet she lost at least 20 pounds, if not more. For me, it was a lot less pasta and the right kind of pasta. That’s what that rule is about. I wouldn’t hesitate, like if there was candy in the office, I wouldn’t hesitate to take one here and there. I just stopped that. Brad: If there’s one little piece there I might but it all depends. But let’s go on. Bob: So, I’m not a vegetarian either, but I eat more plant based now. I think you do too, Brad, don’t you? Brad: Oh, yeah, sure. More veggies. Bob: More veggies, so I guess you call that a flexitarian. So, you’ll eat meat, I had meat this weekend, but it’s only more occasional and when I eat the meat, I try to eat the grass fed organic. I’m not completely strict. The rule is called the 5 to 1 rule. Especially when you buy packaged grain products, you want to look for whole grain. The problem is these companies will try to deceive you. They’ll call it multi-grain, stone-ground, 100% wheat, cracked wheat, seven-grain, bran, all these things sound like they are really good, and like they are whole wheat, but they may not be. Brad: You can put any title or name on there that you want as long as there’s some kernel of the truth there. Bob: So, we have some products right here that we are going to apply the rule to, but let’s show the rule right here, Brad. What you’re going to do, you’re going to go to the nutrition facts on the side of the box. You’re going to look for two things. You’re going to look for grams of carbohydrates and grams of dietary fiber. You’re going to take the grams of carbohydrates, that’s on the top part and you put the grams of dietary fiber on the bottom. You divide it out and it should end up being five or less. We are going to give you some real-life examples. This is the pasta I started eating instead of regular pasta, and this is called Barilla Whole Wheat Rotini, excellent source of fiber. So, 39 grams of carbs in a serving, 7 grams of dietary fiber. I divided it out, ends up being 5.57. So, a little bit high, but this is the best that there is at my store. If anybody else out there knows one that’s better, I could order online. I’ll go ahead and do that. Brad: Just fudge the math a little bit. Put this down like that, that’d be better. Bob: Make that an 8. Then I’m good! Brad: Just a little misprint. Bob: So, I’ve kind of gone away from popcorn, I thought popcorn was bad for you. All-natural popcorn let’s look at it here. 22 grams of carbs, 6 grams of dietary fiber. 3.66m really well below the five. Brad: Have you looked at unnatural popcorn? Bob: I didn’t, I should have. You have to watch out, you know. If you put too much salt on, I use NoSalt, so it doesn’t raise the sodium. I try to watch it, I put a little butter on it. Brad: There’s always a little cheating in life. You have to spice things up a little, you know what I’m saying. Bob: Let’s look at Cheerios. This used to be a staple in our family. 100% whole grain oats, it’s heart healthy, they’ve got the heart even on here. Brad: Well, you can’t go wrong with that then. Bob: Well, let’s see, so it’s got 20 grams of carbs but only 3 grams of dietary fiber. Really not very much. So, it’s ends up being 6.666… That’s starting to push it a little bit. 666 is the sign of the devil, by the way. Brad: Well then you really shouldn’t eat it. Bob: It’s not the worst and Brad, you were asking me, have I seen some that are like a lot worse? Well, yeah, I’ve seen some that have like 2 grams of fiber and 20 grams of carbs, so the ratio was 10. I’m sure there’s a lot of things that are much higher. The other thing with Cheerios, it has 140 mg of sodium too. Brad: Isn’t it amazing, those little dry things, they have salt in them like that? I mean, everyone feeds their kids Cheerios. Liz, do you guys do Cheerios to your kids? It’s like, I saw that movie with John Travolta, he was feeding that kid Cheerios. Everyone does it. Bob: It isn’t the worst. It is by far, in fact, the ones for kids, it’s probably the best. It’s better then Cocoa Puffs or Lucky Charms. Brad: Yeah, they are made with sugar and a little bit of fiber. Bob: But, you know, I got this ratio by the way from the book, “How Not to Die”, by Dr. Michael Greger. I’m a big fan of his work. He’s also got a website, nutritionfacts.org, I believe. You can get all this stuff for free. He’s got great videos on it. You can check that out too. So, any other advice, Brad for losing weight? You know, it’s interesting, you know, both Brad and I work out a lot. But we worked out before too. So that wasn’t the factor. I worked out just as much before. Really, weight loss does occur at the table and not really in the gym as much as you would think. Brad: And I don’t know about the studies, but I think in general, as you age, it is even more so. I would work out as I got older and it wouldn’t move the needle. I mean, I don’t eat pasta, I just don’t care about it, but breads, ice cream, you know. Obviously, that’s a big one, but I really like ice cream. Oh my God. Bob: I know we are dragging this on a little bit, but I think what I’ve found I wasn’t hungry at all. I’m eating this stuff and I’m not hungry. I’m eating as much as I want to eat, and I just watch the pounds. At one point, this started about two or three years ago, I was wondering, do I have cancer or something? I mean, why am I losing weight like this? It was just that I had changed this, and I know some people don’t want to hear that, but it’s worked for my wife too and especially when she started going more plant based. Now she says she’s down into a range where she hasn’t been for 10, 15 years. Brad: What about potatoes? Bob: Potatoes have a lot of starches and I think also, you’d have to look it up. Brad: Everything I’ve read they say they don’t like potatoes, so we do yams. Bob: Yes, yams are good. Brad: Right. I like them better anyways, but I always just kind of wondered if other people are doing potatoes. Bob: I yam what I yam. Remember, Brad and I can fix just about anything, Brad: except for... Bob: A broken heart. Brad: But we’re working on it. Bob: This is heart healthy stuff. Brad: That’s right. It’ll be part of one of the chapters. If you are interested in the products mentioned above, they can be found at: 1) "How Not to Die" by Greger M.D. FACLM: https://amzn.to/2nfTsTg Visit us on our other social media platforms: YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/user/physicaltherapyvideo Website: https://bobandbrad.com/ Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/BobandBrad/ Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/officialbobandbrad/ Twitter: https://twitter.com/ptfamous Pinterest: https://www.pinterest.com/mostfamousPTs For this week’s Giveaway visit: https://bobandbrad.com/giveaways Bob and Brad’s Products: Grip and Forearm Strengthener: https://store.bobandbrad.com 15% off with code BLOG15 Wall Anchor: https://store.bobandbrad.com 15% off with code BLOG15 Booyah Stik: https://store.bobandbrad.com 15% off with code BLOG15 Knee Glide: https://store.bobandbrad.com 15% off with code BLOG15 Fit Glide: https://store.bobandbrad.com 15% off with code BLOG15 Massage Gun:https://amzn.to/36pMekg Hanging Handles: https://amzn.to/2RXLVFF Bob and Brad Resistance Bands Set: https://amzn.to/36uqnbr Bob & Brad Amazon Store: https://amzn.to/2RTSLLh Check out our shirts, mugs, bags and more in our Bob and Brad merchandise shop here:  https://shop.spreadshirt.com/bob-brad Check out other products Bob and Brad Love:  https://www.amazon.com/shop/physicaltherapyvideo?listId=3581Z1XUVFAFY Check out The Bob & Brad Crew on YouTube by clicking here:  https://www.youtube.com/c/thebobbradcrew Medical Disclaimer All information, content, and material of this website is for informational purposes only and are not intended to serve as a substitute for the consultation, diagnosis, and/or medical treatment of a qualified physician or healthcare provider. Affiliate disclaimer: Keep in mind that we may receive commissions when you click our links and make purchases. However, this does not impact our reviews and comparisons. We are highly selective in our products and try our best to keep things fair and balanced in order to help you make the best choice for you.

This article is a transcribed edited summary of a video Bob and Brad recorded in January of 2020.  For the original video go to https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L5mVaYMQNS0&t=39s Bob: Today we’re going to show you one surprising trick to fall asleep faster and to stay asleep. This is good for even insomniacs. Brad: So, let’s talk about the sleeping and temperature relationship. We were just having a detailed discussion on it and we’ll carry through with it. Bob: The trick is, if you want to sleep better, faster, and longer, you want to reduce your core temperature by two to three degrees Fahrenheit. So, how do we do that? First off, why do we do that? When the core temperature drops, your melatonin production increases, which helps you sleep. That’s going to help you promote your sleep; it’s all-natural chemicals. Brad: I know we had the heat up in our house the other night, I don’t remember why we went up to 72 degrees, and I woke up that night about midnight and I was like, oh I’m warm. It’s like, I feel toasty warm, but I can't sleep. So, I checked the temperature and I turned it down, of course it takes a while for the house to cool. Bob: Actually, I’ve seen it in hotel rooms sometimes, if it’s been too warm or just on a hot summer night. Brad: Yeah, tossing and turning. Bob: You have to get that core temperature down. So, your body helps decrease the core temperature by shunting blood to three areas. It shunts blood out to your hands, your feet, and your head. Brad: So, then the blood from there goes through your body, it’s like a heat exchanger. It’s going to get rid of that heat to your hands and feet. Bob: Right, right. So, I’m going to have you do two things to try to reduce your core temperature. First, the simple one is to keep your room temperature down. And I looked for all the recommendations. I saw recommendations anywhere from 67 degrees down to 60 degrees. The average, the one that was mentioned the most, and the research seemed to show was 65 degrees. Which, I don’t know, how is that compared to you? Brad: Well, that’d be a little on the cool side, but again, I think it’s individual. It depends how many blankets, there’s some variables in there. Bob: Right, yeah, you’re going top want to use more blankets. The second thing you want to do, you want to actually increase the vasodilation of your hands and feet. Now this didn’t make sense to me at first. In other words, you want to keep your feet and hands warm, and even your head possibly too. Brad: So, the circulation is really flowing well. Bob: Right. So there’s plenty of circulation there. It makes it easier to shunt the blood from the core then. If you want to take it down to its very basics here, basically keep your hands and feet warm at night. That’s going to decrease your core temperature. So, you can wear gloves, they even recommended, you can wear a hat to bed. Because again, a lot of vascularity up in the head. You could wear extra socks. Some people take a bath and soak their feet and hands before they go to bed. Brad: To get them warm. Bob: Yes, to get ‘em warm. We got our little hand warmer here. Brad: I’m using mine right now; it feels really nice. I mean, I wouldn’t mind going to bed with this, if my hands were cold. Bob: What I do is, this might sound a little upsetting, but I just stick my hands down my pants and put it right on the side of my thigh. I put the other hand underneath my face. I’ve done this for years because my hands get so cold. Just to prove that this actually is very helpful, I saw a couple studies, warming the hands and feet by one-degree Fahrenheit. That’s all they did. They used a suit to do this, to measure how much they warmed. They found people fell asleep 18-20% faster, in two different studies. The other thing is, if you didn’t warm your hands, 58% would wake up the last half of the night. But if they do warm their hands, only 4% woke up. Bob: That’s a big change. Brad: They kept their hands warm all night. Bob: Right, they kept their hands warm all night and they were a lot less likely to wake up. Brad: Which is probably, for me, the most disturbing. Waking up at that two or three in the morning, and then you can’t get back to sleep. It just happened the other night. Bob: And it’s not good quality sleep then. And you are in a deficit all day long. And I’m reading an entire book on this. Believe it or not, I’m reading an entire book. It’s amazing how important sleep is, I mean, it just, they’re even finding it can affect dementia and it just goes on and on. Your concentration, your ability to learn. Brad: Did you read the introduction? Bob: Why? Brad: Well I don’t know, just wondering. You said the entire book. Bob: Oh, no, I’m reading the entire book, I’m not there yet though. All right anyways, so put that tip to work and see if it works for you. Brad: There you go, good luck and sleep well. Visit us on our other social media platforms: YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/user/physicaltherapyvideo Website: https://bobandbrad.com/ Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/BobandBrad/ Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/officialbobandbrad/ Twitter: https://twitter.com/ptfamous Pinterest: https://www.pinterest.com/mostfamousPTs For this week’s Giveaway visit: https://bobandbrad.com/giveaways Bob and Brad’s Products: Grip and Forearm Strengthener: https://store.bobandbrad.com 15% off with code BLOG15 Wall Anchor: https://store.bobandbrad.com 15% off with code BLOG15 Booyah Stik: https://store.bobandbrad.com 15% off with code BLOG15 Knee Glide: https://store.bobandbrad.com 15% off with code BLOG15 Fit Glide: https://store.bobandbrad.com 15% off with code BLOG15 Massage Gun:https://amzn.to/36pMekg Hanging Handles: https://amzn.to/2RXLVFF Bob and Brad Resistance Bands Set: https://amzn.to/36uqnbr Bob & Brad Amazon Store: https://amzn.to/2RTSLLh Check out our shirts, mugs, bags and more in our Bob and Brad merchandise shop here:  https://shop.spreadshirt.com/bob-brad Check out other products Bob and Brad Love:  https://www.amazon.com/shop/physicaltherapyvideo?listId=3581Z1XUVFAFY Check out The Bob & Brad Crew on YouTube by clicking here:  https://www.youtube.com/c/thebobbradcrew Medical Disclaimer All information, content, and material of this website is for informational purposes only and are not intended to serve as a substitute for the consultation, diagnosis, and/or medical treatment of a qualified physician or healthcare provider. Affiliate disclaimer: Keep in mind that we may receive commissions when you click our links and make purchases. However, this does not impact our reviews and comparisons. We are highly selective in our products and try our best to keep things fair and balanced in order to help you make the best choice for you.

It's not uncommon when you exercise, say running or heavy lifting, that you feel this sore, burning sensation in the muscle group that you are working on. I remember the time when I went for my first half-marathon race, I felt my legs heavy and sore and my quads and calves were screaming for help after I reached 16 km. Luckily, I had enough will power to beat it and make it to the end. The next few hours I basically walked around without feeling anything in my legs but this heaviness and sore, burning sensation. This muscle soreness felt during an exercise or directly after it is called "acute muscle soreness" and is primarily caused by the decrease in blood flood and oxygen delivery and the consequent accumulation of acid metabolic products like lactic acid. This kind of muscle soreness usually disappears soon after the exercise is finished, and hot therapy, like a good hot bath or warm towels over the painful muscle, can help relieve the pain by stimulating blood flow. Another kind of muscle soreness related to exercises is called "delayed-onset muscle soreness (DOMS)" and it usually appears 12 to 24 hours after an exercise and peaks one to three days later. After the half-marathon race held on a Sunday, I didn't feel my legs were mine until the next Thursday. The idea of lactic acid causing DOMS has been proved to be a myth. Currently, it is believed that the micro-tears in muscle tissue during intensive workouts and the local inflammation responses resulting from that is the culprit of DOMS and how to help people recover from DOMS is a hot topic in sports science. Usually, massage helps with DOMS effectively and you can also choose to apply topical analgesics, or take a cold bath to reduce inflammation or a warm bath to ease the pain and stiffness (depending on your personal preference and tolerance), but over-the-counter anti-inflammatory medications, like ibuprofen, seem not to work well for pain relief for DOMS. Do remember that experiencing DOMS does not mean that you have had a wonderful workout and can expect some muscle growth. It means you have pushed your limits and you should keep going at a reduced intensity to recover from it and later continue improving your performance. Besides the acute muscle soreness and DOMS, another commonly experienced pain is the involuntary and excruciating muscle spasms. Although the exact causes of muscle spasms still elude scientists, two probable mechanisms have been proposed: one is the electrolyte imbalance caused by excessive sweating and dehydration and the other is related to altered neuromuscular control which leads to increased firing of motor neurons. The combination of these two mechanisms explains why keeping yourself hydrated during a workout, drinking sport drinks, getting a massage after a cramp, and passive stretching all can help relieving muscle cramps. And if you are like me and spend most of your working hours in front of a computer, you may know too well about the pain and stiffness in your neck and back and feel those muscle knots that give you an "ouch" when you press against them. These knots, AKA myofascial trigger points, can appear anywhere in your muscle that undergoes constant stress and are often related to bad postures and a sedentary lifestyle. Magnetic resonance elastography, a medical imaging technique that enables scientists to see living muscle tissues, shows V-shaped patterns in muscles corresponding to those little nodules felt at the trigger points, indicating these knots may be caused by overactive nerves overstimulating muscle contraction. Overstimulated muscle contraction decreases the blood flow in the muscle and cause it to hurt. Although right now scientists are still scratching their heads on why muscle knots appear and how to fix them effectively, people with such complaints going for massage treatments usually get what they need: relief of the pain and some relaxation. But before you decide to go for a massage or use any home medication to help relieve pain from muscle knots, you'd better first consult a physical therapist to rule out the possibility that your complaints come from other body parts, like your spine. Improving your posture, taking breaks during work, setting your desk and chair at a proper height, sleeping on a good pillow and a  suitable bed, and doing a moderately intensive work out regularly can also help with your stiff neck and back. Now that we understand why we experience muscle pain and soreness in different situations, next time we will discuss more on why massage guns work and how to properly use them for muscle pain relief. Interested in learning about the products mentioned in today's articles: 1) Massage Gun By Bob & Brad: https://amzn.to/36pMekg

First, I want to introduce myself. My name is Jordan and I have been working in the field of nutrition and fitness for approximately 10 years. I have my Bachelor of Science degree in Exercise Science and my Master of Science degree in Nutrition and I am also a Certified Personal Trainer. I want to give full disclaimer that I am not a Registered Dietitian and my advice is purely through my educational background and experience working with many different individuals over the years. My advice given should not be replaced for true medical advice. In this post, I wanted to address some questions I received that hopefully provide you with some new insight in nutrition and maybe answer some questions you have. Q- When I try to eat healthy I become too restrictive with my meals. How can I balance things out? A- Putting high quality, healthy foods in our bodies is so important, so deciding to make that change in whatever capacity you can is great! It’s also important to remember that there’s more to health than just nutrition. Good health is also measured in your mental well-being. Therefore, it’s really important to not get too caught up in nutrition to the point that it’s always on your mind and that you find it to be a stressor. My best tip is to keep only the good, healthy foods in your house but don’t go crazy and stress out when you’re maybe out to dinner with friends or at someone’s house for dinner. The 80/20 rule is a great one to follow! Eat clean 80% of the time and enjoy life the other 20%. Q- Discuss oils and are they really needed in diet even the supposedly good oils? A- If you went into my kitchen, the only oils you would find are organic, unrefined coconut oil, organic extra virgin olive oil, and avocado oil. When cooking over high heat, such as roasting vegetables or stir frying, I stick to the coconut oil or avocado oil. I save the olive oil for making homemade salad dressings and drizzling over vegetables after they have been cooked. All oils have different temperatures in which they can withstand and olive oil prefers only very low heat or it can turn into a not so healthy oil if heated too high. Healthy fats, like the oils I mentioned above, are very important in the diet. Healthy fats included at each meal play an important role in helping to regulate healthy blood sugar levels, help to reduce cravings, help your body utilize vitamins and minerals in the diet, help to support a healthy immune system, plus much more! Healthy fats are also found in nuts, seeds, and avocados. Q- Does Pizza count as all food groups? A- I wish!!! But unfortunately from a nutritional standpoint, I’m going to have to say no. Q- How to wean off sugars. It’s in everything good. A- Sugar is a tough one and HIGHLY addicting. It can take some time to remove sugar from our diet. It’s very helpful to make sure each of your meals and snacks are balanced to ensure blood sugar balance. If we eat unbalanced meals, specifically too many carbohydrates, it can cause a blood sugar crash which leads us to crave more sugar. I encourage you to make sure at each meal you’re eating protein (ex: meat), carbohydrates (veggies and fruit), and healthy fats (ex: olive oil, avocados, nuts). It’s important to keep things balanced with snacks too. For example, if you typically grab a banana for a snack, make sure to have a handful of nuts along with it to get some healthy fats and protein. This helps the banana to digest slower so that it doesn’t lead to a blood sugar spike and ultimately more sugar cravings. Q- How do I know which vitamins to take without flushing money down the toilet? A- Make sure to do your research on companies before purchasing supplements/vitamins. The supplement industry is not regulated so it’s important to make sure you’re purchasing from reputable companies. When it comes to choosing a multivitamin, I always opt for one that’s sourced from whole foods. Many multivitamins, especially cheap ones found on drugstore or grocery shelves, are made with synthetic vitamins and minerals. Our body does not know how to process and utilize synthetic vitamins efficiently, so many times we will just excrete those through our urine. When a company uses whole food ingredients to produce their vitamins, our body is more likely able to utilize them. In the world of vitamins, you really get what you pay for! Q- Opinion on intermittent fasting? A- First, for those of you who don’t know what intermittent fasting is, it involves restricting your eating window. For example, you might eat between the hours of 10am and 5pm. This would mean you are “fasting” for 15 hours per day. Intermittent fasting can be beneficial with even just a 12 hour fast, so maybe you eat dinner at 7pm and then don’t eat again the next day until 7am. Some individuals are able to use this as a tool for weight loss. Additionally, it is beneficial for healing and supporting inflammation levels. When you give your body a break from the digestive process, it is able to heal and repair. Intermittent fasting is definitely not for everyone but the research is definitely out there to show some great benefits to it. Be sure to check out Jordan for Workouts in a Mirror Videos on Bob and Brad's YouTube channel! https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL8l32k1r15l68gTmjJM-nRvbZqgRT1oDX Visit us on our other social media platforms: Website: https://bobandbrad.com/ Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/BobandBrad/ Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/officialbob... Twitter: https://twitter.com/ptfamous YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/user/physicaltherapyvideo Pinterest: https://www.pinterest.com/mostfamousPTs Bob and Brad’s Products: Grip and Forearm Strengthener: https://store.bobandbrad.com 15% off with code BLOG15 Wall Anchor: https://store.bobandbrad.com 15% off with code BLOG15 Booyah Stik: https://store.bobandbrad.com 15% off with code BLOG15 Knee Glide: https://store.bobandbrad.com 15% off with code BLOG15 Fit Glide: https://store.bobandbrad.com 15% off with code BLOG15 Massage Gun: https://amzn.to/36pMekg Hanging Handles: https://amzn.to/2RXLVFF Bob and Brad Resistance Bands Set: https://amzn.to/36uqnbr Bob & Brad Amazon Store: https://amzn.to/2RTSLLh For this week’s Giveaway visit: https://bobandbrad.com/giveaways Check out our shirts, mugs, bags and more in our Bob and Brad merchandise shop here: https://shop.spreadshirt.com/bob-brad Check out other products Bob and Brad Love: https://www.amazon.com/shop/physicaltherapyvideo?listId=3581Z1XUVFAFY Check out The Bob & Brad Crew on YouTube by clicking here: https://www.youtube.com/c/thebobbradcrew Medical Disclaimer All information, content, and material of this website is for informational purposes only and are not intended to serve as a substitute for the consultation, diagnosis, and/or medical treatment of a qualified physician or healthcare provider. Affiliate disclaimer: Keep in mind that we may receive commissions when you click our links and make purchases. However, this does not impact our reviews and comparisons. We are highly selective in our products and try our best to keep things fair and balanced in order to help you make the best choice for you.

This article is a transcribed edited summary of a video Bob and Brad recorded in December of 2016. For the original video go to https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HMuxbVHVkk4&t=86s Bob: Brad, these are the four things that happen right before you have a heart attack. This is very timely because, you heard about Alan Thicke. He just had a heart attack and died. He was playing hockey with his sons and supposedly right when he had it, he was still conscious, and he was talking to his boys. It was a real tragedy; I think he was 69. When you hear that, it’s a good time to go over what signs and symptoms of a heart attack are right before and kind of give you some warnings. Brad: Most people, if they are having the symptoms, deny it. Oh, it’s nothing, it’s going to go away, and so on. You cannot do that; you have to make sure. Bob: Especially women, I think. It’s been put in our society that women don’t have heart attacks as much as men do. The fact is though that they do. So, the first one is the most common. This is the one you all know and that’s the chest pain, tightness. It feels like there’s an elephant on your chest. You’re feeling a full feeling and a squeezing pressure. That one, we’re not telling anyone anything that they don’t know. The second one though is plain old sweating. Especially cold sweats, even when you’re resting or at night. Brad: My friend, last year, had one and he’s only like 44 years old. He said he was just having this pain, but his forehead was just sweating. Bob: Night sweats and clammy. Same thing happened to me, Brad. I had a patient. He came in to see me and he was just sweating. I said, “Do you normally sweat like this?” It wasn’t a hot day. He said, “no, no.” I said, “Are you short of breath?” and he goes, “Yeah, I had to sit down a couple times on the way over here.” I said, “I think I’m going to call the doctor.” So, I called the doctor and the doctor said, “Bob, I think I should be seeing him instead of you.” So, I drove him right down to the doctor and they air lifted him to Mayo. It was that bad. Alright, so, the third one, and again, it is one sign that especially if you already have indigestion, but indigestion can be a sign. That’s kind of bad because if you already have it for other reasons, and it shows up as a heart attack, you know it’s an easy one to dismiss. Brad: Right. You think it’s that and instead it’s your heart and the symptoms are exactly the same. Bob: Nausea and vomiting, it can get that far where you feel sick and there was another friend that had that. He goes, “I was sick.” So, the fourth one, and this one can be deceiving too, you’re going to have pain in other parts of the body. Sometimes this is the only thing you’re going to have. This one doctor that I was talking about, he was having pain in his shoulder and that’s the only thing that he had. He said he didn’t have any heart history, but he was having a heart attack. What are some other places, Brad? Brad: In the jaw, teeth. Bob: Throat. Yep. You can have it in your back. Brad: Yes! I’ve had a patient that described that back pain and he went in and it ended up being a heart attack. It’s these unusual symptoms that don’t have an explanation. It can be in the chest, the jaw, the arm, sometimes in the back. Bob: Especially when it shows up and it wasn’t there before. Don’t dismiss it. You’d rather go in and feel a little bit foolish than be dead. Brad: Right, right. Bob: Those are the four main ones, Brad. Brad: Right. I’ll talk about my personal experience. On my 50th birthday, I was out playing with the kids, playing football running around, and at 3:00 in the morning, I woke up. I was feeling tightness and some pain in my chest, and my breathing felt a little short. Bob: And you do have a family history. Brad: Right, my father has had one or two heart attacks. My uncle died from a heart attack, so that male side, you know. Bob: So, it was definitely on your mind. Brad: It was definitely on my wife’s mind. I’m thinking, okay whatever. She’s says, no we’re going in. So, we jumped in the car and we drove down to the hospital, they hooked me up. It ended up being that they had me over there overnight and they did all the checkup and the EKG monitoring to me. They do that troponin test which is in your blood. Elevated troponin, that means you probably had some muscle deterioration from a heart attack. Everything was perfect. They said it was musculoskeletal, so that was good news. Bob: Right, exactly. Brad: But you need to go in and know for sure. Bob: And Brad’s a healthy guy. I mean, he works out all the time so this is a good example of someone that easily could have dismissed it. The fact is, Brad, if it happens again, you need to go in again. Brad: Well, it did happen again, and I did go in again. Bob: So that’s really a good sign that you’re doing the right things. Brad: Then I followed up with a visit to the cardiologist. He went over me again so I’m feeling pretty confident. What we think it is is something called costochondritis. Which we do have a video on that. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W9PWTLOQf3w&t=183s Bob: I’ll link it up. Couple other things, Brad, let’s just mention some other signs. Shortness of breath, obviously. Feeling unusually tired for no reason. This was my friend, he was just like, “I didn’t feel good. I felt really tired.” He ended up having a heart attack. Light-headedness or dizziness. Brad: I do want to talk about this, if you’re relatively active and you know you’re body and you’re going to go out for a brisk walk because you walk a lot or you run, or whatever, and you find out that when you start to get your heart rate up and you’re into your exercises, you start to feel different. Maybe some pain, shortness of breath that you haven’t felt before, and actually a lot of people will deny it and then you sit down and everything’s back to normal. If that’s consistent and it was not before, it’s something new, that’s a big red flag. Bob: In fact, Brad and I were just talking because I had a little irregular heart rate years ago and I would feel better with exercise. I felt like it actually went away, then he goes, then it’s stress. They did monitoring on me too. People who have high blood sugar, diabetes, may have no symptoms of a heart attack at all and it may go on. Did you know that? Brad: No, I didn’t. Bob: I just read that so it’s something to keep in mind. All right, what to do, Brad, if you have the symptoms of a heart attack. Well, obviously, number one, you don’t want to drive yourself in. You could have the heart attack on the way there and that would not be good, obviously. Brad: My father, literally, drove himself in when he was having a heart attack because he’s so darn stubborn. My mother was sitting next to him and he went to the hospital 30 miles away because it was a better hospital, he could’ve gone to the one three miles away but he wasn’t going to that one. Bob: That’s a Heinick. That’s a German. Stubborn. Brad: But anyways, don’t drive. Bob: Call 9-1-1. They have the equipment that can deal with this rapidly and can really make a difference in the outcome. Brad: People who have symptoms or have heart problems often times they’ll have the medication with them. Bob: Nitroglycerin. Brad: Right. Bob: And then in that case, you’re going to want to follow what the doctor says when you’re starting to have chest pain, you’re going to want to go ahead and take it. Brad: Typically, there’s something you put under your tongue and usually you know how to take it. Bob: If you do not have nitroglycerin, what you should take is an aspirin. This is if you’re not allergic to aspirin or if you’ve been told not to take aspirin, then you can go ahead and take 325 mg, but I don’t want you to take water. It’s going to taste crummy, but I actually want you to put it in your mouth and you’re actually going to chew it and swallow it. That’s how you’re suppose to take it. Brad: Is there reasoning behind that? Bob: It’s going to thin the blood. This is straight from Dr. Oz, by the way. Brad: Can’t go wrong with Dr. Oz. Bob: Number four, beforehand, it’s really not a bad thing to know which hospitals in your area aren kind of geared towards heart or stroke. These are people who can give you medicine, like on a stroke, they can actually do a reverse thing process where they give you that PTM, I think, I don’t know the name of it. Brad: Yeah, we’ve got a video on that too. Bob: I’ll link that too. That’ll actually help reverse the consequences of a stroke. It opens up the blood vessels, Brad: Right, gets that blood flow going. Bob: So, you really want to know which ones provide that. The last couple things you want to do is if you know somebody that knows CPR, obviously you want to have them around. The defibrillator, the thing is, you were talking about these Brad, these are so easy to use now that a child can use them. If you’re in a public building, most public buildings have them now. Brad: They are clearly marked. A lot of them are voice instructional. Bob: In addition to all this, ideally what we’d like to see you do, is actually do the things that would avoid you having a heart attack in the first place. Try to take care of yourself, eat right and exercise. We can’t tell you how often that becomes the case. Brad: We should do a video on why aerobic exercises reduces a heart attack risk. We don’t have time now. We’re losing people left and right already, but what about the broken heart. Bob: Right, we can fix just about anything... Brad: except for a broken heart. But this is a good start. Bob: This is our start in trying to help fix that broken heart. 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