Posts Tagged strokes

What you need to know to get into massage therapy

If you think carving a career in massage therapy is as easy as knowing how to knead and press, you are wrong. Because of the increasing popularity of these clinics, the government has started to regulate the practice. Now, massage therapists need to get some kind of license in order to work. This of course is not true for all states. Laws on the industry are still not being enforced all over the country. This means that each state will have a different take on how the practice should be done.

Here are some of the things you may want to consider when starting out a career in massage therapy.

1.  Know the massage that you want to do

One of the main considerations that you have to look into before you start your massage therapy career is what massage to specialize in. Like the medical field, massage therapists now have specializations. Each will be identified to a particular field. This is brought on by the kind of training that they will take before they become full-pledged massage therapists. The best way to do this is to research on the different kinds of massages and see what you are most comfortable doing.

There are a lot of considerations when making this choice. One of the factors that may affect their decisions is what kind of clinical setting they want to work in. Working in spas and commercial massage clinics will only require you to be adept at massages that seek to relax the muscles.

This is of course easier to study and much easier to do compared to massages that are much more technical in nature, which is usually done in the clinical setting. However, the advantage with more technical and scientific massage strokes is higher pay and of course more professionalized.

2. Physical problems

Massage therapy involves a lot of physical work. Every day, you will be servicing the clients with a hard or soft massage as well as helping them lie back in the massage table and also in disrobing. It is a very hard job and can be physically taxing. Before you get into a career in massage therapy, make sure that you can take on the job and deal with its physical requirements.

3. Time to study

Because of the way the industry has been regulated by the state, becoming a massage therapist will involve first a lot of years of study. Some states in fact require therapists to have at least three years in specialization. If you need to earn money right away and don’t have time to study first, thisis not the career for you. You will be better off with jobs that do not really require a training certificate or a diploma.

4. Good with people

Another thing to consider when you want to have a career in massage therapy is communication with people. Remember that you will mostly be earning your money from the tips and not actually in the salary that the clinic gives you. For you to get big tips, you also need to be sociable and to communicative with people. Clients love therapists who talk to them and those who listen to their problems. If you are a little bit anti-social, this is not the career for you.

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What Are the Signs of a Stroke?

This year about 800,000 Americans will experience the signs of stroke, and will suffer a stroke of some kind. Stroke happens when blood supply to the brain is interrupted, resulting in damage to the brain tissue. One-third of stroke survivors will have another one within 5 years. Each year strokes claim about 160,000 lives in the United States. Of the 640,000 who survive, many will have long-term disabilities that will effect their quality of life, physical appearance, and their capacity to earn a living.

Early detection

Early detection of the signs of stroke and symptoms of stroke make it much more likely that you’ll survive and have fewer lasting effects.

The National Stroke Association uses an anagram to remind people to act “F.A.S.T.” if you think someone may be having a stroke. Here are some easy things you can do to tell:

F – FACE Ask the person to smile. If one side of the face droops, this is one of the signs of stroke.

A – ARMS Ask the person to raise both arms. Does one arm drift downward?

S – SPEECH Say a simple sentence and ask the person to repeat it. Are the words slurred and incomprehensible?

T – TIME If you can answer “yes”, to any of the above questions, you need to call 911 immediately. Every second counts during a stroke.

Recently there has been an email going around that is saying another one of the signs of stroke that you could look for in place of the “T” is to have the person stick out their TONGUE. If their tongue is ‘crooked’, if it goes to one side or the other, this is one of the signs of stroke.

While this is also likely true, as a test it is not as valuable than the other three because there is room for interpretation of the results. How ‘crooked’ is crooked? How far to one side does it have to go before you might say it’s definitely one of the signs of stroke? The other three test mentioned above are better to use (smile, raise both arms, speak a simple sentence) and are very easy to determine if there is a problem.

When stroke strikes

Even with quick intervention, strokes can result in long-term disability. Depending on what people can afford, stroke patients may decide to have rehab in a hospital or long-term care facility. Others may even get help in the comfort of their own homes. With therapy, patents can relearn and regain basic activities of daily living such as speaking, eating, getting dressed and walking.

Costs of care

As with all medical care, treatment for stroke patients can be very costly. The 2009 annual cost of stroke is expected to reach $68.9 billion according to the American Heart Association.

Not very many families today are ready to handle the high costs of health care. Especially in today’s economy, it’s very difficult to have extra expenses beyond your normal household budget. Not surprisingly, about half of all personal bankruptcies filed in the U.S. are attributed in part to medical bills.

Cost-saving solution

Recognizing the signs of stroke and the costs of stroke are critical. But you really shouldn’t stop there.

Supplemental health insurance policies provide financial support when an individual is diagnosed with a stroke. These policies, also known as critical illness insurance, provide cash that can be used however you want. A person can use money to cover medical bills, pay for living expenses, or pay for assisted care.

When the signs of stroke are caught early, the long-term effects can be alleviated. And when individuals prepare themselves with a critical illness plan, they gain the peace of mind that comes from securing their personal and financial future.

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Ischemic and Hemorrhagic Stroke

Hopefully you never had to endure a situation of someone close to you to suffer from transient ischemic attach (TIA), also known as mini stoke, or from a stroke. In any case, you should be familiar with both kinds of stroke as they both destroy brain tissue and can produce similar long-term effects. But there are important differences in what causes them and in the symptoms that tell you which kind of stroke is happening.

Ischemic Stroke:

According to statistics, 80 percent of strokes belong to the ischemic stroke kind. These mini-strokes occur when blood flow to the brain is blocked by plaque-clogged arteries or by blood clots. This means that blood is not circulating properly inside the brain causing brain cells to die if even for a few minutes no oxygen is transmitted to them via the blood.

- Symptoms: Sudden numbness or weakness, especially on one side of the body; difficulty speaking or understanding speech; trouble seeing in one or both eyes; dizziness and a sudden loss of balance; falling in and out of consciousness; chest pain and shortness of breath. These last three symptoms are less-brain-centered and are more commonly experienced by women.

Hemorrhagic Stroke:

These brain hemorrhages happen when a blood vessel in the brain bursts, spilling blood into the surrounding tissue. There are various causes of these bursts. The most frequent is the rupture of an aneurysm, a weak spot on the wall of an artery that happens to be in your brain-aneurysms can occur elsewhere in the body, too. Experts point out that women are twice as likely as men to have an aneurysm in the brain and are more likely to have multiple aneurysms than men. Two other causes for bleeding in the brain are: hypertension, which can create enough pressure to break an artery wall, and arteriovenous malformation (AVM) in the brain. This is a snarl of defective blood vessels and capillaries whose thin walls are prone to rupture.

- Symptoms: A sudden violent headache, as if cracking a fault like through the brain’s delicate architecture. The patient may also suffer from blurred vision or nausea.

If you ever suspect you might be having a TIA or stroke or believe you are witnessing someone else having one, make sure 911 (or your local emergency unit) be called immediately. Tell the dispatcher that, if possible, you want to be transported to a hospital with a stroke center. Do not attempt to drive to the emergency room yourself. Stroke patients who arrive at the hospital by ambulance are evaluated sooner by an ER physician, get the necessary testing and are admitted to the hospital or intensive-care unit more frequently than those who arrive by taxi or car. Most importantly, bring someone prepared to advocate for you or the patient. Be prepared by being informed and act fast!

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