WHAT MAKES SPINNING CLASS DIFFERENT FROM OTHER GROUP EXERCISE CLASSES?

Top-notch instructors, invigorating music and visualization come together to make Spinning class both fun and effective. If you've ever left a group exercise class feeling frustrated, you'll appreciate that there are no complicated moves to learn with the Spinning program. Regardless of how fit, flexible or coordinated you are, you'll get a great workout. Simply hop on your bike, set the resistance to the level that's right for you, and let your instructor guide you through an incredible ride.

DEHYDRATION

Water is the essence of life. It is the most important nutrient in our bodies, making up roughly 70 percent of our muscle and brain tissue. Only oxygen is craved by the body more than water.

Unfortunately, most people do not consume sufficient water every day to meet their bodies' most basic requirements, leaving them dehydrated. Dehydration itself is responsible for a wide range of common ailments experienced by just about everyone in today's busy, fast-paced world, including headache and fatigue.

When we breathe, we lose moisture to the air every time we exhale - as much as two cups a day! Furthermore, our bodies lose water through evaporation from the surface of our skin even without rigorous exercise, and of course we also pass water in our urine. During the course of an average day, a healthy adult can lose eight to 10 cups of water. Add in exercise, and this number rises considerably.

If we fail to replenish the water we lose through these natural processes, we set off a physiological reaction that can have serious health effects. The following is the natural progression of dehydration and its effects on the body (symptoms):

Mild

• because your kidneys will begin to conserve water, your urine will become concentrated and will be amber colored as opposed to a normal light-tinted yellow color.
• constipation and/or bloating may be noticed
• dry skin, mucous membranes, and lips
• thirst, often extreme
• flushed face

Moderate

• fatigue
• sunken eyes or sunken fontanels (soft spot on head) in infants
• lack of tears in crying infant
• "doughy" skin that doesn't bounce back when pinched
• dizziness / vertigo / lightheadedness
• up to 30% decline in physical labor capacity, muscle cramping
• headache
• cold hands and feet
• problems concentrating
• drowsiness
• fainting
• impatience and extreme irritability
• major reduction in urine production

Severe

• weak irregular heart beat (often racing) and low blood pressure
• rapid breathing
• failure of body's heat regulation systems (sweating, for example)
• confusion
• vomiting and/or diarrhea
• shock, collapse or unconsciousness
• seizures
• coma and death

To prevent dehydration, experts recommend that everyone drink at least six to eight glasses of water a day.

According to nutritionists, the best way to fight the heat and the cold is to drink plenty of water.

Keeping Cool in the Heat

• Add two glasses a day to your 8-glass minimum. Also, keep in mind that heavy perspiration from physical activity can result in the loss of 12, 14 or even 16 glasses of water per day!
  
  
• Drink before you get thirsty. If you wait until you're thirsty, you're already slightly dehydrated. Thirst is an unreliable indicator of your hydration needs.
  
  
• Reduce your physical activity level if it is overly hot.
  
  
• Monitor infants, children, and the elderly. In addition to being more susceptible to dehydration, they are also often unable to express their thirst or to hydrate themselves.
  
  
• Pregnant women need to drink more water. They need to accommodate the needs of the fetus and the fluid losses due to increased heat production and perspiration. Lactating women need to increase water intake to replace fluid lost through nursing.
  
  
• Don't count beverages containing caffeine or alcohol toward your 8 glasses! Caffeine and alcohol dehydrate your body, so you need to compensate for them. Drink an extra glass of water for each cup of regular coffee or tea, and for each glass of an alcoholic beverage that you drink.

ALTERNATIVE METHOD

I found this last night and I thought its good to share this with everbody. This is an alternative way to determine your BMI. I think this is more accurate than the chart I posted earlier. Simply draw a line that connects your height and your weight to get your BMI.

GUYS... WHICH ONE ARE YOU?

Guys out there, which one are you? OK OK to be fair, let me be the one to be the first to answer my own question. I am currently the third one from the left. My quest is at least to be the second one on the left. No offence guys. Just a a little guideline and a gentle reminder for us to lead a healthy life.

FOR THE LADIES... WHICH ONE ARE YOU?

No offence OK. Just like to share. Hopefully this can be considered as a WAKE UP CALL for those who are out of shape. My wife's BMI is currently around 25 and now (commencing this morning) she is on her MISSION to shed that extra 5kg.

KIDNEY STONE

TO ALL MY STUDENTS, SINCE WE ARE CURRENTLY DOING THIS TOPIC, READ THIS FOR YOUR EXTRA INFORMATION:

If you have a kidney stone, you may already know how painful it can be. Most kidney stones pass out of the body without help from a doctor. But sometimes a stone will not just go away. It may even get larger. Your doctor can help.

You should call a doctor when you have

• extreme pain in your back or side that will not go away
• blood in your urine
• fever and chills
• vomiting
• urine that smells bad or looks cloudy
• a burning feeling when you urinate

What is a kidney stone?

• A kidney stone is a solid piece of material that forms in the kidney out of substances in the urine.

• A stone may stay in the kidney or break loose and travel down the urinary tract. A small stone may pass all the way out of the body without causing too much pain.

• A larger stone may get stuck in a ureter, the bladder, or the urethra. A problem stone can block the flow of urine and cause great pain.

Are all kidney stones alike?

No. There are four major types of kidney stones.

• The most common type of stone contains calcium. Calcium is a normal part of a healthy diet.
  
  Calcium that is not used by the bones and muscles goes to the kidneys. In most people, the kidneys flush out the extra calcium with the rest of the urine. People who have calcium stones keep the calcium in their kidneys.
  
  The calcium that stays behind joins with other waste products to form a stone.
  
  
• A struvite stone may form after an infection in the urinary system. These stones contain the mineral magnesium and the waste product ammonia.
  
  
• A uric acid stone may form when there is too much acid in the urine. If you tend to form uric acid stones, you may need to cut back on the amount of meat you eat.
  
  
• Cystine stones are rare. Cystine is one of the building blocks that make up muscles, nerves, and other parts of the body. Cystine can build up in the urine to form a stone. The disease that causes cystine stones runs in families.

What do kidney stones look like?

Kidney stones may be as small as a grain of sand or as large as a pearl. Some stones are even as big as golf balls. Stones may be smooth or jagged. They are usually yellow or brown.

What can my doctor do about a problem stone?

If you have a stone that will not pass by itself, your doctor may need to take steps to get rid of it. In the past, the only way to remove a problem stone was through surgery.

Now, doctors have new ways to remove problem stones. The following sections describe a few of these methods.

Shock Waves

Your doctor can use a machine to send shock waves directly to the kidney stone. The shock waves break a large stone into small stones that will pass through your urinary system with your urine.

Two types of shock wave machines exist. With one machine, you sit in a tub of water. With the other type of machine, you lie on a table.

The full name for this method is extracorporeal shockwave lithotripsy. Doctors often call it ESWL for short. Lithotripsy is a Greek word that means stone crushing.

Tunnel Surgery

In this method, the doctor makes a small cut into the patient's back and makes a narrow tunnel through the skin to the stone inside the kidney. With a special instrument that goes through the tunnel, the doctor can find the stone and remove it. The technical name for this method is percutaneous nephrolithotomy.

Ureteroscope

A ureteroscope looks like a long wire. The doctor inserts it into the patient's urethra, passes it up through the bladder, and directs it to the ureter where the stone is located. The ureteroscope has a camera that allows the doctor to see the stone. A cage is used to catch the stone and pull it out, or the doctor may destroy it with a device inserted through the ureteroscope.

Why do I need to know the kind of stone?

• The therapy your doctor gives you depends on the type of stone you have. For example, a medicine that helps prevent calcium stones will not work if you have a struvite stone.

• The diet changes that help prevent uric acid stones may have no effect on calcium stones. Therefore, careful analysis of the stone will help guide your treatment.

What can I do to avoid more stones?

• Drink more water. Try to drink 12 full glasses of water a day. Drinking lots of water helps to flush away the substances that form stones in the kidneys.

• You can also drink ginger ale, lemon-lime sodas, and fruit juices. But water is best. Limit your coffee, tea, and cola to one or two cups a day because the caffeine may cause you to lose fluid too quickly.

• Your doctor may ask you to eat more of some foods and to cut back on other foods. For example, if you have a uric acid stone, your doctor may ask you to eat less meat, because meat breaks down to make uric acid.

MALE BREAST CANCER

The following article is something that many male readers are not aware of. I have just read this so I felt that I must share this with you all male readers out there. So what is Male Breast Cancer?

Male breast cancer is a disease in which malignant (cancer) cells form in the tissues of the breast.

Breast cancer may occur in men. Men at any age may develop breast cancer, but it is usually detected (found) in men between 60 and 70 years of age. Male breast cancer makes up less than 1% of all cases of breast cancer.

The following types of breast cancer are found in men:

• Infiltrating ductal carcinoma: Cancer that has spread beyond the cells lining ducts in the breast. Most men with breast cancer have this type of cancer.

• Ductal carcinoma in situ: Abnormal cells that are found in the lining of a duct; also called intraductal carcinoma.

• Inflammatory breast cancer: A type of cancer in which the breast looks red and swollen and feels warm.

• Paget’s disease of the nipple: A tumor that has grown from ducts beneath the nipple onto the surface of the nipple.

Lobular carcinoma in situ (abnormal cells found in one of the lobes or sections of the breast), which sometimes occurs in women, has not been seen in men.

Risk factors for breast cancer in men may include the following:

• Exposure to radiation.
• Having a disease related to high levels of estrogen in the body, such as cirrhosis (liver disease) or Klinefelter’s syndrome (a genetic disorder).
• Having several female relatives who have had breast cancer, especially relatives who have an alteration of the BRCA2 gene.

Tests that examine the breasts are used to detect (find) and diagnose breast cancer in men.

A doctor should be seen if changes in the breasts are noticed. Typically, men with breast cancer have lumps that can be felt. A biopsy can be done to check for cancer. The following are different types of biopsies:

• Needle biopsy or fine-needle aspiration biopsy: The removal of fluid or tissue with a very thin needle for examination under a microscope.
• Core biopsy: The removal of a tissue sample with a wide needle for examination under a microscope.
• Excisional biopsy: A surgical procedure in which an entire lump or suspicious area is removed for diagnosis; the tissue is then examined under a microscope.

Survival for men with breast cancer is similar to that for women with breast cancer when their stage at diagnosis is the same. Breast cancer in men, however, is often diagnosed at a later stage. Cancer found at a later stage may be less likely to be cured.

The treatment options and prognosis (chance of recovery) depend on the stage of the cancer (whether it is in the breast only or has spread to other places in the body), the type of breast cancer, certain characteristics of the cancer cells, whether the cancer is found in the other breast, and the patient’s age and general health.

A REMINDER FOR MYSELF

The following charts are just to remind myself that I am yet to achieve my target healthy weight: Currently I am still in the overweight category (BMI = 30, three months ago it was 34, target BMI = 24) despite all the workouts. I am getting there.............

GUIDELINES FOR SELECTING YOUR HEART RATE EXERCISE ZONE

There are five basic heart rate exercise zones. Simply select a zone that is the fitness goal you want to achieve during a particular exercise. When you begin your exercise, always start at a lower zone and allow your body to warm up and prepare to work in your target exercise zone. For example, you can "warm up" in the Light Exercise zone, spend the majority of your exercise in the Weight Management zone, and then spend a bit of time in the Aerobic Base Building zone. The intensity of Zones 4 and 5 is demanding enough that exercise in these zones should be done for limited intervals of a workout and with the guidance of qualified medical or coaching professional.



For example, if you want to Lose Weight/Burn Fat: do your favorite exercise at 60%-70% of your maximum heart rate, based on your age, for at least 30 minutes a day, three times a week. To program your Timex Digital Heart Rate Monitor to put you in your Ideal Weight Management Zone, use the Target Heart Rate Zone Chart.

Select which level of condition represents your current physical condition and locate the Lower and Upper Heart Rate Zones for your age from the Target Heart Rate Zone Chart. See Operating the Digital Sportswatch to program your Lower and Upper Heart Rate Zone into your Timex Digital Heart Rate Monitor.



The latest findings on fitness show anyone at any age can get fit/stay fit without being fanatic. For the "moderate" exerciser, staying fit can be as simple as:

* Exercise 3 Times a Week
* Exercise 30-45 Minutes Each Time
* Exercise in Your Appropriate Target Heart Rate Zone

THE SKIN

STUDENTS!!!

FOR OUR LESSON IN TWO WEEKS TO COME. PLEASE READ:

You might be surprised to find out it's the skin, which you might not think of as an organ. No matter how you think of it, your skin is very important. It covers and protects everything inside your body. Without skin, people's muscles, bones, and organs would be hanging out all over the place. Skin holds everything together. It also:

• protects our bodies from entry of harmful micro-organisms
• helps keep our bodies at just the right temperature
• allows us to have the sense of touch

The Epidermis
The skin is made up of three layers, each with its own important parts. The layer on the outside is called the epidermis. The epidermis is the part of your skin you can see.

Look down at your hands for a minute. Even though you can't see anything happening, your epidermis is hard at work. At the bottom of the epidermis, new skin cells are forming.

When the cells are ready, they start moving toward the top of your epidermis. This trip takes about 2 weeks to a month. As newer cells continue to move up, older cells near the top die and rise to the surface of your skin. What you see on your hands are really dead skin cells.

These old cells are tough and strong, just right for covering your body and protecting it. But they only stick around for a little while. Soon, they'll flake off. Though you can't see it happening, every minute of the day we lose about 30,000 to 40,000 dead skin cells off the surface of our skin.

So just in the time it took you to read this far, you've probably lost about 40,000 cells. That's almost 9 pounds (4 kilograms) of cells every year! But don't think your skin might wear out someday. Your epidermis is always making new skin cells that rise to the top to replace the old ones. Most of the cells in your epidermis (95%) work to make new skin cells.

And what about the other 5%? They make a substance called melanin. Melanin gives skin its color. The darker your skin is, the more melanin you have. When you go out into the sun, these cells make extra melanin to protect you from getting burned by the sun's ultraviolet, or UV, rays.

That's why your skin gets tan if you spend a lot of time in the sun. But even though melanin is mighty, it can't shield you all by itself. You'll want to wear sunscreen and protective clothing, such as a hat, to prevent painful sunburns. Protecting your skin now also can help prevent skin cancer when you get older.

The Dermis Is Under the Epidermis
The next layer down is the dermis. You can't see your dermis because it's hidden under your epidermis. The dermis contains nerve endings, blood vessels, oil glands, and sweat glands. It also contains collagen and elastin, which are tough and stretchy.

The nerve endings in your dermis tell you how things feel when you touch them. They work with your brain and nervous system, so that your brain gets the message about what you're touching. Is it the soft fur of a cat or the rough surface of your skateboard?

Sometimes what you feel is dangerous, so the nerve endings work with your muscles to keep you from getting hurt. If you touch something hot, the nerve endings in your dermis respond right away: "Ouch! That's hot!" The nerves quickly send this message to the brain or spinal cord, which then immediately commands the muscles to take your hand away. This all happens in a split second, without you ever thinking about it.

Your dermis is also full of tiny blood vessels. These keep your skin cells healthy by bringing them the oxygen and nutrients they need and by taking away waste. These blood vessels are hard to see in kids, but you might get a better look if you check out your grandparents' skin. As the dermis gets older, it gets thinner and easier to see through.

The dermis is home to the oil glands, too. These are also called sebaceous glands, and they are always producing sebum. Sebum is your skin's own natural oil. It rises to the surface of your epidermis to keep your skin lubricated and protected. It also makes your skin waterproof - as long as sebum's on the scene, your skin won't absorb water and get soggy.

You also have sweat glands on your epidermis. Even though you can't feel it, you actually sweat a tiny bit all the time. The sweat comes up through pores, tiny holes in the skin that allow it to escape. When the sebum meets the sweat, they form a protective film that's a bit sticky.

An easy way to see this film in action is to pick up a pin with your fingers. Then wash your hands well with soap and water and dry them off completely. Now try to pick up that pin again. It won't be so easy because your sticky layer is gone! Don't worry - it will be back soon, as your sebaceous and sweat glands create more sticky stuff.

Subcutaneous Layer
It is made mostly of fat and helps your body stay warm and absorb shocks, like if you bang into something or fall down. The subcutaneous layer also helps hold your skin to all the tissues underneath it.

This layer is where you'll find the start of hair, too. Each hair on your body grows out of a tiny tube in the skin called a follicle. Every follicle has its roots way down in the subcutaneous layer and continues up through the dermis.

You have hair follicles all over your body, except on your lips, the palms of your hands, and the soles of your feet. And you have more hair follicles in some places than in others - there are more than 100,000 follicles on your head alone!

Your hair follicles rely on your sebaceous glands to bring on the shine. Connected to each follicle in the dermis layer is a tiny sebaceous gland that releases sebum onto the hair. This lightly coats the hair with oil, giving it some shine and a little waterproofing.

Skin Can Warm and Cool You
Your skin can help if you're feeling too hot or too cold. Your blood vessels, hair, and sweat glands cooperate to keep your body at just the right temperature. If you were to run around in the heat, you could get overheated. If you play outside when it's cold, your inner temperature could drop. Either way, your skin can help.

Your body is pretty smart. It knows how to keep your temperature right around 37 degrees Celsius to keep you and your cells healthy. Your skin can respond to messages sent out by your hypothalamus, the brain's inner thermometer. If you've been running around on a hot day, your blood vessels get the signal from the hypothalamus to release some of your body's heat. They do this by bringing warm blood closer to the surface of your skin. That's why you sometimes get a red face when you run around.

To cool you down, sweat glands also swing into action by making lots of sweat to release body heat into the air. The hotter you are, the more sweat your glands make! Once the sweat hits the air, it evaporates off your skin, and you cool down.

What about when you're ice-skating or sledding? When you're cold, your blood vessels keep your body from losing heat by narrowing as much as possible and keeping the warm blood away from the skin's surface. You might notice tiny bumps on your skin. Most kids call these goosebumps, but the fancy name for them is the pilomotor reflex. The reflex makes special tiny muscles called the erector pili muscles pull on your hairs so they stand up very straight.

CILIATED CELLS AND GOBLET CELLS

To all my students, remember the ciliated cells and the goblet cells? These are cells found lining the air passageway in the human respiratory system. Now, can you identify the ciliated cells, the goblet cells and the cilia?

ACHILLES TENDON

A rupture to the Achilles tendon is a very common injury in male athletes Who? Most common for footballers, basketball players, tennis players badminton players. How? Usually due to heavy landing on the fall and through wear and tear. A tendon is a band or cord of dense fibrous tissue at the end of a muscle which attaches it to a bone. The Achilles tendon is what attaches your calf muscles to your heel. What kind of pain? Intense pain just above the heel. People often think they have been hit from behind. Swelling and bruising in leg and foot. Treatment? Doctor will either put you in cast for 4-10 weeks or operate and provide walking boot. Recovery? Around three to four months.

SMOKING RELATED DISEASE 3: LUNG CANCER

Lung cancer is the most common cause of death from cancer in both men and women. It occurs most commonly between the ages of 45 and 70. Lung cancer is more common in women now than in the past because more women are smoking cigarettes.

Lung cancer that originates in the cells of the lungs is called primary lung cancer. However, cancer may also spread (metastasize) to the lung from other parts of the body. Metastatic cancers spread to the lungs most commonly from the breast, colon, prostate, kidney, thyroid gland, stomach, cervix, rectum, testis, bone, and skin (melanoma).

More than 90% of primary lung cancers start in the bronchi. Such lung cancer is called bronchogenic carcinoma. The specific types of lung cancer are small cell (oat cell) carcinoma, squamous cell carcinoma, large cell carcinoma, and adenocarcinoma. The last three types of lung cancer are often referred to as nonsmall cell lung cancers.

Alveolar cell carcinoma (a subtype of adenocarcinoma) originates in the small air sacs of the lung (alveoli). Although alveolar cell carcinoma can occur at a single site, it often develops simultaneously in more than one area of the lung.

Less common lung tumors are bronchial carcinoid (which may be cancerous or noncancerous), chondromatous hamartoma (noncancerous), and sarcoma (cancerous). Lymphoma is a cancer of the lymphatic system. It may start in the lungs or spread to them.

Causes:

• Cigarette smoking is the cause of about 90% of lung cancer cases in men and about 80% of cases in women. The greater the quantity and duration of smoking, the greater the risk of developing lung cancer. About 10 to 12% of all smokers eventually develop lung cancer.

• A small proportion of lung cancers (about 10% in men and about 5% in women) are caused by substances encountered or breathed in at work. Working with asbestos, radiation, arsenic, chromates, nickel, chloromethyl ethers, mustard gas, and coke-oven emissions has been linked with lung cancer. The risk of contracting lung cancer is greater in people who are exposed to these substances and who also smoke cigarettes. Air pollution causes about 1% of lung cancer cases. Exposure to radon gas in the home causes lung cancer in less than 1% of cases. Occasionally, lung cancers, especially adenocarcinoma and alveolar cell carcinoma, develop in people whose lungs have been scarred by other lung diseases, such as tuberculosis and fibrosis.

SMOKING RELATED DISEASE 2: EMPHYSEMA

Emphysema is a chronic (long-term) lung disease that can get worse over time. It is usually caused by smoking. Having emphysema means some of the air sacs in your lungs are damaged, making it hard to breathe.

What causes emphysema?

Emphysema can be caused by one or a combination of the following:

• Cigarette smoking: Most cases of emphsyema are caused by cigarette smoking. Cigarette smoke reaches deep into the lungs and causes permanent damage. If you have emphysema from cigarettes, the best way to stop your lung damage is to quit smoking as soon as possible. It's never too late to quit smoking.

• Alpha-1 Antitrypsin deficiency: Some people have emphsyema because of a rare genetic disorder called Alpha-1 Antitrypsin deficiency. People with Alpha-1 are missing an enzyme that protects their lungs. Some people with Alpha-1 deficiency get emphysema without ever having smoked. Other people get emphsyema from the combination of smoking and having Alpha-1 deficiency.

• Air pollution: There is some evidence that air pollution can contribute to people getting emphysema, especially if the person also smokes.

Signs and symptoms of emphysema

• Breathlessness
  
• A barrel-shaped chest
• Wheezing
• Feeling tired (fatigue)
• Losing weight without trying

People might think that breathlessness is a normal sign of aging, but it is not. If you have these signs and symptoms, see your doctor. Ask for spirometry, a simple test that measures how much air you move out of your lungs.

These signs and symptoms will not go away over time, they will get worse. The sooner you see the doctor, the sooner you can find out how to feel better.

SMOKING RELATED DISEASE 1: BRONCHITIS

Chronic Bronchitis involves an inflammation of the bronchi (the large airway passages, or bronchioles, connecting each lung to the trachea), and excessive production of sputum (mucus). The inflammation makes it very difficult to get rid of sputum, and the airways become progressively blocked. Since the diameter of the air passage way is smaller than it should be, less air reaches the lungs and you tend to breath heavier in order to get as much air as possible into you lungs (breathlessness). In addition to this, due to the overproduction of mucus, you tend to cough (this is the way your body respond in order to get rid of the mucus out of the passage way). Heavy coughing may damage your alveoli (air sacs) which may lead to another smoking related disease, emphysema.

STRETCHING

These are some of the stretches I practice for relieving my back pain.

HANDS OFF THESE...

They sure are IRRESISTABLE but remember, they require many hours of workout to burn into Energy. So, to all health concious bloggers (a reminder to me too), hands off these ok....

GOOD FOR ME

Finally today, after about a month, my weight hit the 82kg mark on the scale after a frustrating plateau at 83kg. 10kg more to be shed. Well...good for me. I guess the Oprah's "Stop eating after 6pm" really works. To me....keep up the good work. Got to go to the gym now................................

BACK PAIN

I have been suffering this since early 2006. Its killing me (literally speaking). Sometimes I teases my wife by saying: "If you experiences this back pain, you wish you want to give birth every year". Meaning to say that my back pain is more severe than labour pain. Of course it is not actually the case. I know labour pain is beyond comparison.

The pain starts with my neck. It gradually spreads to the shoulder and then along the spine down to the back of my waist. I have tried massages (traditional and reflexology) but the relief was only temporary. Sometimes in October, I could not bear it anymore that I finally went to the hospital for a check up. The doctor gave me an X-ray and according to her there is nothing wrong with my back bone or whatsoever. She said that there was nothing that she can do and gave me painkillers. So frustrating.

My quest for 2006 was actually to lose weight after the drastic gain in 2005. Somehow this back pain slowed down my progress. I could not do thing that I love the most: RUNNING. However I managed to lose 7kg by August, gained 2kg during the recent festive season(September/October), losing 2kg after the festive season. By end of November, my weight was 83kg (still about 10kg more to be shed).

Early December, I saw an advertisment posted by LEGACY WELLNESS (Muara) in the paper (Borneo Bulletin) about "Back pain". I gave it a try and after five treatments I am now almost recovered. The pain in the neck, shoulder and along the spine are now diminishing. But the pain at the back of my waist is still there (though better than before).

The treatment was a combination of acupuncture (using electrodes), cupping and bio massage. All these takes about one hour 15 mins per session and costs me B$40 per session. According to the doctor, the acupuncture was done to unblock blood clotting in the blood vessels supplying nutrients to the muscles (hence due to this blockage, it leads to muscle spasm/stiffness - thus the pain). Cupping (a very painful treatment) was done to improve blood circulation. Bio massage is totally the opposite of cupping, its relaxing.

Proper stretching also helps (as advised by the gym instructor - thanks Tony). Actually stretching is something that I took lightly before. Now stretching before and after my workout is a must. I have been doing it religiously (even at home while watching TV).

Since my recovery (well! almost), I have started running again..............Hopefully the quest will be materialised soon..............................(I am actually giving myself three months)