There’s a well-known quip that goes “It’s not my willpower that I have problems with, it’s my won’t power.” Whether it’s dieting, quitting smoking, or just getting out of bed in the morning, our willpower is put to the test nearly every day. Some people seem to have more of it than others. So are there things you can do to improve your self-control? Experts suggest that there are.

There are many different reasons why people may choose to become vegetarian, ranging from personal issues to ethical or environmental concerns. Some people stop eating meat for health reasons, and others just don’t like the way it tastes. For meat-eaters who are primarily interested in becoming vegetarian to improve their overall health, what does the science say? Are vegetarians really any healthier than people who eat meat? 

Our need for phosphorus is almost as great as our need for calcium. In fact, phosphorus is the second-most abundant mineral in the human body after calcium, so it’s no wonder that it has a major part to play in achieving good health. It works with calcium to ensure strong bones and teeth, helps the kidneys to filter waste products, and plays a key role in how the body uses and stores its energy. On top of all that, phosphorus is also necessary for the production of DNA and RNA, and is needed to produce, maintain and repair our body’s cells.

Quite a few jobs require you to be on your feet all day. Cashiers, flight attendants, nurses, restaurant workers and retail salespeople—to name just a few—must spend long hours on their feet with little time for a break. This can cause a range of problems, including low back pain, knee pain, plantar fasciitis, sore feet, swollen ankles and bunions. Following are a few tips to help keep you comfortable while you are on your feet.

A back spasm can occur when the muscles supporting the spinal column, particularly those in the lower back, become overworked. If the muscles suddenly contract near the nerve roots around the spinal cord, this condition can be extremely painful. 

Mixed Martial Arts (MMA) is a full-contact sport that combines techniques from a range of different martial arts. It allows for such techniques as grappling and striking, combining the moves of boxing and wrestling, among others. The sport can involve techniques from Brazilian jiu-jitsu, wrestling, judo, karate, kickboxing, muai Thai and taekwondo.

If you suffer from back pain and are more than 10 pounds above your ideal weight, losing that weight may significantly reduce the amount of pain you are experiencing. According to Dr. Andre Panagos, co-director of The Spine Center at New York’s Presbyterian Hospital, “Although research on weight loss and back pain is minimal, in my clinic, every single person who loses a significant amount of weight finds their pain to be significantly improved.”

Our culture places a lot of value on maintaining our youth for as long as possible. But no matter how hard you try and how many products you buy that guarantee you a more youthful appearance, we all eventually grow old. But getting older does not necessarily mean that life is all downhill from the age of 30. There are considerable benefits—both mental and emotional—to be gained from growing older.

Back pain affects a majority of people at some point in their lives. Why is that? There’s little doubt among researchers and clinicians that much of the back pain we experience is related to our modern lifestyle. However, recent research suggests that low back pain may also have a genetic component. While it’s too early to know for sure, this discovery might one day have implications for how healthcare providers identify at-risk individuals and help them through both prevention and treatment.

In layman’s terms, cervical radiculopathy is known as a “pinched nerve” located in the area of the cervical vertebrae (the part of your spine around your neck). It involves damage to a nerve or the disturbance of nerve function, which can lead to pain and disability.

If you're not familiar with body weight exercising, you should be. No gym membership? No equipment? No time to travel to a place that has all the equipment? No problem!  With a body weight program, you don't need equipment or time to travel. All you need is enough floor space to do some simple exercises, using your body weight to provide resistance for your muscles.

Many research studies have confirmed the benefits of chiropractic care during pregnancy. The postural and hormonal changes a woman goes through during pregnancy are potentially debilitating, and chiropractic adjustments have been shown to alleviate many of the most common problems. Studies have indicated that regular chiropractic care during pregnancy helps to prevent breech deliveries, permits more unobstructed fetal development, and reduces birth trauma in the infant. For the mother, chiropractic adjustments often relieve back pain during pregnancy, reduce labor time and make delivery easier. 

Have you ever had a good night’s sleep interrupted by a stabbing pain through the calf of your leg? Have you ever been gripped by agonizing spasms in your lower back that threatened to knock you down? When a muscle tightens without you “telling it to” and just won't relax despite your best efforts, you are suffering a muscle cramp. Most muscles in your body are what are called "voluntary" muscles. These can usually be contracted and relaxed in order to control your arms, legs, fingers, neck, posture and more. Even the simplest movements are a highly synchronized sequence of muscle contractions and relaxations.

Although you may have heard the term before, you may not know exactly what a “shin splint” is. It's a common term for painful inflammation at the front of the tibia caused by strenuous activity. Medical professionals refer to it as medial tibial stress syndrome (MTSS). The following exercises will not only help to prevent shin splints or MTSS, but the first two exercises can also help relieve some of the agony for those who are already suffering from the syndrome. If you already have shin splints, use care and restraint in performing these exercises.

When someone decides to visit the doctor about musculoskeletal pain, back pain is the most common complaint. Sometimes back pain is the result of very specific trauma—a car accident or a slip-and-fall. Other times, however, its causes are much less obvious—cumulative years of poor posture, inactivity or bad nutrition, for example. The rest of this article looks at the role exercise can play in preventing and treating back pain.

The human body is a finely-tuned work of engineering. Throw something out of balance and the body fights to restore that balance. At the same time, the body is also flexible. It adapts to its environment and changes in response to the different types of repetitive stresses placed on it from day to day. That’s why your cardiovascular system becomes more efficient as you walk, run, swim or bike regularly. It’s also why your muscles gain size and endurance from certain types of workouts. 

One of the great challenges faced by many of us who live in four-season climates is how to stay active and get enough healthy exercise once the temperatures start dropping. When it's cold and snowy outside, few of us have the "Just Do It" mentality of Olympic marathoner Joan Benoit, as demonstrated in this famous Nike commercial: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CqXPw_6eYZw

Palpation is the most frequently used diagnostic technique in chiropractic care and is a clinical cornerstone of most physicians’ practice. It is a manual, non-invasive method of determining where a patient has structural or functional problems in the body. 

Did you know that fully a quarter of your body's bones are in your feet? These complex marvels of engineering by Mother Nature provide your body with a firm foundation, and are constantly in demand to help move the body from one place to another. With 19 muscles and 26 bones each, your feet are important for the balance and health of the entire body. 

Have you ever tried to blow up a balloon while someone was sitting on it? Obviously, this would not be an easy task. If you sit down and lean over, stretching your hands toward the floor in front of your feet, your breathing is far more difficult, because the two balloons in your chest—your lungs—cannot be filled as easily with air.