about me Penny has been practising massage since 1987 and Herbal Medicine since 1996. She has also taught massage since 1989. Penny's commitment to you is to make a difference to your health and wellbeing.

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Massage and herbal medicine news
Issue: Autumn 2016

In this newsletter I cover the following:

• A particular red plum which is excellent for your blood pressure, heart disease and obesity
• Antibiotic resistance and probiotics
• Massage under the NSW Workers' compensation system.
• Treating your hamstrings at home. 

Housekeeping

A reminder that the practice will be closed from Monday 7 March and will reopen on Monday 14 March.

Queen Garnet Plums

These fabulous dark red plums are in the shops  now and they have been bred for their high anthocyanin content. Anthocyanin is an anti oxidant and these plums contain 10X the recommended minimum average daily dose. This is  very important to help reduce blood pressure, heart disease and obesity. So, eat plenty of them today. 

Antibiotic Resistance

It is well known that antibiotic resistance is on the increase. In Australia 19 million prescriptions are written each year. And we have one of the highest rates of antibiotic use in the world! The worst example was reported in The Medical Journal of Australia in 2014 where doctors were prescibing antbiotics to new cases of acute bronchitis 90% of the time. 

So what are the negatives of antibiotic use?

• Antibiotics do kill off good bacteria in the gut.
• Recent studies have demonstrated that a single course of antibiotics can affect microbes in the gut for up to a year.
• Antibiotic use in babies up to a year old may increase the risk of subsequent eczema.
• They may also increase the risk of developing auto immune disease.

If antibiotics are needed and sometimes they are necessary it is worth considering taking a probiotic to mitigate the impact on the microflora in the gut, improve the effects of antibiotics and enhance mucosal immunity. 

So what can we use?

During antibiotic treatment - Use of Saccaromyces boulardii a yeast which prevents diarrhoea , thrush and Clostridium spp. associated with antibiotic usage.

After antibiotic treatment - Use a high potency broad spectrum probiotic with a minimum of 500 million to 1 billion organisms in it for 28 days. 

State Insurance Regulatory Authority(SIRA) - formerly NSW Work Cover

Some fantastic news! I am now able to treat  people referred to me under the NSW workers' compensation system . I can give five pre-approved  treatment sessions. If more are needed I can request them. 

Hamstring Tightness

If you have ever suffered from hamstring tightness and no amount of stretching seems to help, then try this little trick. 

• Firstly, see how far down you can touch your toes, knees straight. .Note the distance and how your back feels. 
• Using a tennis ball, rub it up and down slowly and firmly on the underside of the foot. Do this for 2 minutes.
• Retest yourself to see if you can go down further to touch your toes. How does the back feel too, does it feel looser? 
• Repeat with the other foot.

If you can go further, you have stretched your hamstrings in this indirect way. Let me know if this makes a difference. There are other ways of treating your hamstrings but this can be a very effective method that you can do yourself. 

Quote of the Quarter

' Treat each person in your life as if they are a new person you have just met. You never know what you will find out about them.'

Easter will be with us early this year, so enjoy your break away or with friends and of course Easter Eggs, a symbol for new beginnings.

KInd Regards

Penny Wade

Massage Therapist and Herbalist

02 9436-0306