Shin Splints: What to Do About Them!

One of the most common injuries associated with figure or endurance training is shin splints. The pain will stop your cardio program in its tracks. Even one simple step; produces a feeling of broken glass rubbing in your shins. Shin splints are simple to diagnose and even more simple to treat.

The most common cause of shin splints is a weakening and a drop in your foots' arch. Once the foot arch drops, the shin muscle, called the Tibalis Anterior and its' tendon will stretch and tear. This results in the loss of normal blood supply and the tendon will start to inflame and after a couple of weeks, results in painful degeneration. That is all it takes and you will have significant sharp bites in the front of your shin when you walk or run.

A simple test - You can do a simple test to determine if a weak arch is the cause of your shin splints.

Ask: Does it hurt more with or without shoes?
If The Answer Is: More pain without shoes, then you are likely a candidate

Step One : Picking out the right shoe

It sounds simple, but getting the right shoe is about as difficult as finding the right person to be your mate for life. Various shoe categories exist, since everyone's feet and gait are different. This helps provide you with the proper type of shoe. Most shoes if you are running about 30 miles a week, will last you about two months, however, there are some ways to stretch that time.

Step Two: Orthotics

Orthotics fit inside of your shoe to provide a platform for your foot to rest in, while in the shoe. Ha, you say, "My shoes have an arch support!" Most manufactures (99.9%) spend a whole .50 cents on their insoles.

Need I say more?!

Additional Suggestions :

* Try the Towel Lift!

Take a towel and sit on a chair with your feet on a smooth surface. Place the towel on the ground and use your toes to grip the towel and practice lifting it up. Repeat about 100 times. This will help develop the supportive muscles in the bottom of your foot and the front of your shin.

After performing this function, move to the stairs and place your heel on the stair, then allow your foot to point down, while maintaining pressure on your heel. This will allow your shins to stretch. Hold for 30 seconds and repeat 5 times.

* Try switching up your cardio. Make a cardio program that allows you to use lower impact equipment. An example is, 5 minutes of recumbent bike, 5 minutes of stair climber and 10 minutes of elliptical.

* Do not use NSAID's after two weeks, it just complicates the problem of healing.

(What Is A NSAID? A nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drug, such as aspirin or ibuprofen)

* Use topical pain killers like Icy Hot, Medic Ice, Bio Freeze on the shins prior to exercise.

* See a physician for help, if you don't get better in a couple of weeks, find a new physician.

Eat lots of sulfur content foods, Onion, Garlic, etc.

Shoe Information:

There are three groups of running shoes; cushioned, stability and motion control.

Cushioned: Obviously provides maximal shock absorption, not much support.
Stability: Very strong mid-sole material, best choice if you weigh over 200 pounds for a male or 150 for female.
Motion Control: Very firm shoe, best if you have wider feet or flat feet.

* Most shoes don't last longer than 1000km.

* To tell if your shoes are worn out, look at the mid-sole. If there are two or more creases over top of each other, then your shoe has likely lost over 50% of its ability to support your foot from running.

* Don't use your running shoes to train calves, since this breaks them down too quickly.

* If you weigh over 250 lbs, most shoes will last no longer than 60 days without breaking down.

Visit dieting site for more information.


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Excel Stair Lift - 3 Features That Are Lessor Known

Part of the process of finding a stair lift is determining which safety features and aesthetics best meets your needs. The Excel stair lift series is one of the top selling lifts in the market and it's no wonder. This home elevator has many features that stand out but there are three that sometimes get glossed over.

These three lessor known features will keep you and others safe, make transport easier for all kinds of disabilities, and truly make the lift a part of your home.

Excel stair-lifts are equipped with multiple safety features. One of these features are safety sensors. These sensors detect objects that are on the stairs and in the way and will stop the lift until the object is moved. So if you have objects dropped on the stairway, a loving pet that wants in your lap, or a toddler that's fascinated with the whole machine you won't have to worry about running into or over them.

Stair lifts are designed for people who are still somewhat mobile but unable to climb steps. What about if other parts of your body are immobile as sometimes happens after a stroke. The controls on the Excel are fairly versatile. Control choices range from a remote control that others can use, to a joystick that you nudge the direction you want to go to push button controls on the seat. You can have the controls on either side therefore utilizing your strongest side if need be.

Who wants some gawky looking piece of equipment lined up and down your steps? With choices in colors and materials and a design that is stylish you can have your lift looking as if it was designed as part of the home.

No one want to have to use a stairlift. But with safety features, versatile control and interior décor options offered from the Excel line it makes owning and using one more bearable.

Visit http://www.stairliftinfo.info to learn more about if a stair lift is for you. You'll find many other tips and advice on straight stair lifts, curved lifts, and new and used lifts, too.

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Angle Roll Bending Machine Information for Buyers

When it comes to metal fabrication equipment, you may have heard of an angle roll bending machine. Some may refer to it as a section bending machine, but its purpose is still the same - form raw pieces of metal into desired shapes and sizes.

If you have ever seen an angle roll bending machine, you would agree that most are constructed in a vertical steel frame. It is common that the bending portion of the machine is located on one side, with the power and drive of the machine on the opposite side.

This writing is intended to educate and help the purchaser of Angle Bending Machines to ask the right questions when considering a purchase.

Power source:

Small units are powered by an electric motor with a reducer. The power transmission is accomplished by gear trains and or chains / sprockets combinations. These are units used in small job shops and rod iron fabricating establishments. The new generation of the section bending machines is powered by hydraulic systems. These are used for bending from the smallest bars to very large wide flanged structural beams.

The large hydraulic units have a double pump hydraulic system, with one providing the flow for the rotation of the rolls and the other for the extension and retraction of hydraulic cylinders attached to arms carrying the bending rolls.

Some designs use one main hydraulic motor, usually mounted to an epicyclical in-line reduction gear, which imparts rotation to all three rolls. Another variation is each roll having its individual hydraulic motor/ reduction box combination directly driving it.

The Bending Process:

There are some terms used in the industry describing the capacities of Section Bending Machines and the process used, which the purchaser should become familiar with.

Square and rectangular rods, round rods, square and rectangular tubing, round tubing, standard pipe, equal leg and unequal leg angles, "C" and "MC" channel, "S" and "WF" beams, "T" bars …these are sections which can be rolled on section bending machines.

"Leg out" means the leg of a section, like in angles will stick outward from the ring formed in a radial direction. "Leg in" means the leg of a section, like in angles will stick inward from the ring formed in a radial direction toward the center of the ring. "Leg out" is also known as "Easy way" and "Leg in "Hard way" There are exceptions to this terminology when it comes to channels, whereby one can bend a channel leg in, leg out and the hard way when bent on its side.

Bending of round sections, pipes and round tubing require special tooling other than what is usually provided standard with section bending machines. In special cases with square and rectangular tubing where the wall thickness is low…the manufacturer should be consulted as to whether special all section enveloping tooling is required to avoid the section from collapsing under the bending forces.

Bending Channels, S beams and WF beams the hard way, present a special challenge because the force of bending would sometimes collapse the web connecting the flanges. Most manufacturers of heavy section bending machines offer what is called a "Traction Tool", which holds the section back and supports the web so as to avoid collapse.

Machine Capacity:

Each section has what is known as a "Section Modulus". This value is a measure of the resistance a section displays to bending. It is the quotient of the sections Moment of Inertia about the axis passing through its center of gravity, which coincides with the neutral axis of the section and the furthest distance on the section from that neutral axis. In symmetric sections bending about the neutral axis both ways will give the same section modulus, however in non symmetric sections, the section moduli are different for calculations of leg in and leg out bending.

Depending on the design of the machine, each machine will have a certain capacity of bending. Thus the pressure exerted on the machine members will dictate the limit, before rendering the deflections the members sustain unacceptable or the wear and tear caused on the machine would be excessive. This limit is what is specified as W or S (Section Modulus Capacity) in in3 or cm3.

In general catalogs and brochures describing section bending machines would give the maximum section sizes a machine can bend of each type of structural or bar section. With a minimum diameter the machine can bend them to. By rule of thumb and practice it has been established that the minimum diameter of bars, tubes and pipes is ten times the height of the leg or the dimension taken in the radial direction. For the rest of the sections it is approximately 11 to 12 times the height of the section or the leg.

When a section dimension and thickness is not mentioned on the capacity charts, the user either needs to calculate the section modulus of the section and if this is less than the Section modulus capacity of the machine, he/ she will be in the safe zone and no damage will come to the machine. If in doubt it would behoove the user to contact the manufacturer for professional advice.

Controls:

Section bending machines have become sophisticated and are using NC and CNC to bend complicated forms. These controls have canned programs for standard sections and they use teach mode where by the operator can produce the part manually and the machine keeps track of all the steps he/ she uses to accomplish the job. Then the program is memorized and archived for continuous use.

The new controls can even collect their own section characteristic data, by bending a piece of the section at different settings. The radius produced at a certain setting is input into the program and by taking three readings, the program surmises the reaction of the section to bending forces; then uses the information when the program parameters are entered and the part is run…at first trial the machine would produce a near perfect part. With small adjustments, what used to take hours of testing, experimenting and developing is cut down drastically.

Controllers have large memory capacity and many job programs are stored and recalled easily. Most units have RS232 communication capability and lately USB ports have been appearing on most of them. There are many operating systems used on these controllers…some are still using DOS, some use Windows and even Linux, while some have proprietary operating systems.

Observation:

With each passing day, technology is improving, and this is no different for angle roll bending machines. Computers and engineers are largely responsible for section bending machine construction, and this allows for more precise equipment. Some inexperienced shoppers may jump at a machine with greater horsepower or even one that weighs more. Do not be fooled; instead consider these things when buying: reliability and durability of materials used in the machine's construction, solid design, and of course ease of maintenance.

Robert E. Heller is the president of E.G. Heller’s Son, Inc. and has been involved with selling high quality angle roll bending machines and other metal fabrication equipment for 35 years. The company also sells press brakes, hydraulic shears, and plate rolls.

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How To Measure A Straight Stair Lift

Installing a straight stair lift is easy and most people with a small amount of DIY experience can install one in only a few hours. However, many people are unsure about purchasing a straight stair lift because they don't know how to accurately measure their stairs so that they can feel confident when ordering one. However, measuring is not that difficult and can be done in about 5 minutes.

You can save a great deal of money is you buy and install a straight chair lift yourself. Even if you have the dealer install it for you, you can still sometimes save money if you give them the measurements beforehand; some agents make a charge for a pre-sales, on-site inspection.

Taking measurements is quite straight forward; there's not that much to it. The measurements are few and very easy to take. These machine are specifically designed to tolerate slight differences, meaning that things like carpet runners will not make a difference, so don't worry. Just follow the measurement instructions step by step and you'll be fine. You'll need a pen, paper and a measuring tape that can extends to the full run of your stairs.

Stand at the bottom of the stairs, look up, and decide which side of the stairs the lift will be mounted on. Most staircases run along a wall and most people prefer that the track also run on that side of the stairs: the track is actually fixed to the stair tread and never the wall. Small obstructions like handrails shouldn't be a problem as stair lifts are designed to clear these obstacles. This is the first and most important measurement.

For the next measurement, stand at the top of the stairs, and extend the measuring tape so that it lies on each of the stair treads - it should run parallel to the skirting board. You may find this easier to do if someone lends a hand. Take note of the measurement when the measuring tape touches the floor at the bottom of the stairs.

The next step is to measure from the edge of the top step to the edge of the first step - the tread. The next step is also simple enough. You just need to measure the width of the staircase. If there is a wall or door at the bottom of the stairs, measure the distance form the bottom step to the wall or door. This will tell the stair lift company how much clearance is needed.

The above measurements are the basic requirements that a stair lift company will need to supply you with the correct straight stair lift. Certain brands and models of may require more specific measurements to get a sense of space. If this is the case, the stair lift company will have instructions for any additional measurements needed. The company will usually supply you with graphs or easy to follow instructions, making measuring for your new straight stair lift an easy and simple process.

If you have any doubts you can request a survey from a reputable stair lift company. You can find these companies on the web and many will make no charge for an onsite survey regardless of whether you buy a straight stair lift or not.

Follow the links for straight stair lifts and get information on stair chair lifts on leading brands like the Ameriglide stair lift

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Fixings Squeaking Stairs in Older Homes

Oh yes the common problem of squeaking stairs in an older house. This could become very frustrating and annoying as you walk up and down the stairs. There seems to be one or two stair treads that are always squeaking. That annoying sound as you walk as softly as you can on your way down to the kitchen in the middle of the night to grab a quick snack.

The number one cause of squeaking stairs is when the nails used to fasten the stair tread to the stair strainers has worked its way loose. Over time as the lumber shrinks in the stair treads and the stairs stringers. You will start to develop a separation or a gap between the stair tread and the stair strainer.

The stair stringer can shrink as much as 3/8 of an inch in just a few years. I was building a home and went to measure the stair stringer that was 11 1/2 inches wide originally. Then I measured it after two months outside in the summer sun it now measured 11 1/16". I was amazed that the lumber could shrink that much in such a short period of time.

As the stair stringer shrinks it starts to pull away from the plywood or hardwood stair tread. As it starts to separate from the stair tread the nail will stay in its original position until the stair tread starts to put pressure on the nail eventually lifting it up a little bit higher than its original position.

As you step on the stair tread the squeaking sound you hear is the nail rubbing against the stair tread. There are a few ways to fix a squeaking stair tread. If you have access to under the stairway you can apply some adhesive along with a 10 inch 2 x 4 under the stair tread and attach it to the stair stringer.

First apply adhesive to two sides of the 2 x 4. The adhesive will be used to glue the stair tread to the stair stringer. You can use screws to screw the new 2 x 4 onto the side of the stair stringer.

If you cannot access the underside of the stairs and you have carpeting you can actually locate the stair stringer and drive a 2 inch screw through the carpeting in to the stair stringer. This will pull the stair tread down and will not allow it to rub up against the nail making that awful sound of a squeaking stair case.

If you have a finished wood stair tread you will not be able to screw through it into the stair stringer without damaging the finish on tread itself. It will be easier to access the stair stringer from below somehow and apply the 2 x 4 with the adhesive to stop the stair squeak.

You can apply these methods to as many stair treads that are squeaking without taking apart the entire staircase and rebuilding it.

Greg Vanden Berge is working on the internet to promote the education for creating simple to follow guides and home building books to help professional building contractors as well as the weekend warriors. He is currently working on more building stairs books and adding useful content to help solve problems created by the lack of construction knowledge in the building industry.

Stair Building

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Climbing the Stairs in a Stair Lift

It is often difficult, if not impossible, for those who afflicted by arthritis to use the stairs. There are many other health related issues that can make it difficult to climb the stairs, but among those over the age of sixty-five, arthritis is one of the leading prohibitory diseases that can affect stair use.

The reason that the sixty-five and older group is so important, is due to the fact that falling down the stairs is all too common and is the leading reason for hospitalization and unintentional death. To help prevent this risk, it is a good idea to install a stair lift.

Using a stair lift has been shown to significantly reduce the risk of injury or death as a result of a fall while on the stairs. Most people are able to operate a stairway lift independently and without relying on outside assistance. They are designed to safely move a person up and down the stairway, without subjecting them to the risk of falling.

A stair lift usually consists of a metal track, which is most frequently secured directly to the stairs, and some sort of car unit, which travels along the track. For safety reasons, a chair is usually used to transport the occupant, but a few models are available that use a small platform instead of a chair. The units that use a chair are called stair chairs and the kinds that use a platform are called perch lifts.

Stairway lifts that use a perch are a little riskier and can be dangerous. This is because the rider will have to remain in an upright standing position as the car moves up or down the track. They do serve a purpose though, because some people can not safely bend their knees enough to allow them to safely sit in a stair chair.

Overall, you will want to avoid perch lifts unless they are absolutely necessary. The stair chair is much safer and as an added safety feature many come with seat belts and optional chest restraints. As an added safety feature, the chair on most stair chairs is able to swivel. This ensures that when you enter or exit the lift you are not forced to touch the stairs at all.

These types of lifting aids are most often seen on the inside of a home, but they are also available for outdoor use. If you intend to use the device outdoors, it will be necessary to make certain that the lift is an outdoor lift. You can not just place any stair chair outdoors, because it is necessary for it to be one that is rated to be completely weather resistant. Outdoor stair chairs cost a little extra, but are completely sealed against moisture and covered with paint and materials that are resistant to rust.

Even though outdoor lifts are built to be weather resistant, you will want to take measures to protect it from the environment. If it is installed under an overhang, ensure that there are gutters installed to deflect rain away from the lift. This is important so that you do not slip when entering or exiting the lift. It is also advised to trim any branches that might hang over the lift.

People who use a stair lift are able to confidently climb the stairs without fear of falling. They allow independent stair usage and can easily be operated with either hand.

Sean Noughtly, a writer, is familiar with many types quality home lifting aids, like the ones you can find at AmeriGlide. To learn about stair lifts or other lifting aids visit AmeriGlide.

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