You’ll find a large segment of the bull riding community that simply hates the idea of wearing a helmet in practice or competition. You can show them photos of heads split open like ripe melons and they won’t change their position. You can hand them a stack of reports on traumatic brain injuries that reaches higher than a saddlehorn and they’ll ignore the unmistakable conclusion: Helmets save lives. They’ll resist the idea of a bull riding helmet with every stitch of their jeans.
A helmet doesn’t look cool. It’s not traditional. It doesn’t feel comfortable. The odds are against needing a helmet. The greats never wore a helmet. There are a million and one excuses to avoid donning one.
Let’s cut through the excuses for a moment. After all, we all know they aren’t as persuasive as the rock-solid medical evidence favoring the use of a bull riding helmet. No matter what you might say you think, or what you might claim to believe, the facts line up behind helmets. That’s not open for argument. You’re entitled to your own opinion. That doesn’t mean you get to make up your own facts.
Now, you may believe that you need to pretend to be untouchable in order to succeed. You may think that you’re air of invincibility is a key to getting the job done. It isn’t. Bull riding is a matter of skill and heart. It isn’t a byproduct of pretending to be an immortal. The best of the best understand the danger and come to terms with it. They don’t pretend as if it doesn’t exist.
When you come down, you don’t know how you’re landing. Your control is minimal to nonexistent. Even if you can avoid a nasty thunk on the noggin when you’re hitting the dirt, you certainly can’t control whether or not that animal is going to going to decide that his hooves or head needs to try to occupy that same space. You don’t need to be a theoretical physicist to figure out what’s going to happen if that happens. You know how that story ends and it isn’t pretty.
If you’ve been riding for any length of time, you’ve seen bad injuries. Even if you haven’t seen a traumatic brain injury, you’ve undoubtedly witnessed more than a few broken or crushed bones. On some level, you recognize the risk involved in getting on the back of a bull without protective headgear. Now it’s time to put the “cool factor” on the shelf and to admit that the fact that a bull riding helmet isn’t as comfortable as your favorite hat isn’t a good enough reason to risk scrambling your brains.
Take off your Stetson. Put on your bull riding helmet. It’s that simple.
Posts Tagged ‘ Medical Evidence ’
The body is really just a complicated machine with blood pumping round the plumbing system and muscles moving the bones around. Any machine can break down and a mechanic can fix it. But think about a car. You can repair damage but it still takes someone to drive it. Sex is more than plumbing. You have to be in the mood and find the partner attractive. If, for some reason, you stop being interested in sex, the driver may never take the car out of the garage. Why might this happen? Some men suffer performance anxiety.
They have had bad experiences and no longer want to risk their self-esteem. Others may become depressed and find their libido failing. Alternatively, you may just have fallen out of love with this partner and now avoid sexual contact with her. When the mind is so important to the proposed activity, it is surprisingly easy to create sexual difficulties for yourself. Sex is just something that happens naturally, but what is natural can become wrapped up in fear, shame, humiliation, guilt and other emotions that get in the way. If this happens, no drug can or will solve the problem. Viagra just a plumber. Unless you want to resume sexual activity, the pipes will remain unused.
All the medical evidence shows you have to treat the other problems before treating the erectile dysfunction. For example, if you are depressed and lose interest in sex, you have to treat the causes of the depression. Ironically, erectile dysfunction is one of the side effects of many drugs used to treat depression. So, clearing the mind of its problems comes first, followed by giving up the antidepressants. But then starting viagra may not be the answer because you need a willing partner who is going to be supportive. There are social problems to deal with after the medical issues are resolved.
It is the easiest thing in the world to say, “You have to remember how much fun sex is.” But when it comes to trusting yourself to give and receive pleasure, you suddenly confront the risks to your self-confidence. What happens if something goes wrong this time? If the relationship is strong and your partner wants you to succeed, you can find restarting sexual activity very rewarding. A couple working to solve a problem together often emerges stronger. But if the relationship is weak, overcoming the fear of failure is a big hurdle. Remember, you have no chance of overcoming the fear unless you take a chance. If you take the risk, the rewards are there for the taking.
The best way forward is through cognitive behavioral therapy. This teaches you ways to build your confidence. Unfortunately, there are not enough trained therapists and not all medical insurance policies cover the cost of treatment. This brings viagra back into play. This drug gives otherwise healthy men the best possible chance of a successful sex life. Doubt can be a problem but, if you believe in viagra enough, it will help rebuild the enjoyment in sex. As you find more success, your confidence will improve and you can get back to how it was when you were younger.
Once a drug is on the market, we are all supposed to be interested in something else. We should just assume the drug has solved whatever the problem was. There’s no need to follow up by measuring how well the drug is actually performing. Except that’s the kind of thinking that delayed the recall of the Cox-2 Inhibitors when there should have been better safety monitoring to show this class of drugs caused heart problems. Worse, this type of resistance to research runs through most different industries as the delayed recall of Toyotas aptly demonstrates. Which brings us to 2010 Sleep in America, a poll conducted by the National Sleep Foundation. This is a regular snapshot of sleeping habits across America. It’s good this research is done, but it’s on the margin with only a thousand or so participants. There should be more participants if the scaling up of the numbers across the general population is to be reliable. As it is, we should not generalize too much from the results. For some reason not properly explained, the study assumes we should all aim for about eight-and-a-half hours of sleep every night. The current crop of respondents reports sleeping between six and seven hours a night. To keep the accuracy of this report in perspective, there’s good medical evidence that lack of sleep undermines the body’s immune system making us more prone to illness, encourages obesity, increases blood pressure, and raises the risk of heart disease. What is less clear is the point at which these adverse health consequences kick in. It could be between six and seven hours a night, but there is no evidence to support this proposition. About a quarter of the respondents admit to missing work or appointments because they felt too tired. The same percentage admitted they were too tired to have regular sex. When asked to explain why sleep was more difficult, many referred to increased financial worries during the recession. Personal stress levels were higher with relationship problems. In racial terms, Asians have the longest sleep patterns and blacks sleep less than whites and Hispanics. Overall, the report makes interesting reading but, until more people are included in the poll, it is difficult to generalize to the population at large. That said, some of the conclusions are intuitively correct. If about 25% of people are finding their lives adversely affected by insomnia, it helps explain why ambien is such a popular drug. As the sleeping pill with the best reputation for safety and effectiveness, it seems to be the drug of choice to get enough sleep. But it does remain something of a mystery why people make it difficult for themselves. About three-quarters of the respondents watched TV immediately before attempting sleep and then expressed surprise they did not immediately fall asleep. The reality is that, unless you resort to ambien, it’s better to relax the mind, say, by listening to gentle music. Moving the TV out of the bedroom and avoiding exciting late-night programs is basic common sense. Going to sleep at the same time every night is a good habit. Living your life around the TV schedule is a bad habit.
At one level, this can look like a really stupid question. Anyone who has ever had acne will know that the reaction of others to the appearance of pimples causes stress. In fact, as a teenager, getting through the weeks or months of acne can be a real challenge to self-confidence. Just as you are growing into your own skin and working out who you are, the world suddenly treats you as a disease carrier and disrespects you. But this rather misses the point. Medically, it’s important to know whether stress causes acne or, once it has arrived, makes it worse. If it does, teaching relaxation techniques could be either a preventative measure or an effective treatment. Even if there is no medical evidence of benefits, there can be emotional benefits from relaxation and breathing exercises.
Until the turn of the century, there was little research into this issue. This is a highly profitable business for both drug companies and the cosmetics industry. What cannot be cured can be covered up with foundation powders and creams. To spend money on research into whether this profitably combined industry can be swept away by simple relaxation exercises is therefore not encouraged. Every possible source of funding would turn the interests of researchers into the development of new drugs, creams and powders. However, at some point, medical curiosity is raised and small-scale clinical trials are run. Universities are supposed to be set up to engage in blue-sky not commercial research. Thus, for example, a survey involving only twenty-two students at Stanford University School of Medicine “proved” that the stress of examinations worsened acne. When this was combined with changes in diet, the acne became even more severe. Unfortunately, the number of participants is not statistically significant and, as with similar studies, it’s not possible to generalize the findings to the general population. For now, the profits of the drug and cosmetic companies are safe.
Nevertheless, stress should remain on the research agenda. In theory, stress stimulates the release of the steroid cortisol, adrenaline and other hormones into the blood stream. Even in women, male hormones associated with excess oil production are released. Stress also affects the auto-immune system and interferes with the healing process. This slows down the recovery from the infections in the pores caused by the bacteria. Even unscientific observations show more inflamed papules filled with puss during stressful periods. Thus, relaxation exercises should become a regular part of life for everyone who suffers from acne.
Even if this does not prevent acne, it will improve recovery time and give people a psychological lift. Anything that helps people face the world with more confidence is a good thing. For those who remain sceptical, the best solution is to buy accutane online. This is the most powerful of the drugs used to treat acne and, in the vast majority of cases, clears up the skin during the first period of treatment. Given the savings that can be made when you buy online, cheap accutane is the best way to beat acne when relaxation is not an acceptable strategy.
In the dark of the night when you are the only person around to talk to, it’s not so hard to admit the risks associated with your high body weight. Wherever you look, the medical evidence of a link between excessive weight and high blood pressure, diabetes and heart disease is reported as a fact. Unlike climate change where there are doubts about the science, you put your health at risk if you allow those additional pounds to stay on your body. Except what is easy to say is difficult to act in in the cold, hard light of day. Let’s face it, if losing weight was easy, most people would do it. The fact that the majority put a brave face on things and continue life as best they can is an indication of just how difficult it is to diet.
Why is eating less so difficult? It all comes from childhood. From the beginning, we see adults packing away large quantities of food. The portions put in front of us are big, so we adjust to eating more. By the time we grow into adults, we are conditioned to eat more and habits are hard to break. That’s what may make gastric surgery look an attractive option. You go into hospital. A band or staples are inserted to physically limit the amount you can pack into your stomach. No matter what your eyes may tell you, you will be full after just a few regular mouthfuls. Nature then takes over and your body will now burn the stored fat as energy. After six months, you can be back to a thin body shape. But life is not easy. While you are adjusting to eating less food, you will feel some discomfort. It is not hunger as such because your stomach will tell your brain it is full. Your body will nevertheless register the weight loss. This tricks some people into forcing more food into their stomachs. They feel they should eat more even though the messages from the stomach deny it. Because of these psychological risks, surgeons prefer only to operate on people who already have symptoms of disease arising from their high BMI. They must have made real attempts to lose weight the conventional way and convince the surgeons they are motivated to eat responsibly after surgery. If the operation is approved, it costs about $17,000 for keyhole surgery and $26,000 for the full operation. Given the savings on the treatment of the obesity-related diseases, you will recover these costs in between two and four years. Many health insurance companies will pay for these operations.
Surgery is always risky and many prefer to avoid it if possible. This leaves dieting, an exercise program and meridia as the only choice. Eating smaller portions of healthy food starts off the process. Exercise burns off more pounds. Meridia keeps your appetite under control and maintains your motivation while the pounds come off. Note the key word, “motivation”. It all comes down to you to keep to the healthy path. If your will is not strong enough, you will lapse into the old habit pattern of eating too much of all the wrong foods. If that happens to you, it may suggest surgery is not for you. Overeating with a stapled stomach damages your body.