Tips for Holiday Stress Management
Beginning with Thanksgiving, the holiday season is a busy, fun-filled time of shopping, eating, family gatherings...and often, high levels of stress.
What, exactly, is stress? Stress is a normal psychological and physical reaction to life's demands. Your brain is designed to kick into protection mode when it perceives a threat--and your body releases hormones, causing a fight-or-flight response. Once the threat is removed, your body returns to normal.
However, our fast-paced lives--especially at holiday time--mean that our brain is very often on high alert. Because of this, learning to manage stress is crucial because high levels of stress can be quite detrimental to one's health.
In fact, prolonged exposure to stress can put a person at risk for such problems as heart disease, depression, obesity, memory impairment, worsening of skin conditions, sleep problems and digestive problems.
Stress is often inevitable this time of year, but there are many different strategies that can be used to help minimize its negative effects on the body. Some of the most common stress-control strategies include exercise, relaxation techniques, psychotherapy or counseling, getting plenty of sleep and cultivating healthy relationships.
The Mayo Clinic offers some suggestions specifically for holiday-related stress, including giving yourself permission to express and acknowledge your feelings, seeking out social events and activities, setting aside grievances with friends or family members, sticking to a budget, avoiding food overindulgences, and spending time alone to refresh and regroup.
As you can see, there are many steps you can take to make sure stress doesn't put a damper on your holidays--or affect you negatively down the road. Follow these tips as well as consider Allegheny Medical's WellnessCare programs so you can enjoy this time of year to the fullest.
Migraine Therapy Can Improve Your Quality of Life
Migraine headaches usually fall into one of two types: a migraine occurring with an aura (formerly 
known as a "classic" migraine) and a migraine occurring without an aura (formerly known as a "common" migraine). Auras are sensory warning signs such as blind spots, flashes of light or tingling in the leg or arm that can precede or accompany these chronic headaches.
Other common symptoms include moderate to severe pain on one or both sides of the head, pain that has a pulsating quality, pain that gets worse with physical activity, light and sound sensitivity and nausea with or without vomiting. If a migraine is left untreated, it can last from four to 72 hours.
The cause of migraines isn't yet clearly understood, but environmental factors as well as genetics seem to both play a role. There are also several things that may trigger them including stress, certain kinds of foods such as alcohol, chocolate and aged cheese, female hormonal changes, certain medications, changes in sleep patterns and more.
Sufferers can experience migraines only once every few years, or as frequently as several times a week. Sometimes migraines can be so severe that they interfere with a person's normal routine.
You should see a doctor immediately or go to the emergency room if you experience other signs which accompany a headache such as weakness, fever, numbness, rash, stiff neck, confusion or double vision--or if the headache follows a head injury, coughing, sudden movement or exertion.
The goal of migraine therapy is to prevent headaches, reduce their frequency and severity and improve quality of life. The migraine therapy offered at Allegheny Medical is a safe, conservative and proven method of treatment. Call today to find out more about how we can help improve the quality of your life: (412) 494-4554.
Allegheny Medical is Best of Pittsburgh for 2nd Year
As 2009 comes to a close, Allegheny Medical is proud that this year marked the second consecutive time they have been selected for the Best of Pittsburgh Award in the Health Care Providers category by the U.S. Local Business Association (USLBA).
Exceptional Success
The USLBA "Best of Local Businesses" Award Program recognizes outstanding local businesses throughout the United States. Every year companies are identified by the USLBA as having achieved exceptional success in their business category, as well as their local community. The companies which are chosen are seen as enhancing the image of small business through the service they provide to their customers and the community.
Interestingly, only 1 in 70 recipients of the 2008 Award qualified as 2009 Award winners. The 2009 USLBA Award Program focused on quality, not quantity--and winners are determined based on information gathered by both the USLBA and third party data.
About the U.S. Local Business Association
The USLBA, based in Washington D.C., is funded by local businesses in towns of all sizes across America. The Association's purpose is to promote local business through advertising, public relations and marketing--and it was established to recognize the best of local businesses in their community.
The USLBA works exclusively with local business owners, trade groups, chambers of commerce, professional associations and other groups, and its mission is to be an advocate for business entrepreneurs across the United States.
About Allegheny Medical
Allegheny Medical, Integrated Health Services is a multi-specialty medical outpatient center and the largest occupational and workmen's compensation facility in Western Pennsylvania. We provide acute primary care, orthopedics, physical therapy, chiropractic, full lab services, weight loss programs, nutrition counseling and more.
To learn more about Allegheny Medical, be sure to follow this blog, visit our website at www.alleghenymedical.com or call (412) 494-4550.
Dr. Neal Fanelli: Service Above and Beyond
Dr. Neal Fanelli, president and CEO of Allegheny Medical, has been in practice for over 25 years. He is 
an expert in the field of physical, chiropractic, and sports medicine and in the treatment of fibromyalgia.
In 1984, Dr. Neal founded Allegheny Medical to provide patients the highest quality and most cost effective health care, in order to bring about life changing, lasting results. He has said that the best part of his work is helping people with "some of the most difficult conditions recover when no one else could, changing that person's life for the better."
In addition to running Allegheny Medical, Dr. Fanelli has been a member of the Pittsburgh Airport Area Chamber of Commerce for ten years--the past two as chair of the board. Under his leadership, the chamber has developed relationships with schools in the area through the CHOICES program, improved volunteer leadership and member involvement and expanded programming. Dr. Neal has said that "investing in the region and steering the Chamber to become a large active component of the region has allowed growth and opportunity to happen when many areas of the country are struggling."
His work brought him the highest honor from the Chamber of Commerce, the 2008 Jenny Award. This award was given to him for his work to bring about development and growth in both business and the community.
Dr. Neal has also donated his services and time to help improve the health and wellness of police, EMS, firefighters, school employees and municipal employees with a performance program that includes nutritional counseling and fitness.
Ultimately, Dr. Neal recognizes how crucial it is for people in the community to take care of each other. Through his tireless work at the helm of Allegheny Medical, he continues to give back of himself by caring for the community.
Osteoporosis: A Debilitating Disease that Can Be Prevented and Treated
Osteoporosis is a disease that causes bones to lose their mass and break easily. It affects over 25 million Americans, and 80% of its victims are women.
The good news is that osteoporosis can be prevented. However, if it is not prevented or is left untreated, osteoporosis can continue to silently progress without pain until a bone breaks. These breaks or fractures often occur in the wrist, spine, and hip.
When a hip is fractured, it usually requires hospitalization and major surgery. It can mean that a person is only able to walk with assistance, and may cause prolonged or disability or death. Vertebral or spinal fractures can be just as serious, and can come with intense back pain, deformity and height loss.
An alarming 55% of people 50 and older face the health threat of osteoporosis. It is estimated that 34 million people in the United States suffer from low bone mass, something that increases their risk of developing osteoporosis.
An individual may not even realize that they have osteoporosis until their bones are so weakened that a sudden fall or strain causes a fracture or a collapsed vertebra. Signs of a collapsed vertebrae include of height loss, severe back pain or deformities of the spine such as stooped posture.
Factors increasing the likelihood that an individual will develop osteoporosis include current low bone mass, being female, advanced age, a family history of the disease, vitamin D deficiency, low testosterone in men, excessive alcohol intake, cigarette use and more.
A bone mass measurement or bone density tests can be done by a doctor in order to tell if you have osteoporosis. If you would like a quick, complimentary screening, this can be performed at Allegheny Medical. Your results can be delivered in as little as 5 minutes. Call (412) 494-4554 to schedule your appointment today.
Need more information? Check out The National Osteoporosis Foundation at http://www.nof.org.
412-494-4550
2000 Cliff Mine Road
Pittsburgh, PA 15275
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