Celebrating Women’s health

Sunday 8th March we celebrate International Women’s day. This year’s theme is each for Equal. An equal world is an enabled world. This day is a time for women around the world to commemorate their struggles and celebrate their achievements.

A big part of celebrating woman is celebrating their health and wellness, supporting each other in the process. Most women are great caregivers to others but have a habit of not being great caregivers to themselves. Here are a few tips to look after yourself and your health this International Women’s day.

Diet & Regular Exercise

A balanced diet is the cornerstone of health for both woman and men. However women also have special nutrient needs, and, during each stage of a woman's life, these needs change;

• Iron-rich Foods - Iron is one of the keys to good health and energy levels in women prior to menopause.

• Folic Acid - When women reach childbearing age, they need to eat folic acid to help decrease the risk of birth defects.

• Calcium & Vitamin D - Women need to eat a variety of calcium-rich foods and vitamin D every day. Calcium and Vitamin D keeps bones strong and helps to reduce the risk for osteoporosis.

According to two studies, it was revealed females of all ages are less active than their male peers. There are many reasons however the most common reasons given by woman are:

• Lack of time

• Lack of motivation

• Parenting demands

• Lack of energy

• Health problems

No matter what your age or ability, regular exercise is recommend for all women. There are suitable exercises for all capabilities. The recommendation is 30 minutes of moderate intensity exercises 5 days a week totalling 150 minutes. That’s doesn’t mean you need to kill yourself during those 30 minutes, you just need to get your heart rate up. Some tips include:

• Break it down to 3 10 minute workouts if its more manageable

• Play actively with your children in the house or garden

• Put on your favourite music and have a good dance around

• Get your family active in the evenings or weekends

Sleep

Sleep, a place where we spend about a third of our lives, its as basic a need as food, and vital to physical well-being. Lack of sleep has major negative implications on your health including but not limited to:

• Obesity

• Chronic pain

• Asthma

• Depression

• Arthritis

• Kidney issues

• Heart issues

Not to mention short term effects of impaired thinking, more accident prone, and dampen mood on a day-to-day basis. Women should also know that how well they’re sleeping also comes to bear on other aspects of their health, like pregnancy, the postpartum period, pre-menopause, menopause, and aging, explains doctor Katherine Sharkey, MD, PhD.

Smear Tests

Taking care of woman’s health is more than the choices you make with food, diet and sleep, although they are very important! As woman we need to be diligent with smear tests. Smear tests are in place to monitor the changing cells in the cervix, with the intention of early detection if changes are happening.

It is recommended that woman aged 25-50 should get checked every three years. Woman over 50 every five years is sufficient. Woman over 65 are only recommended to get tested if they have had an abnormal test. If you have further questions or would like to book a smear test then please visit cervicalcheck.ie.

Breast Checks

This is something you can do at home. Breast self-examination is a useful and important tool for woman but its recommended to be used in combination with regular physical exams by a doctor. By self –examining woman are more familiar with what is normal and then if something is not normal to get it checked out.

We have years of experience in helping women’s through a range of issues, if you have something you are concerned about please contact the clinic today by calling us on (01) 660 6582 or book an appointment online. We have trained physiotherapists ready to help you here at our Dublin physiotherapy clinic.