Our nerves transmit important messages throughout our bodies using tiny electrical signals. Nerves can become pinched or compressed if surrounding tissues, ligaments, or bones apply too much pressure. A pinched nerve can develop in any part of the body and cause pain, tingling, numbness, or weakness. The neck, shoulders, wrists, and lower back are the most common parts to be affected. The damage caused by a pinched nerve can be minor or severe. Depending on the severity, it can cause short-term or long-term effects. Luckily, there are several ways to manage pinched nerve pain, including using a high-quality back brace that can help reduce inflammation and pain.

Pinched Nerve Symptoms Include:

• Numbness or decreased sensation in the area supplied by the nerve
• A burning, sharp, or aching pain that may radiate outward
• Pins and needles, tingling sensations
• Muscle weakness in the affected area
• A feeling that a hand or foot has fallen asleep frequently

What Causes a Pinched Nerve?

A pinched nerve may develop as a result of certain medical conditions. These include:

• Rheumatoid arthritis
• Diabetes
• Obesity
• Thyroid disease
• Pregnancy

Injury or repetitive motion can also cause a pinched nerve. Alternatively, inactivity or lying down for an extended period of time can also be a contributing factor.

Natural Ways to Treat Pinched Nerves

Several natural methods can help you cope with this issue. Here are a few home remedies that can relieve pinched nerve pain.

1. Ice or heat packs

Pinched nerve discomfort, such as swelling and inflammation, can be treated with both heat and ice packs. Alternating hot and cold compression can reduce pain by increasing blood circulation to the affected area. Make sure to apply the ice pack at least twice daily to the affected area for about 15 minutes each time. Applying heat pads three times per day for about an hour each time is also recommended.

2. Rest

Rest is one of the best home remedies for pinched nerves in most cases. When you rest, you give the affected area a chance to recuparate. Fixing a pinched nerve also means not putting additional strain on it. Overusing or overworking nerves can worsen nerve damage. If you have a pinched nerve, you should try to avoid any movements that can put pressure on it.

3. Sleep

Getting enough sleep is also an effective natural way to treat pinched nerves. The nerve needs extra rest while it heals. By getting enough sleep, your body gets the chance to repair itself, so giving it more time to do so can help it manage symptoms more effectively and quickly. In some cases, getting extra sleep can be enough to treat pinched nerves without any other treatment.

4. Back Brace

Using a back brace on the pinched nerve area can help prevent damage and pressure, allowing the nerve to heal. A back brace also helps minimize pain and pressure that may be placed on the spinal structures by taking the weight directly off. A back brace may be particularly beneficial after an injury, as a brace can minimize your range of motion, ensuring you don’t accidentally aggravate the healing of the nerve. Many people even sleep while wearing a brace to prevent any symptoms at night and have quality sleep.

5. Massage

An effective way to deal with pain and extra pressure is to get a massage. An effective way to ease tension is to use gentle pressure and massage the affected area, and a full-body massage can also help relax your muscles. It is best to avoid deep tissue massages because they can have the opposite effect and worsen your symptoms. Symptoms can be alleviated by physical therapy as well as massages and stretches.

6. Elevate Legs

Elevating your legs is another effective home remedy for pinched nerves. People with pinched nerves in their back may benefit from elevating their legs and removing pressure from their spine. To achieve this, place a few pillows under your knees so that your legs are at a degree angle.

7. Check Posture

One of the leading causes of pinched nerves is poor posture. Therefore, checking your posture is helpful in fixing a pinched nerve. It is important to keep your spine upright, your shoulders back, your chest up, and your core tucked in. We often slouch over, curving our spines. Sitting or standing in the incorrect position for prolonged periods can worsen the symptoms. Not only does this result in bad posture, but it also causes severe back pain. Bad posture also causes spinal weakness and can result in a pinched nerve. A high-quality back brace will force your spine into a straightened position. Wear your back brace when you notice your posture is deteriorating.

8. Lifestyle Changes

Walking, cycling, and swimming every day can help relieve symptoms of pinched nerves and keep the body fit and healthy in the long run. Additionally, losing extra weight can reduce pressure on the nerves, and increased mobility can decrease inflammation and pinched nerve risks. Stopping or limiting activities that aggravate pinched nerve pain (uncomfortable positions, heavy lifting, twisting) and performing activities that help the pain and improve spine flexibility and core strength will speed up the healing process.

How to Prevent a Pinched Nerve

Pinched nerves aren’t always preventable, but there are some things you can do to reduce your risk. Maintain good posture and avoid staying in one position for a long time. In addition, engage in a regular exercise program that emphasizes strength, flexibility, and weight maintenance while adhering to a nutritious, well-balanced diet. Supportive aids like a durable back brace can also provide pain relief and speed up recovery.

The thought of buying a used car can be a scary one: will the car be a good deal or immediately break down on you? How do you know you can trust the vendor? And so on. But there are ways to protect yourself from unscrupulous car dealers and get the used car of your dreams for a fair price. Here’s how:

Do Research

Make a list of the questions that you will need answers to, and then work your way through the list, using the internet, asking trusted friends or family, and comparing factors such as durability, reliability and scam warnings across several different sites and vendors. You will quickly discover who offers the best deals on used cars in San Diego, and who is best avoided. This process can also help you find the best make and model to choose.

Check Reviews

Once you have a shortlist of car models, an idea of your driving needs and a budget, both for buying the vehicle in the first place and for maintaining the car once you are its proud owner, you can start winnowing down your choices by reading reviews.

Assess the reviews and choose your vehicle, vendor and terms and conditions based on the reviews that seem to have the same criteria as you, and this will help to ensure that you have an easy and effortless car-buying experience.

Reputable dealer

Always – but always – buy your car from a reputable dealer. This can be trickier than it sounds: unscrupulous businessmen will pay people to provide good reviews for them, and will put on a very believable show of being reputable and trustworthy. When you are considering a purchase, try to narrow down your choice of dealer quite early on and make a point of popping in two or three times before you actually commit to buying a vehicle from them: a reputable vendor will take the time to build a rapport with you, whereas someone aiming to extract the maximum of money from you for a minimum of any effort on their part will quickly reveal their shadier side. To experience a highly positive car purchase, visit KAP Motors Used Cars Brighton Showroom and get the most amazing deals today. Shop here for more reliable sources to buying used cars with a reputable dealers.

Financing

You may not realise that car financing is not just for new cars. Many reputable used car dealers offer excellent financial terms on their vehicles, and will often offer warranties on your new-to-you vehicle besides.

Once you have all the information you need, you can set off to your chosen dealership with peace of mind and the confidence of knowing what you are looking for.

Computer games have been around for decades. Ever since physicist William Higinbotham created a simple tennis-like game back in 1958, an invention that was taken to the next level by Pong in the 1970s, gaming has been part of modern life. However, as popular as video games have become over the years, few would say that those who play are trendy. Images of reclusive characters sitting alone in a dimly lit room playing video games still have some relevance.

But, as Bob Dylan said, the times they are a-changin’. It might be a stretch to call gamers ‘style icons’, but the industry itself is certainly in vogue. Research from Ampere Analysis found that the gaming industry grew by 26% between 2019 and 2021. This surge of activity turned it into a $191 billion entity. Any industry of that size is bound to catch the attention of people inside and outside the mainstream. When people are paying attention, it instantly becomes trendy because people want to engage with it.

Anyone Can Download Great Games with Ease

The fact the barriers to entry have lowered significantly in recent years is also a testament to gaming’s rising popularity. Today, anyone can find a selection of games to download onto the PC or mobile with a few clicks. From fantasy RPGs to real-time 5v5 combat games featuring robotic fighters, there’s something for everyone and, more importantly, all of the top content is easily accessible. This increased accessibility is, of course, thanks to the internet. Downloading content has become second nature to billions of people and that’s helped gaming grow.

Another reason gaming is trendy these days is streaming. Platforms such as Twitch have not only made gaming streams entertaining for the masses, they’ve become potentially lucrative for the hosts. Gamers such as Richard Tyler Blevins, aka Ninja, have become superstars. As well as 18 million subscribers on Twitch and 24 million on YouTube, Blevins has sponsorship deals with multiple companies, including Adidas and Red Bull. If that’s not enough, he’s played games with A-listers like Drake, Travis Scott, and JuJu Smith-Schuster.

Gamers Entertain the Masses on Multiple Levels

If Blevins can manage all of that, any gamer can graduate from their bedroom and take a position in the spotlight. Moving beyond Blevins, legit mainstream star KSI was previously a gamer. In fact, Olajide Olayinka Williams “JJ” Olatunji, first built up his fanbase by commentating on FIFA video games. Now he’s one of the most popular celebrities in the world doing everything from business and boxing to rapping.

If video games were in vogue, KSI may not have gotten to where he is today. However, thanks to the internet, gaming has become both an active and passive form of entertainment. Anyone can download great games and play. They can also watch streamers in the same way they’d watch a TV show. These two things have made gaming extremely popular and, in turn, something all cool people want to be a part of. That, in a nutshell, is why gaming is fashionable.

It’s hard to turn any corner in London without stumbling upon an iconic backdrop to some of your favourite TV shows and films. Which is precisely what happened when I found myself bounding up the steps to Southwark Bridge to take this shot – see, for a second, I wanted to experience my own Luther-esque moment, contemplating life’s many problems and how I was going to navigate myself out of them.

But alas, my name is neither John Luther nor Alice Morgan, but this bridge still offers incredible significance to one of Britain’s best crime shows of the 21st Century. It’s also a sensational tourist spot where you’ll see almost everything London offers, from the Southbank, Tower Bridge and The Shard, to St Paul’s Cathedral, Millennium Bridge, The Tate Modern, and the London Eye – there are views for days.

Luther first graced our TV screens back in 2010 and honoured us with five seasons of intense, grotesque and sometimes downright terrifying crime fighting by none other than series namesake and antihero DCI John Luther – a wayward London detective who notoriously finds himself in one too many sticky situations. And not to forget, all whilst being spun around in a cat and mouse chase with long-term murderous frenemy Alice Morgan. Southwark Bridge, as seen here, was their preferred aloof rendezvous spot to discuss their hate-love relationship or plan out their next bad-guy busting move.

Given that the series ended almost four years ago, people are still hyped for the return of DCI John Luther to the big and small screen – but where on earth are you, John?

I’m glad you asked; speaking in a recent press junket, lead actor and Luther himself, Idris Elba, revealed that they have, in fact, wrapped up filming for the latest instalment of the heart palpitation-inducing series. But this time, we’re not getting a new series or a one-off episode; no, it’s going bigger and better!

Thanks to the mega powers that be at the BBC and Netflix, Luther is getting its very own feature-length affair in which we are guaranteed more twists and turns than you’d expect to get driving in London – let’s say, I imagine this is a film that is going to be bonkers from start to finish in all the ways we love an epic crime show to be.

When we last saw Luther and Alice, things weren’t looking up for the pair following a gun battle between the two, Luther was caught getting a little too personal for his good with a well-known crime boss, and almost everyone he had loved was now dead – so, not the best position to be in really!

What this does mean, however, is that Luther, the movie is set up to be a rollercoaster of emotions as it attempts to answer, “what next for DCI John Luther?” – All I can say is, it doesn’t look like he’s in for a good time, but I very much suspect we will be.

The feature-length Luther is now in the editing process and was rumoured to be released in September 2022 – however, this isn’t looking likely, and we may be heading into 2023/24 territory before we get our next fix.

I’ll keep you updated!

“The sun always shines in Newmarket,” tour guide Malcom tells me as we walk around the National Stud, just outside the town centre, its perfectly manicured fields bathed in a late-summer glow. This isn’t the only thing about sunny Newmarket that feels idyllic.

The whole place feels peaceful, a far cry from hectic city life, with acres of green space at every turn, from picnic fields to the manicured lawns of the Bedford Lodge Hotel & Spa to the Gallops. Newmarket is the only place in the UK where horses have the right of way, so travel can be slower, but you get the distinct feeling that nobody here is ever really in a rush.

A united love of horses – and horse racing – bonds the town. Not to mention the horse racing museum, as well as the training fields and National Stud making for popular tourist attractions, there are also statues of famous racehorses dotted around the town and Newmarket is home to not one, but two, racecourses – the July Course and the Rowley Mile Course – as well as being the national headquarters for the legendary Jockey Club.

It’s fair to say that my whistle-stop tour of this peaceful Suffolk town involved a fair bit of horse racing history and a trip to one of Newmarket’s famous racecourses, but there’s a lot more to love about this historic destination, including fine dining, an award-winning spa and the chance to spend some time in the great outdoors. Here’s how I spent 24 hours in Newmarket.

2pm

After an hour’s train ride from London to Cambridge, followed by a quick 19 minutes to Newmarket and I had arrived. First up was lunch at the Tack Room – a delicious open steak sandwich with a seasonal salad – and we were off to explore the National Horseracing Museum. The museum is packed with artefacts from around the world, as well as plenty of information about the origins of horseracing and how the sport has developed over the decades.

4pm

After checking into the luxurious Jockey Club Rooms, our tour guide, Frankie, shows me around the building, which is every bit as grand and elegant as you’d expect from such an institution. The Jockey Club was founded in 1750 by some of the most influential figures in British society who shared a passion for horse racing. It was originally intended as a place to meet and discuss their shared interest, as well as important affairs and host special guests in the grand dining room.

Today, the Jockey Club is the largest commercial horse racing organisation in the UK, owning 15 of Britain’s most famous racecourses, including the Rowley Mile and July Course in Newmarket, as well as Aintree, Cheltenham and Epsom Downs.

5pm

After a busy day exploring, it was time for a little R&R at the award-winning spa in the Bedford Lodge Hotel and Spa. Sitting adjacent to the hotel, the hotel’s spa has a rooftop hot tub, hydrotherapy pool, steam room, sauna, and experiential showers. It’s light and airy, with far lovelier views over the town’s atmospheric architecture than photographs would have you believe.

7.30pm

Our dining experience begins with a refreshing Newmarket gin, of course. A small-batch gin brand presented in a delightful racing-themed bottle. Then on to the main event in the hotel’s cosy restaurant, serving a seasonal menu and some seriously delicious desserts.

9.30pm

A short drive back to the Jockey Club rooms and it was time to turn in for the night. The Jockey Club Rooms chambers are spacious and homely, with traditional, yet stylish, decor and a cosy feel. It’s easy to get an early night in the super-comfy beds at the Jockey Club Rooms, complete with luxurious bedding and cosy throws for snuggling down under now the cooler weather has set in.

Day 2

7.30am

I’m repeatedly told that Newmarket rises early. The first lot of horses are taken out of the stables for a ride across the training grounds at 6am, but we’re going to catch a slightly later session. I head out to the front of the building where a new tour guide, the lovely Malcolm, is waiting for me in a branded black cab – the perfect chariot for guiding us around the sights of Newmarket on a morning excursion.

First we watch the horses on their morning ride, which turns out to be such a peaceful start to the day. There’s also the option to enjoy some bubbles while you watch, if you’re celebrating the sights of Newmarket.

9am

We’re back in time to enjoy a hearty breakfast at the Jockey Club Rooms, which for me means a huge veggie breakfast, plenty of coffee to prepare me for the day ahead, fresh juice and fruit and yoghurt. After a quick outfit change, it was time to head off to the National Stud – quite literally, where the magic happens.

10am

A visit to the National Stud offers an insight into how the race horses of tomorrow are bred, as well as taking a look at some of the most famous racing horses of years gone by. Malcolm talked me through the turbulent history of Mill Reef, who was largely considered one of the finest racehorses to run in the second half of the 20th Century. Mill Reef won both his starts as a four-year-old before his racing career was ended by injury, but inspired such fandom that one woman apparently still visits his grave every year to leave flowers – and says she loves Mill Reef even more than her husband, Malcolm tells me.

There’s the chance here to see the horses up close and how well they’re looked after; animal welfare is clearly a top priority across the different attractions and facilities in Newmarket. Our final visit in Newmarket is to feed some foals a few apples before heading on the road again – a sweet and heartwarming finish to the visit.

12pm

Next, we’re off to our final stop of the day; the Rowley Mile racecourse. After a quick tour around the grounds including a peek inside the Royal Box, Malcolm offers up some advice on picking a winner, as well as how to place a bet and find the best deals on the day, for racing novices. I’m then left to my own devices to enjoy an afternoon of racing at one of the UK’s most historic racecourses – a fitting end to my whistle-stop tour of brilliant Newmarket.

If your birthday child is also a little explorer that loves family travel, hosting a travel themed party will get everyone excited. In most houses, birthday parties are a big deal. So, you’ll want to make sure that the day is extra special for your mini jetsetter. Planning a party can be somewhat stressful, but with the right plan and some input from your child, you’ll be able to create the party of their dreams.

Tips from the experts are always helpful. Travel lovers and party planners, Monique Banks and Ariel Banks Baker are the founders of BLUEPRINT party plans. Their DIY service offers parents a blueprint of how to plan the party, how the party should run, a list of supplies, and theme related activities. The team has created over 3,000 birthday parties and have taken everything they know to create a fun and easy to use platform. What parents love about BLUEPRINT is that they can set their own budget. It’s all about high energy games and feeling included over expensive décor and entertainment.

Parents might want to check their favorite shopping websites to buy supplies, but it can be a great idea to see what you have at home first. Part of what your child loves about this theme are the memories that were made on the trip. Be sure to use souvenirs to decorate the space before you buy décor. It will feel more authentic and certainly be more unique.

If you’re ready to get set and jet to planning the perfect party, here are a few quick ideas to get started:

Use Your Imagination to take a Trip to the Bahamas with a Beach Theme Party

There’s nothing like a day at the beach when celebrating a birthday or embracing the summer sun with beach balls and sandcastles. It’s all about setting up the space in a way that’s fun and includes fun beach activities like beach balloon relay race and story time with a beach-read. If the party is taking place during the summer months and it’s a smaller group, you may want to host the party at the beach. Just be sure there’s enough adult supervision. A good tip is to use pails to mark the area where kids should say.

Host a Happy Hawaiian Luau Party

Hula through the party with leis, pineapples, and it magically turns into an amazing luau themed celebration. Have fun with activities like a ukulele relay race and loads of dancing! Use postcards from your beach vacations as part of your room décor. Take out beach towels and place them on the floor. It’s clean and an easy way for kids to enjoy a snack. Plus, clean-up is a snap! Kids also love beach themed music so be sure to include their favorite songs from playlists created over the summer or on a recent vacation.

Pretend You’re Taking A Trip to Vail or Saint Moritz

Winter birthdays can be loads of fun too! Create a birthday party experience where kids get to enjoy the fun things a winter wonderland has to offer without having to freeze. Make hot cocoa, add a wintery backdrop, use shimmer balloons, hang string lights and pretend you’re outside. If it’s snowing where you live, take the fun outdoors for a bit. Encourage kids to make snow angels and have a snowball fight.