Peeling boiled potatoes THIS IS INCREDIBLE!
Here is an easy solution for peeling potatoes, without using a peeler. This will BLOW your mind. Well, we do learn something new every day.
http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=7375897927147969009#
Monday, October 8, 2012
Peeling boiled potatoes THIS IS INCREDIBLE!
Never say never
Never say never
"The bomb will never go off. I speak
as an expert in explosives."
- - Admiral William Leahy , US Atomic Bomb Project
"There is no likelihood man can ever tap the power
of the atom."
-- Robert Millikan, Nobel Prize in Physics, 1923
"Computers in the future may weigh
no more than 1.5 tons."
-- Popular Mechanics, forecasting the relentless march of science, 1949
"I think there is a world market for maybe
five computers."
-- Thomas Watson, chairman of IBM, 1943
"I have traveled the length and breadth of this country
and talked with the best people, and I can assure you
that data processing is a fad that won't last out the year."
-- The editor in charge of business books for Prentice Hall, 1957
"But what is it good for?"
-- Engineer at the Advanced Computing Systems Division of IBM, 1968,
commenting on the microchip.
"640K ought to be enough for anybody."
-- Bill Gates, 1981
This 'telephone' has too many shortcomings
to be seriously considered as a means of communication.
The device is inherently of no value to us"-- Western Union internal memo, 1876.
"The wireless music box has no imaginable
commercial value. Who would pay for a message
sent to nobody in particular?"
-- David Sarnoff's associates in response to his urgings for investment in the radio in the 1920s.
"The concept is interesting and well-formed,
but in order to earn better than a 'C,' the idea
must be feasible"
-- A Yale University management professor in response to Fred Smith's paper proposing
reliable overnight delivery service. (Smith went on to found Federal Express Corp.)"I'm just glad it'll be Clark Gable who's falling on
his face and not Gary Cooper"
-- Gary Cooper on his decision not to take the leading role in
"Gone With The Wind."
"We don't like their sound, and guitar music
is on the way out"
-- Decca Recording Co. rejecting the Beatles, 1962."Heavier-than-air flying machines are impossible"
-- Lord Kelvin, president, Royal Society, 1895.
"If I had thought about it, I wouldn't have done
the experiment. The literature was full of examples
that said you can't do this"
- - Spencer Silver on the work that led to the unique adhesives for 3-M "Post-It" Notepads.
"Drill for oil? You mean drill into the ground to try
and find oil? You're crazy"
-- Drillers who Edwin L. Drake tried to enlist to his project to drill for oil in 1859."Stocks have reached what looks like a
permanently high plateau."
- - Irving Fisher, Professor of Economics, Yale University , 1929.
"Airplanes are interesting toys but of no military value"
-- Marechal Ferdinand Foch, Professor of Strategy, Ecole Superieure de Guerre , France .
"Everything that can be invented has been invented"
-- Charles H. Duell, Commissioner, US Office of Patents, 1899.
"The super computer is technologically impossible.
It would take all of the water that flows over
Niagara Falls to cool the heat generated by the number
of vacuum tubes required."
-- Professor of Electrical Engineering, New York University
"I don't know what use any one could find
for a machine that would make copies of documents.
It certainly couldn't be a feasible business by itself."
-- the head of IBM, refusing to back the idea, forcing the inventor to found Xerox."The abdomen, the chest, and the brain will forever
be shut from the intrusion of the wise and humane surgeon,"
-- Sir John Eric Ericksen, British surgeon, appointed Surgeon-Extraordinary to Queen Victoria 1873.
And last but not least...
"There is no reason anyone would want a computer
in their home."
-- Ken Olson, president, chairman and founder of Digital Equipment Corp., 1977
Saturday, October 6, 2012
ALZHEIMER'S EYE TEST
ALZHEIMER'S EYE TEST
Test Your Brain
This is really cool.
ALZHEIMER'S EYE TEST
(I love this part.. Its absolutely amazing!)
Count every "F" in the following text:
FINISHED FILES ARE THE RE
SULT OF YEARS OF SCIENTI
FIC STUDY COMBINED WITH
THE EXPERIENCE OF YEARS.....
(SEE BELOW)
HOW MANY 'F's?
Count them again.
WRONG, THERE ARE 6 -- no joke..
READ IT AGAIN !
Really, go Back and Try to find the 6 'F's before you scroll down.
The reasoning behind this is further down.
The brain cannot process "OF".
F INISHED F ILES ARE THE RE
SULT OF YEARS OF SCIENTI
F IC STUDY COMBINED WITH
THE EXPERIENCE OF YEARS.....
Incredible or what?
Anyone who counts all 6 'F's on the first go is a genius.
Three is normal, four is quite rare.
Send this to your friends.
It will drive them crazy.!
And keep them occupied
For several minutes..!
Friday, October 5, 2012
Benefits of eating Okra
*A guy has been suffering from constipation for the past 20 years and
recently from acid reflux. He didn't realize that the treatmentcould be so simple -- OKRA! (or Lady's Finger). He started eating okra within the last 2 months and since then have never taken medication again. All he did was consume 6 pieces of OKRA everyday.
He's now regular and his blood sugar has dropped from 135 to 98, with his cholesterol and acid reflux also under control. Here are some facts on okra (from the research of Ms. Sylvia Zook, PH.D nutrition), University of
Illinois. *
*"Okra is a powerhouse of valuable nutrients, nearly half of which is
soluble fiber in the form of gums and pectins. Soluble fiber helps to lower serum cholesterol, reducing the risk of heart disease.
The other half is insoluble fiber which helps to keep the intestinal tract healthy, decreasing the risk of some forms of cancer, especially colo-rectal cancer. *
*Nearly 10% of the recommended levels of vitamin B6 and folic acid is also present in a half cup of cooked okra. Okra is a rich source of many nutrients, including fiber, vitamin B6 and folic acid.
He got the following numbers from the University of Illinois Extension Okra Page Please check there for more details.
Okra Nutrition (half-cup cooked okra)
* Calories = 25
* Dietary Fiber = 2 grams
* Protein = 1.5 grams
* Carbohydrates = 5.8 grams
* Vitamin A = 460 IU
* Vitamin C = 13 mg
* Folic acid = 36.5 micrograms
* Calcium = 50 mg
* Iron = 0.4 mg
* Potassium = 256 mg
* Magnesium = 46 mg *
*These numbers should be used as a guideline only, and if you are on a medically-restricted diet please consult your physician and/or dietician.
Ms Sylvia W. Zook, Ph.D. (nutritionist) has very kindly provided the following thought-provoking comments on the many benefits of this versatile vegetable.
They are well worth reading
1. The superior fiber found in okra helps to stabilize blood sugar as it curbs the rate at which sugar is absorbed from the intestinal tract.
2. Okra's mucilage not only binds cholesterol but bile acid carrying toxins dumped into it by the filtering liver. But it doesn't stop there...
3. Many alternative health practitioners believe all diseases begin in the colon. The okra fiber, absorbing water and ensuring bulk in stools, helpsprevent constipation . Fiber in general is helpful for this but okra is one of the best, along with ground flax seed and psyllium. Unlike harsh wheat bran, which can irritate or injure the intestinal tract, okra's mucilage soothes , and okra facilitates elimination more comfortably by its slippery characteristic many people abhor.
In other words, this incredibly valuable vegetable not only binds excess cholesterol and toxins (in bile acids) which cause numerous health problems, if not evacuated, but also assures their easy passage from the body. The veggie is completely non-toxic, non-habit forming (except for the many who greatly enjoy eating it), has no adverse side effects, is full of nutrients, and is economically within reach of most.
4. Further contributing to the health of the intestinal tract, okra fiber(as
well as flax and psyllium) has no equal among fibers for feeding the good bacteria (probiotics).
5. To retain most of okra's nutrients and self-digesting enzymes, it should be cooked as little as possible, e.g. with low heat or lightly steamed.Some eat it raw.
Some important benefitsof consuming okra:
Stabilises blood sugar level.
Lowers serum cholesterol level.
Prevents constipation.
Keeps intestinal tract healthy.
Feeds good bacteria residing in us all.
Thursday, October 4, 2012
The Psychology Behind Games by Anders Hejdenberg
The Psychology Behind Games Introduction We are all familiar with the feeling we have when we are completely caught up in a great game. The state where we are completely focused on playing, and all other things become irrelevant. This article is about that feeling - why we get it when we play games, and how we can design games that give us more of it.   In the first part of the article we will look at how we function as humans; what our drives are and why we enjoy certain activities. At first this may seem a bit unrelated to games, but soon we will see that the actual game is only what we see on the surface - what we experience is something else completely. In order to fully understand why we enjoy certain games, we need to look at what lies below the surface and try to see them the way our mind sees them. The second part of the article focuses on how games can be designed to cater to the player's needs, interests and abilities. We look at the importance of understanding your target audience, and how games can be built to adapt to the person who is playing. People both have differences and similarities to each other, and the game's design needs to reflect that. Overall, the purpose of this article is to provide a better understanding of why we enjoy certain games so much and how to design games that focus on those aspects. My view is that if we can see games the way our mind sees them, we can perhaps get some new ideas on how to design our games to be more fun for the player. Part One - Why brains love games Needs and motivations
As humans, we have developed many needs over time that are closely related to our survival, existence and evolution. In a way, everything we do in our daily lives is in either a direct or an indirect way related to these needs. Abraham Mallow was the first to summarize the research related to human behavior by creating a list of human needs and sorting them in hierarchic order. Maslow's hierarchy of needs was based in two groups: deficiency needs and growth needs. Within the deficiency needs, each lower need must be met before moving on to the higher needs. If at a later time a lower need is detected, the individual will act to fulfil that need before resuming focus on higher needs. When the deficiency needs are fulfilled, the individual's attention will turn towards the growth needs. Deficient needs: 1. Physiological needs: To breathe, drink, eat, sleep, bodily comforts, etc. 2. Safety and security needs: To feel safe, out of harms way, protected, to live in a safe neighborhood, to know ahead what the plans are. 3. Belongingness and love needs: To affiliate with others, be accepted, be part of a group, to love and be loved, to have a family, to be social. 4a. Lower esteem needs: To be respected, to get attention, to have status, power, reputation, dignity, to express oneself through words, clothes, or self-creations. 4b. Higher esteem needs: To have self-respect, to be competent, to achieve independence and freedom. Growth needs: 5. Cognitive needs: To know, to understand, to explore, to seek adventure, to experience new things, to travel, to feel excitement. 6. Self-actualization needs: To realize one's potential, to be all that you can be. 7. Transcendence: To help others to self-fulfilment and realize their potential. Rewarding good behavior In order to make sure that we listen to our needs, evolution has developed our brain with designated reward areas that serve to reinforce healthy behavior, such as drinking when we are thirsty. Dopamine, a neurotransmitter associated with pleasant feelings, is released by these reward areas to encourage the body to repeat these behaviors. This is the reason why fulfilling needs is often associated with feelings of pleasure. It could be said that our body helps us to distinguish positive behavior by rewarding it with an induction of pleasurable brain chemicals. When we look at lower needs, things seem to be quite simple: we are hungry, we eat, and we get rewarded. But when it comes to rewarding higher needs - like gaining the respect of others for example - things tend to get a lot more complex. The higher needs are not based around our physical needs, but rather around the psychological needs. So how can there be a specific behavior or activity to reward, if everyone has a different view of what the needs are? The interesting fact of the matter is that it is completely up to our own view of what respect is to decide whether we have accomplished what we should and deserve a reward. Quite simply, from an objective standpoint it does not really matter what we do, how we do it, or why - as long as we feel that we are doing the right thing, for the right reasons, and getting good results, we will get our fix of dopamine. For example, there is no difference between winning the lottery and thinking you have won the lottery - they are both just as fun up until you start trying to spend the money. Measuring results It can be said that on a personal level - as we perceive it - the ultimate goal for all our activities is to get pleasure and/or avoid pain. If we have an activity where we can conclude that the possible gain in pleasure outweighs the possibility of failure and pain, we will most likely want to do it. The amount of pleasure or pain that is then derived from the activity relies on how much we've learned (was it interesting to me?), our subjective view of the activity itself (was this okay for me to do?) and the measurement of its success (did I do well?). The problems we face in our modern society is that our options are so plentiful, the boundaries between right and wrong are not always clear, and we can seldom get a good measurement of the results of our actions. This means that it can many times be difficult for us to decide what we should be doing, and perhaps even more difficult to get the pleasure from knowing that we have done something well. We tend to measure ourselves against other people, and there is always someone out there that appears to be smarter, happier, more talented or just plain better looking. So what can we do to ensure that our activities give us pleasure? Games Games are specifically designed to deal with this issue - and not just videogames, but all types of games. Games can be played against other people, against yourself, against a computer, or perhaps even against the forces of nature - but what they all have in common is that they have set goals with set rules that you have to follow in order to play. This makes it much easier for us to decide what to do and makes measuring the outcome much simpler. We also have the learning aspect in games since in most games we will have to keep improving our skills in order to beat the competition (or our previous record). Game experiences Roger Caillois is the theorist behind the book Man, Play, and Games. In his book, Caillois proposed a useful system of classifying the different types of experiences that are present in games. A game can include just one or all of these different types of experiences. 1. Competition Activities where players use their skill to overcome the challenge that their opponents offer. The pleasure lies in developing your skills to outmaneuver the opposition. Football and chess are examples of such activities. 2. Chance Activities where elements of chance can have an impact on the outcome of the game. The pleasure lies in finding ways to minimize the impact of the element of chance, and the excitement of trying to guess the outcome. Games that are based on chance can also give players the illusion of being able to control or foresee the future. Slot machines and lotteries are examples of such activities. 3. Vertigo Activities that alters the state of mind by disrupting the normal perception of the world, resulting in a pleasurable state of dizziness. Roller coaster rides and skydiving are examples of such activities. 4. Make-Believe Activities where we create alternate realities in which we are not bound by the constraints of the real world. The pleasure lies in assuming various characteristics and abilities that we do not possess in our normal life. In this state of make-believe we can feel as if we actually possessed the powers of what we have chosen to assimilate. Role-playing, theatre and reading books are examples of such activities. Pleasurable activities So if playing games is an activity that can give us pleasure - why do certain games give us more pleasure than others? Mihály Csíkszentmihályi is considered by many to be the leading researcher in the field of positive psychology. Csíkszentmihályi has developed the notion of "flow" - a state that he describes as "being completely involved in an activity for its own sake. The ego falls away. Time flies. Every action, movement, and thought follows inevitably from the previous one, like playing jazz. Your whole being is involved, and you're using your skills to the utmost." People who have played games can most likely relate to this feeling. And most people will agree that this feeling is very pleasurable. But what is it that makes us reach this state of mind? Mr. Csíkszentmihályi has come up with a list of eight things that are associated with "flow" or "being in the zone" as it is often described. 1. It's an activity that we feel that we can perform - a challenge that requires skill Any activity provides us with a number of options - or challenges - that require a certain skill to do. If we don't have the required skill for the activity, the challenge will easily become frustrating or feel meaningless. Pleasure comes in the area between boredom and anxiety at the distinct moment where our options are in line with our abilities. Playing a game of chess against an evenly matched opponent is a good example of this - if they were much better than we were, it could feel meaningless since we cannot really affect the outcome. If we were much better than they were, it could be boring since there is no challenge in it for us. 2. We need to be able to concentrate on what we are doing When a person's skill is needed to perform a task their focus will be completely absorbed with what they're doing. We regress into a state where our actions become spontaneous and we stop being aware of ourselves as parted from what we are doing. In order to be able to enter and then remain in this state it is important that there are no distractions - neither from outside of the activity or from the activity itself. A common distraction in many games is difficult controls. If the controls are not simple or intuitive enough for us to be able to do what we want to do, we will constantly be distracted from what we are doing. Our focus will turn toward the controls instead of the game. 3. We need to have clear goals for our activity Without a clear goal you have little means of judging whether or not we are making any progress. The pleasure does not necessarily lie in reaching the goal itself - it is only the end of the ruler by which we measure our progress. It is also important that goals are set at a level where we need to invest our skills to reach the goal - otherwise the goal will become meaningless. For example, if our goal were just to reach the finish line in a racing game we would not need to pay much attention to be successful. If the goal would instead be to reach the finish line within a short time-frame, the task would perhaps require our complete attention. 4. We need to get constant feedback on our progress In order to be able to judge if our activities are fruitful, we need to get some form of feedback on our efforts. We may fail in certain attempts to reach our goals, but if we get enough feedback along the way, we can still feel that we are on the right track and that our invested efforts are paying off. Feedback is not only about being told that we are doing well. It is just as important that the activity is laid out in a way where we can constantly judge our own progress. In many fighting games, there is an indication of the opponent's health above their character. This is a good way to provide us with feedback on how well we are doing, and to help us develop our technique so that our attacks deal the most amount of damage. 5. We act with a deep involvement that frees us from our everyday worries In order to be deeply involved it is important that the activity has not been forced upon us against our will. When we act out of free will with deep involvement, we forget about all the unpleasantries in life. The activity demands such a full concentration that there is no room for us to reflect upon anything else. Even though playing games is usually not forced upon us, some elements in games can become boring or repetitive after a while. When they do, we can easily become less involved in the game since we feel that we are being forced to do these things in order to progress. 6. We need to exercise control over our environment In a structured activity we can often get a feeling of control. We are free from the anxiety of losing control that is so common in our daily lives - we are not afraid of failing. The important thing is that the activity is designed so that it allows us to develop such a great skill that the risk of failure is eliminated. It's not about having control, but about exercising control. It is only when the outcome is uncertain and we feel that we can affect the outcome that we experience that we are in control. If the game contains elements that the player cannot control but that affect the outcome of the game, the player will not be able to exercise control. Games that allow the player to exercise full control will almost always end with the most skilled player winning. 7. We become less self-absorbed When we concentrate fully on an activity there is no room for self-reflection. All our attention is used to perform the activity. Afterwards, we can look at ourselves and notice that we have grown from the experience - our mind has been enriched with new skills and new accomplishments. 8. Our perception of time is altered Our perception of time is mainly based on perceived changes around us, but when the activity demands our full concentration there is no room to register anything but the activity itself. This can make days feel like hours and hours like minutes. Summary
Games are activities that we have specifically designed to maximize the amount of pleasure we get from them. Games are our way of having fun, regardless of our current life situation. In games, we do not have to abide to the restrictions of the ordinary world. We can create our own rules where our specific talents can be recognized and rewarded - talents that would perhaps otherwise go unnoticed. However, games are not just an activity - they are also many other things. This goes especially for videogames. For example, the game StarCraft is not just about managing resources and planning strategic moves with your game pieces. It is also about being a military leader in a distant future, it is about stopping a flood of aliens that are trying to take over your world, it is about treachery and deceit, and it is about doing the right thing and becoming a hero. In the second part of this article, we will look at videogames specifically and see how we can design games that are adjusted after the player's needs and desires. --- Taken from: | ||||||||||||||||||||
Sent from my iPad
Tuesday, October 2, 2012
Fwd: The Easiest Way To Live Longer
Sent from my iPhone
Begin forwarded message:
From: Leslie Chang <lesliecck@gmail.com>
Date: 2 October, 2012 8:21:47 AM GMT+08:00
To: undisclosed-recipients:;
Subject: The Easiest Way To Live Longer
-The Easiest Way To Live Longer
By Lisa Collier Cool
ก.ย. 11, 2012Did you know that every minute you walk can extend your life by 1.5 to 2 minutes? In addition, many studies show that people who walk regularly live longer, weigh less, have lower blood pressure, and enjoy better overall health than non-walkers.Ready to lace on your shoes? If you want to add to the amount of walking you do, just clip on a pedometer. That simple action actually increases your physical activity by over 2100 steps per day, a review that pooled data from 26 studies found.Here's a look at ten benefits of walking.
Walking Increases Your Lifespan
Walking more than an hour a day improves life expectancy significantly, a 2011 study showed. The researchers looked at 27,738 participants between the ages of 40 and 79 over a 13-year period. Surprisingly, their lifetime medical costs did not increase—even though they lived longer."An increase in walking time at the population level would bring about a tremendous change in people's health and medical cost," the study authors wrote.
Walking Wards Off Diabetes
Just thirty minutes of walking a day can prevent diseases such as type 2 diabetes, a 2002 study looking at both overweight and average weight men and women in a population at high risk for the disease showed.If you already have diabetes, walking is helpful for you, too. A mile or more daily cuts your risk of death from all causes in half, according to a 2007 study.
Walking Keeps Your Mind Sharp
Walking 72 blocks a week (around six to nine miles) helps increase grey matter, which in turn lowers the risk of suffering from cognitive impairment—or trouble with concentration, memory and thought, according to a study which looked at 299 seniors over a nine-year period.Furthermore, walking five miles per week can provide some protection to the memory and learning areas of the brains of those already suffering from Alzheimer's disease or mild cognitive impairment, and lead to a slower decline in memory loss.
Walking Helps Lower Blood Pressure
Walking just 30 minutes a day, three to five days a week—even when the 30 minutes are broken into three ten-minute increments—has been found to significantly lower blood pressure.
Walking is Great for Bone Health
Putting one foot in front of the other for about a mile a day led to improved bone density in post-menopausal women, and slowed the rate of bone loss from the legs, according to a 1994 study. "It takes walkers four to seven years longer to reach the point of very low bone density, study leader Dr. Krall told the New York Times.
Walking Cuts the Risk of Stroke
Walking about 12.5 miles a week or more cut the risk of stroke in half, according to a study looking at over 11,000 Harvard University alumni with an average age of 58.
Walking Improves Your Mood
If you're feeling down in the dumps, walking is a quick and easy solution. Just thirty minutes on a treadmill reduces feelings of tension and depression, according to research published in the British Journal of Sports Medicine. In fact, the study found that walking lifted moods more quickly than anti-depressants did (and with fewer side effects).And the more people walk, the better their mood and energy, says California State University Long Beach professor Robert Thayer, based on a study looking at 37 study participants over a 20-day period.
Walking Torches Calories
Just 20 minutes of walking a day will burn 7 pounds a year. The effects are even more dramatic when you add in some dietary changes as well.
Walking Improves Insomnia
Having trouble sleeping at night? Try taking a brisk 45-minute walk in the morning five days a week, and your sleep may improve significantly, according to research from the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center in Seattle, which looked at women from the age of 50-74. (Walking in the evening, however, sometimes has the opposite effect—so keep an eye on when you're exercising and what your sleep patterns are.)
Walking is Good for the Heart
Women who took brisk walks for three or more hours per week reduced their risk of heart disease by 30-40 percent, according to an analysis of over 72,000 women aged 40-65, who were enrolled in the prospective Nurses' Health Study. As I reported recently, heart attacks kill more US women than men annually. However, the benefits of walking aren't limited to one gender. A different study showed that walking can cut the risk of coronary heart disease in half for men between the ages of 71 and 93.
--
--
Best Regards,
Have a nice day.
Leslie Chang
Fwd: Singapore banker becomes half-paralysed after neck massage in China
Sent from my iPhone
Begin forwarded message:
From: Leslie Chang <lesliecck@gmail.com>
Date: 2 October, 2012 8:22:33 AM GMT+08:00
To: undisclosed-recipients:;
Subject: Singapore banker becomes half-paralysed after neck massage in China
You want a massage. Think TWICE before you act.
---
Singaporebanker becomes half-paralysed after neck massage in China
To:
Date: Sunday, September 23, 2012, 6:20 PM
Singapore
Thursday, 13 September 2012 16:54
Singapore banker becomes half-paralysed after neck
massage in China ( choose ladies with softer hands )
SINGAPORE - After a particularly painful neck massage, a 40-year-old banker from Singapore suffered a stroke and became a paraplegic consequentially.
Mr Lin claims that his doctors suspect that the excessive force used in the massage broke a blood vessel and resulted in a stroke.
He is now deaf in one ear and is undergoing therapy to regain movement in the left half of his body, Chinese DailyLianhe Wanbao reported.
According to the paper, Mr Lin is an assistant director of a department in a bank, and was in China recently to visit some friends.
There, he visited a massage parlour to get a foot massage. Upon the therapist's recommendation, he decided to try a neck massage instead.
After the massage, he felt okay. But three days later, he suddenly felt a sharp pain in the left side of his head, and woke up to find that his left ear was deaf.
He also couldn't move the left side of his body, and was unsteady in his gait.
He recalled: "I felt very afraid. It all happened so fast, it was really like a bolt from the blue."
As he was not in condition to be moved, he could not return home immediately for treatment. Mr Lin was sent to a hospital in Hong Kong and hospitalised for about two weeks until doctors deemed him fit for a flight home.
Mr Lin told the Chinese Daily that his doctors suspect that when he underwent the neck massage, the massage therapist tore the vascular wall of an artery accidentally by using too much force.
The damage resulted in the blockage of the artery passage, causing the blood flow to be disrupted.
Recovery
According to his doctors, Mr Lin suffered vertebral artery dissection, which is a flap-like tear of the inner lining of the vertebral artery - a blood vessel that is located in the neck and supplies blood to the brain.
After the tear, blood enters the arterial wall and forms a blood clot, thickening the artery wall and often impeding blood flow. This can result in intermittent or permanent stroke symptoms such as difficulty speaking, impaired coordination and even vision loss.
According to medical resources, it can be caused by physical trauma to the neck, such as a car accident.
Currently, Mr Lin is undergoing treatment at TanTock Seng Hospital's rehabilitation ward.
Last month, he began a "walking" rehabilitation treatment, where he is assisted in walking back and forth along a set path. Doctors said this will help speed up the recovery process.
On August 24, Mr Lin was discharged from hospital. Although he is still easily fatigued, he is now able to walk without the need for crutches.
Other than Mr Lin's case, there have been reports in the media about people who have become paralysed after massages.
In 2006, a woman from Australia suffered a stroke after a company masseur gave her a massage at her workplace.
It is believed that similar to Mr Lin's case, the massage caused a blood vessel in her neck to tear, slowly blocking the blood supply to her brain.
Very real danger
Adjunct Associate Professor Hee Hwan Tak, Medical Director of the Centre for Spine & Scoliosis Surgery - a subsidiary of Singapore Medical Group - toldYourHealth that such a scenario is not only possible, it has happened in Singapore before.
"It it is possible to suffer a stroke if the massage is overzealous and the patient has pre-existing issues," said Prof Hee.
According to Prof Hee, this is because there are vertebral arteries in the neck that travel within a relatively confined space intimately related to the vertebrae.
As such, these vertebral arteries may be injured by excess manipulation of the area.
Possible injuries range from blood clots, the clot moving from the neck to the brain, and the dissection of the artery like Mr Lin
--"Life is a grindstone. Whether it grinds us down or polishes us up depends on us."
--
Best Regards,
Have a nice day.
Leslie Chang
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