This exercise not only works your abdominal, but it will help give your body more overall flexibility. Lie on your back on the floor with your arms extended at your sides and an exercise ball between your straight legs. Squeeze the ball slightly and tighten your abs. Then inhale as you slowly use your legs to lift the ball up. Push your hands down into the ground or place them under your glutes for more support. Keep lifting in a slow and controlled motion to pull the ball all the way over your head. Then, slowly lower back down to the ground. This is an extremely effective exercise, but it requires the use of a captain's chair. If you don't have one at home, they should be readily available at your local gym. To perform the exercise, position your forearms and back on the provided pads and dangle your legs down below you. Tightly grip the handles of the machine. Slowly lift your legs towards your chest. Keep your knees and feet together. Then lower your legs back down in the same slow, controlled manner. . Place the rocker on a flat, lever surface and lower yourself to the floor. Place your head on the head rest so that your back is flat on the floor and your shoulders are slightly raised. Keep your feet on the floor and your knees bent at a 45 angle. Grip the sidebars of the rocker. As you exhale, contract your abs (not your arms) to push yourself forward. To work your obliques, do the same motion, but drop your knees to one side. Then, repeat with the other side. Lie on the exercise ball so that the middle of your back is touching the ball and your feet are planted firmly on the floor. Lace your fingers behind your head. Contract your hips and glutes and inhale. As you exhale, roll your body up slowly so that your head is raised and your shoulder blades are raised slightly up off the ball. Don't drop your hips. Then, slowly lower yourself back to the starting position. Tie a piece of exercise tubing about two and a half feet above the floor. Lie on your back and bend your knees so that your feet are flat on the floor. Hold the exercise tubing in your hands behind your head. Then, perform a traditional crunch. Keep in mind that the further you are positioned from the anchor point of the exercise tubing, the more strenuous this exercise will be. . A torso track is a machine that is designed to work all of your abdominal muscles at once. To use, place the track on the floor. Kneel on the padded cushion. Grip the handles with both hands. Contract your abs. Exhale as you move forward as fast as possible. Then pull yourself back to the start and inhale. Keep your abs contracted the whole time. If you loosen your abs, you'll place dangerous strain on your back. An ab roller is a wheel designed to help you work your abdominal. Kneel on a pillow or folder up blanket on the ground and grip the roller with both hands. Contract your abs and roll yourself forward until your knees come up off the floor and your body is hovering just above the ground. Hold the position for 2 to 3 seconds or as long as you can before slowly pulling back to the starting position. Remember to use your abs to pull yourself back, not your hips. Your ankles shouldn't come close to your hips when you're performing this exercise.

Summary: Continue using your exercise ball as you move into a higher intensity workout with a supine overhead stretch. Work out with the captain's chair. Use an Ab Rocker Work your upper abdominal with exercise ball curls. Work your lower abdominal with exercise tubing pulls. Use a Torso Track Finish this portion of your workout by using an ab roller.

As soon as the knee injury occurs, you should make an appointment with your usual doctor to have them check on it. Try to get an appointment as soon as possible after the injury because waiting can cause additional damage to the joint. Most family doctors have seen many knee injuries and will be able to give you medical advice right away, depending on the severity of the injury. Your doctor may need to do an X-ray or MRI to properly assess your knee injury. If you don't have a primary care physician, you can visit an urgent care or express care facility for treatment. If at any point you lose motion in your knee and cannot reach a physician, go to the emergency room for immediate medical attention. A physical therapist will be able to give you a set of stretches and activities to complete at home that will help your knee heal. After an injury, they will normally teach you how to do the stretches first, have you practice them at home every day, and have you visit on a regular basis to track your improvement. In some cases, you will need a doctor's recommendation or prescription to see a physical therapist. Make sure the physical therapist is covered by your insurance. Even with a doctor's referral, only some physical therapist's offices in your area will be considered "in network" and covered by your insurance.

Summary: Call your primary care physician to request an appointment as soon as possible. Schedule to see a physical therapist to help regain movement in your knee.

Your doctor can test your GFR by administering a creatinine blood test. Creatinine is a waste product present in your blood. If the amount of creatinine contained within a sample is too high, your kidneys' filtering ability (GFR) is likely too low. Alternatively, your doctor might administer a creatinine clearance test, which measures the amount of creatinine in both your blood and urine. Your test results are only one factor involved in calculating your GFR. Doctors also take into consideration your age, race, body size, and gender when determining the actual GFR rate. If your GFR is 90 mls/min/1.73m2 or greater, your kidneys are considered to be in good health. GFR between 60 and 89 mls/min/1.73m2 puts you into stage two chronic kidney disease (CKD). A rate between 30 and 59 mls/min/1.73m2 puts you into stage three CKD, and rate between 15 and 29 mls/min/1.73m2 are considered stage four CKD. Once your GFR dips below 15 mls/min/1.73m2, you are in stage five CKD, which means your kidneys have failed. Your doctor can provide you with additional detail regarding your GFR score and how it impacts your life. If your numbers are lower than they should be, your physician will probably recommend some type of treatment, but the specifics may vary from patient to patient. You'll need to make certain changes to your diet and overall lifestyle regardless of which stage of CKD you've entered. During the early stages, however, these changes might be enough to improve your GFR. This is especially true if you've had no prior history of kidney problems. During the later stages of CKD, your doctor will likely prescribe some form of medication to help improve your kidney function. This medication should be used alongside lifestyle changes and should not be thought of as a substitute treatment. In the final stages of CKD, your doctor will almost always put you on dialysis or recommend a kidney transplant.
Summary: Take the test. Understand your numbers. Talk with your doctor.