Birth pains

RADIO 1 DJ Sara Cox, whose baby is due next month, reveals her third pregnancy is taking its toll on her body. She reveals: “I’m suffering from sciatica in both buttocks, which is really painful, and I get shooting pains down my legs.

“Normally in pregnancy, a hormone is released to help relax the joints so birth is easier, but I always release this prematurely. This time it’s caused my bones to move and trap the sciatic nerve. An osteopath is helping me deal with it.”

She has two children, five-year-old Lola, from her marriage to DJ Jon Carter, and 22-month-old Isaac, with her partner of four years, advertising executive Ben Cyzer.

Sara, 35, explains: “I’m vulnerable to problems because I have hyper-mobile joints, so mine have an unusually large range of movement. I was born with a dislocated hip and had to be put in a plaster cast immediately, and throughout my childhood my legs were wonky and my knees turned in. I used to get bullied at school about the way I walked.”

Sara – who is backing Radox’s My Selfish Hour campaign to encourage women to enjoy a weekly hour of “me time” – plans to return to her regular gym routine after the birth of her baby, but continues keeping her wellbeing stable by taking a weekly “down time” break.

“My life’s full-on and an hour a week either relaxing on my own or meeting girlfriends is vital, which is why I back the Selfish Hour campaign. I think it’s only too common for women to ignore their own wellbeing and run themselves into the ground looking after everyone else.”

Sara’s bubbly, gregarious nature and positive outlook mean she rarely suffers low mood but she admits: “Occasionally, I get a hormonal moment when I boil up and chuck a few things around. Also, I was born with the organisation gene missing and I have to really concentrate on keeping things running smoothly!”

Her favourite remedy is manuka honey: “It’s supposed to have anti-bacterial properties and is great for soothing sore throats.”

Radox is offering advice and free downloadable aids and rewards for those who join the My Selfish Hour campaign at be-selfish.co.uk.

■ Another of pregnancy’s miseries – morning sickness – can also cause heartburn, loss of appetite, dehydration and fatigue. Not only are the symptoms debilitating and depressing, they are not necessarily confined to first thing in the day.

Lillipops Iced Soothies are formulated to alleviate morning sickness. Available in five natural flavours – grapefruit and tangerine, lemon and mint, camomile and orange, lime and vanilla and ginger – and with no artificial colours or sweeteners, they can be stored in the freezer until needed.

Lillipops retail at £6.95 for a 20 ice pop multipack of all five flavours.

They are available at independent chemists or on-line at lillipops.com.

Suffering from fashion highs and lows

WITH pictures of Victoria Beckham’s unsightly bunions splashed across the newspapers this week, many women will be tempted to throw away their teetering heels in favour of ballet pumps. But unsupportive flat shoes can be just as bad for the health of your feet.

Glendon Lloyd, founder of the foot care website tszuji.co.uk, the UK home of the Foot Petal insole range, warns: “Women often assume that switching to flat shoes will save their feet from problems like bunions and calluses.

“But often, ballet pumps offer inadequate support for the foot, leading to poor posture and excessive pressure on joints.

“An easy solution is to invest in high orthopaedic quality insoles.

They will protect your feet no matter what shoes you choose to wear.”

Try Tip Toes insoles to cushion the balls of your feet, stop them from sliding forward and prevent ugly toe overhang with high-heeled sandals.

Killer Kushionz are full insoles that can also be worn in open toe shoes and sandals.

Heavenly Heelz are multi-functional cushion insoles that not only protect your heels against rubbing and blisters, but can also be used at the inside top of a mule or boot to ease friction and protect your hosiery.

Amazing Arches provide support for the arch of the foot. They work with the body’s natural shock absorption system to reduce foot fatigue.

Finally, Sexy Soles are customisable insoles to provide ultimate comfort for the entire foot – especially great in flats and boots. The innovative design allows you to trim them to fit all shoe shapes.

To make sure your new shoes stay stylish, tszuji.co.uk also sells protectors to prevent the length of the heel from snapping, and caps to stop the heel tip from chipping or slipping.

Put frozen shoulders on defrost

YOUR toes and fingers might have felt pretty chilled recently, but frozen shoulders can also present quite a health problem.

Suzanne Hibberd and Stuart Bentley at Bedale Osteopaths, in North Yorkshire, are the first practitioners in the North-East to offer the Neil Asher defrost programme, a natural approach which they say can ease the extreme pain of a frozen shoulder by as much as 80 per cent.

Chris Jakeman, owner of Mad Hatters Tearoom, in Masham, suffered severe shoulder pain after reaching awkwardly.

His pain did not settle with rest, heat or painkillers and it gradually began to prevent him from doing everyday tasks.

The pain was excruciating and unbroken sleep became a distant memory.

“The pain was so bad that eventually I decided to drive a 500-mile round trip to London to try this treatment. Within two visits, my pain had decreased considerably,”

he says. “When I returned, I urged Suzanne to take the course to prevent others in my situation having to travel so far.”

Stuart and Suzanne have worked with the technique for three years, and are delighted with the results. “We have patients from all over the North-East travelling to us for advice and treatment,”

says Suzanne. “Frozen shoulders are extremely painful and the symptoms can last for 18 months or more so it is very rewarding to be able to offer our patients a good chance of pain relief.”

■ Visit bedaleosteopaths.co.uk or frozenshoulder.com for more details.