Save your heart with healthy habits at workplace
Dr Harinder Singh Bedi

One-third of the annual deaths worldwide occure due to cardiovascular diseases (CVD). The majority (80 per cent) of these cases are reported from low-and-middle-income countries. By 2030, CVD is slated to account for nearly 24 million lost lives. Risk factors include tobacco use, high blood pressure, high cholesterol, diabetes, obesity, physical inactivity and unhealthy diets, particularly those high in saturated fat.

India is already the world capital for diabetes, and by 2020 it will be the leader in heart disease unless we now start taking measures to prevent heart disease. Even young executives are falling prey to this epidemic in the peak of their productive lives. Under the prevailing circumstances, prevention is the responsibility of both the employer and the employee. This year the World Heart Federation (WHF) aims to encourage heart-healthy habits at workplaces.

The workplace is one area where good habits can be inculcated compulsorily so that they become a part of life. In a new independent research, commissioned by the WHF, nearly a third of the employees surveyed in four countries, including India, felt their workplace actually made it difficult for them to lead a healthy lifestyle. And 91 per cent said it was their employers’ responsibility to create a healthy environment. Since work represents a major activity in our lives, it offers a really valuable opportunity to promote cardiovascular health on a daily basis.

Here are some easy steps to be taken at the workplace to help combat heart disease:

Pack it up: Packing your lunch, instead of eating out, enables you to control your calories and fat accumulation. Prepare larger healthy meals for dinner to have leftovers for work. Leftovers can be stretched out for two or three days as well.

Step away from the desk: No matter how busy your day is, go outside for lunch or take a short break in the kitchen or cafeteria. Do not eat at the work table. You’ll be more satisfied and recharged after paying attention to your food instead of your e-mail. Your work area will also remain cleaner.

Get moving and exercise at work: The best is to cycle to your workplace. I was pleasantly surprised to find a professor of orthopaedic surgery at my institute (Christian Medical College and Hospital, Ludhiana) cycling to work.

Park your car away from the entrance, take the stairs rather than the lift and take a short walk at lunch time. If you come in a bus, get off one stop earlier. People working in malls have the advantage of an excellent airconditioned environment to walk in — in fact, some malls open up early before shopping hours for walk enthusiasts!

Team up: Partner with a co-worker for a nutrition and fitness plan. For example, a 2008 American Heart Association survey revealed that adults are 76 per cent more likely to walk if someone else is counting on them.

Break for water, not coffee: The human body loses about 10 cups of water during daily activity, so it’s important to replenish it. The American Heart Association recommends drinking six to eight glasses of water per day to stay hydrated.

Laugh for life: Minimising stress is important for wellness, and laughter is the best medicine. Crack jokes with your co-workers.

Say “No” to tobacco: A smoke-free work place is a must. This is quite easy to implement now with the new laws in place. Employers must encourage and help those attempting to quit smoking.

Insist on healthy food options in your canteen: Get your management to ban colas, fried and junk food. Snack on fruits . Canteens should cut down on greasy and salty food — this could add a few years to an employee’s life.

Start yoga classes at work: Just a 15-minute break and group yoga therapy is not only good for the heart, but can also inculcate team spirit and create a feel-good atmosphere. We have devised work-based yoga therapies which can be used by individuals at any time at work. Employers should designate exercise areas for employees and hold counselling sessions to address workplace stress. They should be given a break everyday with an option of a recreational activity.

Offer healthy perks like retreats, picnics, free health check-ups and the services of a game room, gym and spa.

Stress management: Employees should be made to learn skills for managing work-related stress. Encouraging people of all levels to take pride in their work. Studies suggest that people who take pride in their work are less likely to suffer from cardiovascular disease. Men who suppress their anger about unfair treatment at the work place are two to five times more likely to suffer a heart attack or die from heart disease than those who quickly vent their frustration. Experts also call for hostility and anger management sessions at the workplace.

Basic medical training: Training all employees in cardiopulmonary resuscitation with the provision of automated external defibrillators. The idea here is to improve the survival odds for people suffering cardiovascular events.

Healthy snacks at meetings: Change the culture of offering coffee and biscuits at meetings to water and fruit.

Limit alcohol intake: Office parties should not be an excuse to binge on alcohol. Some “official” restrictions on alcohol intake are not a bad idea. Excessive alcohol intake damages health, raises blood pressure and weight, and reduces productivity.

The writer is Head, Cardio-Vascular & Thoracic Surgery, Christian Medical College and Hospital, Ludhiana. He was earlier at St Vincents Hospital in Australia. Email: drhsbedicmc@gmail.com 

Why gym injuries are on the rise
Dr Ravinder Chadha

With increased awareness regarding fitness being an integral part of healthy and disease-free life globally, gymnasiums and fitness centres have gained immense popularity. Gym-related injuries are not entirely preventable. Taking necessary precautions can help decrease them significantly. A proper training regimen targeting cardiovascular conditioning as well as sports-specific muscle strengthening is extremely important in injury prevention and should be tailored to suit each individual. However, the fitness regime must be individualistic and should always be carried out under proper guidance.

As there are very few institutions to groom fitness trainers/instructors, self-qualified trainers have become the order of the day. Leave alone the metropolitan cities, even smaller towns have fitness centres coming up at every nook and corner.

Fitness regimens should be result-oriented and carried out slowly but steadily. If performed incorrectly or with increased intensity over a short period, these can lead to injuries and disabilities. Here are the exercises which can cause injuries if not done properly:

Latissimus pull-downs — When seated, individuals trying to pull the bar down behind their heads are more prone to injuring their spine, shoulder or neck. The ideal thing is to pull the bar down in front of the shoulders and the chest in a controlled motion.

Knee/shin pain usually occurs when the load on the shin/knee is suddenly increased while running on the treadmill. This is because the muscle of the lower limb gets fatigued and the entire load is transmitted to the shin bone, causing shin splint or injury to the muscles/ligaments.

Seated leg press — If not done correctly it can cause injuries to the knee joint and the lower back. The common mistake is bending too much of the knee joint which causes overloading of the collateral ligaments and muscles supporting the knee joint. Bending the knee more than 90 degrees, the lower spine first flattens and then rounds up causing disc prolapse. To avoid injury to the back, it is advisable to place the hands at the hollow of the lower back when the legs are straightened. When the knees and hips are in the process of bending, lower back starts to flatten which can be felt by the hands placed at the back. One should stop and restart extension of the legs.

Upright row — In this exercise the arms are lifted away from the body. The ball of the upper arm bone impinges on the bony arch of the shoulder, causing injury to the rotator cuff muscles supporting the shoulder joint. Alternatively, hold a weight with your thumbs pointing up and raise sideways up to the shoulder level.

Low back/knee pain is suffered while lifting heavy weights in the squatting position. To avoid this injury, it is advisable to lift weight with straight back or with a back support, and not to squat below the knee level.

Low back pain can also occur while performing abdominal exercises with straight legs and raising the upper body above 90 degrees. It is advisable to do sit-ups with bend knees and not to raise the upper body beyond 60 degrees.

Shoulder/elbow injuries are sustained when heavy weights are lifted with a jerk, without proper warm-up and increasing either the load or repetitions too soon.

Tips to prevent injury

l Warm-up of 5-10 minutes of cardio and stretching go a long way in preventing gym injuries. Stretching should be done after a warm-up and following an intense workout. Stretching before warm-up can cause injury.

ll Avoid training when you are tired or in pain. Some soreness is common after exercising, but if it continues you are pushing too hard. Allow at least 24-48 hours for muscles to recover after a strenuous workout. Then resume the same exercises or activity but at a lower intensity.

l Injuries can occur when the training intensity is increased too much too soon. One should increase the volume and intensity of the work-out gradually and in a progressive manner. An increase in training should be matched with an increase in resting.

l Short-term goals prevent injuries. Treat even seemingly minor injuries very carefully to prevent them becoming a big problem.

Start slow — Go slow should be the criterion. Enjoy working out and remember to play it safe!

The writer is a former doctor/physiotherapist, Indian Cricket Team. E-mail-chadha_r2003@yahoo.co.in

Health Notes
Internet surfing major cause for chronic back pain in women

London: Researchers have said that middle-aged women are suffering from chronic backache because of the Internet. Women, aged 35 to 50, spend most time on social networking sites Facebook and Twitter, a Deep Heat pain relief poll found. As many as 78 per cent are in agony because they spend too long sitting at a desk at work or on the Net. Of those nearly one in five — 18 per cent — endures backache every day, reports The Daily Express. — ANI

Swine flu jab ‘may trigger rare nerve disease’

London: Experts have indicated a possible link between the swine flu jab and an increased risk of developing a rare nerve disease. The authorities are carrying out studies to examine a possible association between the vaccine and the Guillain-Barre Syndrome, a condition that attacks the nervous system and can cause paralysis and even death, reports The Telegraph. The medicines and health care products regulatory agency (MHRA) has published a report that suggests that further tests are to be carried out. It reads, “Given the uncertainties in the available information and as with seasonal flu vaccines, a slightly elevated risk of GBS following H1N1 vaccines cannot be ruled out.” — ANI

Super skinny women on TV harmful for health

London: A new research has suggested that repetitive exposure to images of thin women alters brain function and increases our likeliness to develop eating disorders. Scientists have identified sudden, unexpected changes in the brain function of healthy, body-confident women when they view certain female figures. In a recent study at Brigham Young University in Utah, healthy women looked at images of models in skimpy bikinis. Some of the models were overweight, some thin. On viewing each image, the women were told to imagine that someone else was saying the model looked like her. When they were presented with the overweight images, the brain area called the medial prefrontal cortex (the front part of the brain linked with strong emotions such as unhappiness) showed increased activation in all of the women. — ANI

Variety in meals holds key to a long life

London: Foods containing anti-oxidants, wholegrains and vital fatty acids are likely to cut the risk of killer illnesses, including heart disease, Alzheimer’s and diabetes, a new study has suggested. Scientists have found that rather than just a narrow range of foods being responsible for boosting health; the answer was a widely varied diet that might include oily fish, porridge oats and blueberries. “The key is definitely to introduce these kinds of foods into the diet. It is a very healthy diet and completely proves the point that it is about healthy eating as a whole, not just doing one thing,” the Daily Express quoted nutritionist Angela Dowden, as saying. — ANI