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| HEALTH & FITNESS |
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Back pain — myths and misconceptions
Tattooing in teenagers
Vitamin D can prevent vision loss
How exercise makes
our heart healthy
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Back pain — myths and misconceptions
Rarely do low back pain patients require surgery. A vast majority of patients can be treated conservatively via medication, physical therapy, manipulation, massage therapy, etc. Valuable time is wasted in visiting untrained, self-styled medical experts due to certain deep-rooted myths in the Indian mindset. Awareness is creeping in slowly but surely in our society, yet we have a long way to go to match up to our Western counterparts. Pain could be complex leading to complications and, therefore, it should be dealt with professionally. The myths commonly encountered are as given below: Only overweight individuals suffer from back pain Anyone and everyone can suffer from back pain. However, being overweight does enhance the risk. Like obese individuals, pregnant women’s protuberant abdomen puts undue load over the lower back. Even as little as 5 kg increase in weight can put stress on the spine, increasing the risk of injury.
Acute onset indicates big problem
Severity of pain from lower back injury doesn’t always signify the extent of physical damage present. Muscle spasm from a simple back strain can lead to excruciating pain, considerably limiting the ability to walk or even stand. Conversely, a large herniated disc may be absolutely painless.
Application of heat and pain creams are beneficial
Individuals suffering from back pain usually apply a hot pack, analgesic cream or spray in the hope of getting relief. But the application of heat and ointments increases blood circulation and swelling. Application of ice acts as a local anaesthetic, thereby relieving pain and reducing swelling by constricting blood vessels. Heat therapy should be started after a day or two. This increases blood flow to the injured part, reduces muscle spasm and improves the flexibility of ligaments.
Surgery as the only cure for back pain
The truth is that more than 90 per cent patients can overcome pain with proper physical therapy and anti-inflammatory medications. The first line of treatment for patients with low back pain should always be non-invasive, but the sad truth is that spinal procedures are often overprescribed for simple back pain which entails exorbitant costs and greater complications.
Bed rest is the only treatment for low back pain
Patients with back pain are advised bed rest for a period of two or three weeks. It is believed that bed rest is a natural healer and physical activity can irritate the spine, leading to an increase in pain. Prolonged rest can, in fact, cause cardiovascular de-conditioning, loss of bone mass and the weakening of spinal muscles supporting the spine. Activities that aggravate pain like heavy manual work, lifting heavy weights, sitting for a long duration and driving should be restricted or avoided as the condition demands. Rest for one to two days for an acute injury or strain is fine. While resting one must ensure getting up and walking for a few minutes every hour to keep the muscles flexible and supple.
Exercises should be avoided during back pain
Exercises are extremely essential for anyone experiencing back pain. The key to exercising is to take to an appropriate regimen. Wrong exercises can make pain worse. Therefore, it is imperative to diagnose correctly the cause of the pain and then perform targeted exercises to combat it. Exercises improve flexibility, strengthen muscles and help healing.
Fit individuals can never have back pain
Individuals who exercise regularly are less prone to back pain. However back pain can affect everyone regardless of the level of activity. For example, light sports such as golf and walking can even cause back pain. Even a fit individual who doesn’t condition the abdomen and back muscles can suffer from back pain with a mild overload like bending down or a bad posture.
Lifting heavy objects will strain the back
Most injuries are caused not by lifting heavy weight but the way it is done. The proper form: Squat, keeping your back straight, grabbing the object, bringing it close to the body and then standing with the help of thigh and hip muscles. Just grabbing a small object off the floor by simply twisting in a wrong way can strain the back.
Sitting straight prevents low back pain
People who sit at a 90 degree angle for prolonged periods can strain their spines. Therefore, a few times a day, adjust your posture, lean back in your chair with the feet on the ground and make sure that there is a slight curve in the lower back. This ensures distribution of the body weight more evenly, as shoulders and upper back muscles take some of the pressure off the spine. People who often slouch at their desk should consider using a cushion to support the lower back to keep the spine in alignment. What may be even more important than sitting correctly is taking frequent breaks from your desk throughout the day to boost blood circulation to the back muscles and lessen fatigue. Standing up every half an hour and taking a five-minute stroll or stretching every hour is a good habit. Performing certain activities while standing up gives the spine a little reprieve.
Hard mattress is best for the back
Hard mattresses increase pressure on the spine and might be the source of back stiffness. Similarly, a too soft mattress doesn’t offer enough support. Ideally, a medium-to-firm mattress suits the back. The writer is a former doctor/physiotherapist, Indian cricket team. E-mail — chadha_r2003@yahoo.co.in |
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Tattooing in teenagers
Tattoos and piercing are happening today with more and more youngsters getting tattoos done on the body and getting various parts of their body pierced. Today, people with tattoos can be seen everywhere. They are often shown in media advertisements. Even a glamorous toy icon, Barbie Doll, comes with temporary tattoos. If you are thinking of getting tattoos done, then it is always advisable that you are fully informed about the pros and cons. Learn whether it is safe, how to care for tattoos and much more. It is always advisable to be more aware of its method, precautions, consequences, etc.
Know the risks
Tattoos breach the skin, which means that skin infection and other complications are possible. The specific risks include: Allergic reaction — Tattoo dye, especially red dye, can cause allergic skin reactions that cause an itchy rash that may continue for years after you get the tattoo done. Blood-borne diseases — If the equipment used to create your tattoo is contaminated with infected blood, you can contact blood-borne diseases, including hepatitis-B, hepatitis-C, tetanus and HIV (the virus that causes AIDS) even with the use of a new needle. Tattooing equipment is difficult to sterilise. Skin infection — Tattoos can lead to bacterial infection. These are characterised by redness, swelling, pain and pus like discharge. Skin problems — Sometimes lumps known as granulomas form around tattoo ink, especially red ink. Tattooing can also lead to raised areas caused by an over-growth of scar tissue (keloids) MRI complications — Tattoos or permanent makeup may cause swelling or burning in the affected area during magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). In some cases — such as when a person with a permanent eye liner has an MRI of the eye — tattoo pigments may interfere with the quality of the image. Removal problem — Despite advances in laser technology, removing the tattoo is a painstaking process, usually involving several treatments and considerable expense.
Some tips and warnings
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Don’t take tattoos lightly. If they get infected, the condition of the person concerned can become very serious. l
Indications that an infection has occurred include swelling, redness, heat or tenderness around the tattoo, red streaks extending from the tattoo area, pus coming out of the wound, swollen or tender lymph nodes, or fever. l
Use an antibiotic ointment to treat your infected tattoo. l
Treating an infected tattoo by keeping it dry at all times — water is the biggest enemy of your tattoo when it is healing. l
If there is minimal damage to the skin, the speed of healing will depend on the amount of moisture in the area. l
Make sure that the tattooed area is not exposed to sun.
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As tattoos are placed on a different part of the body, some areas will be more prone to infection. A few of the things that cause infection are clothes, rubbing against it and allowing dirt to get into it. A tattooing machine can puncture your skin 3,000 times a minute and everyone of these thousands of punctures creates a hole 1/64th to 1/16th of an inch into the dermis that invites infection and disease. Every single puncture by the tattoo needle opens up the real possibility of AIDS, hepatitis-B, hepatitis-C, tetanus, tuberculosis and other blood-borne diseases. With the rising demand for tattooing, it is important to keep in view the risks involved. The writer is a consultant-paediatrician based in Jaipur. Email—drvivek_sharma @rediffmail.com |
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Vitamin D can prevent vision loss
LONDON: Boosting vitamin D intake could help prevent age-related diseases, in particular, loss of vision and blindness, a study said. Middle-aged mice treated with the vitamin for six weeks had lower levels of a toxic protein linked to age-related macular degeneration, heart disease and Alzheimer’s, it was reported in the journal Neurobiology of Aging.
AMD is the leading cause of blindness among people over 50 in the developed world. Lower levels of amyloid beta in the mice’s eyes and blood vessels led to significant improvement in their vision. Vitamin D treatment also reduced numbers of cells called macrophages, which play a vital role in the immune system and can also trigger inflammation. The study adds to growing evidence linking vitamin D, naturally generated by ultraviolet rays from the sun on skin, with a diverse range of disorders, including diabetes, arthritis and some cancers. —The Independent
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How exercise makes
our heart healthy
Washington: Exercise plays an important role in making our heart stronger by improving blood flow and decreasing its workload, researchers say. According to Joseph Libonati, associate professor of nursing at Penn Nursing, exercise improves the ratio between the heart’s demand for oxygen and its supply through the coronary arteries. With exercise, the heart gets stronger because it gets bigger and is able to pump more efficiently.
Exercise allows your heart to push out a greater volume of blood with every beat and it does so at a lower heart rate. It also improves the blood flow to the heart by improving the heart’s ability to have its coronary blood vessels dilate. These changes in parallel improve both the supply and demand of the heart. — ANI
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Health Notes
London: A fluorescent spray could soon help in treating patients with the highest risk of developing oesophageal cancer, at the earliest stage, a new study has revealed. Scientists working at the Medical Research Council have identified changes in the patterns of sugar molecules that line pre-cancerous cells in the oesophagus, a condition called Barrett’s dysplasia, making it much easier to detect and remove these cells before they develop into oesophageal cancer. These findings have important implications for patients and may help to monitor their condition and prevent the development of cancer. Individuals with a pre-cancerous condition known as Barrett’s oesophagus are at an increased risk of developing oesophageal cancer, and need to be closely monitored to make sure that the disease is not progressing. — ANI Natural health products a ‘waste of time and money’: kiwi docs
Wellington: Doctors have slammed some of New Zealanders’ favourite natural health products as ineffective. In the latest New Zealand Medical Journal Digest, doctors Shaun Holt and Sarah Jeffries and health psychologist Andrew Gilbey claimed colloidal silver, deer velvet, arnica and rescue remedy are a “waste of time and money” and sometimes harmful. Holt told The Press that of the “hundreds” of therapies and products, about 95 per cent were either not biologically plausible or not supported by research evidence. Popular but ineffective products and therapies included deer velvet, rescue remedy, arnica, propolis, magnets, shark cartilage, the lemon detox diet, and megadoses of vitamin C to treat cancer. Some products, such as colloidal silver, which is marketed as being beneficial for the immune system and in fighting diseases such as cancer, HIV and pneumonia, could be dangerous, he said. — ANI Antioxidant-rich foods can prevent diabetes, heart disease
London : People who eat a diet rich in foods containing powerful antioxidants not only lower their risk of developing heart disease but can also slash their cholesterol and even get diabetes under control, suggest experts. The secret lies in a regular dose of potent, health-giving foods rich in antioxidants called flavonoids. They are found in abundance in plant-based foods, with onions, apples, berries, kale, and broccoli having highest concentrations. They are also found in high amounts in tea, berries, chocolate and even red wine. They work by fighting harmful molecules accumulating in the body that damage healthy cells. A 12-month trial carried out by scientists at the University of East Anglia found that diets high in these flavonoids could reduce the risk of heart disease for women with Type 2 diabetes. — ANI |
Low back pain is an affliction suffered by most people at one time or the other in their lifetime. Reasons could be as varied as incorrect posture, prolonged periods of sitting, injury, disc prolapse and so on. Prompt diagnosis, early treatment and timely rehabilitation are important for effectively reducing the pain/agony and enhancing the quality of life in such individuals.
The expression ‘tattoo’ is said to have originated from two words — the Polynesian (from Greek) word ‘ta’ which means striking something and the Tahitian word ‘tatu’ which means to mark something. Centuries ago tattoos were used by tribal men and women across the world, whether it was the Maoris of New Zealand or the Apatanis of Arunachal Pradesh, to mark out their identity and territory.