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| HEALTH & FITNESS |
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Running on hard surface can cause shin pain A tale of white, blue and red hands Scientists working on cure for grey hair
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Running
on hard surface can cause shin pain The usual presentation is that an individual starts running/training and all goes on smoothly for several weeks. Suddenly pain is felt in the lower portion of the shin on the initiation of a workout. The discomfort disappears after warming up but the pain reappears the next day. The intensity of pain goes on increasing as the days go by. This is a classic presentation of shins splint. In a few cases the patient may suffer from the chronic compartment syndrome, a condition in which leg muscles suffer due to lack of blood circulation during exercise. Generally during exercise due to the increased demand for oxygen the blood flow to leg muscles goes up. In cases where calf muscles are not strong or flexible the blood flow to muscles is hampered. Muscles thus starved of oxygen produce pain/cramps. Symptoms
Predisposing factors: Weak leg muscles; training errors like running on a hard surface, a sudden increase in speed and distance; unsupported shoes; and flat feet. Treatment Application of ice. Wornout shoes should be replaced immediately. In case of faulty foot mechanics, proper padding should be placed. Altering aerobic activity — running, cycling, swimming, cross trainer. Proper warm-up and a gradual increase in training — 10 percentages per week. Proper message also helps relieve muscle tightness and thereby pain. In cases of stress fracture, complete rest for two weeks from weight-bearing activity is crucial. Normal healing time for stress fractures is a period of four to eight weeks. The following stretching exercises are beneficial: Towel
stretch: While sitting, loop a towel around the ball of foot. Pull the towel towards the body while keeping the knee straight. Hold this position for a count of 10 and then relax. Repeat five times. Standing calf
stretch: Facing a wall, put both hands against the wall. Keep the injured leg back, the other leg forward. Slowly lean onto the wall until you feel a stretch in the calf. Hold for a count of 15. Repeat five times. Wall shin raises
— Stand with your back to a wall, heels about one foot length, away from the wall. Rest your buttocks and shoulders against the wall. Pull your toes far up towards the shin, then lower them back towards the ground. Repeat 10 times. Heel walk
— Walk on the heels with your toes pointing straight ahead. It is advisable to return to sports when there is no pain on jogging and no tenderness on palpation. The writer is a former doctor/physiotherapist, Indian cricket team. E-mail: chadhar587
@gmail.com
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A tale of white, blue and red hands When the colour of hands changes to white and subsequently to blue and red, especially on being exposed to cold, it is called Raynaud's phenomenon. However, some individuals may experience only blueness and then redness (Biphasic Raynaud's). Usually, these colour changes are classically seen over the fingers and toes. Besides the hand and feet, the tip of the nose, ear lobes or the tongue can also be affected. In susceptible individuals on the exposure to cold or stress, blood vessels go into excessive spasms (contraction) thereby decreasing the blood supply (ischemia). This lack of blood supply and oxygen to the affected part results in typical colour changes. Raynaud's phenomenon may be the first manifestation of an underlying disease (can precede by as much as two-three years) or may appear simultaneously with the condition or may develop at a later stage. Typically, the fingers, and sometimes toes, earlobes or the tip of the nose change colour (white to blue, then red) when exposed to cold conditions. This is often accompanied by pain, tingling and numbness in the affected areas. These attacks vary from a few minutes to an hour. Moving into a warmer environment aborts the attack. Raynaud's phenomenon may cause discomfort but usually it does not damage your fingers. However, if severe, very frequent or secondary, it may lead to ulcers and gangrene of finger tips. Since people with Raynaud's phenomenon may have an underlying problem, it is best to consult a rheumatologist to exclude an underlying cause. Depending upon clinical history and examination, your rheumatologist will organise relevant investigations. Management involves drug treatment with life-style modifications to reduce the number and severity of attacks: a. If one is on medications, get the list cross-checked from your doctor to see if any of the drugs is responsible for this and substituting the drug will solve the issue. b. Keeping warm: Always use warm water for all purposes — bathing, washing, etc. This is best accompanied by the use of geysers in the kitchen and washrooms or solar heater. One should wear warm gloves when outdoors in cold weather and warm your hands before you put the gloves on. Using double gloves is always preferable. Avoid touching cold railings, door handles with bare hands. Make sure that you also wear warm socks and a hat. Layers of clothing work better at trapping the heat than thicker clothes. Also do not insert ungloved hands into the refrigerator and, if required, use gloves. c. Looking after your hands: Dry hands and water can lead to the development of cracks or fissures on your hands that may break down further. To help look after your hands, put cream on whenever you've been in water. d. Exercise: Regular exercise will improve your circulation and, if you're outside on a cold day, keeping active will improve the blood flow to your hands and feet and help you to stay warm. e. Smoking damages your blood vessels and impairs circulation. If one has Raynaud's phenomenon, it is strongly advised to quit smoking. f. Drugs: There are a number of different drugs that are prescribed for Raynaud's phenomenon. Most of these work by making your blood vessels wider. Examples include calcium channel blockers, ACE inhibitors, alpha blockers, SSRIs and phosphodiesterase-5 inhibitors. In severe and refractory cases, one may require iloprost which is administered as an intravenous drip (directly into a blood vessel) under supervision in hospital. g. Treating the underlying cause: If there is an underlying cause, it needs to be managed as well. With self-help and advice of your doctor, one can lead a comfortable life minimising the frequency and severity of attacks. Also early medical attention may unearth the underlying disease for which timely treatment can be instituted. The writer is a senior consultant (rheumatology) at Arthritis Care, Panchkula. Email: www.arthritiscare.in
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Scientists working on cure for grey hair
LONDON: A cure for grey hair which means millions will be able to throw away messy dyes could be available in the future, researchers have said. According to the FASEB Journal, the team, which includes experts from Bradford University’s School of Life Sciences, has discovered the accumulation of hydrogen peroxide can be remedied with a proprietary treatment. They described it as “a topical, UVB-activated compound called PC-KUS (a modified pseudocatalase)”, the report said. The treatment can also be used for people with the skin condition vitiligo, which causes a loss of pigmentation. In 1993 Michael Jackson claimed to have developed vitiligo. Study author Professor Karin Schallreuter said: “To date, it is beyond any doubt that the sudden loss of the inherited skin and localised hair colour can affect those individuals in many fundamental ways. “The improvement of quality of life after total and even partial successful repigmentation has been documented.” She is a specialist in vitiligo and the research team made their discovery after studying an international group of 2,411 patients. FASEB Journal editor-in-chief Gerald Weissman said: “For generations, numerous remedies have been concocted to hide grey hair but now, for the first time, an actual treatment that gets to the root of the problem has been developed. “While this is exciting news, what’s even more exciting is that this also works for vitiligo. — The Independent
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Health Notes Washington: Scientists have suggested that the amount of time that asthma patients spend in the sun may have an impact on their illness. A research team at King's College London said low levels of vitamin D — made by the body in sunlight — has been linked to a worsening of symptoms. Its latest research shows that the vitamin calms an over-active part of the immune system in asthma, the BBC reported. However, treatment of patients with vitamin D has not yet been tested. Prof Catherine Hawrylowicz and her group researched the impact that vitamin D has on a chemical in the body, interleukin-17, a vital part of the immune system, which helps to ward off infections. But the chemical can cause problems when levels are too high, which has been strongly implicated in asthma. In the study, levels of interleukin-17 were brought down by vitamin D when it was added to blood samples taken from 28 patients —
ANI Ginger may harbour cure for asthma symptoms Washington: Purified components of ginger may have properties that help asthma patients breathe more easily, a study from researchers at Columbia University has revealed. Asthma is characterised by bronchoconstriction, a tightening of the bronchial tubes that carry air into and out of the lungs. Bronchodilating medications called beta-agonists are among the most common types of asthma medications and work by relaxing the airway smooth muscle (ASM) tissues. This study looked at whether specific components of ginger could help enhance the relaxing effects of bronchodilators. "Asthma has become more prevalent in recent years, but despite an improved understanding of what causes asthma and how it develops, during the past 40 years few new treatment agents have been approved for targeting asthma symptoms," said lead author Elizabeth Townsend, post-doctoral research fellow in the Columbia University Department of Anesthesiology. —
ANI Commonly used catheters double blood clot risk in ICU London: Compared to other central venous catheters (CVCs), peripherally inserted central catheters (known as PICCs) -- an often preferred route for the delivery of IV medications -- more than double the risk of dangerous blood clots - especially among patients who are critically ill or who have cancer. This was found in a new University of Michigan Health System study, including an Indian origin scientist. In recent years, PICCs have become the preferred device through which to administer long-term intravenous fluids, antibiotics and other drugs because they have lower risks of infection, can be conveniently placed at the bedside, and can stay in place for long periods of time. PICCs are also safer to insert, typically placed in the arm, while CVCs are placed into a large vein in the neck, chest or groin and risk damage to nerves or arteries. The ability to keep PICCs in for weeks or even months also allows patients who need a constant flow of medications to go home with these catheters. —
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Leg pain or shin pain is more prevalent in modern times due to increased fitness awareness and gymnasium culture. Over-enthusiastic individuals, especially youngsters, in order to become fit in a short span of time, start exercising too much too fast. Running on the treadmill/hard surface for a long period can result in shin pain — the region between knee and ankle. Shin splints is a nonspecific term, which is associated with exercise-induced pain in the shin bone. This injury could be in the form of muscle fibre damage, micro-tears in tendons, inflammation of the membrane surrounding the bone or incomplete crack in the shinbone (tibia).