Saturday 31 March 2018

Overweight! An Addition to risk of knee osteoarthritis



Knee is the major weight bearing joint of the body. The knees are the shock absorbents of the body. Their role is to absorb the force when we step, jump, run, play, or do any movement with our legs. Hence, it is no rocket science to understand that if you are overweight, your knees would be experiencing more shock and the heavy weight causes further damage to the knees and the cartilage (A cushioned or shock absorbing layer in the knee joint) too. You will feel surprised to know that the Knee joint feels five times the body weight at each step. So, the more you weigh, the more pressure on the knee and the quicker the cartilage wears out.

Osteoarthritis can be extremely painful as the cartilage between the bones is depleted or in severe cases gone, which makes the bones rub together. According to the theory of BMI, Body Mass Index, people whose BMI is in the range of 25 to 30 are considered either overweight or obese and they are under the constant threat of becoming a victim of osteoarthritis.
 Apart from this direct relation, there are two other factors that connect heavy weight and knee pain;
·       The first one is Poor blood circulation. Overweight people suffer from various problems due to improper blood circulation and one of them is knee pain. Lack of blood rotation causes lack of oxygen and knee muscles tend to get weak over the period of time.
·       The other factor is Leptin. It is the master hormone that is released by fat cells of the body and many experts believe that it works in favor of osteoarthritis.

Fortunately, exercise can help you lose weight and fat, gain muscle, and keep your knees healthy! Here are some exercises which might help you to get relieved from knee pain;
1.    Chair sit-ups:
a.     Sit on a chair without arm rest
b.    Get up from the chair with feet flat over the floor
c.     And sit again
d.    Repeat this for 10-15 times twice a day

 chair sit  ups

2.    Leg raises:
a.     Lie flat
b.    Lift your leg by keeping knee straight
c.     Put it down
d.    Repeat it for about 10-15 times twice a day

straight leg raise


3.    Knee press:
a.     Lie flat with both legs straight
b.    Place a pillow or towel roll beneath the knee
c.     Press it for 5-10 seconds
d.    And then relax
e.     Repeat for 10-15 times twice a day

static quadriceps




4.    Knee curls:
a.     Lie flat on your stomach
b.    Bend your knee
c.     Then straighten it
d.    Repeat this for 10-15 times twice a day

hamstring curls



5.    Calf stretch:

calf muscle stretch


a.     Hold this position for 5-10 seconds
b.    Repeat it for 10-15 times twice a day

6.    Hamstring stretch:

hamstring stretch

a.     Hold the position for 5-10 seconds
b.    Repeat it for 10-15 times twice a day

Not to do:
·       Running
·       Squatting
·       Cross leg sitting

Losing weight can be the most effective way in order to provide a long life to the joints. Other than this reducing weight can also provide amount of mobility to the joints and it can also reduce the intensity of pain. Lower inflammation level is again a great benefit of shedding weight. We often come across people saying that they want to exercise and lose weight but they can’t because their knee hurts a lot. So now it seems to be a never-ending cycle. Hence the easy way out here is taking baby steps.




Thursday 29 March 2018

Sciatica (Nerve Pain from Hips to Heel)



People consider sciatica as a condition, it is a symptom rather. Yes! That’s true. Sciatica is a pain starting from lower back, travels through the buttocks and to the knee, which might go down till the leg and end to the heel. More often it is seen in one lower limb but it is quite possible to get suffered from it in both the lower limbs.
Don’t worry! You are not the one suffering from sciatica! Statistics say that 10 million people per year suffer from sciatic pain in India. So it is a good idea to make people aware about it and also to start making them aware about the basic self-care techniques to get relieved from this irritating pain. Ultimately the aim is to lower the incidences of sciatic nerve pain.
Here, you will get brief information about the sciatic nerve pain itself and the self-care easy techniques to relieve it.

Possible causes of sciatic pain:

·       Lumbar spine stenosis: This is the condition in which lower back spinal canal gets narrowed
·       Spondylolysthesis: In this, one vertebra slips forward on another one
·       Spondylolysis: This is called degeneration of the spine
·       Pregnancy
·       Piriformis syndrome: Muscle spasm in buttock region
·       Disc prolapse

Other things that may make your back pain worse include;
·       Being overweight
·       Not exercising regularly
·       Wearing high heels
·       Sleeping on a mattress that is too hard or too soft

What to do?
Sciatic pain becomes easy to tackle when you come to know about its underlying cause. But here you will get the advice for how to get relaxed from sciatic pain.

1.    Wallet in front pocket: The most effective advice is to keep your wallet in front pocket rather in back one. By keeping wallet in back pocket, you invite your sciatic pain. Because it causes pressure over one side of the spine when you sit for more than half an hour.


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2.    Stretch it: There are some ways to stretch the sciatic nerve. Try the best and most effective one mentioned here;




Hold this position for 10-15 seconds
Repeat it for 10 times twice a day

Note: This is also known as slump test for sciatica but we can also use it for stretching the whole nerve

3.    Piriformis stretch:   this small muscle tightness could be the reason for compression over sciatic nerve.

 

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4.    Lifestyle modifications:

a.     While lying flat, keep pillow beneath the knees to rest your back
b.    Avoid prolonged standing, sitting and walking
c.     Soft or cushioned footwear
d.    Weight loss
e.     Regular exercises
f.       Hot pack application over back for 15-20 minutes 2-3 times/day
g.     Avoid forward bending from back
h.    Avoid heavy weight lifting
i.       Lie down and get up from the bed as shown in picture below;

        
  
j.       Get in to your car step-by-step;
                                                             i.      Sit on the seat first with both legs together
                                                           ii.      Get your both legs inside the car together
Always sit in a manner that your leg and body would make a right angle to each other

5.    Check your Vit-B12 level: it is an essential vitamin for nerve. Its deficiency might cause or aggravate the pain
6.    Electrotherapy: Electrical stimulation of nerve with TENS (Transcutaneous electrical nerve stimulation) is the most effective modality to get relieved from sciatic nerve pain.



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Thursday 22 March 2018

Heal Your Heel Pain



The very first step off the bed in the morning with irritating heel pain, ouch! Most probably this pain would hurt you during the routine activities and while doing exercises too.
This heel pain is a symptom, generally caused due to swelling in plantar fascia (a strong band of tissue (like a ligament) that stretches from your heel (calcaneus) to your middle foot bones)

Possible reasons why does it occur?
1.   Excessive standing, running, walking
2.   Standing on hard surfaces for prolonged periods of time
3.   Sedentary lifestyle
4.   Inappropriate footwear (high heels)
5.   Obesity
6.   Tight Achilles tendon (the big tendon at the bottom of your calf muscles above your heel)
7.   Heel spur (Extra bone growth over heel bone)
8.   Flat foot



Common Complaints from sufferers
1.   Pain over heel
2.   Difficulty in standing or walking on a hard surface
3.   Sensations of pins and needles over heel
4.   Sharp pain over heel

Tiny modifications required to do
1.   Foot wear with soft heel (no high heels)
2.   Avoid walking or standing over hard surface
3.   Apply ice over your heel to relieve pain
4.   Regular stretching of calf muscle
5.   Pay attention to your weighing scale

Set in stone formula

Long lasting heel pain which is not responding to given innovations requires further expert advice

Our experts would advise;

(Excellent Results in Patients with Heel Pain)


Innovations
1.   Contras bath

a.   It is the application of hot pack and cold pack both simultaneously.
b.   Immerge your foot in warm water for 4 min.
c.    Then quickly immerge your foot in cold water for 1-2 min.
d.   Repeat this procedure for 5 times.

2.   Hot water toes curl

a.   Immerge your foot in hot water
b.   Start your toes curling with maximum strength then relax
c.    Repeat the procedure for 5-10 min.

3.   Stretching of calf and foot muscles

     


                          

















a.   Hold the stretch for 10-20 seconds
b.   Repeat for 10-15 times


4.   Cold bottle roll (two in one trick)

a.   This will help to relieve pain
b.   And will also strengthen your small muscles of foot
c.    Fill a plastic bottle with water and freeze it
d.   Put the frozen bottle on the floor with your affected foot over it
e.   Now roll your foot with the bottle
f.      But don’t let the bottle be slipped from your grip
g.    Repeat it for about 5-10min

Set in stone formula

Long lasting heel pain which is not responding to given innovations requires further expert advice

Our experts would advise;

 (Excellent Results in Patient with Heel Pain)