HEALTH

First of its Kind
Experts to dicuss joint replacement at expo
Our Correspondent

Ludhiana, August 22
SPS Apollo Hospitals will organise a “Joint Replacement and Arthritis Expo” here on Aug 25 and 26 to showcase recent advances in the treatment of joint pain and joint replacement techniques.

Aimed at creating awareness among people about the available options, the exhibition would be the first of its kind in the region.

Addressing a news conference here today, the director medical services of the hospital Dr G.L. Avasthi said knee replacement was one of the most important orthopedic surgical advances of this century. When medicines, use of walking supports and physical therapy failed to manage the knee pain and swelling, one should consider total knee replacement.

The two-day expo will have participation from leading national and international companies dealing in prostheses and joint replacement materials, series of continuing medical education programmes, public interactive sessions and a road march by those having undergone knee or hip replacement surgeries. The visitors to the exhibition will be offered facility of free bone mass density (BMD) test. The experts in the field would be available to clear the misconceptions and myths associated with arthritis and joint replacement, Dr Avasthi added.

According to Dr Harpreet Singh Gill, senior joint replacement surgeon at Apollo, newer knee joint implants had better quality and these lasted longer. "The knee joint implants are so designed that a patient can even sit cross-legged. Surgical techniques have also undergone a revolution with minimally invasive surgery being the order of the day."

Dr Gill, who has worked at John Hopkins Hospital in USA, claimed that facilities at SPS Apollo hospital here were comparable to the western hospitals.

The Department of orthopedics was performing joint replacements since two years and all kinds of joint replacements like knee, hip and shoulder, were being performed.

"Statistics bear testimony to the growing significance as in India alone, around 150 million people are suffering from the crippling disease of arthritis, which is around 15 per cent of the total population," said Dr Rahul Bhan, consultant joint replacement surgeon. He added that on an average, one million people in India needed total joint replacement, but only 30,000 to 40,000 joints were replaced yearly.

Speaking at the occasion, Dr Parshant Aggarwal, consultant rheumatologist and immunologist stated that joint replacements becomes essential when the natural joint gets damaged, affecting the normal body function. The main reasons for such condition are arthritis, joint infection, injury and malignancy. "There are more than 100 different types of arthritis conditions and treatments may include lifestyle changes, medication, bracing and surgery."

SPORTS

Ludhiana suffer third defeat
Our Sports Reporter

Ludhiana, August 22
Minor Districts Zone B defeated Ludhiana on the basis of the first innigs lead of 94 runs in the third match of the Punjab State Inter District Cricket Tournament (u-22), which concluded at SD Government College grounds here today.

This was the third consecutive defeat for the hosts, Ludhiana. Earlier, they had lost to Amritsar and Jalandhar.

Batting first after winning the toss, Ludhiana in made 176 runs in 63 overs. Tarun Passi made 33 runs, followed by Bharat Malhotra (32), Karan Goel (28) and Sanjay Kumar (24).

For Minor Districts, Manoj was the pick of bowlers, claiming four wickets for 24 runs, while Karamjit took two for 41.

Deepak Gatta, Ravi, Devinder and Sukhdev Bhatti scalped one wicket each.

Minor Districts, in their first innings, made 268 runs in 59.3 overs. Their innings revolve around Hitesh Anand, who scored 140 runs. Harman Bajwa and Manoj contributed 59 and 18 runs, respectively.

For Ludhiana, Gagandeep Dhand was the most successful bowler. He grabbed five wickets for 90 runs in 21 overs, while Karan Goel captured three wickets for 46 runs.

Trailing by 94 runs, Ludhiana, in their second innings, were 105 for three after 25 overs at stumps. Karan Goel remained unbeaten on 52 runs. Chinton Sehgal scored 14 runs. Minon Districts' Sukhdev Bhatti, Manoj and Deepak Gatta shared one wicket each.

PAU zone lads enter cricket final
Our Sports Reporter

Ludhiana, August 22
Gurdeep excelled with the ball (5 for 9 runs) and helped PAU zone to thrash Samrala zone by 83 runs to enter the final of the Ludhiana District Inter-Zonal Cricket Tournament (u-14) being played at Sacred Heart Senior Secondary School, Bhai Randhir Singh Nagar, here today.

Samrala zone won the toss and invited PAU to bat. In the stipualted 20 overs, PAU scored 124 runs for the loss of five wickets. Sunny Pandey and Arjun chipped in with 46 runs each. For Samrala, Prince and Gagan took two wickets each for 30 and 23 runs, respectively.

In reply, Samrala were bundled out for 41 runs in 12 overs. Only one batsman, Shakun (14), could reach double figure while Yadvinder made 7 runs.

For the winners, Gurdeep sent down three overs and scalped five victims conceding just nine runs. Vishwanath grabbed two wickets for five runs while Nikhil captured one wicket for one run.

City lads make it big
Our Sports Reporter

Ludhiana, August 22
Local lads, Pranav Chopra (Jerry) and Raj Kumar, trainees of the Ludhiana Badminton Academy (LBA) have been selected to represent India in the Asian Youth (U-16) Badminton Championship to be held in Hanoi, Vietnam, from August 22 to 26. Both of them will be playing in team events as well as in individual events like doubles, singles and mixed doubles. Players from countries like China, Malaysia, Indonesia, Sri Lanka, Jordan, Iraq and Syria will be seen in action in this event.

It may be mentioned here that this is the second international tournament for the duo this month. Earlier, Pranav and Raj Kumar represented India in MILO Junior International Tournament held in Indonesia from July 31 to August 5.

M.K. Chopra and Anupam Kumaria, president and general secretary respectively of the academy expressed gratitude towards the Badminton Association of India for providing them coaching from foreign and Indian coaches at Cochin.

Pranav and Raj Kumar had also won many tournaments at the national level. LBA informed that Pranav Chopra and Raj Kumar have also been selected for the preparatory camps for the 2010 Common Wealth Games to be held in New Delhi.

Cricket Tourney
Ropar zone XI lead
Our Sports Reporter

Ludhiana, August 22
Thanks to fine batting by Hitesh (83 not out) and Harman Bajwa (59), minor districts, Ropar zone XI, were in a 
commanding position (155 for 3) against Ludhiana (176 all out) in the first innings of the match of the Punjab State Inter District Cricket Tournament (U-22) at the Satish Chander Dhawan Government College ground here yesterday.

Hosts won the toss and elected to bat. They could muster only 176 runs in 63 overs. Their innings revolved around Bharat Malhotra (32), Karan Goel (28), Tarun Passi (33) and Sanjay Kumar (24).

For Minor Districts, Manoj was the most successful bowler grabbing four wickets for 24 runs, followed by Karamjit who captured two wickets for 41 runs. Deepak Gatta, Ravi, Devinder and Sukhdev Bhatti scalped one victim each.

In reply, minor district XI was sitting pretty at 155 for 3 after 30 overs. Hitesh was at the crease with 83 runs against his name while Harman Bajwa contributed 59 runs. For Ludhiana, Deepak Bansal sent down three overs and took one wicket without conceding any runs. Bharat Malhotra and Karan Goel too captured one wicket each after giving away 15 and 28 runs, respectively.