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| HEALTH & FITNESS |
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Smoking among teens: avoidable heart-breaker
Hamstring injury — proper rehabilitation prevents recurrence
Patients to get relief from chronic back pain
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Smoking among teens: avoidable heart-breaker
Almost
everyone knows that smoking causes cancer, emphysema and heart disease; that it can shorten one’s life by 14 years or more; and that the habit can cost a smoker thousands of rupees a year. So, how come people, especially youngsters, are still lighting up? The answer, in a word, is addiction.
Smoking as a habit is hard to break because tobacco contains nicotine, which is highly addictive. Like heroin or other addictive drugs, the body and mind quickly become so used to the nicotine in cigarettes that a person needs to have it just to feel normal. In almost every case, no smoker begins as an adult. Statistics show that about nine out of 10 tobacco users start before they are 18. Some teens who smoke say they start because they think it helps them look older (it does — if yellow teeth and wrinkles are the look you want)! Others smoke because they think it helps them relax (it doesn’t — the heart actually beats faster while a person’s smoking). Some light up as a way to feel rebellious or to set themselves apart (which works if you want your friends to hang out some place else while you are puffing away). Some start because their friends smoke — or just because it gives them something to do. Some teens, especially girls, start smoking because they think it may help keep their weight down. Smokers not only develop wrinkles and yellow teeth. They also lose bone density, which increases their risk of developing osteoporosis (a condition that causes older people to become bent over). Smokers also tend to be less active than nonsmokers because smoking affects lung power. Smoking can also cause fertility problems in both men and women and can impact sexual health in males. The consequences of smoking may seem very far off to many teens, but long-term health problems aren’t the only hazard of smoking. Nicotine and other toxins in cigarettes, cigars and pipes can affect a person’s body quickly, which means that teen-smokers experience many health problems like bad skin, bad breath, bad-smelling clothes and hair, reduced athletics performance, greater risk of injury, slower healing and greater risk of illnesses like cold, bronchitis and pneumonia. And people with certain health conditions like asthma become more sick if they smoke. Smoking is one of the most important risk factors for heart disease in people below 40 years of age. Three out of four young victims of heart attack are smokers. Though men are more adversely affected by smoking, the risk of heart disease increases 10 fold in women taking birth control (oral contraceptive) pills. The risk is further accentuated when the smoker has other major risk factors like high blood pressure, a high cholesterol level, diabetes mellitus or a family history of heart disease. We are seeing more and more young patients needing bypass surgery at the age of 30 years. The fast-paced, adrenaline pumping deadline and target-oriented, sedentary and fast-food-laced lifestyle is taking its toll. One factor which can be easily controlled is the avoidance of tobacco. A nationwide ban on smoking in the workplace could potentially prevent thousands of heart attacks and strokes, according to researchers from the University of California at San Francisco. Such a ban would also substantially benefit nonsmokers who face risks from second-hand smoke. That is why the theme of this year’s World Anti-Tobacco Day is “SMOKE-FREE ENVIRONMENTS”. Staying smoke-free will give you more of everything — more energy, better performance, better looks, more money in your pocket, and, in the long run, more years to live! Smoking remains the leading cause of preventable death and has negative health impact on people at all stages of life. It harms unborn babies, infants, children, adolescents, adults and seniors alike. The writer, Director and Chairman, Cardiac Sciences, Ludhiana Mediciti, was earlier associated with Fortis, Mohali.
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Hamstring injury — proper rehabilitation prevents recurrence
Hamstring
injuries are commonly sustained by athletes who indulge in running, jumping and kicking activities. Such individuals are prone to re-injury leading to a chronic condition due to premature return to active competition or without undergoing adequate rehabilitation — prior to complete recovery of muscle injury.
The hamstring muscle is essential for running, jumping, dancing, etc. This muscle also helps in the extension of the hip and flexion of the knee joint. The hamstring muscle crosses hip and knee joints making this muscle increasingly susceptible to strain. Most injuries are acute in nature. They occur when an individual experiences an audible pop accompanied with sudden pain on the posterior aspect (back) of the thigh. Usually this happens when undertaking strenuous exercises. Milder injuries are often described as a pull or tightness in the back of the thigh which usually does not force an individual to withdraw or limit activity. Subsequently, pain and discomfort increases, forcing the individual to stop the activity. In some cases pain may be referred from lumbar spine, sacroiliac joints, hip, etc. Common factors for the injury are: lack of adequate flexibility; lack of adequate warm up; rapid increase in intensity, duration during training; running on hard surface, etc; strength imbalance between the hamstring and quadriceps muscle (thigh muscle). In Grade-I hamstring injury, there is over-stretching of the muscle resulting in strain, disruption of less than 5 per cent of the structural integrity of the musculo-tendinous unit. Grade-II represents a partial tear which indicates a more significant injury but an incomplete rupture of the musculotendinous unit. Grade-III indicates a complete rupture of the muscle. Treatment/rehabilitation:
Flicks and wobbles — Oscillation of the leg from flexion to extension from slow to ballistic movement. Move on to a prone position with the hip bent at 90 degrees. Strengthening:
* Swiss ball exercises: Hamstring bridge — lying on the back, heels on the ball push heel down into the ball raising hips. *
Leg curls: Lying on the back, heels on the ball. Raise hips and roll the ball forward body, bending the knees and the back. Then roll back the ball, extending the knee. *
Hip Lift: Lie on the back, arm on the side, soles of the feet on the ball with knees slightly bent. Push down into the ball and lift the hips. Lower down the hips off the floor and repeat. It is of paramount importance to undergo a proper rehabilitation programme, otherwise hamstring injury can become chronic. Such individuals never miss a game but are never 100 per cent fit. The writer is a former doctor/physiotherapist, Indian cricket team.
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Patients to get relief from chronic back pain
New Delhi: A new invasive endoscopic disc surgery without anaesthesia is reported to offer relief for patients who suffer from chronic neck and back pain and do not want to undergo agonising operations.
In an International Conference, Endospine 2007, organised by Jaipur Golden Hospital in the city on Saturday, spine surgeons from various countries, including the US, Germany and South Korea, came to inform about the new techniques for the management of backache. Around 100 surgeons from all across the country and from neighbouring nations took part in the conference. The modern technique would involve passing 4-6 milimetre endoscope tube with a camera fitted in the front. This would help the doctors to identify and cure the offending structure without undergoing any major surgery and under local anaesthesia. During the operation, only one stitch could be given and a bandaid was enough for the dressing. According to the doctors, this new system had marked the golden standard for the treatment of spine diseases. Surgeons carried out operations involving this new technique that were shown to the participants by the process of remote learning. Dr Gun Choi of Korea who was the founder of this minimally invasive surgery was also present on the occasion and said safety was the essence of this new system which could be used not only for slip disc patients but also for people suffering from lower back pain and cervical and several other disorders relating to spine. “Gone are the days when spine surgery was considered major with serious complications like paralysis,’’ he observed. Dr Manoj Sharma of Jaipur Golden Hospital noted that the result of this surgery was amazing as the patient was awake during the surgery and could see it on the monitor and feel the relief in his back. Explaining about the high cost of this surgery, he said though the clinical cost was Rs 15,000 more, the patient could resume his work within a few days.
— UNI
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London:
Boffins are warning parents not to let their kids consume too much of soft drinks, for not only can these beverages lead to tooth decay, but as it turns out, a common preservative used in them can switch off vital parts of DNA, causing serious damage to cells. Peter Piper, a molecular biology expert at Sheffield University, carried out a research and found that E211 or sodium benzonate — found in drinks such as Fanta and Pepsi Max — can cause serious damage to DNA in the mitochondria.
— ANI Not enough exercise raising risk of health problems in kids LONDON:
Parents really need to stop their kids from becoming ‘mini-couch potatoes’, for a new study has found that kids who don’t get regular exercise are at the risk of chronic health problems in later life. As a part of their study, researchers from the British Heart Foundation examined activity levels of more than 3,500 students from five inner-city secondary schools in Leicester. They found that half of the kids hardly got any exercise, for they spent four hours or more a day watching television or playing games on the computer. The researchers noted that only half of the kids walked to school every day.
— ANI Scientists identify four genes that raise breast cancer risk LONDON:
Researchers investigating the causes of breast cancer at the University of Cambridge claim to have identified four genes that raise the risk of the disease. They made this breakthrough by using the new ‘trawling technique’, which allowed them to assess 200,000 blocks of DNA simultaneously instead of one by one. They believe that their findings may help develop a screening programme in 12 to 15 years, in which the inherited risk of developing cancer can be assessed for every patient.
— ANI UK to introduce new
booze warnings The agreement was first planned three years ago but it is only now that a proper format has been adopted. Ministers have insisted that if the industry does not abide by the agreement, legislation will be introduced. According to Public Health Minister Caroline Flint, it is a ‘landmark agreement’ and the warnings introduced will be kept simple for the people to understand the implications of heavy drinking better.
— ANI
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LONDON:
New health warnings against alcohol will be introduced in England to ward-off people from heavy boozing. The new labels like ‘know your limits’ and ‘drink responsibly’ will be out by the end of 2008 as part of a voluntary agreement between ministers and industry.