Mumbai: Healthy eating and spending quality time at fitness centres are not the only ways to keep oneself fit and active. Tiny measures can be included in one's day-to-day activities to play an important role in keeping us fit. Every third person today is facing health hazards rooted in their lifestyle. Cervical problems, spinal issues, migraine, knee pain are afflictions routinely bandied about and those suffering from them are not just older people but shockingly, the youth brigade. Doctors and health experts say, in the last few years, knee pain and slipped disc have been observed among the very young and working people.
“Slipped disc may occur due to various reasons. Sometimes, it may be caused by bending down wrongly or simply, by sitting for long hours at work. It can also happen while one is changing positions during sleep or driving for long hours or sitting in a wrong posture for long hours,” said doctors. The workplace, where most of us spend the maximum hours, days and years of our lives is a likely source for these problems. No matter how much one keeps oneself up to speed when it comes to work, fashion, looks and social activities, not being fit from within can considerably cramp one's style in all these departments. Neuro-spinal problems have become common these days, across all ages.
Dr Arvind G Kulkarni, head of the Mumbai Spine Scoliosis and Disc Replacement Centre, Bombay Hospital, says sitting for prolonged periods of time can be a major cause of back pain, causing increased stress of the back, neck, arms and legs and can cause tremendous pressure to the back muscles and spinal discs. “The most common cause of lower back pain is postural stress. For this reason, lower back pain is frequently brought on by sleeping in the wrong position, prolonged bending, heavy lifting, or even standing or lying down in a poor, rounded-back position,” said Dr Kulkarni.
Dr Sanjay Aggarwala, head, orthopaedics & traumatology, P D Hinduja National Hospital, Mumbai, said most working people experience a jerk in their knee while getting up from their chairs in the office. For those working in the corporate sector, especially older people, the sedentary nature of their work is a grave threat unless they consciously move about at regular intervals. “Even the young generation is complaining of joint pains after long hours in the office mostly spent sitting and for lack of enough physical activity. There are a number of other contributing factors too, the understanding of which can make take preventive measures to keep such troubling physical inabilities at bay.” said Dr Aggarwal.
- Swapnil Mishra
