An elucidation on Postural Assessment

Posture is the position in which one holds the body upright against gravity while standing, sitting or lying down. Sitting or standing in the right position makes sure our bodies function properly. When a person slouches or slumps, it causes more pressure on the vertebrae, leading to poor circulation. This can cause vertebrae to deteriorate over time causing chronic fatigue. Finding the best way to stand, sit, and lift heavy objects is essential to avoiding both immediate and future spine difficulties, increasing your energy output and maintaining your desired physique.

Good posture

Good posture involves training your body to stand, walk, sit and lie in positions where the least strain is placed on supporting muscles and ligaments during movement or weight-bearing activities. When our posture is correct, the ears, shoulders, hips, knees, and ankles should align in one straight line.

Causes of bad posture

Bad posture isn’t always a sign of laziness. All over the world, weight issues are becoming more common, and weight gain changes how our skeleton and muscles support themselves. People tend to be less active, which can lead to increased risk of disease. Chairs, hunching at work, unsupportive mattresses contribute to these problems.

Importance of proper posture:

• Keeps bones and joints in the correct alignment

• Decreases abnormal wearing of joint surfaces

• Reduces risk of arthritis.

• Decreases the stress on the ligaments

• Prevents fatigue as muscles are used efficiently, allowing the body to use less energy.

• Prevents strain or overuse problems.

• Prevents backache and muscular pain.

• Contributes to a good appearance.

• Improves organ function

• Reduces tension and pain in neck, shoulders, and back

• Increases concentration and mental performance

• Prevents humped shoulders

Spine Alignment

Spinal curves 

The spine has natural curves that form an S-shape. The cervical and lumbar spines have a lordotic, or a slight inward curve, and the thoracic spine has a kyphotic, or gentle outward curve. The spine's curves work like a coiled spring to absorb shock, maintain balance, and to facilitate the full range of motion throughout the spinal column. The spine has three natural curves, a concave cervical and lumbar curve, and a gentle convex thoracic curve.

Muscle groups

These curves are maintained by two muscle groups, flexors and extensors. The flexor muscles are in front and include abdominal muscles. These muscles enables to flex, or bend forward, and are important in lifting and controlling the arch in lower back. The extensor muscles are at back. These muscles allow us to stand upright and lift objects. Working together these muscle groups act as guy wires to stabilize your spine.

Appropriate posture for every position

1. Sitting posture

Do's

Head straight and not tilted up or down.

Shoulders back and relaxed.

Knees slightly lower than hips.

Feet flat on the floor.

Don'ts

Do not keep back ramrod straight.

Do not work without support for arms.

Do not tuck feet under the chair or cross legs above the knees.

2. Standing posture

Do's

Shoulders back and aligned.

Use stomach muscles to keep body straight.

Slightly bend knees to ease pressure on hips.

Use quality shoes that offer good support.

Don'ts

Do not stick your chest out.

Do not stand in the same position for long periods of time

Do not wear high heels when standing for long periods of time.

3. Walking Posture

Do's

Chin parallel to the ground

Hit the ground with heel first, then roll onto the toe.

Stomach and buttocks in line with the rest of the body.

Don'ts

Do not look down at your feet.

Do not arch your back.

4. Running posture

Do's

Head up

Look forward

Arms loose

Elbows at a 90 degree angle

Lean forward slightly

Hit the ground at midpoint of foot and roll it forward to the toe.

Don'ts

Do not hunch your shoulders

Do not bend at the waist

Do not lift your knees too high.

5. Sleeping posture

Do's

Use a firm mattress that provides support.

Use pillows as necessary to minimize spinal curves

Stretch before bed to ease tense muscles

Sleep on side(s) with a pillow between legs

Don'ts

Do not sleep on stomach.

Do not sleep with a tall stack of pillows that causes neck to bend unnaturally.

6. Driving posture

Do's

Use a back support at the back curve.

Knees to be at the same level or higher than your hips.

Seat to be close to the steering wheel to support the back curve.

Pragmatic Spine health

1. Easy exercises

Every morning and night, lie down on the floor and make slow stretch your arms and legs for two or three minutes. In addition to this, roll up a towel and place it underneath the spine. Stretches must be done slowly and flexibly.

2. Straight posture

While working at a desk, sitting up with good, tall posture and shoulders dropped helps to keep spine it the best position. Exercise disciplines like Pilates and yoga helps focus on body awareness and helps in sitting straight. Proper workstation set up is obligatory in promoting proper posture.

3. Strengthening the core 

The core muscles of the abdomen and pelvic area form the foundation of good posture. These core muscles can be enhanced with the help of exercises and yoga. A strong core elevates one's athletic performance and endeavors many other advantages. 

4. Spine support 

After 40, people may have more weakening in the muscles around the spine. Exercises for back extensors, neck flexors, pelvic muscles, and side muscles are crucial. Trainers at gyms and special equipments targeting these muscles can help to bring endurance in the spine and trunk muscles.

5. Weights

One can manage ageing changes (like osteoporosis) in the muscles and spine with the help of weight-bearing exercises, like walking, stair climbing, and weight lifting. A regular walk can keep the body healthy and can better bone density than sedentary people.

               

6. Healthy Diet

Vitamin D is essential for bone health, and helps maintain muscles too. One can get it from a healthy diet. Calcium is essential for the body for a healthy spine. It is recommended to get calcium from food rather than supplements.

7. Medication

It is essential to have a diagnosis on bone mineral density to detect osteopenia or osteoporosis. Even though activities like progressive resistance training can halt or reverse bone loss in some cases, medications may also help. Hormone-based medications can help build bone density.

 Back yourself

• Proper alignment of lower back (lumbar curve) can prevent injury to your vertebrae, discs, and other portions of your spine.
• Work-space can be rearranged to keep your spine from slouching.
• Regular exercise is important to prevent back pain and injury. 
•  Strengthening, stretching and aerobic exercises improves overall fitness level.
• Physically fit people are more resistant to back injuries and pain, and recover quicker

Pre-marital Tests

For most people, the joy of finding true love and deciding to go into matrimony with a spouse knows no bound. However, most people enter into this lifelong union without adequate knowledge of their partner’s health status and become disappointed and frustrated with marriage because of their partner’s medical conditions that could have been identified and tackled before this lifelong commitment. Premarital tests may help in this regard. The knowledge of your intending partner’s health status by no means implies that marriage is not possible but it gives you an avenue to make informed consent and it enables you and your spouse seek proper medical care early to prevent unnecessary stress and burden during marriage.

Pre-marital Screening 

A premarital test is one in which couples who are about to get married are tested for genetic, infectious and blood transmitted diseases to prevent any risk of transmitting any disease to their children. Nowadays premarital testing is considered an important issue, owing to the increase in number of children affected with genetic or blood transmitted diseases. 

Importance of Premarital Screening

Hereditary diseases cause great suffering for the next generation of the children. World has made rapid progress in some health related aspects such as infant mortality, life expectancy, and access to health care. A recent survey states that significant genetic diseases or birth defects that may affect pregnancies and cause childhood deaths. On the other hand, inherited disorders and gene disorders have drastically risen among the new-borns, accounting for a considerable proportion of perinatal and neonatal mortalities.

For these reasons, it is suggested that couples go through the screening process before getting married. Premarital screening immensely helps in reducing the number of children with inherited diseases. It is a comprehensive group of tests for those who are planning to get married and highly beneficial for the couples who are under the following catagories:

• Couples going for consanguineous marriage
• If either/both have family history of a serious genetic condition
• If they are ‘carriers’ of the same faulty gene
• If they have exposure to some chemical or other environmental agent
• Any abnormalities in the chromosomes 

Medical Tests You Should Do Before Marriage

1. TEST FOR HIV AND OTHER SEXUAL TRANSMITTED DISEASES (STDS)

With the current prevalence of HIV and other STDs, it is important that spouses should request for their partners to be screened for these diseases before marriage. HIV, hepatitis B and C are lifelong conditions that if not properly managed can put serious strain on the marriage. The knowledge of your partner’s status helps you protect yourself/ seek for adequate medical care if your partner turns out to be positive and you also decide to go ahead with the marriage. Lifelong care and support is needed for partners who are infected. Other STDs discovered through premarital tests e.g. gonorrhea, syphilis, bacterial vaginosis and warts can be treated with proper medical care. This reduces the risk of infertility and miscarriages during marriage.

2. TEST FOR BLOOD GROUP

Knowledge of your spouse blood group is important before marriage because of rhesus isoimmunization blood group incompatibility that affects the fetus. This test is easy to perform and result is usually ready within 30 minutes. Blood group is assigned to an individual as A, B, O and AB with another component known as the Rhesus factor which is referred to as positive or negative. Women with rhesus negative blood group married to rhesus positive husbands have a greater chance of rhesus incompatibility where the mother produces antibodies (body defence system) to target the red blood cells of the growing fetus (rhesus positive fetus) leading to intrauterine death and miscarriages. Knowledge of your spouse blood group, through premarital tests, will alert your doctor to institute preventive measures which are used to prevent rhesus incompatibility reactions during pregnancy.

3. FERTILITY TEST

This may sound out of place or weird, but truth be told, fertility test is another of the premarital tests that all intending coupes should do before saying ‘I DO’. This is important because fertility issues can be addressed as early as possible without the unnecessary biological, psychological, social and emotional trauma associated with barrenness. Fertility test typically includes: seminal analysis for the men to assess for male fertility; hormonal assay for both couples e.g. FSH, LH, Prolactin, Testosterone, estrogen and progesterone; test for ovulation for the women, pelvic ultrasound scan may also be needed to assess the internal reproductive organs for any congenital or acquired abnormalities.

4. TESTING FOR POSSIBLE GENETIC/CHRONIC MEDICAL CONDITION

Marriage is a lifelong commitment with both partners looking after each another. Knowledge of possible genetic or chronic conditions of your partner wouldn’t be harmful but it will go a long way in assisting both couples on how to best prepare for the challenges ahead. Early testing allows couples seek medical care before the medical conditions gets to its terminal stage. This test depends on the region and the common chronic/genetic condition seen in that populace. 

Vil Ambu Review

Every person's day to day actions has the power to influence the lives of others inadvertently. This theory has been nicely brought out in this well-written and neatly executed screenplay. Director Ramesh Subramaniam has adeptly penned a story wherein a series of incidents trigger a chain of reactions in several people's lives. 

The film starts with the introduction of two characters from distinctly opposite social backgrounds. Arul (Harish Kalyan) belongs to a middle class family where the focus is on inculcating good values and the importance of education in getting a decent job. Karthik's (Sri) parents are poor and abuse each other all the time, but there is an underlying bonding within the family which comes across well to the audience. The flaws in both styles of brought ups are efficiently pointed out.

A wannabe photographer who had to give up his dreams for his father's sake and a school drop out who sells movie tickets in black cross each other's paths and how they influence the other’s lives without even meeting forms the rest of the story. It so happens that Fate plays a major role in the lives of these protagonists with many coincidences. The lives of Arul and Karthik intertwine back and forth, and after a while, it gets entangled in an interesting plot.

Leads have given good performances in the movie while Yogi Babu's comedy scenes are indeed funny. Sri as usual gives a smashing performance and fits the role to a perfect "T" . Harish, who appears more placid with his boy-next-door looks, also delivers for his director. Background blends well with all the shots. "Aala saachuputta kannala" crooned by Aniruth is a feel good song with good rhythm. Good work by music director Navin. Overall the movie is well worth a watch in recent times.

Being manly

I am no good to write about masculinity. Still, I have some simple thoughts on the subject and I take this opportunity to put them forth. To be a man is not only to have a Y chromosome, but also to have some maturity. I'm attempting to run a quick scan on men's due diligence on masculine sophistication. In no particular order, here are my insights on appropriate traits for matured men:

Fearless

Being fearless does not mean being without fear, it is admitting your fears and moving beyond them. It mean he has the courage to do things that frighten him when the situation calls for it.

 

Resilience

It is imperative to be flexible and reliable at the same time. A grown man accepts his fate but doesn’t become a victim of it.

Feeling

A real man doesn’t hide his feelings and intentions. He is not afraid to be gentle nor afraid to be sad. He is in touch with his emotions and is able to express them.

Anger

A real man owns his anger. His anger has transformed into masculine compassion. It is not humiliating or destructive type of anger.

Value

It is important to become a man of value, not a man of success.

Vulnerable

A coward tries to hide his weak spots, a real man works on them. He is vulnerable and is able to reveal himself even in the midst of pain. By opening up he practices courage every time.

Passion

A real man does not hold back. He opens up to all his rawness and tenderness. He does not shy away from intimacy.

Martial arts

Every man should be able to defend his wife, children and honor. A man should know at least enough basic fighting skills so he can throw a punch in case of an emergency.

Humor

Uplifting a tense situation with a joke can be done only by men because only men can hold both the utter importance and the utter unimportance of life at the same time. But he isn’t the immature joker that abuses humor as a tool for sabotaging intensity.

In the end a real man knows that he is just a guy. He likes hanging out with other men, he might drink beer during cricket, he loves his woman and he works wholeheartedly. Basically, he is just trying to do his best to make the most of life and is having some fun while doing that. His sweat is honest, his heart is open and his back is straight.

The beauty of all men is that each one has a special quality, and it’s nice when you discover their true heart. Happy men’s day!