Now that M & Meera are in Boston, I worry less (about the house, yard or anything else) and explore culinary creations. Here is an all-natural Red Juice loaded with important nutrients, vitamins and antioxidants. [Read more...]
Steel toe work boots reduce foot injuries
June 2, 2012 By Leave a Comment
In this simple study, researchers demonstrated that steel toe capped work boots can prevent serious injury to the forefoot. The researchers fitted regular or steel toe work boots on cadaver feet and dropped 150 lbs on each foot. Ouch! Steel toe capped work boots (pic right) reduced the number of fractures in the foot by more than half compared to regular work boots (pic left). [Read more...]
Hands-only CPR: Save a Life
October 29, 2011 By Leave a Comment
How To:
- Call 911
- Push hard and fast in the center of the chest, without interrupting
- Push deeply, about 100 times per minute. That’s faster than three times every two seconds
- Do NOT be afraid, your actions can only help
- Look around and invite your friends or other onlookers to help
- Continue until trained Emergency Personnel arrive
Fighting Cervical Cancer with Vinegar
September 30, 2011 By Leave a Comment
In developed countries, pap smears are used to detect cervical cancers, but these tests are not available for poor women in developing countries. Brushing the cervix with household vinegar turns cancerous and precancerous lesions pale white within a few minutes. The lesions can then be immediately frozen using metal rod cooled by a tank of carbon dioxide, which is readily available from any soda plant.
This cheap and easy screening test called VIA/cryo has recently been endorsed by the World Health Organization.
Read More & pic from: Fighting Cervical Cancer With Vinegar and Ingenuity, New York Times
Other Health Related:
The Plank: Strengthening the Core
April 17, 2011 By 8 Comments
The Plank is one of my favorite exercises in the Gym. Here’s my write-up cross-posted from Aches & Joints.
The core is commonly thought of as only your abs, but consists of multiple muscle groups in your abdomen, back and pelvis. Core muscles are engaged during all activities requiring a coordinated movement of the upper and lower body. They generate the force and power required for many activities, while simultaneously playing a foundational role in stabilizing the torso.
Our modern sedentary lifestyle does nothing to working these important core muscles and over time result in their weakening, and the consequent injuries from seemingly simple tasks.]
There are various ways to strengthen these core muscles. The PLANK, for instance, is easy to perform, effective and appropriate for any age and fitness level. With no special equipment, the plank can be performed on a carpeted floor or mat in your living room, in the gym between sets of other exercises, or at the end of a workout. Also, the plank literally only takes a minute!
In performing the plank, you hold a steady position by isometrically contracting the deep stabilizing abdominal muscles (transverse abdominus), while keeping the lower back (erector spinae and multifidi) stable, fighting fatigue and simultaneously building endurance. This exercise is not appropriate if you have any shoulder weakness or injury.
Step by Step: How to perform and hold the Plank
- Have a wrist watch or clock nearby to track time
- Start with palms on the floor, shoulder distance apart (see above), then lower to forearms only with and elbows directly below the shoulders as demonstrated below
- It may be easier for many to start with knees and elbows on a mat
- Extend legs back, one at a time, straightening the knees and balancing on your toes
- Keep your body straight as a plank (see below)
- Relax your neck and look down at the floor
- As you fatigue, there will be a tendency for your hips to sag. Squeeze your deep abdominal muscles and glutes, and hold your hips in line with the rest of the body
- For starters, hold the position for 30 seconds and work up to 60 seconds or longer
- Rest on your knees; when ready, repeat plank for two additional sets
For a more challenging workout: In the plank position, alternately lift and move each leg outwards (see demonstration below)
The Plank was demonstrated by Julie Schlenkerman, certified personal trainer at the Clubs at Charles River Park, Boston, MA.
Julie is an avid runner and ran the 2009 Boston Marathon in 3:16:14!
Here is wishing Julie the very best for the Boston Marathon tomorrow.
Run Julie Run!
From My Archives: Simple exercises & Related articles
What to do with Bunions?
January 13, 2011 By 3 Comments
cross-posted from Aches & Joints
What to do with Bunions? Better to leave them alone.
A bunion is a characteristically large bony bump at the base of the big toe. This alters the alignment of the bones, causing the base of the big toe to angle out and crowding the tops towards the smaller toes. Bunions can often be painful and cause swelling, making it difficult to find comfortably fitting shoes. The big toe pushing against the smaller toes can result in irritation of the skin, forming painful calluses.
Bunions occur more frequently in women and can occur in children as well. Although some footwear can contribute to the deformity, it is not the sole cause. “People who develop bunions often have an underlying predisposition to acquire them, such as a family member who may have them, overly mobile joints, or a disease such as rheumatoid arthritis,” explains Dr A Holly Johnson, Foot & Ankle Surgeon at the Massachusetts General Hospital and Instructor at Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA. Traumatic injuries to feet or toes can also result in bunions. Bunions can occur in people with flatfeet (or over pronation) and may involve deformities of the smaller toes, such as hammer toes.
Left: X-ray of normal foot while standing. Right: Foot with a bunion, also called hallux valgus. Notice the bony protuberance and the large angle at the base of the big toe. The top of the big toe is seen crowding towards the smaller toes. [Read more...]
Video: How to do a Pec Fly & Chest Press
August 8, 2010 By 5 Comments
I don’t do weights! But my trainer friends urge me to build muscle tone. “It will help your running,” they argue. I do anything which helps my running.
[Read more...]
Heel Leg Stretch for Plantar Fasciitis
March 28, 2010 By 53 Comments
If you are a runner, sooner or later you will encounter heel pain associated with plantar fasciitis. While there is no cure, simple exercises can take care of it.
Plantar fascia is the tissue band running along the bottom of the foot. Excessive walking, running, or irritation can inflame the tissues, causing severe heel pain. See my previous article on Treating Heel Pain with simple exercises. Here is another, very effective heel-leg stretch. Similar to others, this stretch takes less than 2 minutes. [Read more...]
Embrace Infant Incubators
October 3, 2009 By 2 Comments
A global partnership for children, including the WHO and UNICEF, report that annually, 4 million babies die within the first 30 days of birth. Why are 4 million babies dying? Concise 2 and 1/2 page article. The common causes are infection, birth asphyxia and premature (including low birth weight) births. Premature and low-weight babies are particularly susceptible to hypothermia and need to be kept warm.
In the well-off world, such babies are placed in expensive incubators (costing upwards of $10,000), while vital signs are monitored and stabilized. In much of the developing world such luxuries do not exist and babies continue to die off. Multinational medical device companies are quick to donate expensive equipment to far off locales. Consider that in places where infant mortality is very high, there is likely no electricity to power incubators and no trained personnel to operate them. Most of the equipment is completely useless and gathers dust.
This lack of understanding local constrainsts leads me to believe that most expensive equipment donations are made primarily for tax right-offs and a way to showcase social responsibility to shareholders. But thankfully, social entrepreneurs in small teams are continuing efforts to develop baby incubators for the developing world.
Here is a creative solution by EmbraceGlobal: A sleeping bag-like device with an add-on warming pouch. It does not require electricity, is portable and costs $25. At that price, they are near disposable and can go home with the baby. Most likely, parents don’t have anything nicer to put the baby to sleep in.
A Neonatologist I spoke to voiced concern that for critical babies, it is important to be able to see the chest of the baby rise and fall as it breathes. I think this can be addressed by a zipper (or velcro) on the sides of the bag. These will also make it easier to get the baby in and out of the bag, and provide ventilation.
I think $25 is still a steep price for essentially a wrap-around quilt. If folks can build a laptop for $100, then such a sleeping bag should not cost more than $1! Yes, One dollar!
Any of you have ideas for modifying the designs to address local needs? Can this be made of locally sourced materials? How about involving micro-finance based women’s groups to fabricate/assemble them locally? This could improve their livelihood as well. Perhaps this may trigger other solutions in the local populations.
Make it for $1! Any takers?
Face of Swine Flu in Mumbai
September 27, 2009 By 10 Comments
No, he was not trying to hijack the BEST bus in Mumbai; he was terrified about the nasty virus causing swine flu!
But that makeshift mask in a crowded bus surely got me panicky. Should I be around Mumbai using public transportation, where the buses and trains are stuffed tighter than, … than, … mumbaikars in buses and trains? And when I had Meera with me?
During my August visit to Mumbai, everyone was in full “epidemic” mode. Even at the Airport! Before reaching immigration, we filled out personal history forms and the overworked health workers simply waved us on. I hope you feel reassured.
Headlines in city newspapers screamed at every cough and sniffle. The Mumbai city council finally ordered schools, colleges, tuition classes and many govt offices closed for 3 days. Private companies gave employees furlough to work from home! And this was supposed to be my vacation. We all came through fine, and a renewed interest in Ayurvedic attempts to strengthen the immune response. [Read more...]
Marathoner, Professor, Author, Citizen Journalist, Fitness Nut, Foodie, Meera's father, Hindu, Scientist, Photographer.
