Life is Beautiful! Love it the fullest!
cross-posted from Aches & Joints
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...]
A recent clinical review reported in the NY Times provides great news for older adults. A meta-analysis of 12 randomized clinical trials, together representing over 65,000 subjects suggests that Vitamin D reduces the risk for non-vertebral fractures by 20 % and hip fractures by 18%.
[Read more...]
Exercises for Strong and Healthy Shoulders
Shoulders permit our arms to move in a wide arc and perform elaborate activities. This mobility is due to superb coordination of muscles and soft tissues around the shoulder and shoulder blades (scapula, SKA-pew-la), and is essential for performing activities in a pain- and injury-free manner. See related article on Rotator Cuff complications impairing shoulder movement.
Conventional shoulder exercises strengthen the larger muscles but tend to overlook the mid-back muscles that stabilize the scapulas. This can often result in muscle imbalance and consequently, bad posture. Even non-shoulder exercises like running on a treadmill with shoulders slouched can lead to stiffness and pain. These conditions increase injury potential and thus the need for corrective exercises.
Michael Bento, personal trainer at the Clubs at Charles River Park, Boston, demonstrates simple exercises you can do at home to develop shoulder strength and protect them from injury. As an added bonus, these exercises also tone the all-important core muscles.
These exercises can be performed on a stability ball as shown, or on a work bench. Dumbbells or additional weights are not required. And as I surprisingly found out last week, you can do these scapular exercises while standing, starting with the arms in front! Yaay!
A drawback of traveling is carrying your suitcase everywhere, particularly lifting it into overhead compartments on planes, trains and buses. This really hurts my shoulder. Apparently, I am straining my rotator cuff muscles and tendons. As we age, these soft tissues surrounding the shoulder tend to weaken and are easily injured.
Here is short summary on Rotator Cuff Disease, published in Aches & Joints.
There are several causes of shoulder pain. In the elderly, shoulder pain is commonly associated with aging and can be traced to rotator cuff disease. In younger people, it is associated with throwing or overhead sporting activities that result in injury to the rotator cuff.
The rotator cuff is a band of four muscles and tendons at the shoulder joint, which grasp the end of the upper arm or humerus (HYU-mer-us, see figure), much like four fingers holding a baseball. The rotator cuff thus stabilizes the shoulder joint and provides exceptional mobility to the arm. Pinching, irritation, or tears of the rotator cuff are common causes of shoulder pain.
Marine Corps Marathon 2008
time: 4:33:10
My Slowest Marathon!
The Course and the Run:
I loved the first ten miles of this course. Leaving the Pentagon, the course works its way through the narrow streets of Arlington, VA. The mass of runners then worms their way over the George Washington Parkway and through the forests of Georgetown. It was a nice incline and the heavy breathing of runners filled the cool air. As we worked uphill, sunlight filtered through fall trees and only a few feet ahead, runners disappeared in fog mingling with mist from their breath. It was a beautiful slog. Then we raced down to the center of Georgetown to a large and raucous crowd. At that point, it was only mile Ten, and I was ahead of my expected 4:00 h pace!
[Read more...]
Not a pleasant topic, but things you should know;
From Lumps & Bumps post on Aches & Joints.
Download the PDF (220 KB), as it appears in the print edition.
Lumps & Bumps: Things to consider when you notice a lump on your body
Over the course of a day, we all poke, rub, and scratch. Usually it’s an itch or a sore. Occasionally we notice a lump! What should we do? Rightly, some of us will worry about it and cannot rest until we find out what the lump is. Others will completely ignore it.
Fortunately, the vast majority of lumps and bumps are benign (see box at end) and do not threaten our lives. But some can be dangerous and require immediate medical attention. So which lumps should we worry about? Which lumps and bumps require a doctor’s care, and which ones can be ignored?
We usually discover lumps and bumps about our hands and feet earlier than if they were in our thighs or buttocks, for example. Our hands and feet don’t have as much soft tissue around them, making it easier to notice even small lumps. Our buttocks, thighs and even the upper arms can hide quite a large mass before we notice.
[Read more...]
For arthritis patients, aerobic exercises, muscle conditioning and increased physical activity can keep you strong and agile, improve heart fitness and reduce your weight. Yoga provides an effective alternative to the traditional strengthening and aerobic exercises, and offers other benefits as well.
While yoga may bring visions of complex body contortions, most yoga classes provide simple, gentle movements that gradually build muscular strength, promote balance and improve flexibility. Its meditative nature soothes and relaxes the mind, and is associated with increased mental alertness and enthusiasm. Scientific studies have shown that practicing yoga is a safe and effective way to increase physical activity, which is strongly recommended for arthritis patients. Yoga does not increase pain or worsen arthritis.
Growing up, even a thimble full of these squiggly bits was a treat It still is. I found this in a desi store here. Now I get my stash from Mumbai on every visit. (Chikki was my other treat.)
Cross-posted from Aches & Joints
Marathoner, Professor, Author, Citizen Journalist, Fitness Nut, Foodie, Meera's father, Hindu, Scientist, Photographer.
Follow @ArunShanbhag
