India's 1st Chain of Specialty Clinics for Orthopaedic Problems

5 Shocking Ways Smartphones Affect Your Health & Well Being

With the advent of advanced technology, there is a continuous growth in the number of mobile users. In India, more than 50 crore people are using smartphones. In 2020, the number of global smartphone users is projected to total 3.5 billion, which is approximately 9.3 percent increase from 2019.

In this digital era, need smartphones at work, for learning and also to maintain a social life. However, too much of anything, they say, is not good. Say. For example, too many chocolates can expedite diabetes, or too much salt can lead to blood pressure issues. Similarly, too much use of cell phones also causes a range of health problems. In this blog, we highlight some damaging health effects caused by excessive use of smartphones:

Musculoskeletal Problems

The excessive use of smartphones can cause back problems. These days even young people experience back pain issues, many due to excessive smartphone use.These back pain issues can be resolved by back pain treatment. Based on a study, approximately 45 % of young people between the age of 16 and 25 years face musculoskeletal problems. Moreover, excessive use of smartphones can also cause “text claw,” a typical pain in the muscle of fingers and wrists.

Nerve Damage

A recent study revealed that the overuse of smartphones develops “occipital neuralgia.” In this neurological condition, nerves that link your head and spine are either inflamed or compressed.

Weight Gain

If you tend to spend hours on smartphones, of course, you also miss on your physical activities or exercises. Over a period, this leads to more inactivity and can add to your weight gain. As smartphones are becoming a vital part of work life and the preferred source of entertainment, it is changing the way we live. According to a study, a person who uses smartphones for more than five hours a day is at risk of obesity and heart diseases. Weight gain by itself can cause a range of muscle and bone issues, a common one being knee pain. Your knees hold your weight, hence any additional weight you carry around will affect the knees. We provide proper knee pain treatment at our clinic.

Vision Problems

Normally, we blink 15 times per minute, but this decreases when we stare at our smartphones more often. As we spend more time on these small screens, our facial and shoulder muscles tighten, eyes get tired, and vision can be blurred. Excessive use of smartphones can also lead to retinal damage or muscular degeneration in the eye.

Sleep deprivation

According to the latest study, three- fourths of the world’s population sleep either holding their smartphones, or having it next to them near the pillow or on their nightstand. In another study, researchers found that around 40 percent of teenagers sleep less than 7 hours a night. Smartphones emit blue light, which is a type of light that our brain interprets as daylight. This light suppresses melatonin (hormone that affects circadian rhythm and helps in sleeping), thus leading to sleep deprivation and irregular sleep cycles.

Apart from the above-mentioned issues, there are many other health problems related to excessive use of smartphones. It can cause stress and depression, poor concentration in work, violent behavior, decreased social interaction, etc. We need to limit the use of smartphones. People who work on desks or spend more time sitting should raise their screens to eye height. While working, try to take frequent breaks to get up and keep your body correctly aligned. Just a few daily adjustments can go toward improving pain, postural, and other health issues.

Orthocure is an Orthopaedic clinic in Gurgaon that offers an integrated approach to treatment of bones muscles, joints, ligaments and tendons. With the best Orthopaedic Doctors on board in our 4 centers in Gurgaon, our treatments also involve the only Chiropratic in the millennial city alongside a range of physiotherapists. If you live in Gurgaon, we are not far from you. Spread across the city, we have our clinics in Sec 14, Sec 40, Nirvana Country and Golf Course Road. Browse our exact locations here at https://www.orthocure.co.in/locations/

WINTER ACHES & PAINS

Winters are around the corner, bringing relief from the scorching hot summers and leading towards this year’s festive season. The festive season starts with Dusshera & Diwali and continues till Christmas & New Year’s Eve. Most people have various events and activities to plan during this time which requires a lot of recreational work like cleaning the house, office, new decoration, etc. All these activities require a lot of physical work like lifting heavy bags, moving furniture, continuously moving upstairs and downstairs, etc. All these strenuous activities most of the times result in physical stress and end up in chronic aches and pains. These activities also make people prone to muscle injuries, joint pains, and physical wear and tear. Most people ignore the initial symptoms which result in chronic pain and injuries sometimes resulting in minor or major surgeries.

Orthocure Clinics provides a range of services in physiotherapy which not only answers to most of these problems but also advice on how to avoid such physical stress in day to day basis. Our Physical Therapist Dr. Meenal Sharma talks about how cold weather impacts your joints and muscle pain and how to address it on a day to day basis. A snapshot of the interview with Dr. Meenal Sharma is provided below:

Is it common to feel aches and pains?

Dr. Meenal Sharma- First of all, to address aches and pain we need to focus more on the causes of such pains. One of the major causes of such pains is the wrong posture for carrying out day to day activity. Most of the people in winters are packed with a lot of woolen clothes and they tend to clench themselves to preserve heat. However it is important to preserve the heat but

on the other hand, most people don’t understand that with a lot of clothes, people also need to correct their posture for day to day activity. In general, we observe people in winter hunched, shoulder raised, forward head, chin jotting, which results in the tightening of muscles, leading to cramps and pain. With the cold weather kicking in people also get a bit lazy and forget to undertake their regular exercises, leading to increased inactiveness. Aches and Pains only hit people who are more sedentary and don’t carry a good posture.

How does this occur?

Dr. Meenal Sharma- In winters, our joints have less elasticity and the blood supply to our muscles is also less than regular because of the cold environment overall. Besides, inactiveness adds on to muscular weakness and poor posture. To address this we have to keep our body warm and bring a regular movement of joints so that blood supply can be improved. Also, we need to regularly stretch our body and do exercises- both flexibility and strength training.

Can winters results in weakness of muscles?

Dr. Meenal Sharma – Definitely YES!! But not because of its cold weather, although it is due to increased inactiveness resulting in muscle weakening. The more the movement of the muscle/joints the less will be the problems!! So the idea is to KEEP MOVING!

What type of exercises are helpful?

Dr. Meenal Sharma – Staying active in general is helpful. The problem is when it aches we tend to avoid exercises and move as little as possible. But you can avoid it by exercising. You can do any form of exercise which can be as simple as

Going for a regular WALK,
Taking staircases most of the times,
Doing some YOGA especially at night which can ease aches and pains and help you sleep better and in general, It is gentle and relaxing.
Be sure to STRETCH. Stretches are good to keep you warmed up. Now its time to recall the winter posture which I talked about previously! We have to just do the opposite of that in our stretch regime. A SIMPLE TECHNIQUE- Pulling your body up, lengthening your back, pulling belly muscles in, squeezing your shoulder blades a little bit together to try and maintain better posture. Be in each position for some time and it results in stretching as well!
STRENGTH training has to be done 3 times a week to keep your muscles strong. In the winters when the world is hibernating our bodies still have to be ACTIVE. The stronger your body is the healthier it will be and more likely you will overcome winter aches and pains.
General mobility Exercises like pumping of ankle and foot, squeezing of hands and making a fist and opening It for better circulation.
DRINK more of lukewarm water.
Do HOT FOMENTATION twice a day or even can have a bath with Epsom salt hot water to rush that blood flow and soothe your muscles and joints.
In case of any swelling still, COLD PACKS are applicable.
EAT LIGHT but some days can be cheat days too! You can have chocolates, cakes, watch Netflix, sit back and enjoy winters too!!
If you want to stick to an exercise program that boosts strength, increases flexibility and gives you a cardio workout, you can’t beat SWIMMING. It’s easy on your joints and limbs and gives you a full-body workout and stretches out your body relieving aches and pains.

Do I need to see a Doctor?

Dr. Meenal Sharma – Do try exercising for at least 15-20 days and be active. If these home remedies aren’t helping and the pain persists, then don’t confuse it with normal winter aches and pain and SPEAK TO YOUR DOCTOR.

Dr. Meenal Sharma

Physiotherapy Head and Senior Spine Therapist

BPT, MPT, CDNT, CKTT, FOMT, COMT

Postural Examination For Aches & Pain Due To 'Modern…

Leading Knee Pain Treatment in Gurgaon

Health is very important for any human being and today’s lifestyle and unhealthy eating habits makes us weak and disease-prone. We should be very careful about our health and take appropriate diet to keep our bones, joints, muscles and whole body healthy. Because, sometimes our carelessness leads to a complicated medical condition. Among the number of diseases, one of them is “knee pain”.

Knee pain is generally a common health issue. It can arise to anyone among men, women or teenage children but it can easily be cured beside few serious injuries.

The knee is a crucial joint that bears a large amount of stress from activities like running, jogging, lifting, kneeling, etc. This part carries the whole weight of the body and has to do large participation in everyday activities.

What is knee pain?
What are the symptoms?
What are its types?
How is the diagnosis done by doctors?
How is the treatment done by the specialist?
What are the types of knee surgeries done by the orthopedic doctors?
How can I get rid of knee pain?
How Orthocure Clinics Can Help You?
Our Location

What is Knee Pain?

Knee consist of three parts

Tibia – This is the larger bone of lower leg also known as Shinbone.
Femur – Upper leg bone called as Thigh bone.
Patella – It covers both the bones like a cap known as the Knee cap.

Knee pain often arises due to physical restriction and the knee pain treatment depends on the actual underlying cause. Knee pain can be caused due to any physical activity, it can be triggered due to any injury in foot, muscles, ligaments.

What are the Symptoms?

This pain becomes serious when it becomes severe and then the only doctor can help in the right direction. The severity of knee joint pain can vary, it can be minor ache to disabling pain like

If you start limping due to discomfort.
Difficulty in bending the knees.
Difficulty in walking steps up and down.
Difficulty in weight-bearing.
Difficulty in extending the knee.
Swelling and redness around the knee.

All the above mentioned are the symptoms and signs of knee joint pain.

What are its types?

Medical Causes – if a person is suffering from diseases like Rheumatoid arthritis, gout, an infection like Septic Arthritis, Osteoarthritis, etc. Then under the supervision of the doctor, the patient can be cured of medical conditions.

Acute Injury – Under acute injury fracture in a bone, meniscus tear or torn ligaments, dislocation such conditions come. And by proper medical treatment, these injuries and bone can be repaired.

Chronic use conditions – It can be caused due to stress under the patella or inflammation of tendons, heavy exercises, prepatellar bursitis. All these conditions lead to severe pain.

Other factors may be Overweight, exercise, overuse of muscles or repetitive movement may lead to knee pain.

How is the diagnosis done by doctors?

Knee joint pain can be diagnosed by physical examination and by discussing the symptoms and nature of the knee pain like how long and severe the pain is etc.

In the examination, various movements will be performed to check and evaluate the stability of ligaments, any swelling or tenderness. This will help in diagnosing the underlying cause to start treatment.

Generally, in examination doctors prefer

X-ray examination – For fracture or degenerating knee changes.

MRI – To detect soft tissues for ligament tears or muscle injury.

Blood Test – To detect Gout, Arthrocentesis or any other infection.

Generally, knee pain treatment can be done by a primary care doctor/physician. If the knee pain needs further treatment an orthopedic surgeon will be required. And for inflammation, gout, arthritis a Rheumatologist will be required.

How is the knee pain treatment done by the specialist?

The Knee pain treatment varies with the cause of pain

INJECTIONS – In some of the cases of arthritis and inflammation in knee injecting medications might help in pain. After repetitive doses of Corticosteroid (only if its doctor prescribed) injection can help in reducing pain and enable movement.

PHYSICAL THERAPY – For strengthening of muscles and for more stable and best mechanical movements Physical Therapy will be best. Under the supervision of skilled and experienced Physiotherapist, one can help in overcoming pain and avoid injuries.

MEDICATIONS – For primary knee pain treatment, medications are sufficient to treat the underlying knee problem. Some of the most commonly used NSAIDs (Non-steroidal anti-inflammatory medications are prescribed to patients for knee problems like arthritis, tendonitis, etc. Other than NSAIDs doctors recommend Tylenol, Cymbalta, Topical capsaicin. These medicines generally refer to osteoarthritis patients.

For Rheumatoid arthritis, DMARD (Disease-modifying anti-rheumatic drug) are prescribed, for Gout flare oral steroid and Antibiotics for infected knee joint.

Our therapies like Needling and Cupping is also used to treat knee pain.

What are the types of knee surgeries by the orthopedic doctors?

– Sometimes surgery is the only solution and patient suffering from severe pain or hardships during movement of legs then orthopedic Surgeon should be consulted and also surgery will be the ultimate solution for the problem.

Knee surgery varies from total knee replacement to Arthroscopic knee surgery:

Total Knee replacement – In this surgery total knee is replaced by an artificial joint. It generally occurs above the age of 50 due to loss of cartilage.

Partial Knee replacement – In this surgery, only the damaged part of the knee is replaced with metal/plastic body. During this procedure, only the damaged part is treated so that the patient get recover soon.

Arthroscopic knee surgery – it is a common surgery in which surgeon repair the injuries inside the knee with the help of a fiberoptic camera and remove pieces of small bones or cartilage.

Collectively we can say that surgery is used for

Chronic Knee dislocation
Knee fractures
For certain infected knee joints
In the case of Osteoarthritis
For ligament injuries

How can I get rid of knee pain?

For mild or moderate issues you can treat yourself at your home. This will often work out for removing pain

When you are sitting or lying down, with a pillow under your heel elevate your knee. This will give relief in Swelling.
Another remedy you can use bandage or strap to cover your joint, this will give you support and cut down Swelling or inflammation in knee joint.
Give rest to your body, avoid exercise or intense workout, this will give relief to your joints and help muscles to relax which ultimately results in pain relief.
Use ice-packs on your joints for 20-25 minutes. This cold fermentation release stiffness of muscles and give relief in pain.
Do stretching exercises (only after doctor recommendation) for the strengthening of muscles.
If you are a sports person wear knee pads.
And at last but not least if you are overweight then this could be your reason for knee pain, so lose weight.

Above all, it is utmost important to know the actual cause of symptoms before going treatment program. Always do treatment under the supervision of medical Expert and advice from the doctor before any knee pain treatment plan.

How Orthocure Clinics Can Help You?

We have successfully treated Knee pain of all types successfully using our researched & integrated approach. Our advanced techniques an technology have given us a high number of happy patients who are leading an active life after taking treatment from us. We would like to let you know how we satisfy your expectations.

Soft tissue release relaxes the muscles & improves blood circulation especially used for knee injuries.
Matrix Therapy uses rhythmic microscopic motions for fluid circulation to relax the muscles.
Laser Therapy uses a single wavelength of light to give pain relief, accelerated tissue regeneration and also reduction of inflammation.
Mulligan’s mobilization is a powerful technique to help with the range of knee motion
Strength Training & Exercises are done using therabands and Weights. Advanced techniques are used for sensitive patients.
Chiropractic Adjustment: Simple treatment alone cannot help you. That is why we give chiropractic adjustments to ease pain and correct the posture. This treatment is found only at our Clinic in Gurgaon.