Fit and fine: Why are young people complaining of nagging pains and aches today...
So you finish college and are lucky to land a job in a call center. In no time you are spending hours working on your computer, tied to your desk. Soon you start to notice stiffness and slight pain in one side of your neck, then your upper back/shoulder blade area starts to ache and finally you have tingling pain down your arm!
You say to yourself: ‘I am a young guy, how can I have these aches and pains?’ But, what you are experiencing is not unique or unusual. It’s called the Mouse Neck/ Shoulder and is also known as the Repetitive Strain Injury (RSI).
Repetitive Strain Injury or repetitive motion injury is mostly a work-related musculoskeletal disorder. It can affect muscles, tendons, joints and nerves. Generally, RSI is caused by improperly-designed workstations, incorrect posture and inadequate fitness.
Repetitive injury results in repeated tissue micro-trauma, which disrupts the normal repair process, leading to reduced blood supply, reduced activity of nerves, muscle fiber loss and even cell death. Some individuals with RSI have severe pain, others just lose strength and fine muscle control.
How a niggle becomes a literal pain in the neck!
Hours of sitting and working on badly-designed workstations, then spending leisure time peering at a mobile screen and finally sleeping on a misshapen pillow often results in a stiff neck and/or a mild headache. If ignored, this can get worse and disrupt everyday activities. Soon you will be popping painkillers to get through the day, but the pain will seem to only get worse over time.
Finding the cause
Look at your workstation. Is the computer screen at eye-level? Is your wrist bent backwards while using the mouse? Does your desk make you shrug your shoulders up? While typing, do your elbows hang free? If your answer is yes to these questions, then it’s time to make changes to your workstation.
(Ensure that your computer screen should be at eye level (Illustration : Sunil Kumar Mallik ))
Here’s a workstation checklist to keep RSI at bay:
1.The computer screen should be at eye-level.
2.Your wrist should be straight.
3.Your shoulders should not be shrugged up while sitting.
4.And finally, the chair should support the elbows.
The cure: stretch and strengthen
1.Stretch your neck by touching your chin to the chest and then look straight up at the ceiling. Turn your head left and then right. Do these stretches 10 times each.
2.Get up from your desk every half an hour, walk a few steps.
3.Strengthen your neck by pushing it backwards towards your chin with your fingers in such a way as to form a double chin. Hold this position for 10 seconds. Do this three to four times in a day.
Author bio: Kamal Singh CSCS is a Certified Strength and Conditioning Specialist with a coaching experience of 15 years. He specialises in post rehabilitation training and has worked with some of the biggest names in the corporate and sports world. Kamal was picked by Men’s Health magazine as one of India’s Top personal trainers.
courtesy : hindustantimes.com
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Modi should leverage his ties with world leaders to de-escalate war in West Asia: Omar Abdullah
Jammu (PTI): Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah on Monday said India can play a meaningful role in de-escalation in West Asia, given Prime Minister Narendra Modi's strong relations with the warring countries and their neighbours.
He said Pakistan was leveraging ties with Iran and the United States, and that any effort towards ending the war should be welcomed.
"As I said in the House (Assembly), we would like the war to end as soon as possible. The role that the prime minister can play may not be possible for anyone else because of his good relations with all these countries," Abdullah told reporters on the sidelines of a function here.
He, however, said any escalation would not be easy to manage.
"Any such move by US President Donald Trump, despite the long history of Iran resisting external domination, would not be easy," the chief minister said.
Asked about Pakistan mediating in the war, he said, "I will simply say that if any country can play a role in preventing this war, no one should have any objection to it."
He added, "I will repeat what I said … our prime minister has good and close relations with all countries — whether it is Israel, the United States, Iran, or the countries around Iran. If those relationships can be used to make some progress and help ease the situation, it would be a good thing."
Abdullah said attacks by terror groups like Lashkar-e-Taiba and Jaish-e-Mohammed in India, as suggested by a report from the United States, are not unlikely.
Meanwhile, he asserted that any efforts to end the war, be it from Pakistan, must not be resisted.
"Pakistan is using its good relations with Iran and the United States to its advantage, and it has done so. How can we object to that? If that angle helps in stopping the war, would you want them not to act and let the war continue? We want the war to stop. If any country can play a role in that, it should. And if we can play an even better role, then we should do so," he said.
On unemployment in J-K, the chief minister said the issue cannot be resolved overnight, and government jobs alone are not the solution.
He stressed the need to explore alternative avenues, highlighting the importance of Mission Yuva in promoting entrepreneurship.
"Mission Yuva provides not just funding but also support in preparing DPRs and post-startup assistance, such as marketing. In just nine months, distributing Rs 1,000 crore and approving numerous schemes is a significant achievement," he said.
Abdullah credited the coordination between the government and Jammu and Kashmir Bank for the scheme's progress.
