Exercises for the restroom break

Most sedentary people would like to improve both the quality as well as quantity of their physical activity. Unfortunately, lack of time and unavailability of the other resources prevent them from exercising.

The average sedentary worker sits 6-8 hours a day in his desk, which means 40 hours a week, 2000 hours in a year, and 8 to 10 years till his retirement. We have already discussed the perils of prolonged sitting in the previous post. It’s sufficient to say that this amount of sitting is massively detrimental to health.

So, what’s the solution? Fortunately, there is a way to counter the ill effects of sitting. Studies say that if prolonged sitting is broken down into small intervals with breaks in between, then the negative effects of physical inactivity can be avoided. One of the ways this can be achieved is by performing easy to do exercises every now and then throughout the day.

 Ideally one should take a break every half an hour to 45 minutes. However, many a times this is not practically feasible. In such a scenario one can at least perform some physical activity when he/she takes a break to go to the restroom.  Here I am suggesting seven exercises that you can incorporate into your routine from today. The good thing about these exercises is they are not too awkward looking to perform in the office (or in the restroom). Also, these exercises can be performed with zero equipment.

calf stretch in standing
  1. Standing calf stretch:

Lift your toes up as much as you can while keeping the knee straight. You should be able to feel the pull in the back of the leg.

Toe standing/Calf contraction

2. Calf contraction: Standing on tiptoes. You can walk on tiptoes as well. This exercise will increase circulation by pumping blood from the legs towards the heart.

Front of thigh stretch

3. Front of thigh stretch. The picture is self-explanatory. Just keep in mind a couple of things: Do not arch the back too backward and keep both knees parallel. The stretch is not proper if the knees are not in the same line.

Ply for VMO

4. Ply VMO training

VMO (Vastus Medialis Obliqus) is a very important muscle in the front of thigh which present next to the knee cap on the inner side. To activate VMO Stand upright, leave a little gap between two legs. Then rotate the feet outwards, as it is shown in the picture. From this position, bend the knees a little, not more than twenty-thirty degrees. If you are low on balance you can grab a chair to prevent yourself from falling down.

5. Modified ballet 3rd

The feet need to be positioned correctly to train the VMO efficiently by this exercise. Start at the normal standing position and turn the right feet 45 degrees outward. Now place the heel of the left leg touching the inner border of the right leg between the heel and toe. This leg too is rotated outwards 45 degrees.

From this position push your feet to each other and bend your knees just a few inches and straighten up.

6. Side stretch:

The video is self-explanatory. Stand near a wall if you are not confident of your balance.

7. Abdominal in drawing:

In erect standing create a hollow in the abdomen by drawing air out. Keep your hand in the abdomen to feel (not to push) the amount of movement.

Are you performing any of the above exercises already in your microbreaks? Do you have any other suggestion for the same exercises? Let us know in the comments below.

Kindly take our survey for current trends in physical activity here!

About the author

This image has an empty alt attribute; its file name is IMG_20190415_114220_049_2.jpg

Dr Subhanjan Das (PT)

BPT, MPT (MSk & Sports), CMP(NZ), Diploma in football medicine (FIFA)

Consultant Physiotherapist of Apollo & Reliva Clinic, HSR Layout, Bangalore

Contact: +91 8967549104

Dr Subhanjan Das (PT) has over 14 years of clinical and 12 years of academic experience.  A friendly professional with lots of patience and skilful hands, Dr Subhanjan has worked with thousands of his patients for instant relief of pain and rapid return to activities.  He has treated elite athletes for recovery, injury prevention and performance enhancement.

Dr Das is specialized in Orthopaedic and sports physiotherapy and has keeps himself updated with the latest advancements in the field of physiotherapy. He has undergone training on advanced orthopaedic techniques such as Dry Needling, Mulligan Concept, McKenzie method, Pilates, Cupping therapy, McConnel and kinesio  taping from the best faculties around the world.

Dr Das has taught in 5 universities across India and has trained physiotherapists in 50+ workshops within and outside India.

The power of posture and the posture of power

As a physiotherapist I was trained to read posture. Now as a professor I teach the same to my graduate students. Posture assessment is an important part of clinical examination and reveals a ton of information if you know what to look for. For example, have you noticed, most adults have one shoulder (usually right) a little down than the other?

Postures reflect mood!

People who study body language look at posture from another perspective. The postures of every animal reflect its mood and humans are no exception. When you feel confident you automatically assume a broad shoulder, tall head stance. Likewise, when one feels defeated his/her posture demonstrates a hunched back and rounded shoulders.

While the state of body and mind affects posture is an observable and verifiable fact, the interesting question here is, can the reverse be also true? Can changing the posture alter our mind and body? Or, borrowing from Tagore, does the mind become fearless when the head is held high?

Yes and no.

In a remarkable study published in 2010 Amy Cuddy along with her associates demonstrated that certain postures, when maintained for as little as 1 minute can increase the level of testosterone, the hormone associated with power. these postures are termed as open postures or more popularly ‘power poses’. They involve standing or sitting in such a way where the limbs are spread out to take up more space. One common example is to stand like a superhero, legs apart, hands on the side of the hips. Another power pose is relaxing like a boss, which involves positioning the hands behind the head with elbows pointing outwards, and legs on the desk.

 Cuddy and her associates also found that the opposite of open posture ( termed as closed posture) increases the level of stress hormone (cortisol) which is related to fear and anxity. Fascinating isn’t it?

Unfortunately, these findings are probably too good to be true. Other scientists trying to replicate the experiment were unable to observe similar changes in the blood level. Consequently, one of the authors of the original paper issued a statement retracting their theory.

 Cuddy on the other hand kept on researching on these lines. In a series of scientific papers, she had been able to prove that the power poses make people feel powerful, even if the release of actual hormone could not be established yet.

What is in it for you

 It is established that mood alters posture and posture alters mood.

Be attentive of your posture. When you are depressed tired or anxious avoid sinking into closed posture. Choose one of the open postures instead to feel happier and in control. Good posture had always been associated with work efficiency, health, and painlessness. Looks like the postures can make you feel good about yourself too! Shouldn’t these be motivation enough to maintain good posture?

Cuddy’s research says open postures make us feel powerful. Have you experienced that? Or do you think it is untrue? Let us know in the comments section.

About the author

Dr Subhanjan Das (PT)

BPT, MPT (MSk & Sports), CMP(NZ), Diploma in football medicine (FIFA)

Consultant Physiotherapist of Apollo & Reliva Clinic, HSR Layout, Bangalore

Contact: +91 8967549104

Dr Subhanjan Das (PT) has over 14 years of clinical and 12 years of academic experience.  A friendly professional with lots of patience and skilful hands, Dr Subhanjan has worked with thousands of his patients for instant relief of pain and rapid return to activities.  He has treated elite athletes for recovery, injury prevention and performance enhancement.

Dr Das is specialized in Orthopaedic and sports physiotherapy and has keeps himself updated with the latest advancements in the field of physiotherapy. He has undergone training on advanced orthopaedic techniques such as Dry Needling, Mulligan Concept, McKenzie method, Pilates, Cupping therapy, McConnel and kinesio  taping from the best faculties around the world.

Dr Das has taught in 5 universities across India and has trained physiotherapists in 50+ workshops within and outside India.

Do Expectations shape your health?

A quote attributed to Albert Einstein goes like this, an idiot is one who does same things repeatedly and expects a different outcome. But what if you change the outlook? If you do the same things with different mindsets would the outcomes be different?  Is it true in the areas of health?

Langer and Crumb performed an interesting study to probe this aspect of health. They surveyed a sample of 84 hotel housekeeping ladies. Then 44 of them were informed that the kind of physical activities they do (cleaning average 15 rooms in a day, walking, stair climbing throughout the day etc) should be giving them enough exercises to get health benefits. The other 40 of them did not receive this precise information. Guess what! Although all these people were working on the same duties and responsibilities even before the survey was taken, after the survey the experimental group exhibited a lot of changes. These were the people who had been told about the health benefits of their physical activity. They had lower blood pressures, reduced body weight and reduced waist hip ratio. In short, they exhibited all the health benefits of their levels of physical activity AFTER they were aware of it. On the other hand, the group who had not been given this information did not show any significant change in their health parameters.

Here is another study, this one is from the book ‘Predictably irrational’ by behavioural economist, Dan Arieli. In this study 2 sets of volunteers were used to compare the effectiveness of 2 drugs: a very costly painkiller with a cheaper one. The volunteers were given incremental painful stimuli and the painkiller was being tested by their effect of managing this pain. As you must have understood by now, the costlier medicine reduced the pain significantly better. What is amusing is both the medicines were actually Vitamin C which is not a painkiller at all. Studies like this is abundant in health, psychology and behavioural economics.

Placebo and nocebo: The vitamin C here doesn’t have any direct action on pain. It still produced analgesia because of patient’s belief. That is called placebo. placebo effects are real and all the drugs need to undergo placebo trials to prove their efficacy. The opposite of this is also true. A legit form of treatment (including medicines) don’t work when the patient does not have any faith on them.

    Candace Pert, the scientist who almost got Nobel Prize because of discovery of opium receptors in the body, came up with an explanation in her book ‘Molecules of emotions’. According to her our emotions are interplay of chemicals in our nervous system. These neurochemicals are the ones responsible to initiate physiological changes like weight loss or pain reduction. Opposite of this also holds true. Suppressed emotions can initiate the growth of Cancer cells or at least delay recovery, she explains.

What is the significance of this information for a common man like you and me? Let me summarise:

1. Be aware of the physical activity component of your work to maximize the benefits

2. Make a conscious decision to be an optimist. Optimism keeps you healthy. Positive thinking for good health seems to have a scientific basis.

3. Your beliefs shape your health. If you believe you will get sore throat by eating ice cream, then it is probably true. If you believe it does not harm your throat it is probably true too!

About the author

Dr Subhanjan Das (PT)

BPT, MPT (MSk & Sports), CMP(NZ), Diploma in football medicine (FIFA)

Consultant Physiotherapist of Apollo & Reliva Clinic, HSR Layout, Bangalore

Contact: +91 8967549104

Dr Subhanjan Das (PT) has over 14 years of clinical and 12 years of academic experience.  A friendly professional with lots of patience and skilful hands, Dr Subhanjan has worked with thousands of his patients for instant relief of pain and rapid return to activities.  He has treated elite athletes for recovery, injury prevention and performance enhancement.

Dr Das is specialized in Orthopaedic and sports physiotherapy and has keeps himself updated with the latest advancements in the field of physiotherapy. He has undergone training on advanced orthopaedic techniques such as Dry Needling, Mulligan Concept, McKenzie method, Pilates, Cupping therapy, McConnel and kinesio  taping from the best faculties around the world.

Dr Das has taught in 5 universities across India and has trained physiotherapists in 50+ workshops within and outside India.

Towards a better food habit: It is not rocket science

It is not rocket science. Most people have enough understanding to make healthy food choices. Eat more green leafy vegetables and complex carbohydrates, dairy and animal products in moderation, cut down on sugar and salt, eat organic and stop processed, refined foods: How hard can it be? Yet most people are dissatisfied with the food habits that they make. In this post I am going to talk about strategies that may help you to make good food habits and stick to them.

  1. What you see is what you eat: Whenever we see a high calorie food our natural drive is to eat it. We inherited this drive from the prehistoric man who did not know when his next meal is going to be available. In present era this strategy is ineffective because more people die out of obesity than hunger in today’s world. To hack this system, you need to keep healthy food choices close by. As an example, instead of a packet of chips keep a bowl full of fruits on your table.

2. Stay away from fashionable diet unless advised by a dietitian. Whether it is keto or Atkins or any other fad diet, do not try them on your own. In most cases after the initial novelty wears off, we bounce back to our old diet while giving unpleasant surprises to our body. It is much more sensible eat a natural wholesome diet daily. Don’t get me wrong, a tailored diet prescribed by expert has its own importance, but just like the medicine prescription, it has to be written by an expert. If you don’t have one, stick to the common sense.

3. If you want to lose weight: diet goes in tandem with exercise. Without exercise in the long term you will end up losing muscle mass instead of fat.

4. Plan your diet in advance: Many times, we fill our stomach like we fill a garbage bag, whatever we want whenever we want. Our body functions best when there is a routinely timed food intake. Planning the diet ahead of time also helps one from giving into temptation.

5. Eat tasty food. Diet watchers often eat bland, tasteless food for days together. Only a few can continue for a long enough duration. Others soon end up rebounding to high calorie unhealthy foods. Aim should be to eat (and feed) simple balance food that is also tasty.

Finally, if you have drifted away from your dietary commitments, return back as soon as possible.

What’s your take on healthy food habits? Do you have a diet tip to share? Do let us know in the comments section.

About the author

Dr Subhanjan Das (PT)

BPT, MPT (MSk & Sports), CMP(NZ), Diploma in football medicine (FIFA)

Consultant Physiotherapist of Apollo & Reliva Clinic, HSR Layout, Bangalore

Contact: +91 8967549104

Dr Subhanjan Das (PT) has over 14 years of clinical and 12 years of academic experience.  A friendly professional with lots of patience and skilful hands, Dr Subhanjan has worked with thousands of his patients for instant relief of pain and rapid return to activities.  He has treated elite athletes for recovery, injury prevention and performance enhancement.

Dr Das is specialized in Orthopaedic and sports physiotherapy and has keeps himself updated with the latest advancements in the field of physiotherapy. He has undergone training on advanced orthopaedic techniques such as Dry Needling, Mulligan Concept, McKenzie method, Pilates, Cupping therapy, McConnel and kinesio  taping from the best faculties around the world.

Dr Das has taught in 5 universities across India and has trained physiotherapists in 50+ workshops within and outside India.

8 Powerful doodles on chair sitting: Problems and solutions

I wanted to do a blog post on the perils of prolonged sitting but a ton of information is already available on the net. I have also discussed certain aspects of this issue in previous posts. So the doodles instead.

Chair sitting is a high risk behaviour

Chair sitting is an independent risk factor of early death

Sitting and depression

Depression is a state of body

Ditch the elevator. Choose the stairs.

Cultivate a hobby that fulfills your physical activity needs

Walk your dog (or just walk) to live longer

If you must sit, keep moving

Finally

I hope these pictures are self-explanatory.

About the author

This image has an empty alt attribute; its file name is IMG_20190415_114220_049_2.jpg

Dr Subhanjan Das (PT)

BPT, MPT (MSk & Sports), CMP(NZ), Diploma in football medicine (FIFA)

Consultant Physiotherapist of Apollo & Reliva Clinic, HSR Layout, Bangalore

Contact: +91 8967549104

Dr Subhanjan Das (PT) has over 14 years of clinical and 12 years of academic experience.  A friendly professional with lots of patience and skilful hands, Dr Subhanjan has worked with thousands of his patients for instant relief of pain and rapid return to activities.  He has treated elite athletes for recovery, injury prevention and performance enhancement.

Dr Das is specialized in Orthopaedic and sports physiotherapy and has keeps himself updated with the latest advancements in the field of physiotherapy. He has undergone training on advanced orthopaedic techniques such as Dry Needling, Mulligan Concept, McKenzie method, Pilates, Cupping therapy, McConnel and kinesio  taping from the best faculties around the world.

Dr Das has taught in 5 universities across India and has trained physiotherapists in 50+ workshops within and outside India.

Do these 5 things to protect the elderly people in your home

Do these 5 things to protect the elderly people in your home

One of the major health related problems in older population is fall. With aging the eyesight deteriorates, reaction time (ability to quickly respond) gets affected and the muscle strength reduces making the elderly prone to fall.

Anybody can fall. Why fall of the elderly is a special concern?

With old age (WHO defines old age as 65 +) the bones get considerably weaker; they break easily and take a longer time to heal. A slower reaction time also means that while falling the ability to protect important body parts like the face or head is low. As many people with old age already suffer from conditions like diabetes, high BP and heart diseases, etc their illness gets complicated and treatment options like surgery become riskier.

How common is the fall?

30 to 40% of elderly Americans fall every year. In India, the numbers are likely to be higher. 70% of the accidental death in the 75 plus population happens because of falls. Even if fatality can be avoided serious fractures often rob the victim of their quality of life. Most of us are witnesses of such situations in the homes of our friends, relatives & neighbors where an elderly person had fallen and fractured the hip. If not fixed by surgery most of these people spend the rest of their life on the bed.

How to prevent fall? 5 steps

1. Install non-skid tiles in the bathroom. Most elderly people slip and fall while in the bathroom. If you are getting a new bathroom made make sure to install anti-skid tiles. You can also modify almost any bathroom floor by installing anti slip stickers/mat to prevent skidding.

2. Install grab bars. When a person is on the verge of falling if he /she can clutch on to something the fall can be prevented or at least the impact can be minimized. Grab bars perform these functions wonderfully. They are a must-have in the bathroom of the elderly and are also a very useful addition in the rest of the house if the installation is possible.

3. Let there be light! Eyesight is one of the major reasons for fall, the house of the elderly should be well lit with easily accessible switches. Make sure all the areas of the house have enough illumination. Spaces like the landing of the stairs, end of the passageway, etc where there is a change of level are common areas of Fall. If needed warm colored strip can be easily installed to aid the awareness of These potentially risky areas.

4. The footwear: The footwear elderly use should have an anti-skid outsole, a short nose (so that it does not get stuck while climbing up the stairs), and a comfortable fit that prevents falling off from the feet. Again, special care needs to be taken using the bathroom slippers. The footwears need to be inspected and replaced at regular intervals.

5. Mobile and the pre-set SOS protocol.

In case of a fall, early intervention is essential. In case the elderly person is alone while falling, his/her ability to call for help is going to make a huge difference. There are specialized mobile handsets available for the elderly which have a dedicated SOS button. However, these feature phones may not be sufficient for the tech-savvy elderly person. Any mobile phone the owner is comfortable with and that has a flashlight should be appropriate. The speed dial (or the SOS button) should be set with the numbers of the people who will be able to offer help in case of an emergency. This routine should be discussed and practiced for preparedness.

Have you seen any elderly person suffer from fall? How did s/he cope? Do you have any other strategy to prevent fall? Let us know in the comments below.

About the author

This image has an empty alt attribute; its file name is IMG_20190415_114220_049_2.jpg

Dr Subhanjan Das (PT)

BPT, MPT (MSk & Sports), CMP(NZ), Diploma in football medicine (FIFA)

Consultant Physiotherapist of Apollo & Reliva Clinic, HSR Layout, Bangalore

Contact: +91 8967549104

Dr Subhanjan Das (PT) has over 14 years of clinical and 12 years of academic experience.  A friendly professional with lots of patience and skilful hands, Dr Subhanjan has worked with thousands of his patients for instant relief of pain and rapid return to activities.  He has treated elite athletes for recovery, injury prevention and performance enhancement.

Dr Das is specialized in Orthopaedic and sports physiotherapy and has keeps himself updated with the latest advancements in the field of physiotherapy. He has undergone training on advanced orthopaedic techniques such as Dry Needling, Mulligan Concept, McKenzie method, Pilates, Cupping therapy, McConnel and kinesio  taping from the best faculties around the world.

Dr Das has taught in 5 universities across India and has trained physiotherapists in 50+ workshops within and outside India.

This Alien superfood is also essential for humankind

What do aliens eat?

Do you remember Jaadu from Koi Mil Gaya? The cute alien had superpowers which made  Rohit’s (Hritik Roshan) muscles powerful, bones stronger, and healed his dysfunctional nervous system. What did Jaadu eat to achieve such extraordinary abilities? After trying to feed him all types of food he could think of finally Rohit came to realize that the alien only ate sunlight.

yes! Sunlight is the super ‘food’ that we are going to discuss in today’s post.

Health benefits of sunlight

Sunlight has numerous important functions. Exposure to sunlight improves mood by releasing happy chemicals in the nervous system, enhances the quality of sleep, and boosts immunity. The 2017 Nobel prize in medicine was awarded to researchers (Hall, Rosbash &Young) who showed how sunlight controls our daily rhythm.

But by far the most important function of sun rays in our body is the production of Vitamin D. Vitamin D regulates the amount of calcium in the body. Calcium is responsible for strong bones strong teeth, the function of muscles nerves and the heart.

Lack of Vitamin D often remains unrecognized as the symptoms are not very obvious. Vitamin D deficiency produces weakness of bone, fatigue, depression and poorly localized pain.

How is your vitamin D level?

Research says 80 to 90% of the Indian population across all age groups are low on vitamin D.  if you are an urban citizen into sedentary work you too are probably suffering from vitamin D deficiency.

The average Indian meal is not high in Vitamin D. Here in Bangalore, every other patient I see is vegetarian, which also increases the chances of deficiency.

What you need to do

While common sense says you must increase your sun exposure, there is a trade-off. Too much sun also increases the risk of skin cancer. The good news is we, the Indians are largely protected from skin cancer because of the increased amount of melanin in our skin. However, it also means that we need a higher amount of sunlight to produce adequate levels of Vitamin D.

Popular belief is to get your sun exposure early in the morning. While the morning light is important for adjusting to daily rhythm, it is now advised to get a shorter period of sun exposure when the sun is shining strong. This is because the longer the exposure to the sun higher is the risk of getting erythema (reddening of the skin) as erythema increases the chances of skin cancer. Short-term exposure to large body areas (face, arms) can produce adequate Vitamin D without creating erythema. Another strategy could be to protect the commonly exposed areas of the face and arms and get the sun rays in less exposed areas like the legs or back.

The recommended duration of sun exposure varies from time of the day, season, skin colour etc. Most researchers have recommended 10 -30 minutes of sun exposure in a day. It is recommended to get sunscreen protection beyond this period. Also, it is important to know that UVB (the kind of UV that makes vitamin D) is completely blocked by clear glass. So if you are sitting by the window for your dose of vitamin D, make sure to open it to get direct access.

If your skin gets red easily when exposed to sun, or you do not have enough opportunity to get good enough sun, contact your dermatologist and consider taking a vitamin D supplement.

Looking at the facts it Rohit’s transformation in the film  ‘Koi.. mil gaya’ doesn’t appear too far fetched.  Jaadu the alien must have boosted the vitamin D in Rohit’s body! You can do the same, by improving your sun exposure.

How much sun exposure do you have? Do you have any of the above symptoms? Let us know in the comments section.

Keep watching this place daily for easy and effective health tips.

About the author

This image has an empty alt attribute; its file name is IMG_20190415_114220_049_2.jpg

Dr Subhanjan Das (PT)

BPT, MPT (MSk & Sports), CMP(NZ), Diploma in football medicine (FIFA)

Consultant Physiotherapist of Apollo & Reliva Clinic, HSR Layout, Bangalore

Contact: +91 8967549104

Dr Subhanjan Das (PT) has over 14 years of clinical and 12 years of academic experience.  A friendly professional with lots of patience and skilful hands, Dr Subhanjan has worked with thousands of his patients for instant relief of pain and rapid return to activities.  He has treated elite athletes for recovery, injury prevention and performance enhancement.

Dr Das is specialized in Orthopaedic and sports physiotherapy and has keeps himself updated with the latest advancements in the field of physiotherapy. He has undergone training on advanced orthopaedic techniques such as Dry Needling, Mulligan Concept, McKenzie method, Pilates, Cupping therapy, McConnel and kinesio  taping from the best faculties around the world.

Dr Das has taught in 5 universities across India and has trained physiotherapists in 50+ workshops within and outside India.

Let thy wall be thy gym

Here are some exercises that you can easily perform to prevent or treat forward head and rounded shoulder posture. These are pretty safe for everyone and don’t need any other equipment other than your wall.

Front of chest (pectralis major) stretch

The first exercise is pectoral stretch. as the neck moves forward into the Pig position the front of chest muscles get tight and shortened. Perform the chest stretch everything is shown in the figure and hold it for 15 to 20 seconds. You can perform three times on both sides.

Pectoralis minor stretch

The second exercise is designed to stretch the deeper muscle of the front of the chest.

Plank on the wall

The third exercise is plank on the wall. It is just like the normal plank but it is much easier. If you find plank too hard to perform this is a great way to initiate.

Straighten the spine


Finally the fourth exercise is to straighten the spine using the help of the wall.
To do this stand against the wall with your heels touching the wall. Then sequentially touch the hips the mid back and finally the back of the head on the wall. tuck your chin to contact the whole of the back of the neck on You will find you need to put considerable effort from the abdomen to keep the whole of the spine flat on the wall.
While these exercises are helpful for forward head and rounded shoulder posture there are plenty of other exercises that can be performed on the wall. I will describe a few in the forthcoming posts.
Do you use the wall for exercise? If so, what kind of exercise do you do? Tell us in the comments below.

Keep watching this place daily for easy and effective health tips.

About the author

This image has an empty alt attribute; its file name is IMG_20190415_114220_049_2.jpg

Dr Subhanjan Das (PT)

BPT, MPT (MSk & Sports), CMP(NZ), Diploma in football medicine (FIFA)

Consultant Physiotherapist of Apollo & Reliva Clinic, HSR Layout, Bangalore

Contact: +91 8967549104

Dr Subhanjan Das (PT) has over 14 years of clinical and 12 years of academic experience.  A friendly professional with lots of patience and skilful hands, Dr Subhanjan has worked with thousands of his patients for instant relief of pain and rapid return to activities.  He has treated elite athletes for recovery, injury prevention and performance enhancement.

Dr Das is specialized in Orthopaedic and sports physiotherapy and has keeps himself updated with the latest advancements in the field of physiotherapy. He has undergone training on advanced orthopaedic techniques such as Dry Needling, Mulligan Concept, McKenzie method, Pilates, Cupping therapy, McConnel and kinesio  taping from the best faculties around the world.

Dr Das has taught in 5 universities across India and has trained physiotherapists in 50+ workshops within and outside India.

This Disease Can Turn You Into A Pig!

This disease can turn you into a pig

The human body is one of the finest creations of nature. Among all the animals only human beings have the capability to sustain an elegant and erect position. When standing correctly, an adult human has his ears, shoulders, and hips aligned in one vertical line.

Ideal Posture:Ear, shoulder and hip in same line
Ear, shoulder and hip in one straight line, right?


This is in stark contrast with four-legged animals whose heads, shoulders, and hips are aligned in one horizontal line. Pig is one prime example of this.

Can you turn into a pig
Yes, metaphorically. Poor sitting, sub-par ergonomics, and muscle imbalance produce a postural abnormality called forward head and rounded shoulder posture. The vertical line of ear shoulder and hip tips horizontally making the alignment of the upper body closer to that of a four-legged animal. This posture stresses the joint, increases the work of the muscles, and redistributes the loads in an abnormal way.
I use the Pig analogy to discourage people from assuming this posture as nobody likes to associate him or herself with this animal.
It’s not the ugliness of this posture that that’s the primary concern. As the head goes forward the effort of the neck muscles increases proportionally. I A Kapandji, a French biomechanics expert found that the apparent weight of the head becomes about 15 kg (30 pounds) heavier if the neck protrudes 3 inches forward. That is like carrying around a bucket full of water in your head, all the time.

If the neck is about 3 inches protruded, it means your head is heavier by 15kg. Even if you are not carrying any weight your bone- joint- muscle will experience the extra load.

Add to that the poor efficiency of the muscles, pain in the neck, and upper back difficulty in moving the joints of the trunk and shoulder and you will understand why this condition should be avoided.
what can you do?

  1. postural awareness: Sit straight, stand straight, and work in a straight posture. Catch yourself often. How good is your posture right now? Once you develop an internal reference of correctness you will be more likely to maintain a correct posture.
  2. Chin tucks are extremely useful.do this 10 times per 2 hours.
Chin tuck are the exercise of choice

3. take frequent breaks. one of the reasons why we go into a sinking posture is that our muscles cannot stress prolonged sitting.

Exercises are the mainstay of prevention. I will update about suitable exercises for this condition in the successive posts.

Keep watching this place daily for easy and effective health tips.

About the author

This image has an empty alt attribute; its file name is IMG_20190415_114220_049_2.jpg

Dr Subhanjan Das (PT)

BPT, MPT (MSk & Sports), CMP(NZ), Diploma in football medicine (FIFA)

Consultant Physiotherapist of Apollo & Reliva Clinic, HSR Layout, Bangalore

Contact: +91 8967549104

Dr Subhanjan Das (PT) has over 14 years of clinical and 12 years of academic experience.  A friendly professional with lots of patience and skilful hands, Dr Subhanjan has worked with thousands of his patients for instant relief of pain and rapid return to activities.  He has treated elite athletes for recovery, injury prevention and performance enhancement.

Dr Das is specialized in Orthopaedic and sports physiotherapy and has keeps himself updated with the latest advancements in the field of physiotherapy. He has undergone training on advanced orthopaedic techniques such as Dry Needling, Mulligan Concept, McKenzie method, Pilates, Cupping therapy, McConnel and kinesio  taping from the best faculties around the world.

Dr Das has taught in 5 universities across India and has trained physiotherapists in 50+ workshops within and outside India.