Dr. Mohamed Ali

Suck in that tummy exercise for good posture

Beat that slouch, because it’s not only ungainly, it can affect your health.
Modern living has ensured that we almost certainly are not as active as previous generations. All of us spend long hours sitting at desks, in front of computers, in cars and in front of the TV. In these situations, we are not using our muscles as nature originally intended, leading to bad posture.

Bad posture can take a serious toll on your spine, shoulders, hips and knees with short-term discomfort such as stiffness in the neck and headaches. It can also cause neck pain, back pain and reduced flexibility. On the other hand, good upright posture will minimise excessive strain on your muscles and joints, optimise breathing and circulation and help keep the skeletal system strong and in alignment. It also enhances your personality and beauty. Following are a few easy-to-do exercises to improve posture:

Core exercises: The core muscles — lower back and abdominal muscles — are majorly responsible for posture. A weak posture means a weak core. Exercises like abdominal floor crunches, hyperextensions, and some yoga and pilates postures help to strengthen the core. Another good way to strengthen your core is to use an exercise ball as your chair for at least 30 minutes once or twice a day. As the exercise ball is not stable, your body needs to try to balance itself on it. This helps strengthen your core and forces proper spine alignment.
 

Chin tucks: Many people have a tendency to slouch their heads forward. When the head falls forward, the neck is less stable and more pressure is placed on the joints of the neck. To counteract this tendency, you can do this simple neck exercise called chin tucks. Sit in a chair with your shoulders down and back. Gently push your chin forward and exaggerate bad posture, then tuck in your chin. Hold the tucked position for 5 to 10 seconds. Repeat five to 10 times. This will strengthen your deep neck muscles that help to maintain the correct postural position.
 

Trunk curls: Lie on your back on the floor, with knees bent. Position your hands behind your head. Using your upper abdominal muscles, raise your trunk off the floor to about 20 degrees, as if you are trying to touch the ceiling with your chest. Hold for 5 seconds and then lie down slowly. Repeat eight to 10 times.
 

Breastbone lift: The breastbone lift is a good exercise to strengthen your lower trapezius muscles (a large superficial muscle that spans the neck, shoulders and upper back). While still in the sitting position, gently lift your breastbone a few inches higher, while squeezing both of your shoulders backwards.
 

Pelvic tilt: The pelvic tilt strengthens your abdominals and stabilises your posture by developing the core muscles of your body. To perform this exercise, lie on the floor with your knees bent. Without using your buttocks and leg muscles, tighten your lower abdominal muscles and pull your navel and lower back towards the floor. Hold for five seconds and repeat the exercise eight to 10 times.
 

Arm/leg raises: This is a simple exercise to strengthen your lower back and support good posture. Lie face down on the floor with your arms straight overhead and legs extended. Slowly raise your left arm and right leg about six inches off the ground. Hold for five seconds and repeat the same with the opposite combination. Do sets of 10 repetitions for each side.
 

Shoulder squeeze: Shoulder squeeze is an exercise to correct your shoulder posture. To perform this exercise, sit on a chair and place your hands on your thighs. Keep your shoulders straight. Gradually move your shoulders backwards and compress the shoulder blades together. Hold for five seconds and repeat it five to eight times. This exercise is also good for your spine flexibility.
 

Abdominal pull-in: Sit straight and inhale deeply. While exhaling count to five and pull your stomach in. Repeat several times and relax.
 

Chin glide: The chin glide is a good exercise to curb your tendency to stick your neck out and unnaturally forward. Stand with your head held straight and shoulders relaxed. Slowly glide your head backwards until you feel a little stress. Do not tilt your head while moving your head backward. Hold this position for about 10 seconds and repeat it three to five times. You can perform this exercise at various intervals throughout the day.

Correcting exercises for your posture will enable you to eliminate various body pains, while making you look and feel more confident. So start now!

Irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) is one of the most common disorders of digestive system producing a spectrum of symptoms such as persistent and recurring abdominal pain associated with passing of motion, change of bowel habit (diarrhea, constipation, or alternating diarrhea and constipation), etc. without any apparent cause.

Irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) is the disorder of function, which means that the bowel doesn't work, as it should. If one visualizes the bowel, it appears perfectly normal without any inflammation or other structural changes. In people with IBS, the intestines squeeze too hard or not hard enough and cause food to move too quickly or too slowly through the intestines.

What are the symptoms of IBS?

People with IBS have symptoms that can include:

1. Diarrhea (often described as violent episodes of diarrhea)
2. Constipation
3. Constipation alternating with diarrhea
4. Belly pains or cramps, usually in the lower half of the belly, that get worse after meals and feel better after a bowel movement
5. A lot of gas or bloating
6. Harder or looser stools than normal (pellets or flat ribbon stools)
7. A belly that sticks out
8. Stress can make symptoms worse.

How does homeopathy treat IBS?

IBS can have significant impact on individual's social, personal, and professional life. Homeopathy offers proven treatment for the IBS which treats the Mind and Body connections. IBS calls for the treatment which should address the emotional stress, the stress coping system and the intestinal hypersensitivity. This is what homeopathy attempts doping exactly. The scientific and documented study shows that the homeopathic treatment helps achieve:

1. Soothing of mind
2. Slowing down of negative emotions such as anxiety, sadness, frustration, hyperactivity, anger, restlessness, etc.
3. Helping body's stress coping system
4. Alleviating the abnormal hypersensitivity of the bowels
5. Relieving the symptoms of bowel hyper-motility
6. Enhancing level of joyous state of mind
7. Individualistic approach whereby every patient is treated based on one's case

Homeopathic Treatment-

The Homeopathy medicine works at the deeper level, bringing the deviations of harmony among various systems of body back to normalcy. The homeopathic medicine establishes a good communication between the brain and the gut, thus ensuring proper relay of signals. The positive outcome of this is that the motility of intestines becomes regular and rhythmic, thus relieving complaints of either diarrhea or constipation or both.

Moreover, Homeopathy improves the pain threshold of individual, thus alleviating symptoms of pain and cramps associated with IBS. Homeopathy medicines work at deeper level of an individual to root out root causes. The two factors that are triggering causes of IBS are emotional stress and exaggerated sensitivity to food items.

Homeopathy has very well perceived the influences of psyche on the physique of an individual. Homeopathy medicines positively influences the emotions and thinking of an individual so that the person can cope with stress optimistically. Homeopathy medicines have proven efficacy to manage mental stress and its offshoots like IBS. Homeopathy medicines aid in minimizing food sensitivities and allergies. If you wish to discuss about any specific problem, you can consult a homeopathy and ask a free question.