Dr. Anamika Kawatra

It takes a heavy toll on its working populace.

About 70 to 80 per cent of the working population in a city could possibly suffer from some lifestyle-related diseases.

Prolonged incorrect posture in the work environment coupled with high stress, unnatural sleep pattern and improper diet are sure-fire silent killers, and according to other statistics based on a market research, about 70 per cent of the afflicted wouldn’t even know that they suffer from a lifestyle-related disease. Most would opt for a short-term home remedy or hop across to the neighboring spa for a massage or turn to alternate medicine to find relief. Some would just pop a pain-killer as a short term symptomatic cure. None, if few of them would realize that the trouble lies much beneath.

Long and tedious hours of work take a toll on the physical state of a person leading to the by now very-common problems of the neck and lower backaches. Other lifestyle-related diseases like obesity also add to the overall problem.

Physiotherapy treatment helps retrain the body muscles and create a positive change in body awareness and movement behavior, which helps overcome exhaustive hurdles in daily routine.

Not only is the problem of overcoming pain and further deterioration dealt with physiotherapy but also it helps to increase efficiency at work and saves companies the grief of medical coverage, employee ineffectiveness and chronic absence from work due to recurring work-aggravated conditions.

It really doesn’t matter which job you are in, but what matters is the way it's being done. Shorter working hours allows the body to adapt accordingly, as there is enough time for rest, recreation and proper nutrition. Now, with ready-to-eat fast food and long hours of persistent or faulty posture coupled with stress, we are left as a mere shadow of the potential we really could be. Continued fatigue results in further prolonged faulty posture causing pain and ensuing in a further distortion of posture. Aggravated pain results in a chronic, exhaustive, viscous cycle that completely saps the body, requiring complete bed rest and intensive physiotherapy treatment.

Computer and it workers have a tendency to develop neck pains, carpel tunnel syndrome, etc. Due to the long hours spent before a computer in a non-ergonomic ambience. Furthermore, driving for long distances in congested traffic and particularly over potholed bad roads either as part of a job, or even at the beginning or end of the day is grueling. 

Usually, when a person is tired they slouch and tilt their body to one side. This usually results in a habitually awkward position which can lead to low backache, lumbago and sciatica. These are just a few of the common lesser evils that plague the city population.

We may not be able to cut down on the hours of work or travel, but we can rectify the way we do things.

Physical therapy helps increase awareness of correct body posture as well as train related body muscles and help in maintaining a better posture.