Dr. Kapil Sharma

Have you met with an accident recently and ended up with a dislocated shoulder? In this form of injury, a blow or any kind of injury causes the top portion of your arm bone to come off your shoulder socket. In extreme cases of a dislocated shoulder, the nerves and tissues surrounding your shoulder are damaged. If you experience a dislocated shoulder frequently, it may lead to chronic weakness and instability.

Treatment
It is important for you to treat a dislocated shoulder right after it is experienced. Your arm bone needs to be moved back into your shoulder socket. As the dislocated joint starts swelling up even more and causes more pain, immediate treatment is necessary. After the arm bone is placed back into the socket, pain gets relieved to some extent. After the repositioning of the shoulder bone, you need to apply certain treatment measures.

They are as follows:

1. Apply ice to your shoulder for reducing the swelling and pain. You need to do this every day for 20 to 30 minutes. Carry out this therapy for around 3 days and repeat it after every four hours in a day.
2. You should use a shoulder immobiliser or a sling in order to prevent any further injury until medical treatment is received.
3. You may take certain painkiller medicines. These may include NSAIDS or non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs. They help in dealing with the pain and swelling associated with your dislocated shoulder. However, these medicines are associated with some side effects. You should not take such medications for extended periods without consulting your doctor.
4. You need to carry out various strengthening exercises, along with stretching.
5. In major cases, the above-mentioned treatment measures bear success and deal with your dislocated shoulder and its symptoms. In some intense cases, a surgery may be required.
6. Sometimes, a surgery a for dislocated shoulder is required in order to repair your torn ligament. After such a surgery, you will be required to keep your arm hanging in a sling for around two months.
7. In some severe and extreme cases of a dislocated shoulder, a surgery is carried out for correcting the position of your bones. In cases of recurring dislocated shoulder, a surgery for tightening the tendons surrounding your joints is essential.

The rate of recovery from a dislocated shoulder depends upon the seriousness of the injury. A dislocated shoulder may require a time of 3 weeks to 12 weeks for recovery and the recovery rate varies from person to person. If you wish to discuss about any specific problem, you can consult an Orthopedist.

Spondylitis, or cervical spondylitis, is a common condition that affects a large section of the adult population. This most common disorder of the cervical spine is a degenerative condition. There are soft disks between the vertebral bones which shrink with age and gets stiff. This leads to formation of small bone spurs. This reduces the space available for the disk to move, causing nerve pinching.

Causes: Ageing is the most common cause for spondylitis. Injury, incorrect sleeping posture, and heavy weight-lifting can also cause spondylitis. While earlier it was common in people who were 60-plus, with more people spending more time at their computers and workstations, the onset happens much earlier in 30s and sometimes even in 20s.

Symptoms: Most symptoms related to spondylitis are centered on the neck and shoulder regions. There is pain and stiffness in the neck that can extend to the shoulders, nape of the neck, arms, and sometimes even the fingers. In rare cases, the pain can extend into the forehead and back of the head too. Associated symptoms include numbness, weakness, and a pricking sensation in the hands, arms, and sometimes fingers.

Is Your Cell Phone Killing Your Back?

Millions of people do it throughout the day and are totally unaware that cell phone use can be detrimental to the back. Did you know that cell phone use can double or triple the weight of your head and can strain your neck? If you are reading this article on a cell phone or tablet, you are probably doing it right now: Tilting your head forward and down in order to look at your device.

Cell phones and tablets are changing the way we access information and entertainment. The use of these devices influences our posture and body mechanics in unhealthy ways that contribute to neck, upper back, shoulder, and arm pain. Furthermore, poor posture while sitting, standing, walking, or in a static position can lead to more than upper body pain and stiffness—poor posture affects other parts of the spine, such as the middle and low back.

However, modern life still requires you to check your phone or use your tablet many times a day.

How do you do that and safeguard your neck?

• First, don’t use your cell phone or your tablet for extended computer work.
• Use your desktop or laptop computer for extended work and make sure these devices are arranged ergonomically.
• When you use a cell phone, instead of bending your head to look down at it, raise your phone.
• When you are reading the screen, bring the phone up level or just a little below your face. If you wish to discuss about any specific problem, you can consult a Homeopath.

Bones are similar to a porous framework which is filled with minerals that make it hard and strong. With age, there is gradual degradation and the mineralized portion is lost, thereby leading to thinning of the bone. The word osteoporosis literally translates to porous bones, which is due to the gradual demineralisation. In addition to the natural ageing process, there are other diseases that can accelerate the demineralization process.

Women are more prone to demineralisation, and after the age of 40, they should take extra precaution to slow down the onset of the condition. The following are some ways to improve bone health and halt osteoporosis in the long run-

1. Diet: Ensure that your diet has sufficient amounts of vitamin D and calcium. Though calcium is the essential mineral for bone formation, vitamin D is required for the absorption of calcium, and therefore both these elements play a vital role in maintaining the quality of the bones in our body. Most people require about 1,000 mg of calcium and about 500 units of vitamin D for optimal bone health. This requirement goes up slightly in postmenopausal women.

2. Sun Exposure: In most people, exposure to the sun allows the body to make vitamin D, but careful sun protection prevents this from happening. Also, with age, the body’s ability to form intrinsic vitamin D also declines. The body, therefore, relies on supplements. Most dairy products are good sources of calcium. In addition, spinach, salmon, turnips, and broccoli are some calcium-rich foods. Supplements of calcium carbonate or calcium citrate can be taken if your diet is lacking in calcium. Vitamin D also should be included in the supplementation. The treatment for osteoporosis is incomplete without these two supplements.

3. Exercise With Weights: The constructive tension that exercise puts on the body helps in bone building, whatever the age may be, which prevents the onset of osteoporosis. Any exercise which improves muscle mass strengthens the bones, and puts stress on the bones is advisable. Since the fractured area due to osteoporosis mainly includes the spine, lower back exercises, yoga, tai chi, and abdominal exercises all work wonders. Pick any of these and do them for 30 minutes three times a week.

4. Quit Smoking: Continuing to smoke while taking osteoporosis medications is completely useless. Nicotine negates all the effects which defeat the purpose of taking the medication and is as good as taking no medication at all. So if you want the bone thinning to stop, stop smoking.

5. Alcohol Consumption: While a drink or two per week is permissible, more than this can harm the bones significantly.

6. Constant Health Watch: Talk to a doctor about how other routine medications (if any) can affect your bone health. Also, identify how frequently you should check your bone mineral density and stick to the schedule.

Bone health and osteoporosis can be managed with some conscious efforts. If you wish to discuss about any specific problem, you can consult an Orthopaedics.