Dr. Anjali Deval

Pregnancy and childbirth throw a woman’s daily routine out for a toss. During and after pregnancy is the time when her body undergoes a number of hormonal and physical changes. Mundane tasks like sitting, standing, walking, and working become a challenge.

Research suggests that almost all pregnant women experience musculoskeletal discomfort but around 25% become temporarily disabled because of it. All these occur due to the incredible changes taking place in the body during a normal pregnancy.

Pregnancy discomfort has been accepted as a part of the normal process of pregnancy for years now. But just because you are pregnant does not necessarily mean that you have to accept problems like a backache and pelvic girdle pain as unmanageable. Doctors of today have realized that physiotherapy is the key to enhancing a woman's health during pregnancy. The main aim of physiotherapy is to reduce discomfort, to prepare the body for delivery and to speed-up recovery after childbirth.

Physiotherapy through pregnancy

The basic aim of physiotherapy during pregnancy is to help the body deal with issues related to mobility, musculature, circulation and respiration. Prior to starting an effective antenatal (before birth) program, a thorough evaluation is done to recognize which exercises would be best suited to the woman's needs. These exercises are aimed at strengthening muscles,
decreasing joint pain, correcting muscle imbalances, and increasing the overall range of motion of the body. Therapists may also advise you about correct sleeping positions as your normal sleeping routine may be disturbed during pregnancy.

Here's how physiotherapy deals with some common complaints experienced by women during pregnancy.

Lower back pain: almost all pregnant women experience low back pain, though it tends to become severe after third trimester begins because the woman's centre-of-gravity shifts due to the increase in the stomach size. Lower back pain is treated with manual and passive physiotherapy, back support, postural education, and some pilates exercises. Home exercises are also taught which the women are encouraged to continue at home.

Pain in the sacroiliac joints: sacroiliac joints are present in the lowest region of the lower back. This pain is usually concentrated in the buttock region. During pregnancy, due to excessive hormone release, the body's connective tissues tend to relax so that the muscles can stretch to aid in delivery. This may cause the sacroiliac muscles and ligaments to become excessively mobile, causing extreme joint movements. Due to this, the woman may experience difficulty in lifting the leg, swelling in the joints, pain in the hips, and difficulty while standing and sitting. Strengthening exercises are provided by the physiotherapist to stabilize the joints and hands-on therapy is given to reduce the pain by realigning the pelvis.

Urinary incontinence (due to pelvic floor weakness): progesterone, which is known as the pregnancy hormone, relaxes the muscles of the pelvic floor in order for it to be supple and ready for delivery. Therefore, these muscles can weaken and strain during pregnancy and childbirth, which leads to urinary incontinence (unable to contain or retain urine) and pelvic floor dysfunction. Physiotherapists will teach you strengthening exercises to strengthen the pelvic floor muscles. They may also provide you with a pilates based exercise program to help reduce the muscle weakness that may occur after childbirth.

Sciatica: sciatica is a problem that a lot of pregnant women experience. Continuous pressure or strain on the sciatic nerve can lead to backache, and weakness, numbness and tingling in the leg or associated areas. Physiotherapy uses stretching exercises and manual therapy to relieve you of these symptoms.

Carpal tunnel syndrome: this condition is caused due to build-up of excessive fluid resulting in swelling in the carpal tunnel in the wrist. You may experience symptoms like pain, numbness, tingling, and loss of coordination in your hands and fingers. Physiotherapy techniques such as mobilization, strengthening exercises, stretching, and soft tissue techniques help to reduce these symptoms. In severe cases, a wrist brace may be provided to put on during specific activities to minimize inflammation.

Physiotherapy after pregnancy

Physiotherapy does not stop once your baby is born. It is very much part of post-natal care too. Gentle physiotherapy exercises must be started two days after the baby's birth. However, this must only be done after consulting with your doctor. Most hospitals have physiotherapists who will offer their services before you are discharged. For the first six weeks after childbirth, your body is still in the recovery phase and walking is the best exercise for you. Start with short walks, and then slowly increase time, distance, and speed of your walks, according to your comfort. Swimming is another good exercise, but you can only start with this after you have recovered properly. If you experience any pain and discomfort, discontinue the activity immediately and consult your doctor. After six weeks, with the go-ahead from your doctor, you can start with sports and exercise classes.

Women also experience certain post-natal complications. Here is how physiotherapy helps you recover from them.

Low back pain: physiotherapy techniques such mobilization, stretching, strengthening, soft tissue techniques, and hydrotherapy are very beneficial in reliving post-natal backache. Certain pilates exercises are also helpful.

Weakness of pelvic floor muscles: immediately after childbirth, the pelvic floor muscles are weakened. These muscles can be strengthened by pilates based exercise program and other exercises specific to pelvic floor muscle strengthening, which the physiotherapist will teach you.

Sacroiliac joint pain: this pain can continue after pregnancy too. Strengthening exercises and hydrotherapy can help in regaining normal muscle tone.

Diastasis recti or abdominal separation: generally this condition occurs in women who have undergone multiple pregnancies. A physiotherapist will provide you strengthening exercises to strengthen the abdominal muscles.

A woman's body undergoes incredible strain during pregnancy, and physiotherapy is something that can make the entire process so much easier. It aims not only at your recovery but enhances your body's ability to have a smooth and easy delivery. Physiotherapy makes the experience of pregnancy positive and joyful, just as it should be.

According to ayurveda the body is said to be composed of the 7 dhatus i.e rasa(fliud), rakta(blood), mamsa (muscles), meda(fat), asthi(bones), majja(marrow) and sukra (semen).

*comparison are made just to explain theoretically, else they are far different things.

Sukra dhatu is present in both males and females , hence don't confuse it with sperms or seminal fluid .

Sukra dhatu is the last dhatu to be made after all 7 dhatus in body,

Hence, we can say sukra dhatu is essence of all the dhatus , it is well spreaded all through the body.

The sukra dhatu according to modern concepts can be understood as the sexual power, the ejaculation , the erectile strength , the quality of sperms , the semen or we can say overall reproductive strength of the person

A common lifestyle disorder of sukra dhatu is sukra Kshaya or loss of sukra dhatu , this includes common symptoms such as loss of erection, premature ejaculation, weakening of muscles, wrinkling of skin , whitening of hair , fatigue , loss of concentration power etc .

A proper care of diet and lifestyle is necessary to maintain healthy sukra dhatu.

Now to improve the dhatu:

1. Take milk on daily basis ..milk and milk products are best for sukra dhatu ...
2. Milk added with grinded almonds and pista have a good result...
3. Ashwagandha powder has best results on sukra dhatu in males and for females shatavri powder has a great effect the powder can be taken with hot milk ...
4. Fruits like dates , mangoes , fig, almonds , custard Apple ,strawberry , Apple , nuts , almonds , cashew etc have a positive result in improving sexual power .
5. Vegies like spinach , cucumber , sweet potato , pumpkin seeds also boost sexual power..
6. Fish especially tuna fish , lobster , egg yolk also increase the sukra dhatu...

If you wish to discuss about any specific problem, you can consult a specilized ayurveda and ask a free question.

We are mortals and changes are bound to happen in the functioning of our body and the organ's of the body with every passing day. How the body reacts to the external environment needs to be constantly studied. Therefore, It is important to keep a check of what's happening within your body and live a healthy life.

The check could be need based as suggested by doctor to diagnose a disease or for a general health! Ultrasound scan is an important diagnostic measure to check the state of the organs inside our body via sound waves. It's is also known as sonogram, diagnostic sonography and ultrasonography. 

Types of Ultrasound
Although all types of ultrasound basically work the same, but there are a few differences in the below listed types of ultrasound. Doctor's conduct the test basis the need.

1. Doppler Ultrasound 
2. Obstetric Ultrasound 
3. 3D and 4D Ultrasound
4. Echocardiograms Carotid Ultrasound

How does it work and why it is done?
It uses high frequency sound waves to create an image of some part of the inside of the body, such as heart and blood vessels, liver, gallbladder, spleen, pancreas, kidneys, bladder, uterus, ovaries, eyes, thyroid, and testicles.

1. View the uterus and ovaries of a pregnant woman and assess her foetus
2. Diagnose gallbladder disease
3. Evaluate flow in blood vessels
4. Assess abdominal pain or other concerns
5. Guides a surgeon on a needle biopsy and treatment of a tumor
6. Kidney Stones
7. Pelvic ultrasound for ovarian cysts, uterine fibroids, uterine growth and endometriosis
8. The thyroid gland can be imaged using ultrasound looking for nodules, growths, or tumors
9. Detect bulging of fluid from a swollen knee joint
10. Veins evaluation to assess whether swelling in a leg is due to a blood clot, deep vein thrombosis or another cause

Why Ultrasound is preferred over other methods 

1. Generally painless and does not require needles, injections or incisions.
2. Patients aren't exposed to ionizing radiation, making the procedure safer than diagnostic techniques, such as X-rays and CT scans. In fact, there are no known harmful effects when used as directed by your healthcare provider.
3. Ultrasound captures images of soft tissues that don't show up well on X-rays.
4. Ultrasound is widely accessible and less expensive than other methods.

It has some limitations, such as the sound waves do not transmit well through dense bones or parts of the body that may hold air or gas, such as the bowel and thus has a diagnostic limitation.

That delicious grilled chicken in your oven is incomplete without a touch of rosemary in its marination and garnish. Rosemary, one of the most common herbs from the Mediterranean region is famous all over the world for its flavour and taste. It is seen to be complementing every meal that you make. However, there is more to Rosemary than just adding flavour to a dish. It not only adds flavours but also has immense nutritional values. Some of these are explained in details below.

1. Strengthens the Immune System: Rosemary has the three-fold health benefits of being an antioxidant, anti – inflammatory agent and anti-carcinogenic. This means that it helps in fighting diseases caused by bacteria and viruses and helps in boosting the immune system. Furthermore, it can be consumed as one of the preventive substances for cancer due to its anti-carcinogenic properties.
2. De-stresses an Individual: If you suffer from anxiety disorders or stress disorders, then the aroma of Rosemary itself can act as a stimulator and calm your senses. Rosemary is seen to be a great stress buster. In this age of stress and tension, at times it is necessary to destress yourself and rosemary helps you in doing so. In fact, even in aromatherapy, some of the essential oils have rosemary as an important compound.
3. Freshens breath: Rosemary acts as an antibacterial agent. It gives you fresh breath for a long time. All you need to do is soak rosemary stems in warm water and gargle with that water. It would help in destroying all unwanted bacteria inside your mouth and keep you orally fresh for a long time.
4. Detoxification of the body: Rosemary has been detected to be diuretic in nature. This would mean that it helps in faster flushing out of toxins and wastes from the body. Furthermore, it has been seen that rosemary helps in the healing of the liver, which is one of the slowest organs to heal.
5. Healthy Skin: Rosemary oil has been used as one of the few essential oils used to rejuvenate the skin. But off late, even the leaves are being crushed and made into a paste and used on the skin. This helps in healing any scars or blemishes that the skin might possess. Rosemary is also known for its hydrating properties.

Thus, these are some of the most important benefits of consuming rosemary on a regular basis. If you wish to discuss about any specific problem, you can consult an ayurveda.