Dr. Geetanjali

Running is a sport that many people indulge in, on a daily basis. For many professional athletes, running is also a part of their job. While it may be an extremely fulfilling experience in sheer physical terms, it also has varied implications in the long run as far as the health of your bones, joints and muscles go. Also, runners are constantly at the risk of getting injured, which can lead to many complications. Read on to know how you can protect the same with these five tips to avoid injuries.

1. Warming Up and Stretching: Many injuries can happen when you do not stretch before you indulge in a strenuous activity like running. Warming up should be done with the help of a quick brisk walk that should happen a few minutes before you start running. Also, when you are stretching, you should not hold your breath and do it slowly without rushing yourself. Avoid stretching your muscles when they are cold. The stretching exercises should happen after the warm up.
2. Strengthening Exercises: It is important to indulge in good amount of exercises that will strengthen your quads, calves and feet so that your muscles are strong enough to support your weight while you run without putting undue pressure on the joints, which can succumb to injuries and fractures.Strengthening exercises are given to hamstring muscles as well.
3. Weight: Managing your weight is one of the most important parts of the regimen for a runner. If you are taking up running professionally or if you are doing it as exercise, you must ensure that your weight is at a normal level as per your ideal BMI so that you do not end up putting pressure on your knees. A good diet and plenty of exercise will help in maintaining a good weight.
4. Footwear: Your shoes are one of the most important aspects when you are running. You must choose shoes that have a good cushion or gel inside. Be sure to select shoes that are designed for runners specifically, so that the shoes take on the shape of your feet and give you good balance and motion even as the friction with the ground happens. The correct footwear will support the running motion and keep injuries at bay.
5. Stride Length and Impact: It is imperative to practice the correct stride length and impact when your feet hit the ground as this is where injuries most commonly happen. You will need to ensure that you get professional help from a trainer so that you can gauge and accordingly practice your stride length in keeping with your frame so that the impact is minimal on the rest of the body and its joints. If you wish to discuss about any specific problem, you can consult a Physiotherapist.

Dermabrasion is a skin related treatment used by cosmetic surgeons and dermatologists to cure a number of ailments that may leave your skin looking less than healthy. This method basically employs a technique that removes the upper layers of your skin with the help of a rough edged diamond wheel or a wire brush. These edges are called a burr or a fraise.

Here is everything you need to know about the procedure as well as the results that it can yield:

• Areas and Conditions: The most common areas where this procedure is conducted include the face as well as the neck. It is mostly used to treat people who want to remove fine lines that form around the eyes and the mouth, as well as patients who are suffering from acne scars and other inflammation causing skin ailments as well as abrasions due to injuries.
• Preparation: The procedure includes cleaning and marking the area that is being treated. This is the first step that helps in seeing exactly what needs to fixed, the extent of the damage and the intensity of the treatment to be employed. Following this process, the doctor will administer a local anaesthesia such as, Lidocaine that will numb the area before the actual treatment begins so that the patient does not undergo any discomfort. Also, with this purpose in mind, the dermatologist may also apply ice packs on the face and neck of the patient so as to make the skin even more numb and remain like that for a longer period of time. Additionally, the skin may be sprayed with a freezing cryogenic spray in order to retain the numbness and keep the skin firm enough for effective treatment. If the doctor is going to treat deeper abrasions or the entire face, then pain killers and general anaesthesia may be used.
• Procedure: To begin with, a small area is exposed to the treatment at a time, rather than the entire area or face at one time. After the freezing spray is administered, the doctor may run the rotating brush or burr to remove the top layers of the skin. Gauze will be kept handy so as to stem any bleeding that may take place during the process. Finally, the area will be covered with the help of ointment and dressing.
• Results: The recovery time is said to take anywhere between five to eight days. But this also depends on the severity of condition that was treated, as well as the area that was covered. Little or no pain may follow and regular cleaning will be required. To prevent re-occurrence or re-growth of the problem, follow up visits to the dermatologist will be required.

Reproductive medicine has gained a lot of attention recently with its increasing scope and opportunity. This branch of medicine is concerned with improving reproductive health, preventing reproductive disorders, diagnosis of infertility issues and allowing couples to have children when they choose to be parents. The scope of reproductive medicine is based on endocrinology, anatomy and physiology. Here are some things you need to know about reproductive medicine:

Scope

Reproductive medicine includes many aspects of human health and other factors. Sexual dysfunction, puberty, birth control, sex education, family planning are some of the factors that it is concerned with it. In women, issues such as ovulation, menstruation, menopause and pregnancy are of immense importance in reproductive medicine.

Methods and techniques

Methods to assess any reproductive abnormality include reproductive surgery, laboratory methods while methods of treatment are prescription of fertility medication, counseling and surgery. In vitro fertilization or ivf has become one of the most effective treatments to enable pregnancy. This treatment allows the examination of the embryo before implementation.

Training

Specialists in reproductive medicine are trained in gynecology and obstetrics which is followed by infertility and reproductive endocrinology. Some of them specialize in urology followed by andrology. Training is also provided for contraception specialization. Usually, specialists in this branch of medicine receive education in particular organizations that deal with only human reproductive disorders. If you wish to discuss about any specific problem, you can consult a Urologist.

Misarticulation - 
Different speech sounds are acquired at different stages of a child's speech development. Sounds such as /pa/, /tha/ are acquired earlier and sounds such as /sa/, /ra/ and /sk/ (as in school), /tr/ (as in tree) are acquired later. In some children only one or two sounds may be mispronounced whereas in others so many sounds may be mispronounced that the child's speech may be unintelligible. Even at 4 years of age if your child's speech is not easily understood by a stranger then it is best to get professional help. See faq for more information on misarticulation. 

Developmental dyspraxia- 

• These children have difficulty producing speech on command (i. E, requiring conscious effort), and find it easier to produce frequently used utterances (i. E, “hi”, “hello”, “bye”). Excessive effort is used to produce the simplest of sounds.
• Speech problems of children with repaired cleft lip and palate:
• These children have nasal voice and misarticulation of speech sounds. Early intervention will help improve the quality of their speech.