Dr. Meera Agarwal

As the world has moved and is moving towards a more sedentary lifestyle, where non sedentary jobs have become lesser, posture is something that tends to get affected a lot.

Let's look at how some of these bad body postures can affect your health in the long run:

1. Increases depression and stress: Many studies have revealed that walking or sitting in a slouched or generally bad position increases the susceptibility to depression and stress. Slouching or sitting in a bad position and thus developing a bad posture will constrict the body, resulting in the poor blood flow. This may cause you to be irritable and tired and over a long time it will contribute to depression and increased stress levels.
2. Bad breathing patterns: The lungs and the rib cage in your body need to be expanded fully to work at their best capacity. However, due to bad body postures, the rib cage and the lungs will be constricted and not be able to work at full capacity. This over time will build up to create long term problems with breathing as well as other resulting health problems.
3. Problems with digestion: As is the case with breathing problems, when the body posture is not correct it will also affect digestion. This is so,  as bad posture also affects the intestines and if they are pressured or constricted in any way, will affect the entire digestion process. Slouching may also cause you to develop a paunch or belly over time due to a combination of bad postures and digestive problems.
4. Developing chronic pain in the back shoulders and neck: This is probably the most common and the most quickly noticeable problem, if you have a bad posture. Most of the population with sedentary lifestyle either currently has or has experienced this problem in their back, shoulders and neck. This is again due to constrictions of the muscles and misalignment of the various bones that support these parts. Long term misalignment could cause deformities that could spiral into problems, which are far worse.
5. Headaches caused by muscle tension within the body due to bad postures: This has afflicted most of the sedentary work force all over the work, at some point of time or the other. While sitting in a bad position for a prolonged period, the tension in the muscles will build up releasing chemicals that may contribute to headaches. If these become frequent they could contribute to other health problems such as high blood pressure in the long run. If you wish to discuss about any specific problem, you can consult a General Physician.

Vaginal rejuvenation is a surgical procedure or technique where the inner and outer muscles and structures around the vagina are surgically tightened. Remember that the vagina and surrounding tissues are composed of muscles and elastic tissue. With age and the process of childbirth, these go through a lot of changes. This could lead to changes in the way a woman experiences sex and improve her urinary function. All of this can affect overall health, both physically and emotionally.

Vaginal rejuvenation as a surgery helps to restore muscle tone, improve control and strength. It not just increases sexual pleasure, but can also relieve urinary incontinence.
Ideal candidates: Now, there are specific women who would benefit from this. They are:

• Women who desire a more youthful appearance and improved functioning of the vulva and vaginal areas.
• Women with weakened muscle tone and strength. This could be result of aging, trauma, genetics, or childbirth. In these women, the vaginal tissues are stretched and therefore have less tone and strength and poor control. The sexual experience may be less than satisfactory because of the laxity of these tissues.

Options: Rejuvenation of the vagina can begin with a nonsurgical option and progress to gradually invasive modes.

• The first option would be the Kegel exercise. This involves conscious effort on the woman to hold her breath and consciously control the pelvic floor muscle contractions. This can be done anywhere and often yields wonderful results.
• The second option is the laser wherein a beam of fractional laser light is used to heat the vaginal tissues to about 60 to 70 degrees Celsius. This increased heat causes neocollagenesis, which is the production of new collagen that is firmer and more elastic. The result is growth of a thicker, more youthful vaginal lining.
• The next option would be surgical where the vaginal tissues are surgically manipulated to remove excess, redundant tissue, or shaped to improve cosmetic appearance. This is often required if the pelvic floor muscles have separated. These exercises need to be followed up with Kegel for long-lasting results.

Results:

1. Increases friction during sexual intercourse
2. Improves control over vaginal tissues and muscles
3. Improves sexual satisfaction
4. Improves cosmetic appearance of the vaginal area
5. Reduces internal and external vaginal diameters
6. Strengthens the pelvic floor, and can also help relieve urinary incontinence

What to expect?

1. This procedure may not be covered by insurance
   1. Get yourself in safe hands and be clear on what to expect. Expectation mismatch can be a big disappointment post-surgery, and there is nothing much that can be done about that aspect. Consult an expert & get answers to your questions!