Neck is your voice

We all are aware that a bad posture affects us in many ways. It might give us back problems, neck pain, also affects our personality and confidence to carry ourselves.
However, what most of us don't know is that a bad neck posture affects the quality of your voice. It is indeed something that we never thought about.
How does the neck affect one's voice? What exactly happens?
The voice box which produces the voice is attached to the muscular and skeletal system of our body. Hence the way your body is positioned will affect the quality of voice produced. For example: excess tension on the larynx will produce a harsh, strained voice.
Also poor neck posture affects the breathing mechanism of the body which further hampers the voice production.

Rounded shoulders reduce the space for the thoracic cage to expand and relax for appropriate breathing which powers the voice thus altering the quality of voice produced.

Now imagine the head and neck dropped too forward what would happen?? The muscles in the head and neck get constrict and have to work hard to maintain the head and neck position. Moreover the area around the larynx is also compromised.
Not everyone notices the change in voice individuals who are into professions where they have to vocalise would understand it better for eg: voice over artists, vocalists, singers etc.

Specially voice over artists who have to speak before the microphone tend to go in for a forward neck posture thus affecting their voice over a period of time.

How should one deal with the problem??
Firstly being aware of the problem and diagnosing it correctly addresses the disorder half way.
One can do simple postural Correction exercises like stretching , strengthening exercises.

Breathing or pranayam also have great results in such cases.

Wallet sciatica

Wallet sciatica sounds funny right?? But isn't funny as the name. Wallet sciatica as the name suggests is pain caused due to wallet. It is also known as hip pocket syndrome and is commonly seen in males.
  The wallet consists of cards, licence, cash etc which makes it bulky and when you place it in the back pocket and sit on it causes discomfort and pain.

                       

  What exactly happens when you place the wallet in back pocket it pinches or presses against the sciatic nerve which lies just behind the hip joint thus eliciting pain or tingling in the area. The pain may be localised to the buttock region or sometimes may move down towards the leg or upwards towards the spine.                          The wallet not nly causes compression of the nerve but also affects the soft tissues like muscles and ligaments in the area.

                        

The other major complication of sitting on a wallet is change in the position of the pelvis.
The hip and the pelvis play a major role in maintaining the posture of an individual. When you sit over a wallet or a purse that side of the pelvis is placed slightly higher than the opposite one thus causing it to tilt to one side.

                             

The pelvis and hips are the foundation of the spine, everything that sits on that foundation will be affected by this wedge. If you wear your wallet in your back right pocket you will create a high right side and a slightly lower left side. The body will compensate for this by pulling the spine towards the side of the wallet (the right) to even out the imbalance, the head may also be pulled to one side to keep the eyes level with the floor.

The two halves of the pelvis can also rotate slightly due to a constant force being applied to one side and this may lead to sacroiliac joint dysfuntion .
If left untreated it shall lead to permanent changes on the spine n postural stress.

Not only carrying the wallet in the back pocket is a problem but also placing it in the front pocket while sitting or driving causes irritation and friction between the hip and torso thus further leading to other problems.
Hence always be aware that you are not sitting with a wallet or mobile or cards in any of your trouser pockets.
Also the symptoms of pain and restricted movement and decreased activity are common symptoms of a lot of other problems and hence proper diagnosis and treatment is necessary.

Are u suffering from Runners knee?

My knee is hurting whenever I climb down the stairs or run downhill said one of my patients who is a sports person and physically very active. He was worried as he thought he had some major knee problem, but on examining him he was diagnosed as having runners knee. Runners knee is very common now a days and hence I decided to write about it today.

What is runners knee??

Runners knee or patellofemoral joint syndrome is when the knee cap starts rubbing against the underlying bone causing improper movement of the quadriceps muscle leading to pain and restricted movement.
It is often Misdiagnosed as osteoarthritis of knee joint as the symptoms are some what the same.

Runners knee is common in young adults specially runners and hence the name. However it is also seen in individuals who play games like basket ball, volley ball or who tend to walk a lot.

 Causes:

1. Weak knee and hip muscles.
2. Tight calf and hamstring muscle
3. Improper training techniques
4. Biomechanical issues like flat feet
5. Weak gluteal muscles

Symptoms:

• Pain is the major symptom and is usually noticed on the front side of the knee and sometimes around the knee cap.
• Swelling may or may not be present
• Reduced joint of motion are some of the main symptoms.

Treatment:

• First line of treatment is to reduce the pain which can be done by medications like NSAIDs , pain killer
• Physiotherapy:
• Modalities like ultrasound, ift, tens can be used to reduce pain.
• Taping for any correction and pain relief
• Exercise therapy: strengthening of weak muscles and stretching of tight muscles along with gluteal muscles activation.
• Orthosis: arch support for flat feet, quadriceps tendon support.

Prevetion:

Proper technique and foot wear.

Warm up before any sport.

Use of any orthosis if required

These are just basic exercises but if you r having any problem you need to show it to the doctor.