With the heavy impact of winter, people who have cervical osteoarthritis are at risk of experiencing severe neck and shoulder pain.

By Dr. Ashutosh Jha, Consultant – Orthopedics, Manipal Hospitals, Ghaziabad.

Cervical osteoarthritis occurs when the cervical spine breaks down due to impact or wear and tear and causes loss of fluid with shrinkage and stiffness in the spinal disks in the neck. This condition is very common among old people above the age of 60 years and can be very painful and risky. It can cause muscle spasms, and numbness in hands and other areas leading to difficulty in walking, bowel control, and balance.

Osteoarthritis can get worse with time and can cause disability if not treated on time. With the heavy impact of winter, people who have cervical osteoarthritis are at risk of experiencing severe neck and shoulder pain. Winters can also trigger the condition in young people who might have some neck or shoulder pain. Therefore, it is important to take care in the winter to avoid and manage cervical osteoarthritis.

People who experience back pain, shoulder pain, muscular numbness, and stiffness in the neck can get a diagnosis by undergoing electromyography (EMG), to measure the activity in muscles and a nerve conduction study to test the efficiency of nerves. Treatment includes medication, physiotherapy, and in rare cases surgery. Surgery can help to remove any discs or spurs that are causing pressure and complications in the spine.

The author is a Consultant – in Orthopedics, at Manipal Hospitals, Ghaziabad.

Because of its nature of being passed on in the family, the treatment of gene therapy to introduce new normal cells by replacing defective or missing ones is very effective.

By Dr. Keshav Das Sadhwani

The burden of kidney disorders is as large as 10% globally, and the cases in India are rapidly rising. In the case of polycystic kidney disease, most people do not realize their condition because of a lack of symptoms. By the time they realize complications, the disease already progresses and reaches stage 2 or 3 which is enough to leave a long-lasting and severe impact.

Polycystic kidney disease occurs when small fluid-filled sacs/ cysts start developing in the kidney. They are non-cancerous and do not show many symptoms until they are about half an inch in size. The disease can be managed and treated when diagnosed on time in the absence of which it can cause the spread of cysts in the other organs such as the liver and cause kidney failure and other complications.

When the condition becomes extremely worse, dialysis can be used to support some of the kidney functions, or in extremely bad cases a kidney transplant may be required. All of these treatments can be avoided if the diagnosis is done on time and procedures like gene therapy can be performed to eliminate the disease from its root cause. The disease is known to be caused by mutations of the Polycystic Kidney Disease 1 (PKD1) and Polycystic Kidney Disease 2 (PKD2) genes.

High cholesterol usually causes silent damage to your body and puts you at risk of deadly diseases. But one must pay attention to these warning signs of excess cholesterol that appear in the eyes, legs, and tongue. Dangerously high levels of this waxy substance can put us at grave risk of heart attack or stroke and not to mention an array of health issues that come as one develops fatty deposits in blood vessels.

High cholesterol can cause great damage to your body and while there are hardly any symptoms initially, with time many of our body parts may start showing signs of excess cholesterol. Dangerously high levels of this waxy substance can put us at grave risk of heart attack or stroke and not to mention an array of health issues that come as one develops fatty deposits in blood vessels. These deposits can also obstruct blood flow in the arteries and lead to clot formation which can in turn lead to a heart attack. Cholesterol in itself is not bad and our body creates enough amount naturally to take care of various important functions.

When cholesterol turns deadly?

"Cholesterol is an important part of the human body, but raised levels of cholesterol can be dangerous. In this case, how can we know if our cholesterol levels have reached a dangerously high level? To understand this, it is important to first understand that there are two types of cholesterol- HDL (High-density lipoprotein) and LDL (Low- density lipoprotein). They are also known as good and bad cholesterol. The good cholesterol is HDL which is responsible for many important functions in the body such as hormone and Vitamin D generation. Bad cholesterol, which is LDL, starts accumulating in the vessels and creates complications," says Dr. Mayank Arora, Consultant Internal Medicine, at Manipal Hospitals, Ghaziabad.

Beware women! You are 3 times more prone to spondylolisthesis

Although, it is completely inevitable to evade the risk of spondylolisthesis, but lifestyle modifications have a major role to play in reducing the risk factors even when the body is undergoing physical and hormonal changes.

By Dr. Nikunj Mittal

Back pain is a very common problem among people of different age groups, especially for those who have long working hours. In most of the cases, it gets better with minimal care at home but persisting back pain can certainly be an indication of some major problem. Conditions like spondylolisthesis is a growing concern, especially among women.

New Omicron BF.7 subvariant of Covid has been behind the massive surge in hospitalisations in China and it has been speculated that the virus can lead to deaths of millions across China in next few months. The same subvariant has so far infected 4 people in India but health authorities and experts say there is no reason to press the panic button as yet. Omicron BF.7 has a quicker infection rate and is difficult to detect in RT-PCR test. It is known to affect people who are unvaccinated, weak immunity - children, elderly, pregnant women - or those with co-morbidities. Vaccinated people are said to report milder symptoms in case of infection.

With the arrival of the new Omicron BF.7 virus, people have started feeling cautious and vulnerable to the symptoms of this infection. As the new sub-variant is highly transmissible and has shown signs of overriding the built-up immunity of the previous variants, it has become one of the most dangerous forms of Covid yet. The symptoms of this variant are similar to those of an earlier Covid infection, like fever, cough, sore throat, weakness, nausea, and diarrhoea. However, it is important to understand what kind of cough or sore throat symptoms could mean exposure to this virus," says Dr Deepak Verma Consultant - Internal Medicine, Manipal Hospitals, Ghaziabad.

Headline: Expert Talks About Complications In Pregnancy Due To PCOD

Doctor quoted: Dr. Ranjana Becon, Consultant – Obstetrics & Gynaecology, Manipal Hospitals, Ghaziabad

Headline: Parenting tips: Millennial parent’s guide to HPV vaccine and sex education

Doctor quoted: Dr. Vinieta Diwakar, Consultant - Obstetrics and Gynaecology at Manipal Hospital in Ghaziabad

Headline: रात में अच्छी नींद के बाद भी सुबह थका थका महसूस करते हैं?

Doctor Featured: Dr. Mayank Arora, Consultant, Internal Medicine, Manipal Hospitals, Ghaziabad

Headline: Immunization: Significance Of Vaccination To Fight Against Diseases, Expert Speaks, Watch Video

Doctor quoted: Dr. Vinieta Diwakar, Consultant - Obstetrics and Gynecology, Manipal Hospitals, Ghaziabad

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Doctor quoted: Dr. Nishank Shanker Yagnick, Senior Consultant, Neurosurgery, Manipal Hospitals, Gurugram