Orthopaedic Surgeon Dr. Divya Geeta from Naseem Al Rabeeh Medical Centre
Doha: As the country is set to celebrate the National Sports Day on February 8, an orthopaedic surgeon has advised the public to initially warm up and not overdo sports activities.
Speaking to The Peninsula, orthopaedic surgeon Dr. Divya Geeta from Naseem Al Rabeeh Medical Centre said while the activity curve rises during Sports Day, one should always warm up first properly before starting off and should not overdo it.
“Sports and physical activity shouldn’t be restricted to Sports Day alone but should be there all year around.
“The best possible thing we can do for our body is to be physically active.”
Talking about common orthopaedic illnesses, she disclosed that it can be classified into two depending on the cause. “Those related to trauma or injury and the ones that arise otherwise.
The ones related to trauma are the usual fractures, sprains, sports injuries, ligament injuries and other related ones. Second is the congenital or development-related diseases which are most common in the paediatric age group, degenerative condition like arthritis, back pain, tendinitis, osteoporosis, among others,” she explained. Degenerative conditions are more common in the elderly.
According to a data in 2021 from Global RA Network, more than 350 million people have arthritis globally. Of the people who have arthritis, 60 percent are between the ages of 18 and 64, said Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in 2020.
Meanwhile, data published by the World Health Organization in 2021 revealed that up to 14 million people around the world have rheumatoid arthritis.
Dr. Geeta also revealed that the most common bone and joint pains are the neck and the back pain. “Both are more common posture-related and has an association with lack of physical activity and exercise. We also have arthritis or degenerative pain that comes in the knees and shoulder,” she said.
To avoid these, she suggested to taking care of the bone starting from childhood – eating a well-balanced healthy diet, proper exercise, stay active and protect oneself from injuries.
“Have a balance in everything you do and take a close look at your lifestyle,” she said.
Moreover, on orthopaedic surgery, Dr. Geeta said that the need for surgery comes in depending on the reason for the pain or illness of a person. “Most of the common ailments are well managed conservatively with medications and physiotherapy. Only the refractory ones need further evaluation and invasive management like surgical procedure,” she explained.
This year’s National Sports Day will be held in open-air venues for all individual and team sports activities as to limit the spread of COVID-19, the Organising Committee of the National Sport Day has said.
