The common causes of diseases were earlier considered as bacteria or virus. But today in the modern world, diseases caused by the lifestyle that human beings lead is the major cause which is unfortunately not recognised as such. Various diseases that are treated in SPARRC usually come from lifestyle issues.
It is a misconception that we ought to use our time to work - in pursuit of money, food and other symbols of material life. It is when we misuse the time available for maintaining our health through our own effort, the possibility of lifestyle diseases begin. It is vital that people understand that they can prevent lifestyle diseases through their own efforts like doing regular exercises and eating healthy.
DIABETES
By 2020, 50% of the world population suffering from diabetes will be Indians . India is the Diabetic capital of the world . About 17 million people in India are in a pre-diabetic state. SPARRC endeavours to prevent as many of these 17 million people from moving into the Diabetic state . This is possible through diet awareness and diet control and optimal exercise program that can minimize the disease progression. SPARRC's Diabetic management regular exercise program mainly involves cardio respiratory system endurance - this can make sure that the glucose that circulates around the blood is pushed to the muscles and does not require insulin support. Our Sports Nutritionist also suggest dietary adjustments that will achieve the optimal environment for diabetes control.
For those that have already manifested the disease, complications arising from diabetes may be managed. For instance, symptoms like burning feet syndrome can be managed through myofascial release, mobilization and taping.
OBESITY
Obesity is another modern day lifestyle issue caused by overeating and under-exercising. Obesity is a simply the manifestation of excess energy that is being pushed into the system without the requirement of hunger and not optimally matched by the energy output. Exercise or yoga or taichi or any other form of physical activity as dance , martial arts that could have been prevented the obese state . Fat cells multiply in a child rapidly until the age of 6 years and then stabilize at an optimal level for each individual but today, these cells multiply throughout our lives. Even when we reduce the weight of the person , the fat cells shrink but do not vanish. Obesity management requires the compliance of the individual to understand and abide by the rules to ensure not only to reduce the weight but also to maintain it at the reduced level. Weight management concerns both reduction of weight and maintenance the reduced level. While there may be several diets and workout schedules that can reduce and maintain weight, the real success lies in overcoming issues that there were triggered by the increased weight like pain and weakened joints.
HYPERTENSION
The disease that affects the middle aged group because of blood pressure of the diastolic being more than 90 mmhg is called Hypertension. Recently WHO (World Health Organisation) has raised that value to above 100 mmhg. One can be considered non-hypertensive even when the diastolic is above 100, depending upon his/her age group.
Hypertension is the result of the pressure exerted on the blood vessels when the blood vessels have narrowed or have lost the elasticity to stretch to allow the blood to flow. Stroke is a complication of this pressure that is exerted on the blood vessels. Exercise enables the capillaries to open up thereby reducing the pressure exerted by the blood flow. SPARRC's exercise prescription takes into account an individual's stress levels, food habits and activity/inactivity levels in order to ensure that the diastolic pressure can be reduced from 90 mmhg to 60 - 70 mmhg.
HEART DISEASE
60% of the world population suffering from cardiac diseases are Indians. It is of utmost importance that people understand that most of the cardiac diseases that are diagnosed and treated with surgeries like coronary artery bypass graft or stents, can be prevented by a regular exercise program. It is also possible for those that have already undergone a such surgeries to get back to their pre-surgery levels of activity by joining the SPARRC prescription exercise program. Our program has enabled people to even run a marathon after cardiac bypass surgeries.
OSTEOARTHRITIS
Articular Cartilage is the tissue at the end of the bones that aids in the movement in a joint. When this cartilage is damaged either by injury or by wear and tear, pain ensues since the movement at the joint is no longer smooth and frictionless. This condition is termed as Osteoarthritis and is diagnosed with the help of an X-ray or MRI imagery. The articular cartilage, once damaged cannot recover on its own and many are advised to have surgery to replace the natural cartilage with an artificial implement. However, it is our experience that many people are misdiagnosed as having osteoarthritis while they might have a simple myofascial condition since the symptoms are a lot alike.
As much as 90 - 95% of the patients diagnosed with Osteoarthritis that come to SPARRC have recovered complete movement at the affected joints with the help of Aquatherapy, Myofascial release and a prescription exercise program. These therapies strengthen the muscles in order to support the joint and removes the need for a surgery.
CANCER
Cancer is the condition of body that allows uncontrolled mitosis called cell division. It is very common for every cell to have what is called as "contact inhibition". This is like when somebody comes into contact with you when you travel in a public transport - you feel your personal space invaded and you try to move away. The human cells when they come into contact with the next cells start multiplying . In cancer cells, this multiplication is uncontrolled because they have lost their "contact inhibition". The cancer cells that are multiplying are usually identified by the police force within the body, namely the immune system, and removed, knowing that these cell membranes are different. Regular exercise can regulate the cancer cells and also boost the immunity to be smarter in its identification and elimination of the cancerous cells.
Cancers that can be easily controlled or prevented from recurrence like breast cancer and cervical cancer are also the ones that respond well to exercise programs. At SPARRC, we involve cancer survivors in an exercise program such that the recurrence is minimised and aim to improve the quality of life to pre-cancer conditions by making them fitter and stronger.
Women who undergo Mastectomy/radiotherapy/chemotherapy are put through an exercise program to minimize lymphatic edema by draining the lymphatic tissue through mobilization and exercises like Taichi.
