Health & Nutrition Health and Nutrition - February 2018.edcoan.ir | Page 113

Q A & OUR PANEL OF EXPERTS AND OTHER LEADING SPECIALISTS IN THE FIELD OF MEDICINE ANSWER YOUR QUERIES ON HEALTH. Dr Nirad S Vengsarkar, Orthopaedic Spine & Joint Replacement Surgeon BACK TO NORMAL I had an accident on 21 March, 2013. A big tree fell on my back and I became paralysed waist down. My doctor told me that my spine broke and maybe I would never walk again. I have been suffering from spinal cord injury since that day. I do physiotherapy every day and can walk with the help of a walker. What can I do for recovery and to walk normally? Bhaskar Dey [email protected] st Spinal cord recovery depends on the extent of cord damage, which can be ascertained by an MRI and clinical examination. A complete spinal cord injury with complete loss of power, sensation and bladder and bowel control have a poor prognosis. The fact that you have partially recovered from your injury indicates that you probably had an incomplete spinal cord injury. Physiotherapy is the only way forward. Surgery at this stage also will not be helpful. If you don’t have pain and have recovered partially, then that’s a positive sign. Keep the efforts up. Dr P P Ashok, Consultant Neurologist NUMB NOTES M y mother is 67, is experiencing numbness in her palms and tips of the fingers. She has this problem in her feet and toes also. It is troubling her since January 2017. Please advice. Swati Saista [email protected] The symptoms she is experiencing suggests Peripheral Neuropathy. This results due to dysfunction of the nerves of the hands and feet. At her age, it could be due to diabetes or low B12 levels or even age-related. So check her sugar and B12 levels, and then consult a neurologist. Dr Dilip V Nadkarni, Sports Medicine PAIN PROBLEM W hat’s the difference between a strain and a sprain? Ramesh Naik, Bangalore The words Strain and Sprain are used while referring to injuries to the muscles and ligaments. Muscle strain is an injury to the muscle where the muscle is stretched but not ruptured. Similarly, when a ligament is trauma