|
faces while walking a vibrating treadmill,
slipped their discs and hurt their knees. Some develop
hernia. Dr. Rishi Sherekar, a sports medicine expert, says
that he comes across at least 10 to 12 cases of machine -
related injuries a month. "A favourite with men is the
shoulder press machine that can be harmful without the right
alignment of body. I have also heard of something called
'cyclone syrup' that promises to reduce 4 kilos in eight
days. These are quick - fix methods and need to be taken
with a pinch of salt." Dr. Vipul
Chavda of Prakruti sports clinic seconds the opinion. He
advises that if an advertisement says you will lose weight
in 10 days, "there is definitely something wrong with it".
There are more than a dozen teleshopping
companies that do brisk business peddling gym equipment. An
official of WWS Skyshop enthusiastically informs that every
month at least 50 people buy machines to tone their abs.
Keerti's physiotherapist Atul Kulkarni too
has noticed a rise in the number of people buying gym
equipment for home use thanks to misleading ads on TV,
newspapers and magazines.
He says that these machines themselves are
not always harmful. But using them indiscriminately can lead
to serious injuries.
Medha Agarwal is one such person who
suffered a minor disc prolapse after taking very
enthusiastically to stomach crunching on a machine.
Dr. Chavda says that machines like muscle
stimulators and vibrators do brisk business but can be
dangerous if used unsupervised. There are fat people who
want to lose inches around the waist without trying to lose
weight. And they take all the shortcuts to achieve this.
"For instance, if 10 or 15 repetitions of the exercise
movement have been advised, they will do 50 - even if they
have not exercised for the past 10 years."
So even if the machine is safe, the method
is not.
But doctors do say that aggressive
advertising has a big hand in capturing the attention of the
naive.
Price is a factor too. As Chavda puts it:
"With prices ranging from Rs. 2,000 to Rs. 5,000, they are
affordable."
Fitness trainer to several celebrities,
Leen Mogre says that she is curious about a sauna belt that
is being advertised on TV. "It runs on electricity and is
worn around the tummy. It generates heat, dehydrating the
area. Naturally, it looks slimmer for a while. Though I am
sceptical, I have ordered one just to see what it is all
about."
Mogre says that people will do anything to
get a flat stomach. "They don't realise that ab benches can
cause backaches."
The fitness level matters too and a person
with diabetes or high BP should consult a doctor before
acquiring the machines.
Or he will pay the doctor more. |
