Words: Dr Rajgopal NIDAMBOOR Ankylosing spondylitis [AS] refers, or relates, to inflammatory arthritis of the spine and other joints. It also reminds one of the bony pangs of rheumatoid arthritis [RA] — which may sometimes progress to bony ankylosis [stiffening, or fixation, of the joint due to the disease process], along with the formation of
Words: Dr Rajgopal NIDAMBOOR Stress is nothing short of an omnipresent, omniscient and omnipotent element. It runs in our veins, our mind, and also our physiology. It does not matter whether you are a genius, average, or whatever. Stress transcends us all — although the ‘stress’ that you have, or apprehend the most, may be
Words: Dr Rajgopal NIDAMBOOR Stress is an inevitable part of our life and existence. While it is agreed that the stress response does not make us ready for instant action, it sure makes way for what is referred to as short-term stress response, famously called the fight-or-flight response. This mechanism clearly involves a rapid switch
Words: Dr Rajgopal NIDAMBOOR It does not matter whether you are 65, or 75+. Falling or a risk of some injury is imminent, especially when you are alone at home. The question uppermost in one’s mind is — what if you are not able
Words: Dr Rajgopal NIDAMBOOR Emotions are not simple phenomena. They are as simple, or complex, as asking scientists, “Why is the sky blue?” Thought and thinking are far more convoluted than we imagine them to be. Just as certain questions and answers in science are riddled with haziness, even when their meanings, or concepts, are
Words: Dr Rajgopal NIDAMBOOR There is a good old, also timeless, Oriental aphorism: “If you have a good diet, of what use is a doctor? And, if you don’t have a good diet, of what use is a doctor?” This leads us to the big question: what is ‘good’ diet, or what, in effect, epitomises
Words: Dr Rajgopal NIDAMBOOR When we think of awareness, or conscious receptiveness, most of us go through a state of perplexity. As we become attentive to our emotions, we also think as if we are subject to a plethora of warped emotional feelings. It takes time to understand such feelings — more so, to figure
Words: Dr Rajgopal NIDAMBOOR All of us have tiny, bristly hair that protect the openings of our nostrils. Their occupation — when we breathe in air — is to sieve dust, pollen, pollutants, and other particles, including germs. Yet, the downside is tiny bits of such particles, and other airborne offenders, slip through the ‘defence,’
Words: Dr Rajgopal NIDAMBOOR Consciousness, as we all know, or deem to discern, is primarily the equivalent connotation of our mind. While purists may not agree with the idea, because it sounds far too generalised, narrow, or ‘broad’ in a limited sense, depending upon which area you would want to be identified with — the
Words: Dr Rajgopal NIDAMBOOR Obesity has a negative impact on one’s confidence, or self-esteem, and productivity, aside from its deleterious effects on one’s health and well-being. A London-based institute reports that more than a third of all adults around the world today were, in fact, obese, or overweight. A long-term study illustrates that between 1980
