Call for your Health

If you have decided to build your body and has hit the gym, then congratulations! You are in the right track buddy. Your fitness is the key to a happy and stress free life. It has been found that people who are fit stay happier and stress free more than those who are not fit at all. But exercising demands balanced amount of nutrition for your body. Though we try to stick to some diet plan, but we cannot meet the exact amount of nutritional requirements of the body. In such case supplements come to great rescue. There are vitamin supplements in the market for both exercisers as well as those who suffer from vitamin deficiency.

The market is flooded with such vitamin supplements and nutritional products from different brands. Trust a brand which is popular and is prescribed by trainers or doctors. There are some herbal products which claim of great nutritional values because of herbal extractions. They spell names of herbs you never heard! So be cautious before you believe in it and start taking it. Ask a doctor or a naturopath about the importance of such herbs and supplements. The over all mens health is important.

Intensity refers to the degree of vigorousness of a single session of exercise. The intensity level recommended by the american college of sports medicine (ACSM) in 1990 for the purpose of developing physical fitness was 60% to 90% of the maximal heart rate. HRmax can be measured by a physical work capacity test on a treadmill or cycle ergometer. Because most people do not have access to such tests, HRmax can be estimated by subtracting age from 220. A 20 year old person has an estimated HRmax of 200 beats per minute. This formula predicts rather than measures HRmax; therefore a measurement error of approximately plus or minus 10 beats per minute is associated with its use.

After the HRmax has been determined, the target for exercise may be calculated. The target zone for exercise provides the desirable heart rate for the development of physical fitness, For the 20 year old individual whose HRmax is 200 beats per minute.

This 20 year old person should exercise at a heart rate between 120 and 180 beats per minute, depending on objectives and level of fitness. The target for a person whose level of fitness is average is 150 to 160 beats per minute for exercise. The training effect occurs at heart rate levels below the maximum.

Another method for calculating exercise heart rate, the karvonen formula, considers fitness level and resting heart rate. The training heart rate is calculated with this formula by using a percentage of the heart rate reserve, which is the difference between the HRmax and the resting heart rate. The best way to determine the resting heart rate for this method is to count the pulse rate for 15 seconds while in the sitting position immediately after waking in the morning. You should repeat this for 4 to 5 consecutive days and average the readings for a relatively accurate representation of resting heart rate. If you cannot decide which category is the most appropriate. Your performance on these should place you in a category that reflects your physical fitness level.

Learning to take the pulse rate quickly and accurately is necessary to monitor exercise intensity by heart rate. Two of the most commonly used sites for taking the pulse rate are the radial artery at the thumb side of the wrist and the carotid artery at the side of the neck . You use the first two fingers of the preferred hand to palpate the pulse. At the wrist, the pulse is located at the base of the thumb with the hand held palm up. For the carotid pulse, you should slide your fingers downward at the angle of the jaw below the earlobe to the side of the neck. You apply only enough pressure to feel the pulse, particularly at the carotid artery. Excessive pressure at this point stimulates specialized receptors that automatically slow the heart rate, leading to an underestimation of the rate actually achieved during exercise. The wrist is the preferred site for the palpation (examination by touch or feel) of the pulse rate. You should use the carotid pulse if you cannot feel your pulse at the wrist.

You should locate and count the pulse rate immediately after exercise stops. You count the beats for 10 seconds and multiply by 6 to get beats per minute. You may start the count by assigning a zero to the first beat that is felt, or you may, as nurses do, start the count by assigning the first beat felt a value of one. Regardless of which technique you use, you should be consistent in its application. Some practice is required to locate the pulse quickly and to count it accurately.

Another method for monitoring the intensity of exercise is by rating your subjective perception of the effort. On some days, exercise seems easier than normal, and other days it may seem more difficult. The intensity level of exercise for most people should fall in the categories of 11 to 15, and this should correspond approximately to the target heart rate. In other words, if you are in the appropriate target heart rate zone, the perceived exertion will probably be between 11 and 15.

In 1995, the ACSM issued its newest guidelines for physical activity. To reiterate, the statement recommends that all adults should accumulate 30 minutes or more of moderate intensity physical activity on most if not all days of the week. This recommendation was not intended to replace the 1990 guidelines, but rather to motivate the inactive and sporadically active to become regularly active for the purpose of health enhancement. Those who are following the 1990 guidelines should continue to do so, while those who are following the new guidelines should attempt to move to a higher level.

Let’s discuss first the radiologist’s contributions in diagnosis. Accurate diagnosis is most important. Surgical or medical treatment, no matter how brilliantly done, is useless if directed against the wrong condition. Therefore, the diagnosis has to be right.

Suppose you are sick. The key to your recovery is an accurate diagnosis. Somewhere in your doctor’s study of your illness, it is likely that an x-ray examination will be required. Shall you have any doctor or commercial technician just “take an x-ray” or shall you have a thorough x-ray examination by a qualified radiologist? A competent x-ray examination is not just “taking a picture.” It is the careful study of your inner structures by a doctor who is trained to use x-rays as his special instrument.

Nearly every organ in the human body may be explored by x-rays. This means that in every field of medicine the x-ray examination is a most valuable diagnostic contribution. As a result, the radiologist might be referred to as the “detective” in the fight against sickness. In trained hands all these examinations

The American Board of Radiology is one of the National Qualifying Specialty Boards. The Board examines the candidates to see if their training has been satisfactory. Members of the Board are outstanding professors and practicing radiologists. When the doctor passes the rigorous examinations given by the Board of Radiology he becomes qualified as one of the following specialists.

Radiologist qualified in the use of x-rays, radium and radioactive substances for diagnosis and treatment. Roentgenologist (RENT-gen-ahl-oh­jist) : Qualified in the use of x-rays alone for diagnosis and treatment are safe.

Because you have been referred to the radiologist by your doctor, who wants to consult with him after you have had your x-ray examination, the radiologist is called a “consulting physician” by his fellow M. D.’s. He is a doctor’s doctor.

Preparations for Examination

You may fret and wonder about certain necessary requirements for a radiological examination, but all the requirements are necessary to obtain clear x-ray films free from confusing shadows.

The table you may lie on will not be padded because the pad might cast a shadow on the finished film. All hairpins, earrings, and even false teeth have to be removed for examination of the head. A special gown usually is provided for examination because jewelry, buttons, safety pins and belts will cast shadows on the film which might either hide a disease process or appear as a shadow suggestive of some disease process.

Before some types of examinations the radiologist will ask the patient not to eat or drink for a certain number of hours, again to avoid misleading shadows. Various tablets and liquids will be given the patient for different examinations, and enemas are required in others. (These will be explained later in descriptions of specific examinations.)

The patient may be placed on a table which can be tilted so that the radiologist can examine him in different positions. In most instances it is necessary to get different views of a body structure on x-ray film to better comprehend the patient’s difficulties.

In a fluoroscopic examination the radiologist probably will wear a special apron and gloves to protect him from the radiation that he works with every day. He may appear in the examination room wearing red goggles they are to adapt his eyes to the dark and he will have worn them for about 20 minutes before he starts your examination.

When a simple radiograph (x-ray film) is needed you may be prepared for the examination by an x-ray technician; and under the radiologist’s direction, the technician may take the x-ray and develop it. But the technician is not qualified for any film interpretation and does not attempt any.

Now, let’s look at what some specific x-ray examinations by a radiologist will mean for you or your family.