The road to spondylitis

[Jonesere 0]

Howfar do you have to travel every day to reach your office and back home? Whatever the answer, it is not the distancethat you travel which affects health, say doctors. Instead, some other factorslike the time you take to travel, the mode of travelling and the posture duringtravel will influence your health. There are many factors on the road thataffect your state of `being healthy' -- the windings routes, undulating surfaceof the roads, potholes, road humps, etc to name a few.

Theswaying of the body during journey, the sudden jerks that you are subjected towhile going through a bumpy road -- all these may lead to spinal injuries,doctors say. Researchers in Bangalore found that there is an increase in thenumber of spondylitis-affected people among the working population who travelthrough the city roads. Those who travel in autorickshaw and two-wheelers standa good chance of being affected by spondylitis. These vehicles have only poorshock absorbers, so there is a higher possibility to be hurt while goingthrough bumpy roads.

``I had to travel about one hour to reach my office and the rough travelcontributed to back pain and spondylitis. I had to go for a spondylitis ayurvedic treatment three months back. The doctors there asked me totravel in a bus and stand all the way to my office so that the pressure andinjury to the spine is only minimal,'' says Sheela Balagopal, a bank employeein Bangalore.So make sure that you have the right posture during your traveland try to avoid jerks as far as possible.