Health Talk - All about sports injuries and common orthopedic issues

As a fitness enthusiast, I feel strongly about topics relating to health, body and fitness in general, so when Chris proposed me for this Orthopedic talk by OrthoSports Clinic, I accepted it immediately. I’ve had many friends and clients who have had orthopedic surgery and so many horror stories about the various injuries because of ligament and tendon tears. Coincidentally, I was recovering from my tendon repair surgery and so I attended the talk with some burning questions in mind hoping to get some answers.

OrthoSports Clinic

OrthoSports Clinic is situated at Mount Elizabeth Novena and offers specialized services for patients with sports and non-sports related orthopedic issues. A recognized clinic in Singapore, the orthopedic specialists and surgeons work with individuals who suffer from knee and shoulder problems as well as sports injuries. They work very closely with a team of physiotherapists too, to assure the best possible rehabilitation regimes. In cases where surgeries are needed, they perform them via arthroscopic (keyhole) or the minimal invasive surgery.

OrthoSports Talk

The talk was given by the 3 surgeons from the clinic and they covered 3 main topics, sports injuries, osteoporosis, and foot issues (heel spurs, bunions and flat feet).

Sports Injuries

Dr Ang Kian Chuan covered sports injuries and highlighted some of the common injuries suffered during accidents while doing a particular sports or extreme sports. I’ve had clients who have had surgery done prior to training with me and so I know the importance of muscles strengthening work around the injured area to aid in recovery post surgery. What a lot of people don’t know is exactly this. Strengthening the muscles around the injured areas is very crucial to prevent subsequent problems on the same injured area. Of course, you need to only be able to do muscle-strengthening exercises once you regain your range of motion and always check with your doctors and physiotherapists.

Osteoporosis

Dr David Paul Bell covered the topic of Osteoporosis, which I was pretty concerned about. Generally, women begin an expedited process of bone degeneration from the age of 50 onwards. However in recent years, we also noticed men facing bone issues as early as women do. Calcium is a mineral that is best consumed and absorbed during the building years. Vitamin D also contributes to the health and strength of our bones.

So I asked Dr David Bell if its too late to be stocking my body with Calcium and Vitamin D now that I’m moving into my 30s. He mentioned that though it may be too late to push that age of bone degeneration to a later age, it can definitely postpone the effects of it. So if you are below the age of 29 and are reading this, please have balanced diet especially with more calcium and Vitamin D! :P 


Heel spurs, Flatfeet & Bunions

Dr Tan Ken Jin covered another pressing issue in Singapore and showed us some examples of how these conditions look like. These issues do not only occur with the old, Dr Tan shared some of his younger patients who are as young as 12 years old and they can be treated with minimal scars! Feel free to contact the clinic if you happen to know of somebody who is suffering from these problems. 

Heel Spurs

A heel spur is a pointed bony outgrowth of the bone of the heel (the calcaneus bone). They are attributed to chronic local inflammation at the insertion of soft-tissue tendons or fascia in the area. Heel spurs can be located at the back of the heel or under the heel, beneath the sole of the foot. Heel spurs at the back of the heel are frequently associated with inflammation of the Achilles tendon (tendinitis) and cause tenderness and pain at the back of the heel made worse while pushing off the ball of the foot.

I was pretty interested in this because I’ve heard of heel spurs related to plantar fasciitis, which has occurred to me before and reoccurred since I started wearing the air boot during the recovery of my injury. Proper massaging of the fascia, stretching of the calf muscles and icing my Achilles tendon (since I’ve been suspected of tendonitis on the right Achilles tendon) when I feel the ache have elevated the discomfort tremendously.

Flatfeet

If you think you have flatfeet or flatfoot, it is when the arches on the inside of your foot is flattened, allowing the entire sole of your foot to touch the floor when you stand up. A common and usually painless condition, flatfeet can occur when the arches don't develop during childhood. In other cases, flatfeet develop after an injury or from the simple wear-and-tear stresses of age.

Flatfeet can sometimes contribute to problems in your ankles and knees because the condition can alter the alignment of your legs. The weight shift causes excessive pronation of your foot and often leads to more serious problems as the person ages with weight gain.

Bunions

Photo credit: huffingtonpost.com (Dr Neal Blitz)

Bunions are bony bumps that develop at the joint of the big toe. They may be painless or aching, slightly unsightly or increasingly deforming. Bunions widen feet and narrow shoe choices, dooming people to a lifetime of sensible flats with roomy toe boxes. For some people, bunions are no bother, but for others, bunions hamper mobility, reduce activity and affect their quality of life.

We ended the session with food and refreshments kindly catered by the clinic and I’m glad to be able to learn so much from it!

from left to right: Dr David Bell, Dr Ang and Dr Tan

I hope I covered a good summary of some of the orthopedic issues that what you think you or your friends and family are facing. Feel free to find out more on OrthoSports’ fb page (https://www.facebook.com/orthosports.sg/?fref=ts) or their website (http://www.orthosports.com.sg/).

OrthoSports Novena

38 Irrawaddy Road

#10-41

Mount Elizabeth Novena Specialist Centre

Singapore 329563 

Tel: 6734 8168

OrthoSports Connexion

1 Farrer Park Station Road

#15-17 Connexion 

Singapore 217562 

Tel: 6435 0015

Lifestyle Talk – OSIM uLove Private Event

Was privileged to be invited to the private launch of the brand new OSIM uLove 白马王子. The event was held at the OSIM Headquarters , 65 Ubi Ave 1, S(408939) on the 8th June 2016. I invited J to come with me so we rushed home to change out before heading for the event. We were welcomed by ushers who showed us in to the building and the place was very prettily decorated with flower petals. Canapés were being served while waiting for the presentation and reveal of the new uLove chair, guests could order cocktails and a mocktail, and there was a pretty dessert table and a live harp performance.

We were told that there will be an experience zone where we will get to try the new uLove chair for half hour and that was going to be my first try on a massage chair so I was really looking forward to that, especially after my workout. We hung around, took some photos before the reveal began.

The presentation started shortly and introduced Fan Bingbing as the international ambassador, and briefly went through the functions of the new OSIM uLove 白马王子.

We headed in to the experience zone after the presentation. The room was dark so we could totally relax and enjoy the functions of the new chair. All I remembered was it felt like somebody massaging me especially on the shoulders when the rollers moved according to the contours of the shape of my shoulders, then I fell into a quick nap before I woke up towards the end of the session. It was sooo good the massage mimics that of a real masseur except you are in the comfort of your own home or office! :P

Major functions of the OSIM uLove白马王子

What I specially love about the new chair is the shoulder massage and the long-track massage!

This is the part where it mimics the hands of a masseur with the V-Hand with 720° Roller balls. Having overactive traps have caused me to ache very much around the neck down to the shoulders so this was definitely the favourite part of the massage chair because the V-Hand massage emulates the agile hand-grip of a professional masseur.

The long-track massage is another unique function of the OSIM new massage chair as it reaches as much of the posterior of your body from the head to the bum and slight hamstrings area. It’d be perfect for me right after legs day! :P

We headed over to the lifestyle zone and checked out the other colours of the chair.

Gorgeous Teal

Dashing Copper

Handsome Brown

Charming Red

MY FAV - Dreamy White

Me being be, a sucker for uniformity, I fell in love with the dreamy white as soon as the curtains revealed it during the presentation! :D

Just in case you’re interested to know the specifications,

Power consumption – 210W
Auto timer – 15 minutes
Reclining angle – 123 to 155 degrees
Dimensions – 125 (L) x 72 (W) x 116 (H) cm when upright;
                       170 (L) x 72 (W) x 89 (H) cm when reclined
Net weight – Approximately 82 kg

I wished I took more shots with the dreamy white but here’s the dashing copper! :P I really wouldn’t mind getting one for myself so I don’t have to keep traveling to get my massages done regularly. :P

For a limited time only, the OSIM uLove retails at Special Price of $5,199 (UP $5,999) & will be exclusively available at the following:
- OSIM uLove Preview Shops at Tampines Mall #B1-05
- Causeway Point #B1-37
- Nex #03-05
- Jurong Point (B1-34A/35/36)
- Takashimaya B1 OSIM Counter
- Ang Mo Kio Hub #B2-05/06
- Plaza Singapura #03-09
- Courts Tampines
- VivoCity #01-50/51
- Waterway Point #B2-23
- Junction 8 #03-10
- Bukit Panjang Plaza #01-12
- IMM #02-40 | Jem #B1-46
- Parkway Parade #B1-63 & #03-24/24A
- White Sands #02-07
- Bedok Mall #B2-57
- Raffles City #03-21
- Best Denki VivoCity L2
- Best Denki Ngee Ann City L5
- Metro Causeway Point L3
- Changi Airport T2 Departure #026-115
- Online at www.OSIM.com

Find out more about the OSIM uLove at ulove.osim.com and OSIM facebook page (https://www.facebook.com/OSIMSG)!

Travel & Lifestyle Talk - Davao with Cebu Pacific Air Day 1

April was a busy traveling month for me because I had 2 back-to-back trips, one for NTC Tour in Jakarta and immediately after I landed in SG on the 17th April, J came to get me with the next luggage and off we headed to Davao City in Cebu Pacific Air! It was our first time in Philippines and I can guarantee this would not be our last! Those raves about how nice Philippines is were real! This was also that one chance we got to know more about the then-mayor of Davao City and now-president of Philippines – Rodrigo Duterte. :D

Cebu Pacific Air

In December 2015, Cebu Pacific Air launched its new route directly to Davao and we were so privileged to be on this trip hosted by Cebu Pacific Air and the Philippine Department of Tourism, which very warmly brought us around. Cebu Pacific Air has flown ober 125 million passengers and counting since March 1996 and they are known for its very Filipino culture of fun through punny advertisements, inflight games and safety demo dances.

Recently celebrated its 20th Anniversary in March 2016, Cebu Pacific Air also launched its new cabin crew uniforms which looked so cute!

Cebu Pacific Air currently flies to 5 direct Philippine destinations from Singapore including Manila, Clark, Cebu, Iloilo and Davao.

We gathered at the check-in counter awaiting the rest of the bloggers and I was having mixed feelings to be honest. I was really excited yet exhaustion was kicking in for real, after a long 4 days of non-stop working out, lol.

We boarded the plane shortly after checking in and I was starving by then! Our pre-selected meals were served as soon as the plane reached cruising altitude. Not too shabby for plane food, I quickly gobbled down the food before preparing for my nap! :P

Cebu Pacific Air also distributed some blankets and inflatable pillows and the next thing I know, we arrived in Davao! Haha!

Davao City, Philippines

Davao is the gateway to the southern Philippines, a hub of commerce, industry and transportation in the southern Mindanao region. It is a premier eco-adventure destination, with many outdoor activities on offer ranging from river-rafting to sky-cycling. Tourists also often stop by Davao City to get to the nearby islands or highlands.

We arrived in Davao in the middle of the night at about 2-3am so we headed straight to Park Inn by Radisson Hotel to rest before a long day.

Day 1

Woke up to a bright Monday in Davao and we were headed for Eden Nature Park after breakfast at Park Inn.

On the way to Eden Nature Park

First stop at the Nature Park was the Butterfly enclosure. It was the first time I got so close to so many butterflies!

AND mating butterflies!

Applied some nectar on my finger after a butterfly conveniently rest itself on my arm, I wanted to capture a butterfly on my finger! And after countless tries, I finally got one! Super cool!

Went straight for lunch after visiting the butterfly enclosure. It was a buffet for lunch and we got some halo halo for dessert too!

The halo halo is apparently really popular in Davao and its like their version of the Korean bingsu since its milky. Too sweet for my liking!

After lunch, we headed for a mini tour around the area and stopped by to look at some traditional bamboo houses. These houses made of bamboos are well ventilated and really windy and airy despite the scorching weather!

Stopped by some scenic spots to take some more photos before we headed to our long-awaited sky adventures!

Got geared up and ready to sky cycle! We were suspended 60 feet high and traversing 200 meters back and forth!

I was really nervous because I cannot even cycle on the ground! But I went straight for the sky instead! HAHA. I have no idea how I got the guts to say, “lets go!” I guess the trick is to not think too much and JUST DO IT! That was a #betterforit moment for sure!

It was super fun! Not as bad as I thought, really and everything (inclusive of the sky rider) costs less than SGD10, its definitely a MUST-TRY!

Next up was Sky Rider and here’s a short clip of me on it. I took a shorter version of this zip-lining in Sentosa last November and I almost chickened out then. this time, I went, “OMG so fun I wanna do it again!”. Another #betterforit moment! :D



And we did it! Our first adventure done and dusted! What an experience! :D

Do check out Jason’s blog (jasonjuliuslim.blogspot.sg) for the 2nd part of Day 1 where we checked out the Public Safety and Security Center (PSSCC) and had 10-way Tuna (J’s favorite) for dinner! I’ll be back for Day 2, till then! :D

We are also having a giveaway and you might stand a chance to win a pair of air tickets to Davao! Keep your eyes peeled on my Instagram (@limaranagustina) for more details on the giveaway!