WE SCHOOL AND NINA FOUNDATION - WELLNESS SEMINAR SERIES - SEMINAR 2

BACKACHE AND SPINE CARE
Dr. Shekhar Bhojraj, Spine Surgeon, Lilavati Hospital

We School and Nina Foundation held the 2nd session of the Wellness Seminar Series on Saturday, 21st February 2009. The seminar was held in 2 parts:
The 1st part titled "Back Pain" dealt with understanding backache as a symptom and the various remedies associated in its treatment.
The 2nd part titled "Spine Care" dealt with spinal cord injuries – their types, methods of diagnosis and treatment.
Attendees : Chief Guest Mrs. Mehr Jessia Rampal, Ms. India and ex-supermodel. Director WE School Prof Dr. Uday Salunkhe, faculty, students and associates of WE school. Dr. Shekhar Bhojraj, Dr. Nergish, Prof Dr. Ketna Mehta, Dr. V. C. Jacob, members from Paraplegic Foundation, Cheshire Home and Sharan.
Date : 21st February 2009
Venue : Brainstorm Room
Time : 2.00 PM – 5.30 PM
The event began as the student hosts of the evening Abhinay Vishnoi and Amrita Nayate welcomed the guests both in Hindi and English.
They invited WE School Director, Prof Dr. Uday Salunkhe to address the audience. Dr. Salunkhe thereby spoke of WE School's initiative to collaborate business practices with healthcare issues and other social causes.
Following this address, Prof Dr. Ketna Mehta, Founder of Nina Foundation, educated the audience on the various activities and initiatives of Nina Foundation such as the bimonthly newsletter – One World Voice of Paraplegics, employment and skill up gradation programmes, participation in the Mumbai Marathon, spinal cord injury helpline and several others.

The chief guest of the evening Mrs. Mehr Jessia Rampal also gave an emotional speech and fecilitated the winners and participants of the Mumbai Marathon race. She was also given a token of appreciation by Prof Dr. Salunkhe.
The stage was then taken over by Dr. Shekhar Bhojraj, renowned spine surgeon of Lilavati hospital. He divided his lecture in 2 parts.

The 1st part on Back Pain: He began by explaining the basic structure of the back and its various functions. He stressed upon the various types of back problems and disease conditions such as spinal tumors, osteoporosis, slipped disc, spondylosis, etc. The various methods of diagnosis and treatment were also discussed at length. He concluded part 1 by discussing the various means by which backache can be prevented by adequate exercise, inculcating good habits and lifestyle changes .

This was followed by a Q&A session where Dr. Bhojraj answered the queries of the audience patiently and in depth.
After an informative session 1, students Akhil Chauria and Rohan Chincholli took over with a humorous act (commercial break) which was well appreciated by the audience.
Dr. Bhojraj then began Session 2 on ‘Spine Care’ where he began by describing the anatomy of the spinal cord, the nervous system structures and also the structure of the brain. He emphasised on the spinal nerves, nerve plexus and the various functions of the spine.

He also highlighted the various causes that lead to spinal cord injuries such as fall, accidents, tumors, spinal canal stenosis. Also, on-site management techniques to avoid spinal injuries were discussed. Several evaluation and diagnostic techniques such as X-rays, CT Scan, MRIs, etc. were addressed. The audience was further educated on the Do’s and Don’ts post a spinal injury. To conclude, Dr. Bhojraj also discussed the various treatment measures such as Braces, Pharmacology Drugs, Acupuncture, Spinal Cord Stimular, Stem Cell Therapy, etc.
This was followed by another Q&A session where audience queries were addressed. The session ended with Dr. V. C. Jacob giving Dr. Bhojraj a token of appreciation on behalf of both Welingkar and Nina Foundation. The session was very informative and was well appreciated by the audience. This was followed by refreshments in the canteen.