Indian Express
29 April 2010
By Anuradha Mascarenhas

Do You know the calcium level in your body? Are you aware that the haemoglobin count in a woman’s blood should be around 12 g/dl? All it takes is a simple blood test to know that. This is what Dr Zainab Shamsuddin, a consultant physiotherapist, often tells women in rural areas to convince them not only for looking after their health needs but also to exercise and handle body aches and pains

Her voluntary effort was given a push by Sancheti Institute of Orthopaedics and Rehabilitation, which has now joined hands with Pune zilla parishad for the first-ever thorough exercise regimen for rural women at Wagholi.

With practically no physiotherapist in the primary health centres, this programme aims to provide intervention on an experimental basis.

Dr Sanjeev Kumar, CEO of Pune zilla parishad said, “We have involved physiotherapists as part of the ante-natal care programme for women at Wagholi primary health centre, which is barely 15 kms from Pune.” Dr Shaila Sabnis, principal, College of Physiotherapy at Sancheti Institute, said, the zilla parishad has allowed us to utilise the Wagholi health centre to help women with ailments.

Most of them have to squat for long which takes a toll on their knees, said Dr Shamsuddin, who recently received the youngest dynamic social worker award from Sunderji Institute for practicing physiotherapy at rural areas and conducting awareness lectures on women’s health. It is all about teaching women how to prevent anaemia, she said, adding, that once the basics are taught, women will be shown how to perform correct exercises to prevent postural defects.

Dr Sabnis also said that this outreach programme would help them generate data from the rural areas about the children with cerebral palsy and how early intervention with physiotherapy can help.

Five medical colleges in the city have adopted tehsils/ talukas in Pune district and will embark upon their ‘outreach’ programme to provide medical care for the rural populace from May 1.

The thrust on imparting medical care for the rural areas has led to Armed Forces Medical College adopting Indapur and Daund talukas, B J Medical College adopting Shirur, Ambegaon, Baramati and Velha, D Y Patil Medical College adopting Junnar and Khed talukas and Maharashtra Institute of Medical Education and Research’s Medical College at Talegaon adopting Maval and Mulshi taluka places.