Too much kneeling during yoga exercises can cause paralysis or dysfunction of the common peroneal nerve, a doctor at Taipei Veterans General Hospital said.
The peroneal nerve, which runs along the fibula, or the outer and smaller of the two bones in the lower part of the leg, is a branching of the sciatic nerve which supplies movement and sensation to the lower leg, foot and toes.
The hospital recently received a patient who had been kneeling for a long period of time as part of yoga exercises, with the result that the nerve was inflamed and the patient lost movement of his foot.
The patient was unable to wear or take off shoes or even walk and at first feared that it could be the result of a minor stroke.
Tsai Ching-piao (蔡清標), director of the Taipei Veterans General Hospital's Peripheral Neurology Division, said that habitual leg crossing was a much more common cause of the problem but stressed that kneeling or squatting for periods longer than half an hour should be avoided as this puts pressure on the nerve.
Tsai also said that wearing very tight trousers may have a similar effect, adding that the hospital recently received a female patient suffering from thigh pain after wearing tight jeans that put pressure on the lateral femoral cutaneous nerve.
Wearing tight jeans may put pressure on the nerve at the waist, leading to tingling, lack of feeling, or hypersensitivity of the skin to touch.
It may also be caused by obesity and is often seen in patients who wear tight corsets or undergarments, or heavy tool belts around the waist.
Both conditions can be treated by removing the cause of pressure to the nerve, anti-inflammatory medication and hydrocortisone.
Taiwan is to receive the first batch of Lockheed Martin F-16 Block 70 jets from the US late this month, a defense official said yesterday, after a year-long delay due to a logjam in US arms deliveries. Completing the NT$247.2 billion (US$7.69 billion) arms deal for 66 jets would make Taiwan the third nation in the world to receive factory-fresh advanced fighter jets of the same make and model, following Bahrain and Slovakia, the official said on condition of anonymity. F-16 Block 70/72 are newly manufactured F-16 jets built by Lockheed Martin to the standards of the F-16V upgrade package. Republic of China
Taiwan-Japan Travel Passes are available for use on public transit networks in the two countries, Taoyuan Metro Corp said yesterday, adding that discounts of up to 7 percent are available. Taoyuan Metro, the Taipei MRT and Japan’s Keisei Electric Railway teamed up to develop the pass. Taoyuan Metro operates the Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport MRT Line, while Keisei Electric Railway offers express services between Tokyo’s Narita Airport, and the Keisei Ueno and Nippori stations in the Japanese capital, as well as between Narita and Haneda airports. The basic package comprises one one-way ticket on the Taoyuan MRT Line and one Skyliner ticket on
Starlux Airlines, Taiwan’s newest international carrier, has announced it would apply to join the Oneworld global airline alliance before the end of next year. In an investor conference on Monday, Starlux Airlines chief executive officer Glenn Chai (翟健華) said joining the alliance would help it access Taiwan. Chai said that if accepted, Starlux would work with other airlines in the alliance on flight schedules, passenger transits and frequent flyer programs. The Oneworld alliance has 13 members, including American Airlines, British Airways, Cathay Pacific and Qantas, and serves more than 900 destinations in 170 territories. Joining Oneworld would also help boost
A new tropical storm formed late yesterday near Guam and is to approach closest to Taiwan on Thursday, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said. Tropical Storm Pulasan became the 14th named storm of the year at 9:25pm yesterday, the agency said. As of 8am today, it was near Guam traveling northwest at 21kph, it said. The storm’s structure is relatively loose and conditions for strengthening are limited, WeatherRisk analyst Wu Sheng-yu (吳聖宇) said on Facebook. Its path is likely to be similar to Typhoon Bebinca, which passed north of Taiwan over Japan’s Ryukyu Islands and made landfall in Shanghai this morning, he said. However, it
RSS