If you are one of those participants who is worried about approaching a physiotherapist after running the Sabarmati Marathon scheduled for December 25, then keep your tension away as a team of physiotherapists will be present at the venue, providing various kinds of treatment to the participants.
A pleasant surprise is that the team of 40 physiotherapists including the doctor, Manoj Ajmera, who will provide relaxation techniques on the marathon day, are visually impaired.
"Out of 40, only 10 students can see, while around 10 are partially blind and 20 are totally blind," stated Dr Ajmera, who himself lost his vision at the age of 17. All the 40 members belong to the 20-30 year age group. Though visually impaired, they have a vision to treat the patients. They definitely deserve a loud cheer.
Dr Ajmera further said that he has specially trained the 40 students for the marathon day. "While many of them are diploma holders in physiotherapy, some of them are undergoing the course at Blind People's Association (BPA) of the city. I have given them special training for relaxation, stretching and other particular problems like muscular pains, cramps, knee joint pains, sprains and strains, which are important for participants of a marathon," added Dr Ajmera.
An ex-student of BPA, Dr Ajmera lost his sight at the age of 17 due to a disorder called childhood glucoma, where the fluid in eyes dries up, thus leading to vision loss. "While an average person will have pressure of 18-20 points of fluid, the pressure in my eyes suddenly reached 82 points, due to which I lost my sight just a few days before my exams," recalls Dr Ajmera.
Talking more about his early days, he said that since he was blind, he had less career options available to him. This is why, added Ajmera, why he pursued physiotherapy. Dr Ajmera has treated patients in different cities like Delhi, Ludhiana, Mumbai, Jaipur, Udaipur etc.
"On the marathon day, added Dr Ajmera, "we will be ready with various equipmens like muscle stimulators which are used in emergency cases, massagers, ice-packs, and other apparatus".
