History of Medicine

The medicine ball or fitness ball is such a common sight in gyms that we take it for granted. For those who don't frequent gyms, a medicine ball is a slightly heavy (weighted) ball used for strength training. It is also used in sports medicine and physical therapy to improve strength and neuromuscular coordination. Modern exercise with a medicine ball While it looks like a modern concept, its origin can actually be traced back to ancient Greece and Hippocrates who used such balls to help injured people regain mobility. Of course, the original version differed from the modern medicine ball -- the balls Hippocrates gave his patients were made from stuffed animal skins or bladders filled with sand. Galen also wrote extensively about them in the self-explanatorily named treatise,  On Exercise with a Small Ball, noting: The form of exercise most deserving of our attention is therefore that  which has the  capacity  to provide health of the body, harmony of the parts, and virtue in the s

A New Year's resolution is the most common way to mark the new year for Americans, with over half of New Year's resolutions being to lose weight. Not only is exercise a great way to lose weight but it is also has a positive effect on both mental and physical health. Modern neuroscience research has shown that running (or any exercise really) can boost mood and lower stress. The benefits of exercise on health are well documented today. So in reality, sports and physical exercise are closely related to medicine and this was certainly well known to our ancestors.  The ancient Indian physician, Sushruta, who lived around 600 BCE, was the earliest known physician to prescribe daily moderate exercise to his patients. A few centuries later, another prominent physician of ancient India, Charaka advocated daily exercise, relating it to an alleviation of the doshas, particularly kapha, which controls muscles and strength. These ancient physicians also knew that exercise in moderation was

Another year has gone by (seriously, where did 2021 go?) and once again a new year has arrived with much promise and hope. This year, I am excited to begin my college journey, my first step outside the proverbial nest. I'm super excited to see what the new year brings! In honor of the new year, here's a look at how Classical civilizations celebrated the beginning of the year and its significance. (Some of the information is rehashed from last year's new year post.) New year celebrations have taken place for over 4000 years when Mesopotamians began celebrating it around 2000 BCE. It wasn't on January 1, however, because they did not have a calendar, but on the vernal equinox in mid-March, when the length of the day equals the length of night. Other civilizations picked other astronomically significant dates as the beginning of the new year – Egyptians on the fall equinox, and Greeks on winter solstice. Many people in India still celebrate the new year in spring, as I wro