Children need to be allowed to play on the beach—barefoot,” says 61-year-old K Shanmugam, founder of Eldam’s Orthotic Centre. “A majority of children these days have flat foot, and there are multiple reasons— hereditary, incorrect footwear and much more. But we need to detect it early and correct it; otherwise it will pave the way for secondary ailments when they grow up.” Shanmugam who opened Chennai’s second orthotic clinic for civilians explains that children in rural areas are less affected by flatfoot, because they walk barefoot on different surfaces and hence their feet get exercised.

Seated in his small shed-workshop-consultation room just off Eldams Road, Shanmugam explains that when he started this unit in 1985, he was the second person in the city offering orthotic care for civilians. “There was only one centre in Pune that offered artificial limbs to those whose hands and legs were affected during service. My professor M Natarajan decided that civilians also required this service and created a course to train students,” he says. Shanmugam explains that initially artificial limbs were created by carpenters, blacksmiths and tailors; however his professor believed that to understand the dynamics of the human body, you need to be certified and trained. So, Shanmugam signed up for the course in 1975, which had only six students.

Post graduation, he took voluntary retirement from Stanley Government Hospital and with the assistance of his wife Geetha Rani, started this small unit. “Initially I would create artificial limbs and aesthetic hands by myself. Soon I hired physically challenged people in my workshop to create these products,” he explains. There were two reasons why he hired physically challenged people to do the job—it empowered them and they understood clearly the requirements and factors that needed to be addressed when creating limbs. “I train these people in my workshop for a year and help them find opportunities elsewhere. Since my wife and I do this as a service, our income generation is limited. So, after training we send these people to bigger enterprises where they can earn sufficient income,” he says. This year, Shanmugham has two deaf and mute men working in his workshop and assisting him create mechanical hands.

“Over the last few years, I have seen a lot of children and diabetic patients coming in. The feet are the most neglected part of the human body. Since childhood, children need to be taught to care for their feet. It goes beyond wearing slippers; they need to wash it twice everyday, apply an oil or lotion to control dry skin, massage the feet, clean the web-spaces and trim the nails—it is a routine that needs to be followed,” he emphasises. “Ask your children to wash their feet and make an impression just like how you do it on Gokulashtami. Check if there is an arch, and if you don’t see one, visit your doctor and get corrective footwear. Ignoring it will lead to secondary issues like swollen ankles, bunions, bone issues etc,” he warns.

Shanmugham adds that modifications in the footwear can be done—from creating a new footwear to adding insoles, everything can be done to curb the problem. Besides this, Shanmugam and team are constantly designing new tools and apparatus for patients with unique requirements. “A five-year-old girl fell and fractured her jaw line. Everything healed, however the child was not able to open her mouth and was on liquid diet. After discussion with her doctor, we created a mouth exercise tool putting together steel rods and springs. After the first session she was able to open her mouth wide enough to allow two fingers. Everything in this workshop is customised,” he says.

At the moment, Shanmugham has roughly 100 people who come in every month with feet and hand issues. “We have been focussing on creating mechanical hands of late. Earlier there were aesthetic hands that were famous. These look like real hands, yet have no other use. With mechanical hands, the user can actually write and do normal things like all of us,” he elaborates. Recently a person he had created and fitted a mechanical hand has found himself a job as a writer. “He writes and documents things for his company,” Shanmugham says, adding that these differences he makes to peoples’ lives is what motivates him to go on.

He has not been inspired to shift location, nor create a glossy office like his counterparts. “I got several offers to go abroad and work. My uncle came and asked me whether there were no physically challenged people in India who needed help. I thought over it and decided to stay her and help those who need prosthetics and orthotics care,” he smiles. He adds that there are so many vacancies in this field, yet very few takers.

“Usually during a medical check at school, the vision, heart and hearing is checked, but never the feet. I insist that feet should also be checked thoroughly,” he says and adds earlier when they said get yourself checked head to toe, they meant it literally.

source: http://www.newindianexpress.com / The New Indian Express / Home> Lifestyle> Health / by Jayanthi Somasundaram / December 06th, 2014