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Nigerian Siamese Twins Successfully Separated in Saudi Arabia

Al-Rabeeah thanked the medical team that performed the surgery for their efforts. SPA
Al-Rabeeah thanked the medical team that performed the surgery for their efforts. SPA
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Nigerian Siamese Twins Successfully Separated in Saudi Arabia

Al-Rabeeah thanked the medical team that performed the surgery for their efforts. SPA
Al-Rabeeah thanked the medical team that performed the surgery for their efforts. SPA

A specialized surgical team in Saudi Arabia separated the Nigerian Siamese twins, Hassana and Hasina, who were attached at the lower chest and abdomen and shared the liver, bile ducts, and intestines, after a complex surgery that lasted over 14 hours and was conducted in eight phases, with the participation of a 36-member team of surgeons and 85 members of the multidisciplinary medical team.
Advisor at the Royal Court, Supervisor General of the King Salman Humanitarian Aid and Relief Center (KSrelief), and head of the medical and surgical team in the separation of Siamese twins, Dr. Abdullah Bin Abdulaziz Al-Rabeeah, explained that the operation comes under the generous directives of the Saudi leadership, becoming the 56th of the Saudi program for the separation of conjoined twins.
He added that during the past 33 years, the program was able to operate on 130 Siamese twins from 23 friendly countries, stressing the Kingdom's pioneering role in humanitarian work in general and the medical profession in particular.
Al-Rabeeah thanked the medical team that performed the surgery for their efforts, stressing that the achievement reflects the wise leadership's keenness to help people wherever they are. He added that it also reflects Saudi medical excellence, which aligns with the objectives of Saudi Vision 2030 to develop the health sector in the Kingdom and advance its quality and efficiency.
He extended, in his name and on behalf of his fellow members of the medical team, the appreciation and gratitude to the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques, King Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud, and Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman for the generous support received by the Saudi program for the separation of conjoined twins.

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Should You Stretch before Exercise? After? Never? Here’s What to Know

Philadelphia Eagles stretch as they get ready during practice at NFL football training camp, Thursday, July 25, 2024, in Philadelphia. (AP)
Philadelphia Eagles stretch as they get ready during practice at NFL football training camp, Thursday, July 25, 2024, in Philadelphia. (AP)
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Should You Stretch before Exercise? After? Never? Here’s What to Know

Philadelphia Eagles stretch as they get ready during practice at NFL football training camp, Thursday, July 25, 2024, in Philadelphia. (AP)
Philadelphia Eagles stretch as they get ready during practice at NFL football training camp, Thursday, July 25, 2024, in Philadelphia. (AP)

For many people of a certain age, high school gym class began with reaching for their toes. Then, over the years, we were told it was better to stretch after exercise.

It turns out, both those things can be true, but the differing advice has created some confusion.

Stretching can help make you more flexible, improve range of motion in your joints — and feel good. David Behm, who researches human kinetics at Memorial University of Newfoundland in St. John’s, Canada, offers this advice on when to stretch and how to do it safely:

Warm up first

It’s almost always good to stretch, but it’s better if you warm up first, said Behm, author of "The Science and Physiology of Flexibility and Stretching." He recommends a light aerobic activity such as jogging, walking or cycling for five or 10 minutes.

Follow that with some static stretching, the traditional way of reaching and holding a position (think back to that gym class). You can then do activity-specific dynamic stretching, in which you warm up the muscles with repetitive movements like leg lifts.

Behm says one minute is "the magic number" for how long to do static stretching per muscle group without fatigue.

Expand your definition of 'stretching'

Should you always stretch before exercising? If it's traditional stretching, not necessarily.

The better question, Behm says, is, "Should people increase their range of motion? Should people have better flexibility? And that is yes, because it helps prevent injuries. It helps with health. But you don’t have to stretch to achieve that."

Resistance training, for instance, can be an effective form of stretching, he said. Doing a chest press increases range of motion in your deltoids and pecs, whether with barbells, dumbbells or machines, so there is no need to stretch beforehand. Just make sure to start with a small amount of weight to warm up and then add more to train.

"You probably don’t have to do extra stretching unless you’re a gymnast, a figure skater, or even a golfer who needs a great range of motion through that swing," Behm said.

Nor do you need to stretch first if you’re going for a leisurely run. Simply start with a slow jog to warm up and then increase the pace.

Don't do it if it hurts

After exercise, "light stretching is OK, as long as you don't reach a point where you're feeling pain," Behm said. Since your muscles will be warm by that point, overdoing it makes you more likely to injure yourself.

Foam rollers can help with muscle recovery and have been shown to increase range of motion as well as stretching.

Do some static stretching before sports

If you’re playing a sport, Behm said, static stretching beforehand helps reduce muscle and tendon injury.

"If you’re going to do an explosive movement, change of direction, agility, sprint, any of these explosive activities that involve your muscles and tendons," he said, "you’re going to be stronger if you do static stretching."

People can especially get in trouble when they go back to a sport they used to play, whether it's tennis, surfing or any sort of team activity.

Also, stretch both sides equally. Lacking flexibility on one side also can lead to injury.

Sounds simple. Why all the confusion? Different studies over the years have either encouraged or discouraged stretching before exercise. Behm says that partly because some studies didn't reflect real-life conditions, or were designed with elite athletes in mind, not regular people.

"If you’re Usain Bolt, it makes a difference," said Behm. Not so much for the rest of us.