A video, which shows a man teaching some hand exercises, is going viral on the internet with a claim that he is Dr Rajiv Bajaj, who formerly served as the head of the cardiology department in Batra Hospital.
People on social media platforms have shared the video mentioning that performing these exercises daily will help stay fit from "tip to toe."
At the time of writing this report, the video had more than 3,64,000 views and 11,000 likes.
(Archives to similar claims can be found here, here, and here.)
What about the video?: The person can be heard saying that these exercises have several benefits, such as blood circulation, mood enhancement, instant energy, digestion, and prevention of certain diseases, among others.
The truth: The man in the video is Prakash Seshadri Sharma, CEO and Co-founder of a consulting firm called 'See Change Consulting'.
Sharma told The Quint, "I made this video 2 years ago at the beginning of the pandemic, but somehow I got tagged as Dr Bajaj." He further said that he is not a doctor.
Dr Rajiv Bajaj, a cardiologist, working with the Batra Hospital, told us that the person in the video is not him and is not associated with the hospital.
According to a physiologist and a cardiologist, there is no scientific data to support that the exercises are helpful.
How did we find out?: In one of the videos, we could hear the person talking about the "7th sense".
Taking this as a hint, we searched for the clip on YouTube and came across the same video uploaded in April 2020 on a channel called 'seechangeprakash'.
On checking other videos on the same channel, we found that person seen in the video is Prakash Seshadri, who runs a company called 'See Change Consulting'.
Further, we searched for the company's website and found the profile of Sharma, where he is called a coach and heartfulness trainer.
The Quint's WebQoof team reached out to Sharma, who confirmed that it was him in the viral video and said he had been misidentified as Dr Bajaj.
Dr Rajiv Bajaj clarifies: Dr Bajaj told The Quint, "The video has been floating around for two-three years. What the person in the video is saying is not what I tell my patients. I don't know him and he is not working with Batra Hospital."
What does medical science say about the exercises?:
Dr Hardik Patel, Director, Physical Therapy and Rehabilitation, Fortis Hospital Mulund and Vashi, said, "There is no science behind these exercises. No supporting data is available to show they are helpful."
Further, Ravinder Singh Rao, an Interventional Structural Cardiologist, also confirmed to us that there is no scientific basis for these exercises. He further said that jogging, cycling, or swimming could be some of the seven-minute exercises that can be considered healthy.
We also looked for scientific papers or research on the same but could not find any peer-reviewed research in a reputed medical journal.
Conclusion: A video of a person teaching some hand exercises is being shared on social media platforms, misidentifying him as Dr Bajaj from Batra Hospital.
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