Proper Posture

We often hear that good posture is essential for good health, but very few people have a real grasp of the importance and necessity of good posture, or the position in which we hold our bodies while standing, sitting or lying down. Good posture is the correct alignment of body part supported by the right amount of muscle tension against gravity. Follow this advice for standing, sitting and lying properly:

• When sitting, keep your feet flat on the floor with a small gap between the back of your knees and the front of your seat. Your knees should be at or below the level of your hips.
• When standing, bear your weight primarily on the balls of your feet and keep your knees slightly bent. Your feet should be about shoulder-width apart and your earlobes should be in line with your shoulders to keep your head from jutting forward, backward or to the side.
• Avoid sitting or standing in the same position for long periods of time.
• Sleep with a pillow and avoid lying on your stomach. If you sleep on your side, place a pillow between your legs. If you sleep on your back, keep a pillow under your knees.

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Raking Leaves

Before you rev up the lawnmower or reach for your rake this fall, consider the possible consequences: upper or lower-back strain, neck strain and pain in the shoulders.

Just as playing football or golf can injure your body, the twisting, turning, bending, and reaching of mowing and raking can also cause injury if your body is not prepared. Like an athlete, if you leap into something without warming up or knowing how to do it, the chances of injury are greater.

What Can You Do?

The American Chiropractic Association (ACA) offers the following tips to help prevent the needless pain yard work may cause.
• Do stretching exercises, without bouncing, for a total of 10 to 15 minutes spread over the course of your work. Do knee-to-chest pulls, trunk rotations, and side bends with hands above your head and fingers locked. Take a short walk to stimulate circulation. When finished with the yard work, repeat the stretching exercises.
• Stand as straight as possible, and keep your head up as you rake or mow.
• When it's still warm outside, avoid the heat. If you're a morning person, get the work done before 10 a.m. Otherwise, do your chores after 6 p.m.
• When raking, use a "scissors" stance: right foot forward and left foot back for a few minutes, then reverse, putting your left foot forward and right foot back.
• Bend at the knees, not the waist, as you pick up piles of leaves or grass from the grass catcher. Make the piles small to decrease the possibility of back strain.
• When mowing, use your whole bodyweight to push the mower, rather than just your arms and back.
• If your mower has a pull cord, don't twist at the waist or yank the cord. Instead, bend at the knees and pull in one smooth motion.
• Drink lots of water, wear a hat, shoes and protective glasses. And, to avoid blisters, try wearing gloves. If your equipment is loud, wear hearing protection. If you have asthma or allergies, wear a mask.
• Try ergonomic tools, too. They're engineered to protect you when used properly.
• If you do feel soreness or stiffness in your back, use ice to soothe the discomfort. If there's no improvement in two or three days, see your local doctor of chiropractic.

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Beware... text neck from too much gadget use!

First, too much texting caused some people to come down with painful Blackberry Thumb. Now today’s technology is being blamed for another malady: text neck.

Doctors and chiropractors say people hunched over their mobile gadgets are developing neck strain, headaches and pain in the shoulders and, sometimes, in arms and hands. What’s more, all that curving of the body to text, type, watch videos and play games could cause debilitating pain that lasts a lifetime, they warn.

“This is a global epidemic,” says Dean L. Fishman, a chiropractor who practices at the Text Neck Institute in Fort Lauderdale, Fla. He trademarked Text Neck and changed the name of his practice after noticing 90 percent of his patients coming in with the same complaint. His youngest patient is a 3-year-old, who’s in love with playing games on an electronic device.

“It’s starting younger and younger. There are more than six billion phones connected, and that’s not counting the Kindles, iPads, tablets and all these devices we rely on daily,” Fishman says. “Go outside, to a restaurant, the supermarket, a gym, the airport and notice the posture of almost everyone around you. You will see this everywhere, and now multiply that by every city in the world.”

American sent 110 billion text messages in December 2008, the U.S. Census Bureau reported, and that number can only be increasing.

Fishman says text neck is actually not a new condition, but it’s getting more attention because so many people are suffering from it. Doctors used to call it forward head posture, but Fishman noticed his patients better understood what he was talking about when he used the term text neck.

Richard Wells, professor of applied sciences at the University of Waterloo, in Waterloo, Ontario, Canada, wondered about the effects of technology on our bodies and conducted what is believed to be the world’s first research study on text neck.
He found that among 140 students who participated in an online survey, twice as many experienced pain in their shoulders, neck and other areas when they used their devices three hours or more a day compared to those who used their devices for less time. The study was published in the January 2011 edition in the Journal of Applied Ergonomics.

“We learned the longer people use mobile devices, cell phones, PDAs — all the things we use to communicate with that have little keyboards — the more they have pain in their necks, shoulders and thumbs,” he says.

Texas chiropractor Cynthia Vaughn and spokesperson for the American Chiropractic Association says text neck is affecting tens of thousands of people here in the United States because nearly everyone has a cell phone. “It’s a known phenomenon and that’s increasing and doctors need to educate their patients on the proper ergonomics of this.”

Preventing text neck

Learning to hold your arms out and look straight ahead may initially seem awkward, but it can save your neck and spine, she says. Taking frequent breaks every 15 minutes and holding your head back also helps alleviate symptoms. The American Chiropractic Association also warns people to tuck their chins down to their chest, if you must look down rather than holding your arms out. Stretch your hands; squeeze a stress ball and stretch your chest by standing up straight with arms down at your side. Turn your forearms until your thumbs are pointing at the wall behind you.

“I tell my patients the easiest thing to do is pick up the phone and call people,” Vaughn says. “Phones still call out. If you’re not going to call people, take the time to drop your head back every few minutes.”

For those who already have neck and shoulder pain, Fishman says his patients have found relief by coming in for adjustments. Chiropractors and orthopedic specialists most often treat the issue.

Fishman also created a new Android app, called Text Neck, which gives users a green light when they are properly holding their phones and a red light when they are holding their heads down and rounding their shoulders. The application also can send reports to parents who can monitor their children’s posture while using their phones.

“We teach our patients to pull the shoulder blades back and down,” he says. “In our research, we found the people who made the most improvement in the restoration in the curve of their neck came from people who made the biggest change and stopped hanging down low.”

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/44820101/ns/health-health_care/t/beware-text-neck-too-much-gadget-use/#.Tprx-o6kdBk

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Tips for Healthy Aging

Tips for Healthy Aging

The number of people living longer is increasing dramatically. An estimated 4.2 million U.S. residents now fall into the age group of the “oldest old”—85 years and older—with more than 40,000 having reached the age of 100. In fact, centenarians (those 100 and older) are the fastest-growing subpopulation of the elderly, and by 2050, according to census projections, 1 million Americans will celebrate their 100th birthdays.

At the same time, a growing body of evidence suggests that good genes are only a small part of the longevity puzzle. In fact, researchers now believe that chronic illness is not an inevitable consequence of aging, but it results more often from lifestyle choices that we’re perfectly free to reject.

So what are centenarians’ secrets to healthy old age? Experts recommend the following:

Embrace a Positive Attitude

Centenarians tend be very optimistic and always hope for the best. According to research, having a positive attitude is key to the ability to live longer and can lead to a healthier, higher quality of life. Researchers speculate that positive emotions may directly affect overall health, perhaps through direct mechanisms, such as immune function, or indirectly, for example, by strengthening social support networks.

Stimulate Your Mind

Research shows the more educated we are, the longer we live. And the benefits of education are even more pronounced when learning continues throughout our lives. Most centenarians take advantage of opportunities and possibilities that have not been available to them earlier in their lives, such as second careers, volunteer activities, musical instruction, writing, various classes in areas of interest or travel. In addition, you may want to consider mentally challenging activities such as crossword puzzles or learning a new language.

Limit Stress and Stay Connected

Protect your mental and physical health by managing your stress at work and at home. Humor, meditation, exercise and optimism are good ways to naturally reduce stress and relieve tension.

Stay in touch with family and friends. Those who maintain a close network of social support do best. Social contacts may encourage us to take better care of ourselves—by cutting down on smoking and drinking, for example, or seeking medical treatment earlier for symptoms that may indicate serious problems. Friends may also help us get through difficult times by offering coping mechanisms and having a positive effect on mood and self-esteem.

Take Advantage of Your Genes

Good health practices will help you make up for at least some of the genetic difference between you and centenarians. Essentially, you can compensate for bad genes by healthy living—or ruin perfectly good genes with poor habits. Smoking and excessive alcohol intake, for example, increases the risk of many chronic diseases. As you age, be sure to get regular health screenings.

Support Your Body with Exercise

Find fun ways to stay in shape, such as dancing, gardening, swimming, walking or jogging. Include strength training, as directed by a personal trainer or health care provider, to maintain muscle mass. Increased muscle tissue burns fat more efficiently, reduces your heart disease risk, and lessens your chance of a broken hip from falling. For adults, a minimum of 30 minutes of moderate physical activity on most days of the week is recommended.

Make Healthy Diet Choices

What you eat and drink—and what you don't eat and drink—can make a big difference to your health. To prevent weight gain and maintain good health, pay special attention to eating efficiently. Choose foods that maximize nutritional value and minimize calories.

Overly processed foods often contain more calories and fewer nutrients. Choose, instead, whole, natural foods like fruits and vegetables, whole grains, good (unsaturated) fats, nuts, legumes and healthy sources of protein (white meat, fish and eggs).

Choose a Good Health Care Provider

Even if you are healthy and make good preventative choices, it is essential to have access to a good, trustworthy health care provider.

A health care provider should:

• Know and support all forms of healing and various approaches to health care to present patients with the most effective, safest preventative or treatment options available.
• Emphasize prevention and whole-person wellness.
• Teach healthy living practices.
• Involve patients in decisions regarding their care—except for acute, potentially life-threatening emergencies.
• Encourage patients to be responsible for their health.

Chiropractic Care Can Help

Talk to your doctor of chiropractic about other ways to improve your quality of life. Doctors of chiropractic are trained and licensed to examine and treat the entire body with specific emphasis on the nervous and musculoskeletal systems, wellness and prevention.

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Blackberry Thumb

Together with several other repetitive stress injuries that are showing up in this fast-paced, technology-focused era is a condition known in popular culture as BlackBerry® thumb. Blackberry thumb is the joint and wrist pain and inflammation caused by the overuse of any personal digital assistant (PDA) or Smartphone. Red flags that signal a need to change how we use PDAs, and possibly the need to consult with a qualified health care professional, are occasional aches in any or all of those areas. Left untreated, BlackBerry thumb can develop into severe pain, weakness, and even disability.

What Causes It?
BlackBerry thumb occurs as the result of asking the thumb joints to repeatedly perform the same action too often. Excessive tapping, flicking, and clicking do our thumbs no favors. X-ray and exam findings can determine if a patient has BlackBerry thumb.
Some sports enthusiasts like to “work through pain.” They believe that by pushing the body beyond its current limits, it will gradually become accustomed to new demands placed on it. That approach does not work with joints. And since BlackBerry thumb is a joint problem, forcing thumbs to go above and beyond will only lead to further trouble.

Typical Treatments
Patients will often be asked to rest the thumbs as part of treatment. Medical treatment typically consists of resting or splinting the thumb, anti-inflammatory medicines, cortisone injections and, as a last resort, surgery.

What Might a DC Suggest?
Doctors of chiropractic (DCs) are educated to use a variety of non-drug, non-surgical
approaches to BlackBerry thumb. Giving your thumbs a chance to start the healing process may include a program of rest, thumb strapping, and gentle stretches or targeted massage. A DC may decide to use Instrument-Assisted Soft-Tissue Mobilization (IASTM) to help alleviate the problem. One of the better-known of such techniques is Graston Technique®, which utilizes stainless steel instruments in the hands of practitioners skilled at treating damaged soft tissues.

What Can I Do To Help Myself?
Whatever we might wish them to do, doctors cannot simply make BlackBerry thumb “go
away” without the cooperation of the patient. Moderation and flexibility in how we use PDAs are key. When it comes to BlackBerry thumb, the following tips can make our PDAs do what they were designed to do—serve us, not hurt us:

• Avoid typing for more than three minutes without a break.
• Hold the PDA comfortably and close to the body.
• Insert it into a holder and set it on a desk or a briefcase.
• Turn the device off on the weekend—or at least on Sundays.
• Decide that you will check emails and text messages just four times a day.
• Cut back on the number of keystrokes and keep messages short and simple.
• Abbreviate.
• Consider using the AutoText feature.
• If a message must be longer, use your computer keyboard, not your PDA.
• Practice using other fingers for typing—especially when thumbs hurt.
• If thumbs are in pain, use a thumb or wrist support.
• Pay attention to your grip. Keep wrists upright and straight.
• Don’t slouch while texting. Slouchers often develop neck pain, in addition to thumb
pain.

For more information from the American Chiropractic Association on how to getTechno Healthy, visit www.TechnoHealthy.com.

October 2011
For more information on injury prevention and wellness, or to find a doctor of chiropractic near you, go to the patient information section on ACA’s Web site at www.acatoday.org/Patients or call 800-986-4636.
This patient information page is a public service of the Journal of the American Chiropractic Association. The information and recommendations appearing on this page are appropriate in most instances, but they are not a substitute for a diagnosis by a specialist. For specific information concerning your health condition, consult your doctor of chiropractic. This page may be reproduced noncommercially by doctors of chiropractic and other healthcare professionals to educate patients. Any other reproduction is subject to ACA approval.

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