Picking up On Repetitive Stress Trauma:
I ended my last post with discussing the contributing factors of work duties with the development of Repetitive Stress Trauma. The reason that work is such a heavy contributor to these types of injuries is the frequency and consistency of the exposure to the aggravating activity. Most of us work at least 5 days a week, usually consecutive days and we do the same things each day for the most part. This kind of continual stress exceeds the body’s ability to recover and heal. Without adequate rest / recovery, a portion of us are susceptible to developing a repetitive stress injury.
Typical activities associated with the onset of Repetitive Stress Trauma include repetitive gripping, reaching, twisting, pushing, pulling and the use of computer input devices including both the keyboard and the mouse. Often times, these activities are performed in ways that dictate the use of poor posture and awkward body positions.
Hence we have the perfect formula for the development of a Repetitive Stress Trauma. Forceful Movements + High Repetitions + Poor & Awkward Postures + Lack of Recovery Time = Repetitive Stress Trauma.
This is not rocket science but it takes some thought to putting the pieces together. It also takes some thought in unraveling the particular stresses that are or could cause you to develop symptoms.
More Soon,
Writers Bio
Dr. Steven R. Jones is a licensed Chiropractor in the state of California. He received his doctorate from Palmer College of Chiropractic-West in Sunnyvale, California. Dr. Jones has treated his patients for over 15 years at his own San Diego Chiropractic practice.
Dr. Jones is accepting new patients and would be happy to consult with you regarding your chiropractic needs.
Call Steve Jones at
(619) 280 0554
San Diego Chiropractic
Ergonomic Office Equipment Website to learn more about or Buy Ergo Nav, the Ergonomic Mouse Pad
or Visit Ergonomic Blog, "Ergonomically Yours" And read the latest News in the Ergonomic World.
Better Health Steve Jones
Nov 28, 2009
Nov 18, 2009
Stretching and Chiropractic
Try to be More Flexible in 2010 – Stretching and Chiropractic
The headline of this article could be interpreted in a variety of different ways. For the purposes of this blog post it will address our physical flexibility. Flexibility is an important measure of our physical fitness. Flexibility is just as important to our overall health as is strength, endurance, aerobic capacity and body composition.
One of the big problems that I encounter with my patients in my San Diego Chiropractic office is a lack of flexibility in the joints. Strong muscles that span flexible joints are ideal for everything from mundane household chores to weekend athletic adventures. A lack of stretching catches up to us when we perform movements beyond the normal for our lifestyles or activities. In some cases, an extreme movement can be something as simple as reaching to the table behind you for your cup of coffee. Neck pain, back pain, arm pain and leg pain can all occur as a result of injuries due to inflexibility.
As a general rule, as our bodies age, our physical fitness degrades. Regarding flexibility, we tend to loose it. That is why it is very important to develop flexibility when we are younger and maintain it as we get older. Even those of us in our forties or older must try to regain some and maintain most of our flexibility even though we are not 20 something anymore.
I always tell people to think about how much strength, endurance or in this case flexibility that they have lost in the last 10 or 20 years. I know that I am not as physically fit as I was when I was 20 or even 30 years old. There is no way that I want that same trend to continue over the next 20 years. In order to prevent the atrophy of our bodies we have to maintain them through stretching and exercise.
In addition to perhaps regaining the ability to touch your toes, becoming more flexible will also help in the following ways.
1) Helps Relieve Stress: Flexible muscles are loose and relaxed muscles. Loose, flexible muscles are less likely to tighten up during stressful, tense situations.
2) Helps Improve Posture: Loose muscles help your body maintain better posture. Avoiding unnecessary postural stress will help you feel better.
3) Helps Increase Circulation: Increased circulation comes as a result of consistent stretching. Improved circulation helps bring nourishment to your muscles while removing toxic build-up of lactic acid and other waste products.
4) Helps Improve Coordination: Stretching will improve your joints range of motion providing for better balance, mobility and coordination. Improved coordination will help us with all athletic activities and help prevent falls as we age.
I always recommend stretching in the form of Yoga. Stores like Target have many instructional DVDs on Yoga. Linda and I have always found that Rodney Yee produces better than average DVD courses on Yoga. If you are not experienced in Yoga you will need to start with a beginners course, many people look at Yoga and assume that it is easy. THIS IS NOT THE CASE. Yoga is not only a great stretch but an excellent work out and you can hurt yourself if you over-do it.
Some guidelines for safe stretching include:
1) Warm up Before You Begin
2) Don’t Bounce While Stretching
3) Avoid Pain While Stretching – It Should Feel Like A Good Stretch – Not A Painful One
4) Stretch Both Sides
5) Stretch Both Before and After Exercise
Writers Bio
Dr. Steven R. Jones is a licensed Chiropractor in the state of California. He received his doctorate from Palmer College of Chiropractic-West in Sunnyvale, California. Dr. Jones has treated his patients for over 15 years at his own San Diego Chiropractic practice.
Dr. Jones is accepting new patients and would be happy to consult with you regarding your chiropractic needs.
Call Steve Jones at
(619) 280 0554
San Diego Chiropractic
Ergonomic Office Equipment Website to learn more about or Buy Ergo Nav, the Ergonomic Mouse Pad
or Visit Ergonomic Blog, "Ergonomically Yours" And read the latest News in the Ergonomic World.
Better Health Steve Jones
The headline of this article could be interpreted in a variety of different ways. For the purposes of this blog post it will address our physical flexibility. Flexibility is an important measure of our physical fitness. Flexibility is just as important to our overall health as is strength, endurance, aerobic capacity and body composition.
One of the big problems that I encounter with my patients in my San Diego Chiropractic office is a lack of flexibility in the joints. Strong muscles that span flexible joints are ideal for everything from mundane household chores to weekend athletic adventures. A lack of stretching catches up to us when we perform movements beyond the normal for our lifestyles or activities. In some cases, an extreme movement can be something as simple as reaching to the table behind you for your cup of coffee. Neck pain, back pain, arm pain and leg pain can all occur as a result of injuries due to inflexibility.
As a general rule, as our bodies age, our physical fitness degrades. Regarding flexibility, we tend to loose it. That is why it is very important to develop flexibility when we are younger and maintain it as we get older. Even those of us in our forties or older must try to regain some and maintain most of our flexibility even though we are not 20 something anymore.
I always tell people to think about how much strength, endurance or in this case flexibility that they have lost in the last 10 or 20 years. I know that I am not as physically fit as I was when I was 20 or even 30 years old. There is no way that I want that same trend to continue over the next 20 years. In order to prevent the atrophy of our bodies we have to maintain them through stretching and exercise.
In addition to perhaps regaining the ability to touch your toes, becoming more flexible will also help in the following ways.
1) Helps Relieve Stress: Flexible muscles are loose and relaxed muscles. Loose, flexible muscles are less likely to tighten up during stressful, tense situations.
2) Helps Improve Posture: Loose muscles help your body maintain better posture. Avoiding unnecessary postural stress will help you feel better.
3) Helps Increase Circulation: Increased circulation comes as a result of consistent stretching. Improved circulation helps bring nourishment to your muscles while removing toxic build-up of lactic acid and other waste products.
4) Helps Improve Coordination: Stretching will improve your joints range of motion providing for better balance, mobility and coordination. Improved coordination will help us with all athletic activities and help prevent falls as we age.
I always recommend stretching in the form of Yoga. Stores like Target have many instructional DVDs on Yoga. Linda and I have always found that Rodney Yee produces better than average DVD courses on Yoga. If you are not experienced in Yoga you will need to start with a beginners course, many people look at Yoga and assume that it is easy. THIS IS NOT THE CASE. Yoga is not only a great stretch but an excellent work out and you can hurt yourself if you over-do it.
Some guidelines for safe stretching include:
1) Warm up Before You Begin
2) Don’t Bounce While Stretching
3) Avoid Pain While Stretching – It Should Feel Like A Good Stretch – Not A Painful One
4) Stretch Both Sides
5) Stretch Both Before and After Exercise
Writers Bio
Dr. Steven R. Jones is a licensed Chiropractor in the state of California. He received his doctorate from Palmer College of Chiropractic-West in Sunnyvale, California. Dr. Jones has treated his patients for over 15 years at his own San Diego Chiropractic practice.
Dr. Jones is accepting new patients and would be happy to consult with you regarding your chiropractic needs.
Call Steve Jones at
(619) 280 0554
San Diego Chiropractic
Ergonomic Office Equipment Website to learn more about or Buy Ergo Nav, the Ergonomic Mouse Pad
or Visit Ergonomic Blog, "Ergonomically Yours" And read the latest News in the Ergonomic World.
Better Health Steve Jones
Nov 8, 2009
Repetitive Stress Trauma the root of RSI
Figuring out what is the root cause of a Repetitive Stress Trauma
is of the utmost importance. Once you have figured out what the source of that stress is, you have figure out a solution. I provide treatment for many people who simply don’t see the importance in controlling the stress that they impose upon themselves. Many of them are of the opinion that if they get some treatment that the aches and pains will go away. For a small percentage of people, this is true. For most however, resolution of the symptoms of a Repetitive Stress Trauma involves formal treatment with an experienced clinician as well as reducing the physical stress that their work environment imposes upon them.
You have to look at it this way, if you work in a physically stressful environment for 40 hours per week and receive therapy 3 times weekly with each session lasting 30 minutes, you are attempting to counter 40 hours of repetitive stress with 1 ½ hours of therapy. This formula will not work for most people. Treatment must include workstation modifications.
I have taken the liberty of outlining some basic rules of setting up an ergonomically friendly computer workstation below. Trying to come close to these recommendations will go a long way in reducing your work stress.
1) Placing the input device directly in your immediate reach zone offers natural comfort and maximum hand-eye coordination. The use of a platform for the mouse is preferable.
2) Your chair should have arm rests that are adjustable.
3) Your wrist should be either in a neutral position or flexed slightly downward when operating both your mouse and your keyboard. For this reason, if you select a mouse platform that attaches to your chair, adjustability of the platform is of primary importance.
4) Consider using a high quality office chair with adjustable armrests and lumbar supports. It should also allow some degree of recline. The angle of your hips should be open to about 115 degrees.
5) Make sure that the upper arm and elbow are as close to the body and as relaxed as possible for keyboard and mouse use - avoid overreaching.
6) Hold the mouse lightly, don't grip it hard or squeeze it. Place the pointing device where you don't have to reach up or over very far to use it. The closer you can place it to your body the better.
7) Your monitor should be directly in front of you and the upper 1/3 of it should be at eye level.
More soon.
Doc
Writers Bio
Dr. Steven R. Jones is a licensed Chiropractor in the state of California. He received his doctorate from Palmer College of Chiropractic-West in Sunnyvale, California. Dr. Jones has treated his patients for over 15 years at his own San Diego Chiropractic practice.
Dr. Jones is accepting new patients and would be happy to consult with you regarding your chiropractic needs.
Call Steve Jones at
(619) 280 0554
San Diego Chiropractic
Ergonomic Office Equipment Website to learn more about or Buy Ergo Nav, the Ergonomic Mouse Pad
or Visit Ergonomic Blog, "Ergonomically Yours" And read the latest News in the Ergonomic World.
Better Health Steve Jones
is of the utmost importance. Once you have figured out what the source of that stress is, you have figure out a solution. I provide treatment for many people who simply don’t see the importance in controlling the stress that they impose upon themselves. Many of them are of the opinion that if they get some treatment that the aches and pains will go away. For a small percentage of people, this is true. For most however, resolution of the symptoms of a Repetitive Stress Trauma involves formal treatment with an experienced clinician as well as reducing the physical stress that their work environment imposes upon them.
You have to look at it this way, if you work in a physically stressful environment for 40 hours per week and receive therapy 3 times weekly with each session lasting 30 minutes, you are attempting to counter 40 hours of repetitive stress with 1 ½ hours of therapy. This formula will not work for most people. Treatment must include workstation modifications.
I have taken the liberty of outlining some basic rules of setting up an ergonomically friendly computer workstation below. Trying to come close to these recommendations will go a long way in reducing your work stress.
1) Placing the input device directly in your immediate reach zone offers natural comfort and maximum hand-eye coordination. The use of a platform for the mouse is preferable.
2) Your chair should have arm rests that are adjustable.
3) Your wrist should be either in a neutral position or flexed slightly downward when operating both your mouse and your keyboard. For this reason, if you select a mouse platform that attaches to your chair, adjustability of the platform is of primary importance.
4) Consider using a high quality office chair with adjustable armrests and lumbar supports. It should also allow some degree of recline. The angle of your hips should be open to about 115 degrees.
5) Make sure that the upper arm and elbow are as close to the body and as relaxed as possible for keyboard and mouse use - avoid overreaching.
6) Hold the mouse lightly, don't grip it hard or squeeze it. Place the pointing device where you don't have to reach up or over very far to use it. The closer you can place it to your body the better.
7) Your monitor should be directly in front of you and the upper 1/3 of it should be at eye level.
More soon.
Doc
Writers Bio
Dr. Steven R. Jones is a licensed Chiropractor in the state of California. He received his doctorate from Palmer College of Chiropractic-West in Sunnyvale, California. Dr. Jones has treated his patients for over 15 years at his own San Diego Chiropractic practice.
Dr. Jones is accepting new patients and would be happy to consult with you regarding your chiropractic needs.
Call Steve Jones at
(619) 280 0554
San Diego Chiropractic
Ergonomic Office Equipment Website to learn more about or Buy Ergo Nav, the Ergonomic Mouse Pad
or Visit Ergonomic Blog, "Ergonomically Yours" And read the latest News in the Ergonomic World.
Better Health Steve Jones
Nov 1, 2009
Tension Headaches
What is a Tension Headache?
Tension headaches are the most common kind of headache. Tension headaches usually occur in middle age and are often associated with stress and anxiety.
What are the Causes of Tension Headaches?
Tension headaches are caused by stress, muscular tension and postural stress. Conditions that can lead to chronic muscular tension and headache include:
• Anxiety
• Arthritis in neck or spine
• Degenerative bone or disk disease in the neck or spine
• Depression
• Temporomandibular joint disorders
Tension Headache Symptoms:
Tension headaches usually produces a dull, steady ache on both sides of the head. The pain usually increases over a period of hours. A small number of tension-headache patients report that, when at its worst, the pain develops a pulsating quality. Muscular tenderness in areas of the neck, the base of the skull, scalp, forehead, face, jaw, shoulders, or upper arms may be present in tension-headache sufferers. Some people may show signs of clenching their teeth.
If your headache is caused by loss of natural curve in the neck, then
RESTORING THE NATURAL CURVE IN THE NECK MAY CURE AND PREVENT CHRONIC HEADACHES & ARTHRITIS.
FACT: Forty-Five (45) Million Americans suffer from chronic headaches. The good news is that you don’t have to. A routine chiropractic examination can reveal the cause of your headaches.
Tension headache sufferers are often provided excellent results with chiropractic care.
The Move of The Month
Stretching is an important part of maintaining your health. Performing the stretch below on a daily basis will help you in your pursuit to stay limber and pain-free.
Slowly laterally flex your head by bringing your ear to the same side shoulder. Apply slight pressure to the side of the head with the same side hand to increase the stretch. You should feel a stretching sensation in the opposite side of the neck.
Hold for this position for 30 seconds, return to the starting position, and perform the same movement to the opposite side.
Perform 1 time per day, 5 days per week.
Writers Bio
Dr. Steven R. Jones is a licensed Chiropractor in the state of California. He received his doctorate from Palmer College of Chiropractic-West in Sunnyvale, California. Dr. Jones has treated his patients for over 15 years at his own San Diego Chiropractic practice.
Dr. Jones is accepting new patients and would be happy to consult with you regarding your chiropractic needs.
Call Steve Jones at
(619) 280 0554
San Diego Chiropractic
Ergonomic Office Equipment Website to learn more about or Buy Ergo Nav, the Ergonomic Mouse Pad
or Visit Ergonomic Blog, "Ergonomically Yours" And read the latest News in the Ergonomic World.
Better Health Steve Jones
Tension headaches are the most common kind of headache. Tension headaches usually occur in middle age and are often associated with stress and anxiety.
What are the Causes of Tension Headaches?
Tension headaches are caused by stress, muscular tension and postural stress. Conditions that can lead to chronic muscular tension and headache include:
• Anxiety
• Arthritis in neck or spine
• Degenerative bone or disk disease in the neck or spine
• Depression
• Temporomandibular joint disorders
Tension Headache Symptoms:
Tension headaches usually produces a dull, steady ache on both sides of the head. The pain usually increases over a period of hours. A small number of tension-headache patients report that, when at its worst, the pain develops a pulsating quality. Muscular tenderness in areas of the neck, the base of the skull, scalp, forehead, face, jaw, shoulders, or upper arms may be present in tension-headache sufferers. Some people may show signs of clenching their teeth.
If your headache is caused by loss of natural curve in the neck, then
RESTORING THE NATURAL CURVE IN THE NECK MAY CURE AND PREVENT CHRONIC HEADACHES & ARTHRITIS.
FACT: Forty-Five (45) Million Americans suffer from chronic headaches. The good news is that you don’t have to. A routine chiropractic examination can reveal the cause of your headaches.
Tension headache sufferers are often provided excellent results with chiropractic care.
The Move of The Month
Stretching is an important part of maintaining your health. Performing the stretch below on a daily basis will help you in your pursuit to stay limber and pain-free.
Slowly laterally flex your head by bringing your ear to the same side shoulder. Apply slight pressure to the side of the head with the same side hand to increase the stretch. You should feel a stretching sensation in the opposite side of the neck.
Hold for this position for 30 seconds, return to the starting position, and perform the same movement to the opposite side.
Perform 1 time per day, 5 days per week.
Writers Bio
Dr. Steven R. Jones is a licensed Chiropractor in the state of California. He received his doctorate from Palmer College of Chiropractic-West in Sunnyvale, California. Dr. Jones has treated his patients for over 15 years at his own San Diego Chiropractic practice.
Dr. Jones is accepting new patients and would be happy to consult with you regarding your chiropractic needs.
Call Steve Jones at
(619) 280 0554
San Diego Chiropractic
Ergonomic Office Equipment Website to learn more about or Buy Ergo Nav, the Ergonomic Mouse Pad
or Visit Ergonomic Blog, "Ergonomically Yours" And read the latest News in the Ergonomic World.
Better Health Steve Jones
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