Vim & Vigor - Fall 2010 - North Mississippi - (Page 35)

The daily 9-to-5 Strain: WHY IT HURTS: A report by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services linked shoulder pain in the workplace with both repetitive tasks and raising the arms more than 60 degrees in front or to the side of your body. (Ninety degrees is parallel to the ground or shoulder level.) Cutting hair, doing electrical work, ﬁling and typing are a few culprits. Back and neck strains also can relay pain to the shoulders. BEAT THE PAIN: Make your workstation work for your shoulders. Your arms should be tucked into your sides and your computer monitor at eye level. Most laptops force people to look downward, which can stress the upper body. If you’re ﬁ ling or doing another repetitive task, try standing on a stool or changing positions so that your arms stay low. Take breaks for a few minutes every half-hour, especially if your arms start to feel weak or heavy. Posture helps, too: Keep your body upright, your shoulders relaxed and your shoulder blades pulled backward. Strain: Your dog yanks you with the leash WHY IT HURTS: Unlike the tight ball-andsocket nature of the hip, the shoulder joint resembles a golf ball on a tee, which can easily roll right off. Dislocations result from quick jerks of the shoulder, especially when the arm is in a strange position. “You see this over and over when you read orthopedic articles,” Uhl says. Cases often involve a patient instinctively lunging to catch something heavy as it falls off a table. BEAT THE PAIN: Take a lesson from professional football players and martial artists, who learn to roll with the tackle and go with the ﬂow. Resist the urge to react or tense up in physical situations. Stay loose, and be prepared. When to See Your Doctor If shoulder pain starts after a strenuous round of softball or gardening, try a little self-treatment first: Rest the joint. Ice it for 20 minutes at a time, four to eight times a day. Stabilize it with bandages, and use pillows to keep your shoulder above your heart. If the pain hasn’t eased after a few days or if you have significant shoulder pain after a traumatic injury, such as a major fall or yank, go to the doctor as soon as possible. The same goes for pain that wakes you up at night, numbness or tingling in your arms, crunching or grinding noises with movement, or a dramatic loss of motion. Try to get in within the first few weeks of the onset of pain. “Early intervention, including rest, medication and rehabilitation, will speed recovery,” says Mann Conrad, a physical therapist and director of Rehabilitation Services at North Mississippi Medical Center–West Point. “Therapy can help reduce inflammation, adhesions, weakness from decreased use and altered mechanics caused by ‘favoring’ the uninjured shoulder.” Vim & Vigor · FAL L 2010 online DOG PHOTOGRAPH BY PHOTOLIBRARY Physical therapy and other rehabilitation services are offered throughout North Mississippi Medical Center’s facilities. Visit www.nmhs.net and click “Locations” to see what’s available near you. In Pain? Rehab Can Help 35 http://www.nmhs.net

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Vim & Vigor - Fall 2010 - North Mississippi

Vim & Vigor - Fall 2010 - North Mississippi
Contents
Opening Thoughts
Lean On Me
Inside Look
What’s in Your Medicine Cabinet?
See the Future
The Female Factor
Take a Bite Out of Stress
Starring Role
Shouldering the Pain
Train Your Brain
What Now?
Choose Your Own Adventure
Community Report
Catch the Spirit

Vim & Vigor - Fall 2010 - North Mississippi

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