pain

Head, Shoulders, Geeze My Phone!

June 17, 2020 by Gabby Leave a Comment

Is your phone killing your back and neck?

Are you reading this on your phone right now? If so, you might be doing the “smartphone slouch”. You’re tilting your head forward and downward to hunch over your phone. You may not know this, but the human head weighs somewhere around 10 to 12 pounds. But when you tilt your head forward it can cause strain on your back, neck and shoulders that is equal to you having a much heavier head. How much heavier? Well at 15 degrees of forward tilt it equates to your head weighing 27 pounds. At 30 degrees forward, the strain on your neck equals a 40 pound head. A 60 degree tilt is the same as if you had a 60 pound head! That is some serious strain!

No one wants a head that big.

As you tilt your head, you also move your shoulders forward into a rounded position, which is another aspect of poor posture. All this excess strain creates extra wear and tear on the structures of your neck, upper spine and back. The average person is on a computer or smart device between 2-4 hours every day. That’s a lot of potential pain and strain.

What Can I do?

So how do you get your work done and use your phone and save your back and neck? First, if you have to do extended work, don’t do it on your phone. It’s much better if you do long tasks on a desktop computer. If you have to do it on a laptop, make sure you’re positioned where you can have good posture. Then, when you do have to use your phone, don’t hunch over it. Instead, lift your phone up higher rather than tilting your head and rounding your shoulders forward.

Being aware of your posture is a great first step to relieving the pain of living life in the age of the smart phone. But it’s almost inevitable that you’re going to have some pain and strain from time to time. Here are a couple of things you can do to bring some much-needed relief to your upper back and neck.

First is the scap squeeze. It gets its name from your scapula, also known as your shoulder blades. The goal is to squeeze your shoulder blades together. Sit or stand up tall with your arms at your sides. Keep your shoulders relaxed and down, not shrugged. Squeeze your shoulder blades together. Hold for 6 seconds, then relax.

Second, a lat pull down can help correct your posture and strengthen the muscles that will keep you from straining. On a lat pulldown machine you’ll want to grab the bar with your hands shoulder width apart and be sure to pull the bar down to your chest and not behind your head. You can see here and example of proper technique. The goal isn’t to do this exercise with the most weight possible, but to get good steady repetitions in that will engage the muscles that help your posture.

Staying mindful of your posture, along with these simple stretches and exercises will help you beat the smartphone slouch.

Written by Tom Farnsworth PT

Posture in the Age of Working From Home

May 6, 2020 by Gabby Leave a Comment

Working From Home

Prior to COVID-19, working from home seemed like a luxury. Laying back on the couch in your pajamas while watching Netflix and doing some work on your laptop. However, now many Americans are realizing that it’s not all it cracked up to be. The kids are at home, we are physically unable to get outside of the home, and many of us have been experiencing some new neck and back pain. What is causing this influx of back and neck pain? Poor posture!

At-Home Posture Setup

The key to your successful work station includes a well-planned set up. If your work station is set up properly, you will not only be more effective and efficient in your work, but also decrease your risk for pain and injury. When you start to change this discipline, it complicates things. So, what exactly does a good work station for set up involve?

The key to any proper posture will start with the pelvis. Most sofas or recliners will tilt the pelvis and put the body at a mechanically and biomechanical disadvantage. Whether sitting in a desk chair, bed, recliner or sofa, a simple fix can be to put a folded towel toward the back of the seat to allow the pelvis to stay engaged and to prevent a posterior, or backwards, tilt. The next thing to consider is the position of the scapula, or shoulder blades.

Ideally, your shoulder blades should be pulled back and down to engage your proper postural muscles and to prevent you from slumping over a computer or phone. The final thing to consider is the position of the neck. It is essential to line the head properly over the shoulders and to avoid the head creeping forward in front of the shoulders. Prolonged time with a forward head posture will put serious stress on the neck muscles and can even cause headaches.

Despite the comfort of being in your own home, it is essential to keep good posture when working for prolonged periods of time. These three simple corrections can help you maintain a proper posture, whether sitting on a sofa or a desk chair.

Post written by: Casey Badder, PT

Carpal Karaoke: Not as Fun as the Original

April 8, 2020 by Gabby Leave a Comment

What is Carpal Tunnel Syndrome?

The carpal tunnel is a narrow passageway in your hand that is surrounded by bones and ligaments. In this area is something called your median nerve. When it gets too compressed, you can experience numbness, tingling and weakness in your hand and arm. This can happen when you overuse your hands and wrists. A big cause of carpal tunnel syndrome is too much typing on keyboards. But there are many possible causes. A wrist fracture can be a cause. Arthritis can deform small bones in your wrist and be a cause. And some people just have a small carpal tunnel because they were born that way, and that can put them at extra risk of developing this syndrome.

What is it like to have it?

Well, it’s not much fun. The nerve involved provides sensation to the palm side of your thumb and fingers, except your little finger. It also sends nerve signals to move the muscles around the base of your thumb, which is what allows you to use your thumb for all the things a thumb is useful for. So, when you have carpal tunnel syndrome, you may experience numbness, tingling, and pain. You may also have weakness in you hand wrist and arm. These symptoms can range from mild to very extreme and debilitating.

What Can I Do?

If you are having symptoms of carpal tunnel syndrome, there is help for you. First of all, remember how we mentioned that repetitive motions like typing can be a problem? If you find that your symptoms are worse after doing an activity, then stop doing it. However, not all of us simply stop typing for the rest of our lives. (I mean, I have to finish typing this up right now) Luckily, you can help yourself out a lot if you simply take breaks. Taking a break for few minutes from whatever activity is making things worse can be huge benefit. So, if your symptoms are flaring up, give it rest for a few minutes, or as long as you can.

There is also a simple stretch that you can do at home on your own that can help. Here’s what you do:

Extend your arm in front of you with your palm up.
Bend your wrist, pointing your hand toward the floor.
With your other hand, gently bend your wrist farther until you feel a mild to moderate stretch in your forearm.
Hold for at least 15 to 30 seconds. Repeat 2 to 4 times.

Last but not least, ice can help a great deal. This is a problem with things getting too inflamed. Ice is a great solution for this inflammation. Ice down your wrist, hand and arm area for 10 minutes at a time, no more than once per hour. For more info on icing, check out our post about it here.

(Queen Elsa never gets carpal tunnel syndrome)

Come See Us

Of course, if you have persistent symptoms do no hesitate to come in to the office and get treated. For more severe cases we have a lot we can do to heal and strengthen your hands and arms and get you feeling better as quickly as possible.

Post written by : Tom Farnsworth, PT

Fore Ways to Improve Your Golf Game

March 16, 2020 by Gabby Leave a Comment

Lower Your Score

The Arizona Golf Association estimates that approximately 8 million rounds of golf are played in Arizona each year. As the weather begins to get warmer in Arizona, there will be an increased number of tee times booked for the local golfers. The age range of the golf community can span from 10 years old and younger to more than 100. For some, playing golf is a daily or weekly event. For others it could be the first time you pick up a 5 iron in months. Golf is a complicated game. It requires a number of body movements that coordinate into one fluid motion. So, what can you do to prevent injuries while golfing and to potentially lower your score?

Eliminate Pain: Often times, people may have lingering injuries that prevent them from an activity like golfing. It is important to address the pain that you may have. Too much pain can lead to compensating and causing yourself further injury.

Improve Mobility/Flexibility With different moving body parts throughout the swing, it is essential that your body can move well at each individual joint. However, your joints must then work and move together to allow your golf swing to occur effectively.

Improve Strength: Strength is required to create motion at the joints. It also ensures that all your body parts are aligned to hit the ball straight. Your core strength is essential to start and control your movement. Strength in the distal limbs can help address swing faults.

Improve Balance: Dynamic balance is the ability to coordinate all the movements performed at each individual joint while maintaining a good position for follow through. Balance is key to making your golf swing happen and eliminating the risk of injury.

It’s important to lower frustration levels too.

We Can Help

All of these aspects should be practiced and incorporated into your daily routine in order to help your everyday life. They are also crucial to your golf swing. The coordination of all of these things will help reduce the risk of injury. The same principals apply whether you are a seasoned golfer or someone who is picking up the club for the first time. If you are a golfer athlete and feel that one of these things can benefit you, feel free to contact our office to see how we can assist in improving your game.

Written by Casey Badder PT

CRPS

March 13, 2020 by Gabby Leave a Comment

What is CRPS?

I think we can all agree that being in pain sucks. There are many conditions that cause pain, but only a few that have pain in the name. Complex Regional Pain Syndrome, or CRPS, is a condition which, like its name implies, is very painful. It was previously referred to as Shoulder Hand Syndrome. It’s a type of chronic pain that mostly affects your hand, arm or a leg. It usually develops after another type of injury.

I have seen this condition mostly in the hand, however I have seen lower extremities affected as well. This is something that is not fully understood. Medical science isn’t sure exactly why this pain happens. It is thought to be an over-activity of a person’s peripheral or central nervous system.

Symptoms

As the name implies, the first symptom is pain. This pain is way out of proportion to what it should be for the specific injury that occurred. It’s usually described as a burning or throbbing. The area is usually extremely sensitive to colder temperatures but heat can bring relief. I had a patient recently who used very descriptive words to explain her pain, although most are not appropriate to mention here.

Your skin can be extremely sensitive to the touch and anything covering your skin can cause intense pain. There can even be a different color and texture to your skin where it may look shiny. Joint tightness and swelling are common. This can cause weakness and muscle atrophy. This makes it a lot more difficult to use this particular limb. These symptoms can last anywhere from days to years. It’s most likely to improve when treated early on.

Treatment

The majority of treatment, at least initially, aims to reduce the painful symptoms. Modalities such as heat can be very soothing. Patients with CRPS can respond very well to electric stimulation at well. Due to the sensitive nature of this condition desensitization techniques are often used as well such as massage techniques, range of motion techniques, and using strengthening of the affected limb. All this improves blood flow and restores damage done to the nervous system. Medications can be beneficial which are proscribed under the direction of your physician.

Any way you look at it, this condition is not fun, however you should not have to go through this alone. A licensed physical therapist can assist you to reduce your pain and get back the use of whatever part is hurting. If this is something that we can help you with, please give us a call.

Written by Rod Walker PT

Check the Tape

March 6, 2020 by Gabby Leave a Comment

What is Kinesio Tape?

Kinesio Tape is technique we use to treat all kinds of issues and injuries. Most people are familiar with athletic tape, but Kinesio taping is different. White athletic tapes restrict movement and restrict blood flow. Kinesio tape supports and increases flexibility.It can even increase blood flow to an area. It’s made of 100% cotton, and it’s elastic, hypoallergenic, and latex-free. Its thickness and weight allows for full functional movement and far less restriction than traditional tapes. You can also wear it for up to 5 consecutive days. It’s also water resistant. Many people associate taping with athletes. However, most Kinesio tape techniques were developed for non-athletic uses.

How do you use it?

This technique stabilizes and supports a joint such as a shoulder, knee or elbow. It can also support injuries such as a neck that has experienced whiplash. If you have an injury or have had surgery that is causing swelling, Kinesio tape may help to decrease it. It decreases pressure between your skin and the tissue underneath. This allows excess fluids that have accumulated since your injury to move through. Taping can also help with dealing with scar tissue. After an injury scar tissue can often form which inhibits your range of motion and mobility. Taping can gently pull on scar tissue. It stays on for long period of time. This gives you a long term but low intensity stretch to the tight scar tissue. The benefits can be big, but leave this kind of taping to the professionals.

It Takes an Expert

Applying might seem simple, but not just anyone can do it. When we correctly apply the tape it can be complicated. With some applications you need to move you body a certain way during taping, or we use a specific amount of tension to get results. This makes it very difficult to apply if you don’t have the correct training. You also need a knowledge of the underlying anatomy that you are working with. However, all of our therapists are trained experts with Kinesio tape. If taping can help with your current problem, our therapists can get you taped and experiencing the maximum benefits.