Los Altos Natural Health

The Latest Repetitive Stress Injury

2005-11-16T12:24:00.000-08:00

Technology is not necessarily your friend. I ran across the following article and felt it had relevance to life here in Silicon Valley.

(Quote)
iPod Thumb, the new occupational hazard

Prolongued wheel use can lead to thumb and wrist problems By: Victor Mihailescu, Apple News Editor

Occupational hazards are no laughing matter, and while tennis players have their elbows, housemaids their knees and athletes their feet, iPod users are beginning to have their thumbs. That's right, doctors are beginning to talk of iPod-thumb.This condition is said to be caused by the hand movements that are required to work the wheel in order to navigate the long lists of songs and artists. According to Carl Irwin, from the British Chiropractic Association, “the action needed to move the wheel on an iPod is totally unnatural and effectively separates the joint in the thumb every time you use it.”

Jumping around through the 10,000 tracks on your Pod can be risky if you do it too often. The iPod is only the latest and perhaps one of the most famous hand-held devices to be pointed out for causing repetitive stress injury (RSI). “Hand-held electronics may require prolonged grips, repetitive motion on small buttons and awkward wrist movements. This combination can lead to hand, wrist and arm ailments such as carpal tunnel syndrome and tendinitis. These devices are getting smaller with even more features, which encourage heavy, extended use. More of the population could suffer hand ailments unless they learn to take preventative measures,” said Donna Stanton, of the US Society of Hand Therapists.
(End Quote)

Click here for entire article.

Unfortunately, the article doesn't specify what "preventative measures" are. One of the things I recommend for strengthening is using a rubber band for resistance as you spread the fingers outward from a "pinch" or "crane's beak" position. (The same position you would use to pick up a coin). This is only to be used for prevention and should be avoided otherwise.

Of course, there is no substitute for regular chiropractic care when it comes to ongoing assessment of the condition and alignment of the spine and joints.

Please visit the articles section of my website for more information on technology-related health issues, including yoga for carpal tunnel syndrome.

Birthing Classes

2005-11-09T10:20:00.000-08:00

I ran across an article about
Birthing Classes
which effectively summarizes the differences between the Lamaze and Bradley methods.

As a chiropractor who has specialized in the treatment of pregnant women for 16 years, I feel that birthing classes are invaluable, especially for first-time parents.

In addition, I feel that an essential part of any pregnant woman's health regimen is regular chiropractic care. An important reason for chiropractic care throughout preganacy is to help establish balance in the mother's pelvis. Even a woman who is fit and healthy has had many small traumas and stresses to her spine and pelvis during her lifetime. These traumas often lead to imblances in the bones of the pelvis and low back as well as the supporting muscles and ligaments. Such imbalances can cause assymetric stresses on the uterus as it develops and enlarges. Such unequal ligament support of the uterus can torque the uterus, reducing the maximum amount of room for the developing baby and make labor and delivery more difficult.

For more information, please visit the articles section of my website:
http://www.losaltosfamilychiropractic.com

Have a healthy day!

First Post

2005-11-07T12:16:00.000-08:00

Hello World!

We'll be posting more in the future. Please visit my website at:

Los Altos Family Chiropractic

Have a Healthy day,

Dr. Deb