Keyboards and mice come in all sorts of colors and styles, which is great but for those that work on a computer for a job, using the right type is essential to prevent injury keeping the hands, wrists, and arms healthy and moving.
Overuse can cause painful musculoskeletal disorders like:
There are a variety of ergonomic designs for these devices. Keyboard designs include four separate key areas:
The alphanumeric area with letters, numbers, and control keys
An area with cursor keys
Numeric keypad
Function keys or the ‘F’ keys
Keyboard Key Combinations or The Mouse
Basic typing and many other actions can be performed on the keyboard using the:
Function keys
Cursor keys
Control keys
Keyboard macros
Pretty much all of these actions can be done with the mouse. Many users operate the computer with the mouse instead of using the key combinations.
To obtain correct posture when working align the center of your body with the center of the keyboard area used the most or during a task.
Keyboard Layout
The layout follows the original ASDF design from the first typewriter.
From the beginning of this design, there was a realization that angling and splitting the keys would reduce the bending of the hands. The first split keyboard typewriter was manufactured in 1886.
The idea of splitting and angling the keys was implemented into ergonomic keyboard designs with the alphanumeric keys being separated at an angle into two sloped sections. For a� non-touch typist, this can be difficult to use, as some keyboards only angle the keys without splitting into halves.
The split design reduces the sideways bending of the hand but also important is the reduction of vertical bending.
However, this can be overcome by taking some simple steps like:
Flattening the keyboard feet on the desk can keep the hands flat
Putting the keyboard on a vertical tilted tray can also help improve the hands’ posture
Keyboards are available in left and right-handed styles
Choosing a Mouse
The shape along with the location of the mouse in relation to the keyboard is important for maintaining a healthy hand posture. Here are some considerations when choosing a mouse. The mouse buttons should:
Have easy clickability
Is easy to move around/feels natural
The screen cursor should move accurately with your movements
There are mice with programmable buttons allowing you to control additional functions. Important things to check:
Make sure the size and shape of the mouse feels natural in your hand
Hold the mouse in a neutral position meaning your hand should not be bent up, down or sideways
Position and operate the mouse with your upper arm relaxed and close to your body, and don’t reach too far forward or too far out to the side
There are keyboards with a separate numeric pad that allows the mouse to be located closer to the keyboard. Some keyboards include a cursor positioning device like a trackball, touchpoint or touchpad. These types eliminate having to reach for a mouse. However, it is a good practice to mix it up using the keyboard for certain operations and the mouse for others. This allows different muscles and ligaments to work while the others take a break.
The Ideal Setup
All keyboards and mice are designed differently. The key is to find well-made products that are built with ergonomic injury prevention as the focus. You can use trackballs, touchpads, and pen mice instead of a regular mouse.
Find what works for you, is ergonomic, comfortable and easy to use and will keep your hands in a neutral posture. If you do a lot of typing and mouse movement, your hands are going to get tired even with top designed keyboards and mice. Take frequent short rest and stretch breaks to let your muscles recover. The stretching exercises should include the:
Wrist
Forearm muscles
Shoulders
Neck
Upper back muscles
Working like this will protect you against over-use injuries.
Carpal Tunnel Chiropractic Treatment
NCBI Resources
Chiropractic care is one of the most common forms of treatment for carpal tunnel syndrome. Foremost, a doctor of chiropractic will evaluate the extent of the condition as well as diagnose the individual to determine any underlying cause behind the condition. Through a series of chiropractic adjustments and manual manipulations, the hand, wrist, and arm are adjusted to reduce the pressure around the median nerve, and ultimately reducing the symptoms.
Most of us know what sciatica means and that is low back pain that radiates/spreads into the buttock down into the leg and sometimes into the foot. The pain can be mild to excruciating, but fortunately, if it is mild�sciatica can usually be alleviated in 3 months.�These are a few non-invasive conservative treatment therapies that can be done at the house.
Here are a few at the house sciatica remedies for people who started experiencing sciatic nerve pain or whose pain is not severe. But you should get a doctor�s approval before trying any of these at the house therapies.
If sciatica has been present for a few weeks or the low back and leg pain has become debilitating you should see a doctor.
House Tip 1. Exercise is OK & Beneficial
It might seem strange to exercise when you�re in pain, but research has shown that too much rest can aggravate back and leg symptoms.
Remember this is not a hardcore burning massive calories exercise, but a gentle exercise routine that you can work into your day.
These Exercises should not be painful or strenuous.
A walk around the house is a great form of physical activity that keeps your spine strong without worsening the injury.
Make your spine stronger with core exercises, but make sure they will not exacerbate your sciatica symptoms. And remember that exercise triggers the release of endorphins to reduce the pain.
House Tip 2. Start Stretching
Start doing gentle stretches regularly. Stretching will improve your spinal flexibility and motion range and also builds core strength. Most stretches can be done while watching your favorite show/movie.
House Tip 3. Ice Packs and Heating Pads Help
Alternating heat and ice therapy can bring relief from nerve pain. Ice helps reduce inflammation, and heat generates blood flow to the areas of pain that speeds up healing. Both help reduce muscle spasms that usually come with sciatica.
Apply the ice pack for 15 minutes once every hour, and then bring the heat for 15 minutes every 2 or 3 hours. Remember to protect your skin when using these pads, and never sleep with the heat or ice pads.
House Tip 4. Change Your Posture
If you are working at your desk or just relaxing, don’t stay in the same position too long, as it can make the pain spike.
Therefore move around and change your posture every 20 minutes. Using the correct posture for various activities will help take the pressure off your spine and reduce symptoms.
House Tip 5. If You Need To Use Medication Properly
Over-the-counter non-steroidal anti-inflammatory medications can help ease symptoms when they present. These medications can relieve inflammation and pain, whereas acetaminophen (Tylenol) only reduces pain.
However, there are health risks, so make sure to discuss their safety with your doctor.
Examples include:
Ibuprofen (Advil, Motrin)
Aspirin (Ecotrin)
Naproxen (Aleve)
The Remedies Are Not Working
Recognize when at the house remedies are not reducing your symptoms. When the treatments aren’t helping, it could be time to see a doctor, chiropractor or spine specialist.
People including myself want to avoid the doctor. It could be knowing how to use your health insurance or if you don�t have any. Whatever the reason do not opt for the ignorance is bliss and hope it will all go away.
If you need help figuring out how to use your insurance here at Injury Medical our staff are trained to help guide you through the process. And if you don’t have insurance we can still help and work out different types of plans.
Now there are sciatica symptoms that warrant immediate medical attention. In these rare cases, holding off medical care could cause permanent nerve damage.
If any of the following occur, please see your doctor as soon as you can:
There is severe throbbing/stinging pain in your low back and legs
Nerve associated symptoms like:
Weakness
Numbness
Tingling
Electric shock-like pain
The pain is not improving after 2 weeks
The pain gets worse, even with house therapies
Loss of bowel or bladder control
At the end of the day reducing sciatica symptoms doesn�t always mean having to use an extreme treatment approach. Relieving sciatica symptoms at the house with light exercise, ice/heat therapy, correct posture, and medication can help speed up recovery. The most important thing you can do is to take it seriously and call your doctor or chiropractor if relief is not happening.
Please contact our chiropractic team today to schedule an appointment if you are experiencing symptoms of sciatica. We are ready to help you feel better and get back on your feet again!
*Effective Treatment* for Sciatic Nerve Pain| El Paso, Tx
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A study cited by the health magazine�Prevention�found that sixty percent of sciatica sufferers who failed to get relief from other treatments found their symptoms improved after chiropractic care. In fact, they got the same level of relief as those who went through surgery � without any of the serious side effects that so often come with surgical procedures.
Head and neck injuries related to phone use are on the rise. Since the first iPhone was released, according to a study in JAMA Otolaryngology-Head & Neck Surgery.
Doctors are warning cell phone users to be especially careful when:
Walking around and texting
It is a distraction and one of the leading causes of head and neck injuries.
2,501 reported cases of phone-related head and neck injuries that lead to emergency room visits between January 1998 and December 2017 found in a nationwide database. Injuries in teens and young adults aged 13 to 29 years old were about 40%, in women (55%) and men (45%).
Common Phone Injuries
Common injuries include:
Cuts
Bruises
Abrasions
Internal injuries usually happen around the eyes and nose
Possible trauma to the brain
Over 41% of these injuries happened at home and were minor with little or no treatment needed. Around 50% of injuries were a result of distracted driving and 30% from distracted walking.
Any type of phone distraction in and out of the home puts you and others at risk for:
Falls
Slips
Trips
All of which can lead to injuries and other possible consequences (e.g. a busted phone).
More individuals are getting injured because of phone use while moving around and not paying attention to what’s around them.
Children
Children under the age of 13 were at higher risk to suffer a mechanical injury like parents accidentally dropping the phone on their child or children hitting themselves in the face. For example, ninety cases of injuries occurred while playing Pokemon Go.
Spending as little as two to four hours a day hunched over a smartphone is enough to make a serious impact on the body over time. And though two to four hours may not seem like a long time, it isn�t hard to arrive at two hours by adding several 15-minute or half-hour segments together.
For teenagers, specifically, two to four hours on a smartphone has changed as of now teenagers spend around seven to eight hours on their phones. Spending twice as much time on afternoons or the space between classes or lunch. Think about the impact of 1500 plus hours of bad posture throughout the year. There is no surprise that teenagers are at risk.
The lasting impact of text neck and distracted phone use on today�s young people will be costly. Therefore, the public needs to be educated about the risks of distracted phone use and reducing this distracted behavior.
*Neck* Pain Chiropractic Care El Paso, Texas
NCBI Resources
If you begin noticing pain, spasms, or irritation around the neck, shoulders, or back make an appointment with a professional chiropractor. Explain when the pain occurred, the severity, and the activity that started it. A simple adjustment may be all that is needed to get re-aligned and gain relief from pain caused by overuse. A chiropractor can also help decrease the chances of the injury worsening over time.
Back pain during the holidays takes the joy out of everything.�All the�activities, events, and shopping can worsen spinal injuries or cause new ones.�And trying to power through the pain makes family traditions like tree-trimming, cooking, baking into a very cautionary experience.�When selecting a gift for friends or loved ones with back or neck pain they would appreciate something designed to help them feel better.
Although the massage devices and foam roller sets don�t work miracles they can ease the stress and discomfort that comes with living with pain.
There is a wealth of products that:
Support the back
Relieve muscle tension
Improve sleep quality
Affordable Back/Neck Gifts
Epsom salts –�A warm Epsom bath reduces muscle soreness, eases stress and soothes the skin. The salts’ magnesium helps the body reduce inflammation along with improving muscle and nerve function. The sulfates help the body absorb nutrients and flush body toxins.
Along with the health benefits, a bath is a nice way to relax after a long day. Gift sets contain a bag of salts, bath bombs, bubble bath, and other goodies.
Back massage pads – A good massage can relieve aches and pains. Massage pads knead the muscles while you�re watching TV, riding in a car, or resting.
Massagers have various settings that focus on various areas of the back and thighs with vibration and heat. Each massager is different and they have all kinds of modes. You might have to do a little research but the great thing is that they fit in a car/truck seat, office chair, or reclining chair.
Lumbar (Low Back) cushions – These pillows make sitting in a car,� truck or office chair, a whole lot more comfortable with low back support.
Travel cushions are made to take with you on road trips, work commutes, and are heavy-duty to help prevent slouching and ease low back pain caused by long sitting times.
Foam Rollers – Rollers are great for working out muscle soreness and stiffness. There are a variety of styles that combine foam roller benefits with massage ball portability, as well as, kits that have specialized rollers in different sizes, and shapes for different parts of the body.
Roll out the hips, upper back, calves, feet, and other parts at the house or on the road.
Indulgent Gifts
Massage as a gift – Massages help ease muscle tension, relieve aches and pains, and promote relaxation.
Gift a massage from a local chiropractor or physical therapist.
Look for licensed therapists that are specially trained in treating people with spine or neck pain.
Ergonomic chair – These chairs are made to support proper posture and reduce stress from long periods of sitting.
Consider a quality office chair. A good chair will have multiple adjustments so you can adjust the armrests, headrest, seat height, and depth. Ergonomic chairs provide more support than a standard office chair.
An infrared heat lamp – Heat is a solution that increases blood circulation and reduces muscle stiffness.
Heat lamps offer deep penetration that can be used at home for the larger areas of the body like the chest and back. A study found a group of patients that reported their pain levels decreased after six weeks of use.
Yoga classes – for the fitness people in your life gift a yoga class package.
The American College of Physicians Clinical guidelines recommends yoga as a first step in treating low back pain. As with any exercise program, they need to talk to their doctor before beginning yoga. Yoga Alliance and The International Association of Yoga Therapists (IAYT) are good places to find top qualified instructors.
The gift of relaxation, back support, and especially stress relief of family and friends will give you that fuzzy feeling all over, knowing that you’re helping someone out in a very real way!
Individuals who sit most of the day, like those working in a computer while sitting in an office chair, are also at high risk for non-accidental spine injury. Office ergonomics, or computer ergonomics, can help minimize the risk such as the dangers associated with prolonged sitting in an office chair, and carpal tunnel syndromes, such as lower back pain, neck strain, and leg pain.
Here are some tips that you can use throughout the year but are especially useful during the holidays. So give yourself the gift of spending happy holidays with less stress, neck and back pain. Christmas is a time of excitement, growth, family, friends mixed with stress.
Now there is good stress that we all use when we need it, but when everything just starts to close in all around you, that’s the bad kind of stress that we want to prevent and avoid. For people with chronic back or neck pain, the strain of getting your to-do list done can take the joy of the season right out and replace it with pain and misery. �Therefore plan ahead so you can get your holiday chores done without pain.
Five tips for making the holidays more enjoyable and comfortable
Tip 1 – Shop Simple
Back and leg pain, along with sciatica, can make walking at a shopping mall almost impossible. Instead of doing a lot of walking maybe pick up gift cards or go online. This way the family and friends get to pick whatever they want and you avoid lifting and carrying shopping bags. But, if you do buy personalized gifts, go online. Everything gets shipped straight to wherever you want.
Tip 2 – Plan Before Cooking
If you’re expecting a large crowd, prepare all you can ahead of time. Example: pies can be baked the day before.
Before you start cooking, look at the kitchen. Is there room for everyone to fit while helping, conversing, etc? If not, set up the space so people can flow easily around each other and get things done.
Use your counter-top to lean on every now and then for a few minutes and take the pressure off your back. Do not stay in any one position for an extended period. To help you not forget, set a timer to remind you to sit, rest, or stand. Also, let your guests help with serving and clean up so any stress on the body is reduced.
Tip 3 – Make Decorating a Group Activity
Don�t decorate by yourself. Especially when moving heavy objects. Get help so everyone is involved. This will prevent repetitive injuries when reaching or twisting and reduce stress to you and your family’s backs.
Tip 4: Make Time for Yourself
During the holidays we can get tempted to forget about our regular eating and exercise routines.
Stay focused, as you need strength and flexibility to be able to accomplish these tasks. So stretch out and continue your exercise regimen no matter how hectic it gets.
Stretching will help keep you limber and reduce the risk of a sprain or strain.
If there is no time for your regular exercise routine, don�t just drop it. Adapt and break up the exercises into little segments throughout the day.
Continue to eat the regular healthy meals you’re used to. Gaining weight will make back pain worse. Staying on track isn�t easy during the holidays. Take a look online for healthy strategies before the holiday parties begin.
Here are some examples:
Eat breakfast to prevent overeating later in the day.
At the party, fill up with low-calorie foods like vegetables, leafy green salads, and lean proteins.
Try to stay out of easy reach of nuts, chips or candies, cookies, etc.
If you’re going to have some high-calorie food have some, but don’t overdo it.
And if you�re going to indulge try something that doesn’t come around all the time, like a piece of your aunt�s pie, cookies, cake, ham, tamales, that you only get once a year.
Tip 5 – Look to the Future
Look ahead to the future and look up some simple ways to improve your back or neck pain. Setting some goals like adding a 5-minute walk break to your day that you could gradually increase to ten, fifteen minutes and so on. Signing up for a yoga/fitness class could be another idea. This could also be the year to replace your mattress. Whatever the case, take it all in, look at the options and figure out what works for you.
How to eliminate Back Pain naturally | (2020) Foot Levelers |El Paso, Tx
NCBI Resources
There are 3 major categories of stress: bodily, environmental and emotional.
Bodily stress: Caused by lack of sleep, disease, trauma or injury, and improper nutrition.
Environmental stress:�Caused by loud noises (sudden or sustained), pollution and world events, such as war and politics.
Emotional stress:�Caused by a variety of life events, such as moving homes, starting a new job and regular personal interactions. In contrast to the other two categories of stress, however, people can have some control over their emotional stress. Such can depend on the individual�s own attitude.
Musculoskeletal health is one of the highest costs in healthcare today.
There are 1 in 2 Americans that have a musculoskeletal condition. And the need for support along with body alignment is at an all-time high.
In today’s world surveys found that Americans wear two to three pairs of shoes during the week.
However, these shoes are not made to support:
The body
Fit the feet
And can be dangerous to general musculoskeletal health
Health and freedom from pain are important factors in a healthy quality of life. But it starts with proper support for the body that begins from the ground up.
Many believe that to get proper support all you need is to buy top shoes that are optimized with athletic properties. While athletic shoes are definitely more comfortable they do not provide adequate support for the body and can affect posture and the body’s alignment.
The shoes out on the market today, whether athletic or dress are more about fashion than function. These shoes are designed based on sample sizes. Shoe companies use for men a size ten and for women a size eight for their sample. Then material is�added or subtracted to create the larger or smaller sizes.
The resultant shoes are designed to fit and provide optimum performance but are not customized to conform to each individual’s unique feet.�
Shoes are designed to protect feet from the elements and adapt to various activities.
They are not designed to handle the additional forces necessary to support the body.
Take a look at the extensive wear patterns on your shoes and see if there are imbalances in the feet. If there are areas that are really worn/flattened out then there can be severe pronation taking place. This is one serious reason to look into foot orthotics,
Not to worry, as excessive foot pronation affects everyone.
While at school, work or conducting daily chores is when individuals pronate and while wearing shoes with no arch/spine support.
Pronation in the feet combined with shoes that don’t fit with no support has a negative impact on posture and alignment.
With no sufficient support, the body reverts to the imbalanced state. With continued use and not addressed will cause pain in the:
Knees
Hips
Back
Neck
And unfortunately, most of us ignore and even power through the pain caused by the poor fit and lack of support from these shoes.
Reasons to Use Custom Orthotics
The feet make up the body�s foundation. Just like a house, problems with the foundation will create problems throughout the structure over time. Therefore if the foundation is remedied properly then the other issues remedy themselves or are easier to treat because the feet are already taken care of.
Feet problems/issues create back problems. Fixing foot problems will make a difference with the back pain treatment plan.
Individuals think their feet are just fine. However, they don’t know what problems are in the background waiting for the worst moment to present. Imbalance/dysfunction is a silent issue that can ripple into many problems along with pain in the spine.
Feet are as unique as fingerprints. Custom orthotics will make a vast difference between the right and left foot and accommodate the body to achieve its full potential.
Custom orthotics are built just for you. Based on a high-resolution 3D scan of your feet, that is sent to a Foot Levelers� team of technicians, who create your 100% unique, tailored foot orthotic/s.
Don�t be fooled by over-the-counter knock offs. These are mass-produced insoles that can worsen pain. And while most cases of back pain respond well with Chiropractic care, adding custom foot orthotics will enhance the effectiveness of the treatment with no need for surgery or side effects from medications.
Your feet and your body will thank you and will improve health by maintaining proper posture, combined with full-body support to achieve optimal quality of life.
How to eliminate Back Pain naturally | (2020) Foot Levelers |El Paso, Tx
NCBI Resources
When there are problems with the feet, it can cause problems through the legs and all the way to the spine. This can cause the ankle to pronate, meaning it rolls inward. This alters the way the�bones of the foot�line up which extends through the tibia, or shin bone.
This can cause a condition called knock knees and it can change the way the entire body is aligned. This puts the body out of balance, destabilizing the spine, and can even cause the pelvis to tilt to one side or the other. When you are walking or standing, the stress caused by the misalignment can create a domino effect, causing or contributing to low back pain.
A pain specialist is a medical or osteopathic doctor that treats pain caused by disease, disorder, and trauma. Also known as interventional pain management specialists, these doctors are often anesthesiologists or physiatrists.
Pain medicine involves multi-disciplines and team effort with a patient’s primary physician, other doctors, and specialists in radiology, psychiatry, oncology, nursing, chiropractic/physical therapy, alternative medicine, etc.
Education and Training
Upon completion of medical school and a one-year internship, the specialist enters a residency program in anesthesiology, physical medicine or other fields like neurology. Upon residency completion, the doctor completes a one-year fellowship for advanced training in pain medicine.
Pain medicine specialists continue medical training and education throughout their careers.
Pain Management Goals
Pain medicine is aimed at managing acute or chronic pain through pain frequency and intensity reduction and ultimately alleviation.
Multidisciplinary treatment programs are utilized to address functional goals and normal day to day chores and activities.
A pain treatment plan’s goal is to regain well-being, increasing your level of activities like returning to work, school, etc and eliminate medication dependency.
Pain Types & Treatment
Specialists treat all types of pain.
Acute pain is severe/sharp and can signal something is wrong.
Touching a hot stove or slamming a finger in a door are examples of acute pain.
Chronic pain lasts 6 months or longer.
This type varies from mild to severe and is constant.
Spinal arthritis (spondylosis) is an example of chronic pain.
It can be difficult to manage, but combining a variety of treatments can show positive results. The pain types include:
Degenerative disease
Facet joint pain
Sciatica
Cervical and lumbar spinal stenosis
Spondylolisthesis
Vertebral compression fracture
Whiplash
An appointment consists of
These are like most medical visits. The focus is on the pain, the cause, what factors are contributing, and creating an optimal treatment management plan.
A physical examination
Neurological examination
Review of medical history particularly pain history.
Questions can include:
From zero to 10, 10 being the worst, where’s your pain at?
When did it start?
What were you doing when it started?
Does it spread or radiate out other areas of the body?
Is the intensity constant?
Is it worse at different times of the day or night?
What helps relieve the pain?
What worsens the pain?
What types of treatments have you tried?
Did it work and to what degree?
Do you take and what types of, over-the-counter medications, vitamins, and herbal supplements?
Do you take prescription medications?
A drawing of the body could be used to mark where the pain is felt, as well as indicate pain spread and type.
Diagnosis
Diagnosing the cause of pain is paramount to creating the proper management treatment plan. If the wrong diagnosis is made and the wrong treatment is initiated it might exacerbate the condition and/or create new injuries.
This can mean getting:
X-ray’s
CT scan
MRI
These imaging types help confirm the origin of the pain. When treating spine pain, arm, leg and foot symptoms may also be present. Therefore the correct diagnosis is essential to a successful treatment plan.
Spinal disorder pain treatment usually involves other specialists, like a primary care physician, neurosurgeon, orthopedic surgeon, radiologists, oncologists, nurses, chiropractors, physical therapists, and alternative medicine practitioners.
We focus on what works for you. We also strive to create fitness and better the body through researched methods and total wellness programs. These programs are natural and use the body�s own ability to achieve goals of improvement, rather than introducing harmful chemicals, controversial hormone replacement, surgery, or addictive drugs.
We want you to live a life that is fulfilled with more energy, a positive attitude, better sleep, less pain, proper body weight and educated on how to maintain this way of life. I have made a life of taking care of every one of my patients.
I assure you, I will only accept the best for you�
Back Pain Chiropractic Care El Paso, Texas
NCBI Resources
If you have low back pain�or have had it, you are not alone. Experts estimate that around�80% of people�will experience some type of back problem at some point in their lives.�The Global Burden of Disease 2010�lists low back pain as the number one cause of disability worldwide. The good news is the majority of back pain is mechanical in origin or is not organic.
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