[CAUT] Hand, arm and neck pain

[Zeno Wood]

Agreed, stretching and avoiding repetitive stress.  I was having wrist
problems and attributed it to tuning, but now I think it's overuse of the
computer mouse.  After switching to left hand mouse use (tricky at first) my
right wrist has been doing fine.

-Zeno Wood


On Tue, Jun 1, 2010 at 11:19 AM, Fred Sturm <fssturm at unm.edu> wrote:

> On Jun 1, 2010, at 8:05 AM, Michael Magness wrote:
>
>  When I get out of the shower in the AM I roll my towel up, place it under
>> my armpit and GENTLY pull my elbow into my ribs, stretching my shoulder
>> muscles & tendons out while they are still warm from the shower.
>>
>
>
>        Yes, I think the key in most cases to avoiding the various muscular
> problems that we face is stretching our muscles - consistently, daily as we
> get older. I have kept problems at bay by a regimen of all sorts of
> stretches. Another key is simply being aware of posture when working,
> feeling the effect on the muscles, and correcting to find postures and
> techniques that are as relaxed and pain free as possible. And one other
> thing that needs to be emphasized is that repetitive stress needs to be
> avoided - which means limiting the amount of any given activity, like
> tuning. I have found that three a day is sustainable. I did four for years,
> and it was problematic. Five I still do occasionally when I have to, but it
> takes too high a toll. Same with voicing.
>        Bottom line, we create our own problems by the way we use our
> bodies. We need to take responsibility and look at what we do and how we do
> it, so as to remain healthy and reasonably pain free. It is certainly true
> that an MD can't address all the problems we cause ourselves, or can only do
> so in a limited way (pain pills can be helpful temporarily, but are hardly
> something to depend on unless absolutely necessary). We generally create
> those swellings that cause nerve pain (like carpal tunnel) by inappropriate
> use of our bodies, and the surgical solution is not a very good "cure" -
> prevention is far better.
> Regards,
> Fred Sturm
> fssturm at unm.edu
> "Travel is fatal to prejudice, bigotry, and narrow-mindedness." Twain
>
>
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