Text neck, Tech neck and Chiropractic care by Dr Carrie Staller

Hi Everyone!

Check out the latest blog article from me at the Heart Spring Health blog! 

Please send to anyone you know who may be experiencing unnecessary headaches, neck and back pain, or numbness/tingling/weakness or pain down the arms or into the hands. 

"All that texting is taking its toll on our bodies, leading to a new condition that’s afflicting an increasing number of mobile users. Known as text neck, or tech neck, it can strike anyone who uses technology that forces the head down for long periods of time, causing chronic pain and even premature arthritis."

And as always, you can contact Heart Spring Health at 503-956-9396 to set up an appointment with me.

Happy Wednesday!

Dr Carrie

May is National Neuropathy Awareness Month!

What is Neuropathy? 

    How do I know if that's where my pain is coming from? 

               

       What can I do about it??

All these questions and more will be answered in my latest blog post over at Heart Spring Health. 

Have you struggled with Neuropathic pain in the past? Let me know in the comments!

Do I need an Ergonomic Keyboard? Are they worth the money??

When you think of an ergonomic keyboard, you may picture something like this:

Just kidding! That looks like a spaceship.

You were probably thinking of something more along the lines of this:

The defining feature of an ergonomic keyboard is that it’s usually curved or v-shaped.  

Why do ergonomic keyboards look like that?

Unless you type by pecking away with your index fingers, try this experiment:  type as you normally would…then, freeze the position of your wrist and hand, and slowly move your forearms outward so that instead of pointing inward towards each other, they’re pointing straight ahead and parallel to one another, Frankenstein-style.

Chances are, your wrists are frozen in a position that is somewhat turned away from your body, otherwise known as ulnar deviation.

                                   

                                

                     

        Wrist in Neutral Position

                           

         Wrist in Ulnar Deviaion

When your fingers are pointing in a direction away from your body, it’s called ulnar deviation. (The ulna is the bone in your forearm on the pinky finger side. So, ulnar deviation = bending towards your ulna instead of straight ahead!)

The most commonly used keys on a keyboard are located very close together, so we usually have to compensate by turning our wrists outwards to be able to type. Nerves in our bodies run along a track from our necks, down our shoulders, into our forearms and finally into our hands. This change in angle can cause the track to become more narrow at the wrist, so the nerves to have less space to do their thing. Over time, this can lead to pain, weakness, numbness, and pins/needles sensations in our hands. 

Why should I care about this?

What I was just describing is called a nerve compression syndrome. The most common nerve compression syndromes I see in patients are Carpal Tunnel, Thoracic Outlet, Trigger finger, and different forms of tendonitis. Keeping your wrists in an awkward position for long periods of time is a great way to end up with Carpal Tunnel Syndrome.

I’ve treated a lot of people with Carpal Tunnel syndrome, and the majority of my patients acquire it by work related means, usually from spending all day at a computer.

However, I’ve found that carpal tunnel is more commonly caused by the position of the keyboard rather than the keyboard itself.

 

      Neutral Wrist Position 

What I want you to focus on here is the position of the forearms. Notice that the forearms are parallel to the floor, if not slightly downward sloping. Also, the wrists are neutral. 

Wrist Flexion

Wrist Extension

                                                   
 
This is what I see more often. Keyboards that are too high or low on a desk for a person's height, people resting their elbows on their knees when they type, or using laptops on their laps. As a result, people have their wrist stuck in a bent up or bent down position all day to type. This is how problems can develop!

So, is it worth spending the extra $$ for an ergonomic keyboard?

In my opinion, no.  If you spend all that money on a fancy keyboard that is positioned too high or low for your height, you haven’t corrected the key issue. Your money and time would be better well spent making adjustments to your desk so that your wrists are comfortably neutral throughout the day.

Questions? Thoughts? Share the wealth in the comments section below! 

The Official “B” Cheat Sheet: Your Guide To Understanding B-Vitamins

We've all heard of B vitamins. We know that they’re important, and that we need them to stay healthy. But what exactly do they do for us? How much of each vitamin do we need each day? Most importantly, what’s the best (and, ahem, the easiest) way to work them into our diets?

Here are the keys to decoding these B’s

If we understand the roles they play in our bodies, it becomes easier to see why not getting enough of them every day will result in certain problems. As a group, the B’s work together to keep the cells in our bodies healthy – this goes for the skin, blood, and nerve cells. What does this mean for you? Well, if you are lacking in the B department, you’ll develop problems with the skin (rashes, acne) blood (anemia) and nervous system (numbness/tingling, altered brain function, birth defects). 

The B’s also work together to keep homocysteine levels in check. Homocysteine is an amino acid found in the blood that is broken down by the B vitamins. Research is still being done on the long-term effects on the body, but many studies have found a connection between high levels of homocysteine and an increased risk of heart disease, Alzheimer’s disease, and bone fractures.

If that weren't enough, B’s play an essential role in turning the foods we eat into the energy we use every day, a process called metabolism. I’ll discuss metabolism in more detail in a later post.

Several simple sources of B-Vitamin Goodness

Ok, so now that we understand why these B’s are so important to us, which foods can we eat to give us our Vitamin B fix?  Different meats such as liver, beef, and fish are great sources of some of the harder-to-find B’s such as B5 and B12. Other good sources of B vitamins include: nuts, seeds, eggs, dairy products, mushrooms, whole grains, beans and leafy greens. B7 is a particularly difficult vitamin to find in generous amounts in food, but you'll find it in eggs, chard, peanuts and liver.

Fair enough, but how much do I need?

It can be tricky to make sure we’re getting enough of our B vitamins in our daily diet to stay healthy. Because of this, you may want to supplement with a multi-vitamin. Something important to remember: People who have restricted intake of certain foods as a result of vegetarian or vegan diets, or who are already managing certain conditions that deplete the B's in our body, may also need to supplement with whichever B they are lacking. Certain medications and even your age may also affect how well you can break down and use your B vitamins. Before starting any supplementation routine, please see your Doctor to make sure you take exactly what you need for your specific nutritional needs. Just like anything in life, too little OR too much of something can lead to problems.

Get to the good stuff!

Good news! I've compiled a nifty cheat sheet for you to use at home to help keep these B’s straight. Each section provides a mini-breakdown on how much of each B you need every day, what will happen if you’re not sneaking enough into your diet, and the foods that provide the highest B-bang for your buck.

 “But we are a practical group!” you cry out. “We demand recipes!” To reward your enthusiasm, I've included examples of meals packed to the brim with beautiful B’s at the end of this post.

B1	Thiamine	How much do I need: 1.5 g per day What if I don’t get enough: Altered brain function! Emotional disturbances! Weakness/pain in limbs! Irregular heartbeat! (Rare: Beriberi disease!) Where can I get it: sunflower seeds, macadamia nuts, pecans, pork, fish, cauliflower, eggs, kale
B2	Riboflavin	How much do I need: 1.2 mg per day What if I don’t get enough: Cracked lips! Inflamed tongue! Skin disorders! Where can I get it: milk, cheese, mushrooms, almond, dark leafy veggies
B3	Niacin	How much do I need: 14-16 mg per day What if I don’t get enough: Insomnia! Skin disorders! Diarrhea! Dementia! (Rare: Pellagra disease!)  Where can I get it: chicken, beef, mushrooms, peanut butter, legumes
B5	Pantothenic Acid	How much do I need: 5 mg What if I don’t get enough: Acne! Nerve dysfunction! Where can I get it: meat, whole grains, broccoli, avocado
B6	Pyridoxine	How much do I need: 1.5 mg What if I don’t get enough: Anemia! Rashes! Depression! High blood pressure! Where can I get it: grains, nuts, potatoes, starchy veggies
B7	Biotin	How much do I need: 30 micrograms What if I don’t get enough: Thinning of hair! Rashes! Depression! Tingling in arms/legs! Where can I get it: leafy greens, peanuts, eggs
B9	Folic Acid/Folate	How much do I need: 400 micrograms What if I don’t get enough: Depression! Anemia! Birth Defects! Where can I get it: leafy greens, beans, lentils, sunflower seeds
B12	Cobalamin	How much do I need: 2.4 micrograms What if I don’t get enough: Anemia! Depression! Constipation! Memory loss! Nerve dysfunction! Where can I get it: fish, beef, cheese, eggs, yogurt, milk

White potato (large, baked, with skin); Salmon, (½ fillet); 1 cup cooked spinach with mushrooms

B1        [][][][][]     55% 

B2        [][][][][][][][][][]     95% 

B3        [][][][][][][][][][]     100%

B5        [][][][]    45%  

B6        [][][][][][][][][][][][][][]    140%

B7        minimal

B9        [][][][][][][][]    85%  

B12      [][][][][][][][]    80%

Hamburger, (beef patty, 90% lean) 1 Avocado, 1 cup mushrooms, wheat  bun;  ½ cup black beans, ½ cup brown rice

B1        [][][][][]    55%

B2        [][][][][]    55%

B3        [][][][][][]   60%

B5        [][][][]   40%

B6        [][][][]   40%

B7        0%

B9        [][][][][][][][]   80%

B12      [][][]    35%

1 cup of Lentils, 1 cup of Spinach, 1 Avocado, 1 cup mushrooms

B1        [][][][][][][][][][][][][][]    140%

B2        [][][][][][][][][]   85%  

B3        [][][][]    40% 

B5        [][][][][][][]    75%  

B6        [][][][][][][][][]   90%  

B7        minimal

B9        [][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][][]   310%

B12      0%

2 Egg omelet with Spinach and Mushrooms

B1        0%

B2        [][][][][][][][][][][][][][]    130%

B3        0%

B5        [][][][][]    55%  

B6        0%

B7        minimal

B9        [][][][][][][][][]   95% 

B12      [][][][][]    50%  

1 cup of Oatmeal with ½ cup sunflower seeds

B1        [][][][][][][][]    80%

B2        []   15%

B3        [][]   25%

B5        [][][][][][]   65%

B6        [][][]    35%

B7        0%

B9        [][][][][][]   60%

B12      0%