What a Pain in the Neck!

Like many of you out there, I spend the majority of my day staring at a computer.  All of that time has resulted in a pain in my neck, literally...   

At first, I thought nothing of this pain, but as it persisted, I became more concerned with it.  Perhaps I had slept funny or something.  The more I thought about it, the more I realized it was not from one isolated incident but from the bad habits I had developed in my everyday activity.    

Bad habits can be hard to break, especially when it comes to poor posture.  But, here are some tips that I have started to incorporate into my day to improve my pain in the neck:  

1. Stretch.  Start by gently tilting your head from left to right, hold for 20 seconds on each side.  Next, place your hand on top of your head and stretch your neck towards your shoulder on each side.  Be sure to perform these stretches with slow, smooth movements. Make sure that you are doing it gradually, as any quick stretch is more likely to tear a muscle or ligament.  If you feel increased pain or numbness, stop that motion.  These simple stretching exercises can be done a few times per day while sitting at your desk. 
2. Shoulder rolls.  In the sitting or standing position, hold the arms at the side with the elbows bent. Try to pinch the shoulder blades together.  Roll the shoulders backwards 10 to 15 times, moving in a rhythmic, rowing motion.  Rest.  Roll the shoulders forwards 10 to 15 times. 
3. Sit up straight. Your shoulders should be in a straight line over your hips and your ears. 
4. Practice proper ergonomics.  Position your desk chair and computer monitor to be at eye level.  Avoid sitting in the same position for prolonged periods of time and take periodic breaks.    
5. Apply heat.  A heating pad can provide welcomed relief after a long day of work.  Apply a heating pad or hot pack for 20 minutes at a time.  Avoid direct contact with the skin by using a towel between your skin and the heating pad.  
6. Try a massage or acupuncture.  Both are great options and can provide considerable relief.  I know I am looking forward to scheduling a massage through The Medical Spa at Nova!  

 

I hope you find these tips as helpful as they have been for me!

-Posted by Kimberly Zawistoski, DO

 

A Neat Weekend!

I had a most unusual weekend.  On Saturday, I saw the movie Silver Lining Playbook with my daughter and on Sunday saw Quartet with my friend.   You may wonder how these two movies connect.   The connection may be tenuous, but to me, they are both part of what’s important to me today. 

Silver Lining Playbook is a wonderful movie about a person with bi-polar illness.  The movie displays superbly the nature of bi-polar illness and its effect on patient, family, and community.  The stress of the illness can be overwhelming to say the least.  The movie was funny, sad, and finally showed that treatment in many different forms can be effective and that there can be a happy ending!

There is a lot of focus on mental health/illness these days with the tragedy in Newtown, CT and the subsequent issue of guns and the mentally ill.  I am called upon by my practice to note that the stigma towards mental illness – while lessened to some degree – is still active and pervasive.   What many may not realize is that if there is violence from a mentally ill person, it is much more likely for it to be an act of violence towards the self; in self-harm and suicide.  I’d like to emphasize that with treatment, people can and do get well!

Now, how does Quartet connect?   This is just a delightfully sweet movie!  It is about musicians who join a retirement community for professional musicians.  Music remains a central part of their lives and movie goers get to escape into the pleasures of music.  

Much of my practice time is spent teaching patients how to relax and manage stress, thereby enhancing their health.  Music can transport a person out of themselves, allowing a short vacation from their stresses and strains.  I know that music and movies work for me...  they can work for you too!

-Posted by Camille Grosso, PhD, APRN, BC                                                                    

What's Holding You Back?

Recently, Sarah Sutton joined our team here at Nova.  Sarah is a Wellness Coach.  It made sense to me that we should have such expertise here at Nova – and, for that matter, at all practices – to help us to motivate patients to make the changes in their lives that are important.  With that being said, I really did not have a frame of reference to understand how Sarah might make some changes in my life, but I was willing to find out.

Sarah presents herself in a confident and cheery, non-threatening manner.   She has a “Can-Do” manner which really helps when we must face things in ourselves that we would like to improve.  Sarah asked me what I would like for her to help with.   I braced and responded, “Sarah, I need to lose weight.”

Sarah responded that “need” was the wrong verb to use and that it implied some degree of desperation.  I agreed that it did, but perhaps it was accurate, since I did feel desperate to get the weight off.  

Not only do I need to get the weight off, but I need to get in shape too – and I know that it’s not going to be easy!   After all, I had a left total hip replacement 3 months ago and was tired of not completely having my life back.   I gained 10 pounds since surgery and that is not a good direction to continue…  

Around  the same time that I met with Sarah, I decided to also cough up $20 and join “The Biggest Loser Contest” at Nova  (How lame would it be if I came last place!?).   To start the competition, I got a BIA done…Karen, the nurse team lead in Ashburn, got me through it.  It really was not that bad, but I learned that my BMI is 26% and it needs to be below 25%.

Sarah asked me “How would you like to approach this goal?”  I responded that I eat quite well, but I need to cut out drinking all alcohol and I need to work out.   She asked me what was blocking me from doing this.   I responded,  ”Getting it on my calendar.” 

I was really embarrassed that I was not capable of getting this on my calendar, I mean really...!!!!!   I was worried that Sarah might pass some judgment about this, but she did not.  She said, “Well, let’s do that right now.”  So, we did.   I booked a time on Monday and Friday to work out and then planned to get up every morning, to have some time for myself before the children got up.   I would go through some gentle workouts at home, as instructed by my Physical Therapist.

She suggested, rather than cutting wine all together, how about limiting to just one or two glasses per week, versus my 5-6 routine?   That sounded good to me.   Sarah reminded me that she would be checking up on me and that if I was not adhering to these simple changes, to write down the issues that were blocking me from achieving my goals.

So, since then, (1 week), I have worked out three times, performed my PT workout daily, met with a personal trainer twice and am now scheduled to do so every Monday and Friday at 8 AM.   That time works and is not as difficult as my prior routine of getting up at 5:30 AM and working out in my home.  Once I get back in the routine, I think that I can rely on myself to do this more at home, but for now, I need the accountability to Sarah and my Personal Trainer.  I also signed up for a weekly Pilates Class, but am required to have 4 private sessions before starting.   I will learn to use the Reformer for the first time.  Yes, it is true… you can teach an old dog new tricks!

And… I met my girlfriends for dinner for Friday evening, had a seafood salad and one glass of wine.  I was satisfied with an unsweetened ice tea thereafter.

So, I have my weekly weigh in tomorrow for the “Biggest Loser” competition.   I intend on winning that pot of cash that is now at $700 (Now that Cyndi S. has joined up…)!   Yes, the competition is fierce, but I am intent on making a good showing…if not winning that cash!   If I’m not the overall winner, maybe I will just enjoy losing a few pounds and feeling a bit better about how I look and feel.

So, I now understand how a Wellness Coach can help me.  She has motivated me to tackle something that I do not like about myself and must change, and…..I am having some fun doing it! 

I am currently chowing down some Kale Salad for lunch, because my loyal colleague Megan is competing against me and this will definitely give me an edge today.  She ran 2 miles yesterday though, so, the pressure is on!   Just about three months to go to reach my goal of losing 23 pounds.

I will keep you posted….

-Posted by Grace Keenan, MD