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Neck and shoulder pain
I have been a medical transcriptionst for 20 years. In the last year or so, I have developed pain wiht typing. The pain occurs in the my shoulder, my neck and my upper back, especially in my shoulder blades and under my arms in the rib area. Also the pain seems to be worse on my right side from the side of my neck down to my right shoudler and shoulder blade. I also get a knot in the middle of my back. I have tried PT to strengthen my back, but with no help. The pain kept returning. I have tried antiinflammatories and muscle relaxers. The muscle relaxers do smee to help the pain. I start off on Monday not having much pain. By Friday, the pain is really bad. It feels as though my back is so tight that I can hardly move without pain. It is associated with a nauseating feeling and a headache, not severe though. Saturday, I still feel the pain, on Sunday, the pain is almost completly gone and then on Monday the cycle begins again. Can someone please offer some advice, or does anyone out there have any similar pain? I am a 61 year old female.
You're wrong!
Hi there. The thing is that chiropractic is the only thing that deals with your skeletal alignment, which is different than what osteopath does. I think all these methods are useful for different things.
If you're going to see a doctor then see a osteopathic physician!
Not a chiropractor!!
Not a chiropractor!!
Hi Della61 - this is long but hope it helps. Several years ago I got severe tendonitis from excessive computer typing. Basically one summer I had a new database and did hours of data entry with no break. My forearm swelled up and it got so bad from ignoring it that eventually I had to have my steering wheel altered so that it would require only 20% of my strength. It affected my wrist and hands as well. There were only 2 treatments that really helped. One was a drug called Neurontin, but I was only allowed to be on it briefly because of some kind of kidney risk (there are other risks too). Then I received acupuncture, which helped a lot.
What helped most, however, was when I quit that job and took an 8-month sabbatical. If your condition is severe, it may just need a long rest before it can get substantially better. I didn't need the full 8 mos for my recovery so not saying you would need that long. Not sure if you can get Workers' Comp or disability coverage in order to have this rest. Maybe take more frequent breaks and ice briefly, but seems like that might be a band-aid.
For heavy typing jobs I usually would recommend voice activation software, but in your case, you are acting as a transcriber for other people's voices.
Suggest you have someone take a picture of you at your work station and have a chiropractor evaluate your posture so you can alter your work station, your posture, or both. The entire spine is connected to all the nerves, so if your spine is out of alignment and pinching nerves it could be hard to address pain in extremities since the nerves emanate from the spine. Based on my experience, the way I see chiropractic and acupuncture is this: chiropractic deals with structural issues, which affects the muscles, tendons, nerves, while acupuncture helps with circulation, which aids healing, and it also uses 'meridians' that bring healing directly, by connecting seemingly unrelated points. It's funky and may not be fun but it does help. I even had immediate sinus clearance once when they put needles in my back. Your body function is all connected.
I did get chiropractic for my tendonitis but they were Workers' Comp doctors, it had no effect on my condition and they weren't good at all. I am using chiropractic now for a back injury and have used one before for a sports injury so there are good ones out there. Quality varies. I am also using acupuncture for the same back injury. I've had more pain relief from acupuncture than chiropractic so far, but I go to chiro b/c I have structural and postural issues that I need to deal with that make me more susceptible to injury. To save money, I got a Yelp deal for the chiro and I go to an acupuncture university where the care is excellent.
For my recent back injury I also got prayer at a church meeting. Afterward I could walk upstairs with both legs, which I couldn't do before.
Of course it's good to examine your diet and try to exercise to relieve tension and bring oxygen into the muscles. Due to my back injury, I recently started taking collagen and hyalaronic acid, in addition to the CoQ10, glucosamine chondroitin, and MSM I had started to take before. I also plan on adding Udo's 3-6-9 omega oil and organic mangosteen juice. Sounds like overkill and honestly haven't researched the science much, but willing to try based on online reviews and friend recommendations. The biggest need I have, however, is to get my tush out the door for exercise! Currently doing aqua walking, which will turn in to aqua jogging as I get my a _ _ out the door and recuperate! Best to you on getting better!
What helped most, however, was when I quit that job and took an 8-month sabbatical. If your condition is severe, it may just need a long rest before it can get substantially better. I didn't need the full 8 mos for my recovery so not saying you would need that long. Not sure if you can get Workers' Comp or disability coverage in order to have this rest. Maybe take more frequent breaks and ice briefly, but seems like that might be a band-aid.
For heavy typing jobs I usually would recommend voice activation software, but in your case, you are acting as a transcriber for other people's voices.
Suggest you have someone take a picture of you at your work station and have a chiropractor evaluate your posture so you can alter your work station, your posture, or both. The entire spine is connected to all the nerves, so if your spine is out of alignment and pinching nerves it could be hard to address pain in extremities since the nerves emanate from the spine. Based on my experience, the way I see chiropractic and acupuncture is this: chiropractic deals with structural issues, which affects the muscles, tendons, nerves, while acupuncture helps with circulation, which aids healing, and it also uses 'meridians' that bring healing directly, by connecting seemingly unrelated points. It's funky and may not be fun but it does help. I even had immediate sinus clearance once when they put needles in my back. Your body function is all connected.
I did get chiropractic for my tendonitis but they were Workers' Comp doctors, it had no effect on my condition and they weren't good at all. I am using chiropractic now for a back injury and have used one before for a sports injury so there are good ones out there. Quality varies. I am also using acupuncture for the same back injury. I've had more pain relief from acupuncture than chiropractic so far, but I go to chiro b/c I have structural and postural issues that I need to deal with that make me more susceptible to injury. To save money, I got a Yelp deal for the chiro and I go to an acupuncture university where the care is excellent.
For my recent back injury I also got prayer at a church meeting. Afterward I could walk upstairs with both legs, which I couldn't do before.
Of course it's good to examine your diet and try to exercise to relieve tension and bring oxygen into the muscles. Due to my back injury, I recently started taking collagen and hyalaronic acid, in addition to the CoQ10, glucosamine chondroitin, and MSM I had started to take before. I also plan on adding Udo's 3-6-9 omega oil and organic mangosteen juice. Sounds like overkill and honestly haven't researched the science much, but willing to try based on online reviews and friend recommendations. The biggest need I have, however, is to get my tush out the door for exercise! Currently doing aqua walking, which will turn in to aqua jogging as I get my a _ _ out the door and recuperate! Best to you on getting better!
I suggest soaking in a bath of Epsom salts and see a Neurologist!
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