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About Portland observer. (Portland, Or.) 1970-current | View Entire Issue (Jan. 27, 2010)
Do You Have Carpal Tunnel? There are ways to minimize the risk Y ou're w orking at your desk, try lingers warm . ing to ignore the tingling or nu m b T o do th is, m ak e su re th at y o u r ness you've had tor m onths in your w o rk sp a c e and e q u ip m e n t are at ham! and w rist. Suddenly, a sharp, the right h eig h t and d ista n c e for piercing pain shoots through the y o u r h an d s and w rist to w ork w ith w rist and up your arm . Just a pass less strain . It you are w o rk in g on ing cram p? M ore likely you have a c o m p u te r, the k e y b o ard sh o u ld carpal tunnel syndrom e, a painful be at a h eig h t that a llo w s y o u r progressive condition caused by w rist to rest c o m fo rta b ly w ith o u t com pression o f a key nerve in the h av in g to bend at an an g le. D esk wrist. o r ta b le w o rk s p a c e s h o u ld be M any things can help m inim ize a a b o u t 27 to 29 in ch es a b o v e the pel son's risk for carpal tunnel. Strat flo o r for m ost p eo p le. egies include perform ing hand anti It also helps to keep your elbow s w rist exercises, preventing w rist close to your sides as you type to injury at w ork, and relaxing the grip. reduce the strain on your forearm . People w ith jobs that have aw kw ard K eeping good posture and wrist wrist positions and repetitive hand position can low er your risk o f g et mov em ents are at increased risk for ting carpal tunnel syndrom e. carpal tunnel. A void repetitive m ovem ents, if Prevention in the w orkplace is possible. Try to perform tasks that focused on w ays to relieve these use different m uscle m ovem ents positions. I hese include varying during each hour. Break up tasks your tasks, perform ing exercises, that require repetitive wrist and hand A b ra c e to k e e p th e w r is t s tra ig h t c a n h e lp re d u c e th e p a in fro m relaxing the grip and keeping your m otion with those that do not. C a rp a l T u n n e l S y n d ro m e . Weight Loss Scams Hurt A com m on resolution f or the New Year is to lead a more healthy life and lose som e of the excess w eight gained from holiday revelries. It is especially during this tim e o f year that scam m ers exploit our desire to slim -dow n w ith phony products that claim to help you lose w eight with little to no effort. M any w eight loss scam s sug gest you can achieve “ great results” w ithout exercise or m odifying your diet. At best, fad diets and fake health products might result in short-term tem porary w eight loss but can be dangerous it follow ed over a longer period. THE Dr. Billy R. Flowers An ongoing senes of questions and answers about Amencas natural healing profession Part 21. Chiropractic VS Fatigue: Climbing the stairs to a new you, two steps at a time. : I feel exhausted all the time. 1 d o n 't w an, to take "p ep ” pills because o f addic-tion possibilities. W hat can 1 do? : I have a good friend and patient w ho only a year ago at the age o f 61 loved life but has a trem endous concern. 11e becam e fatigued so easily that any activ ity w ould leave Him exhausted. The interesting point w ith him w as that he prac ticed excellent health habits. N one theless he got to the point w here exercise w as nearly im possible. He still clim bed the steps at work but w ould have to stop halfw ay up to catch his breath before co n tin u ing. I persuaded him to look to C h i ropractic for increased vitality. At First he could not see a correlation betw een his nerves and his Energy level. I told him that it w as virtually one and the sam e. O ur nerv es are the highw ays o f energy Tips to avoid phony products In 2009, over 300 O regon c o n scientific evidence to back up health sum ers received refunds totaling claim s about their "dietary supple m ore than $ 180,000 from ow ners o f m ents," including that one n orm al the defunct die, chain LA W eight ized blood pressure. Loss f ranchise C om pany based on A ttorney G eneral John K roger a settlem ent reached by the O regon offers the follow ing tips to spot D epartm ent o f .1 ustice. w eight loss scam s. Y ou should p ro I he law suit alleged that the co m ceed w ith caution if a product d em pany had no com petent and reliable onstrates one o f the follow ing: * Lacks scientific evidence or a dem onstrated link betw een the prod uct and the prom oted health ben efits. ÎM SPINA.,COLUMN in the body. If the nerves are trapped or irritated, our energy will be drained as well. He took my advice and now' instead o f stop ping halfw ay, he charges up the stairs, tw o steps at a time! If your vitality is giving up at the halfw ay m ark, get charged up w ith C h iro practic. It’s a natural! Flowers' Chiropractic 2124 N.E. Hancock Street, Portland Oregon 97212 Phone: ( 5 0 3 ) 2 8 7 *5 5 0 4 A fter d o in g re p e titiv e m o v e m ents for a w hile, you can som e tim es cancel out the effects o f those mov em ents by flexing and bending your w rists and hands in the o p p o site direction. S o m e tim e s, p e o p le get into a h ab it o f te n sin g m u scles w ith o u t n e e d in g to — o r re a liz in g it. P ra c tice hand and w rist m o tio n s m ore g e n tly and less tig h tly . S tress and ten sio n play a ro le in m u scle strain and irrita tio n . M u scles th a t are w arm are less lik ely to g et h u rt, an d the risk o f g e ttin g carp al tu n n el sy n d ro m e is g re a te r in a co ld e n v iro n m e n t. It is im p o rta n t to k eep y o u r h a n d s w arm w h ile y ou w o rk , even if you m u st w e a r fin g e rle ss g lo v es. In c o rp o ra tin g e rg o n o m ic s o lu tio n s, su ch as e rg o n o m ic a lly d e sig n e d to o ls, tool h a n d le s, and w o rk s ta tio n s th at k eep a m ore n a tu ra l w rist p o sitio n , is id eally the first step in carp al tu n n el p re v e n tio n . *SoId only through the internet, individuals, telem arketers, m ail, or on television. *C’laim s fast w eight loss w ithout exercise o r diet. *U ses term s such as “ m iracu lous b re a k th ro u g h ” and “ e ffo rt le ss.” * Prom otes one particular ingre dient as the central factor for suc cess. * D em ands large advance pay m ents, or requires you enter into long-term contracts. fh e O regon D epartm ent o f Ju s tice is com m itted to keeping fraudu lent businesses and products out o f O regon. If you or som eone you know has fallen victim to a health product or w eight loss scam , co n tact the C onsum er I lot I me at 1 -877- 877-9392. D o n 't let the scam m ers foil your New Y e ar’s resolutions. Doctor Joins Portland Clinic I he Portland C linic is w elcom ing Dr. M ural N ishikaw a to its d o w n tow n office. Dr. N ishikaw a earned her m ed i cal degree from the M edical C ollege ol Pennsylvania and H ahnem ann U niversity School o f M edicine. She com pleted her residency at Legacy Em anuel and G ood Sam aritan I los- pitals in Portland. N ishikaw a is board certified in Internal M edicine and is an affiliate o f the O regon M edical A sso cia tion. She also has a special interest in P r e v e n ta tiv e M e d ic in e an d C hronic D isease M anagem ent. In her spare time, she enjoys yoga, travel, reading and cooking. Dr. M u ra l N is h ik a w a