Term60

Musculoskeletal

Aligning the Spine

“Stand up straight!? “Pull your shoulders back!? As children, we were told to have good posture. Yet we were seldom taught effective ways to accomplish this. Indeed, we were often not even told just what “good posture? is.
The consequences of this information gap can be seen all around us: stiff necks, shoulders hunched forward or pulled tightly back, restricted breathing, and tightness in the thighs, legs and ankles. Backaches, headaches, and other painful symptoms are often the unfortunate result.
Causes of poor posture
The causes of poor posture can be divided into two categories: positional and structural. Structural causes are basically permanent anatomical deformities not amenable to correction by conservative treatments. Positional causes of poor posture include.

Relieving Low-Back Pain With Exercise

Brian Shiple, DO; Series Editor: Nicholas A. DiNubile, MD

THE PHYSICIAN AND SPORTSMEDICINE

If you suffer from low-back pain, the most important part of your treatment is something only you can give yourself: exercise. Regular workouts make pain go away faster. By strengthening the muscles that support your back and improving your back's flexibility, exercise reduces the chances of another acute attack.

A full program has two parts. The first component is aerobic exercise to get your whole body in good condition (aerobic exercise like walking or biking uses large muscles and gets your heart and breathing rates up). The second component is specific exercises designed to strengthen your back muscles and increase or maintain flexibility. Your doctor will tell you when to begin each type of exercise.

Efficacy of Ergonomics

Historically, Ergonomics was another name for Human Factors. Today, Ergonomics commonly refers to designing work environments for maximizing safety and efficiency. Biometrics and Anthropometrics play a key role in this use of the word Ergonomics. Engineering Psychology often has a specialty dealing with Workplace or Occupational Ergonomics.

Companies once thought that there was a bottom-line tradeoff between safety and efficiency. Now they embrace ergonomics because they have learned that designing a safe work environment can also result in greater efficiency and productivity. Recently, U.S. laws requiring a safe work environment have stimulated great interest in Workplace Ergonomics - from ergonomic furniture to ergonomic training. But it is in the design of the workplace as a whole where the greatest impact can be seen for both safety and efficiency.

Surgical Treatment of Trapezius Paralysis

Techniques in Shoulder & Elbow Surgery. 4(3):99-109, September 2003.
Lervick, Gregory N. MD; Bigliani, Louis U. MD
Abstract:
Summary: The trapezius is one of the major scapular-stabilizing muscles. It is composed of 3 functional components and contributes to coordinated scapulothoracic rhythm by elevating, rotating, and retracting the scapula. The muscle is primarily innervated by the spinal accessory nerve, or cranial nerve XI. The superficial course of the spinal accessory nerve in the posterior cervical triangle makes it susceptible to iatrogenic or penetrating trauma. Idiopathic and traction injuries are also seen.

What is the Thoracic Outlet?

The Thoracic Outlet is a space between the rib cage (thorax), and the collar bone (clavicle) through which the main blood vessels and nerves pass from the neck and thorax into the arm. The nerves and blood vessels leave the neck between the two muscles (scalene muscles).

What is a syndrome?
A syndrome is a set of symptoms and physical findings that point to a certain diagnosis. All the symptoms and physical findings are not always present.
Various symptoms and physical findings may be present in different grades of severity.

What is Thoracic Outlet Syndrome?
Thoracic outlet syndrome is a combination of pain, numbness, tingling, weakness, or coldness in the upper extremity caused by pressure on the nerves and/or blood vessels in the thoracic outlet.