Monday, June 25, 2007
Let's Get Physical
It's a landmark birth year for me, so I scheduled a physical, which I had today. There are always those terribly uncomfortable bits to physicals - the poking, the prodding, the checking of orifices, the drawing of blood. I find that it helps to get through the process with a minimum of discomfort by being of very scientific mind about the whole thing. Sort of mentally removing myself from the process by thinking, what am I going to learn today about this here specimen? I learned today that my delicate bone structure means that my shoulder muscles aren't very sturdy, which is why they tend to get sore easily. The doctor gave me some strengthening exercises to do. I also learned that if you are well hydrated, it's much easier for the lab tech drawing blood to find a vein. I always thought I had hard-to-find veins because most of the times I've had blood draws I was dehydrated from morning sickness. Now I know better. I'm pretty much ship-shape, thankfully, but still have a mammogram to go through at the end of the week. Then I'll be good to go.
Labels: birthday, blood, doctor, healthcare, hydration, me as specimen, physical, shoulder, veins
Tuesday, October 31, 2006
Ergonomic Mice
When I used the term "ergonomic mice" with my husband, he looked askance at me. Seemed like a perfectly normal pairing of words to me. Especially considering this case of mouser shoulder I've been experiencing. "Mouser shoulder" - I coined the term recently to describe the pain in my shoulder and neck from over using a computer mouse. Only, it turns out that I didn't really coin it. I googled the term "mouser shoulder" and "mouser's shoulder" and came up with five hits, about three of which were actually relevant. Which just goes to show, if you think of something you consider to be truly original, odds are someone else beat you to it.
Anyway, I'm wondering how prevelant mouser shoulder is going to become given the amount of time kids now spend on the computer. I'm trying to find ways to alleviate the problem before it becomes permanent. Ergonomic mice, neck and shoulder braces, chiropractic treatments, and repositioning the mouse (left-hand use, lower the position) are possible solutions. In hopes of keeping the shoulders of my kids, along with the shoulders of kids around the world, from suffering the dreaded ache of mouser shoulder, here are some sites that might help. (Did you know they make mice that are foot operated? They're about $200. Go ahead! Squish that mouse!)
Ergonomic mice from ErgonomicResource.com
Ergonomic mice from Fentek Industries, Inc.
Clavicle support from SeniorShops.com (This was the least expensive shoulder brace I could find. The others appear to be for heavy-duty physical therapy and run between $50-$100.)
Neck collars and braces from PainReliever.com
Happy mousing!
Anyway, I'm wondering how prevelant mouser shoulder is going to become given the amount of time kids now spend on the computer. I'm trying to find ways to alleviate the problem before it becomes permanent. Ergonomic mice, neck and shoulder braces, chiropractic treatments, and repositioning the mouse (left-hand use, lower the position) are possible solutions. In hopes of keeping the shoulders of my kids, along with the shoulders of kids around the world, from suffering the dreaded ache of mouser shoulder, here are some sites that might help. (Did you know they make mice that are foot operated? They're about $200. Go ahead! Squish that mouse!)
Ergonomic mice from ErgonomicResource.com
Ergonomic mice from Fentek Industries, Inc.
Clavicle support from SeniorShops.com (This was the least expensive shoulder brace I could find. The others appear to be for heavy-duty physical therapy and run between $50-$100.)
Neck collars and braces from PainReliever.com
Happy mousing!
Labels: brace, computer, ergonomic, mice, mouse, neck, shoulder
