ARTICLES   AND   LINKS

1. Shop ‘til you drop. Long periods of shopping with frequent stops and starts can cause more pain than walking for exercise at a brisk, steady pace. Limit the shopping excursions to shorter trips. Check with the mall information desk to see if they have a claim check where you can drop off your heavy packages to lighten the load while you shop. 

2. Shoes that look good but don’t feel good. A high-heeled shoe will cause an increased arch in the low back that aggravates the spine and surrounding muscles. Likewise, a shoe without good arch support and padding at the sole will have your back yearning to find a comfortable chair.

3. Exercise is thrown out the window. We are all busier at the holidays and it is often tempting to drop our exercise routine to make time for holiday activities. Shorter days with less sunlight also curtail our outdoor activities. Remember that a little exercise each day is better than no exercise. Inactivity causes decreased blood circulation to the muscles which will result in more tightness and pain. 

4. “To Grandmother’s House We Go...” Long drives and plane rides with prolonged sitting cause increased pressure to the spine and supporting muscles. Ensure that you have lumbar support and arm support. If you are the passenger, elevate your feet so that your knees are even with your hips. Frequent position changes will also lessen the strain to your back. Ideally, getting up every hour to allow your muscles to move will ease the pressure from your spine.  

5. Sending good tidings of great joy. Exchanging Christmas cards is always a great way to keep in touch, but writing the cards can be painstaking. Limit the writing to 30 minutes and do them in a chair that has good support for your forearms.  Leaning forward while writing will strain your neck and upper back. Maintain an upright posture and look down with your eyes.               

6. Brown paper packages tied up with string.  Wrapping presents while sitting on the floor causes tremendous strain to the neck, upper back, lower back, and legs. Wrap presents at a table that is desk height to allow you to sit. If you prefer to stand, the table needs to be the height of a kitchen counter to prevent stooping. 

7. Twinkling lights aglow. Hanging lights on the Christmas tree and on the house often involves positions of a yoga master. Use step stools and ladders to limit reaching to shoulder height. Overhead reaching causes the spine to arch and strains the back and neck. When placing presents and goodies down low, bend with your knees and do not twist. Bending and twisting causes the greatest amount of torque to the discs in your spine. 

8. Spread the Holiday Cheer. While we are socializing with friends at a party, we may be smiling on the outside while quietly suffering on the inside. If it isn’t appropriate to sit at the party, then find a place where you can stand and raise one foot up on a step. This position often takes the strain out of standing.  

9. ‘Tis the Season to be Stressed Out.  The pressure to keep up the busy pace can bring out the Grinch in anyone. Stress can elevate both emotional and physical tension which will lead to increased pain. Tight and tense muscles don’t allow for good blood circulation and often results in more pain. Kick up your feet and take time to relax and enjoy the spirit of the holidays. 

10. “A long winter’s nap...” Don’t cheat yourself of a good night’s sleep. This is the time when the body repairs itself. Poor sleep quality and quantity will leave you hurting more. Alcohol consumption will lessen your quality of sleep. Exercise 3 hours before bed will improve your sleep. 

Have a Happy Holiday Season with everything in moderation!

Each year from Halloween to New Year’s Day, the pace of Holidays seems to pick up earlier and faster.  It is barely October and Wal-Mart is already blaring the “Come Home for the Holidays” advertising campaign.   

Holidays bring out the best and the not so good in all of us.  From lifting a visiting grandchild to positioning Christmas lights standing on a ladder, there are plenty of fun things to do, but one can also easily be hurt if not careful. 

Holiday season is the busy season at the pain center.   

Somewhere back in time, whether it was reality or perception, things did not always seem like this.  In the past, Holidays were more of a time for the families to gather.  Nowadays, at every turn, some marketing cue reminds you that “you need to start to think more about Christmas”. 

The marketing mailers inundate the trash bags.  The spam e-mails and pop-ups put the delete button into overdrive.  The TV and radio jingles are non-stop. 

The traffic to grandmother’s house is evermore congested.  For air travel, you will need to be at the airport 3 hours early, wait in long-lines, go through security, deal with delays and cancellations, and then if you are lucky you will arrive on time with all your luggage and temper intact.

Long gone were the days of a simple garland on the front door and a simple string of light under the rain-gutter.  Now even the friendliest of neighbors seem to out-do each other with their Christmas lights.  Why not?  Considering how expensive these homes have gotten. 

With four children, I am no “Bah, Humbug!”  I love Christmas probably more so than most.  It is just that the world is changing.  In some ways it is changing ahead of my schedule.  It is as if I am still trying to figure out the number of minutes to roast each pound of turkey while the rest of the world is already cooking holiday meals like Martha Stewart. 

But in the end, the things other people do during the Holidays are just what they do.  If I am concerned about being able to do all of the things that I need to do, I prioritize.  If I find myself consistently behind, I re-structure.  Multitasking to a degree, but when things pile up, there is only one way to finish, and that is one thing at a time - on my pace. 

This Holiday, our family plans to have it simple for a change, a pause for a breather from the hectic schedules that we have had the last few years, a re-structure of sort if you will. 

There will be a nice wreath on our front door but the Christmas lights on the house will be less extravagant.  The Christmas tree will still be pretty and bright but with less emphasis on the pilings underneath. 

On Christmas Eve, a cold evening we hope, my wife and I will probably just take our children out for a stroll in the neighborhood.  Maybe to catch a glimpse of the lights emerging from our neighbors' gatherings, or to smell the cinder from the surrounding chimneys, or to see our own breaths condense with each exhale... or just to imagine the Holidays of a bygone era.