Donna - on your pages of info -
You can add them here if you want, or make a new thread and place a link to it here or in the useful sticky.

An Excerpt from her Thoracic outlet syndrome treatment book:



The Tape Trick is a very simple and low cost way to find out if you are
unconsciously raising your shoulders and perpetually irritating the nerves,
muscles and connective tissues of your neck, shoulders and arms. Here’s
how to do it:

Go to the pharmacy and purchase a roll of non-stretchy bandage tape
that is 1/2 inch in width. Avoid paper tape as it tears too easily. Good old
fashioned bandage tape that is found on the metal roll is a great one to
choose. Tear off a piece that is 12 inches long. Now go find a friend to
help you.

The Tape Trick works best if you do it on one shoulder at a time. Pick the
side of your body that has the most severe symptoms of repetitive strain
injury. If you can’t tell which side is worse, then pick the side that is your
more dominant side. For right handers, that would be your right side.
Have the friend stand next to you, looking at your side. Remove your
shirt. Ladies, it is very important to slip your bra strap off of your
shoulder. Make sure that your shoulders are down and relaxed and that
you are looking straight ahead. Have your friend apply the tape to the
bare skin of your shoulder, in the same direction that a bra strap would
go, with half of the tape extending to the front onto your chest, and the
other half extending down your back onto the back of your shoulder. For
ladies it is important that the tape is not applied in the exact same area
where your bra strap lies because your body has become somewhat
unconscious to feeling pressure in that spot. Instead, have your friend
apply the tape about 1/2 inch closer to your neck.

Now your job is to get dressed and go about your normal daily activities.
If you raise your shoulders at all, the tape will pull on your skin, alerting
you to the fact that you are raising your shoulders. It is important to try
to recognize when and under what circumstances you are habitually
raising your shoulders. By recognizing when you are engaging in this
unconscious activity, you can choose to change it, and relieve your body
of untold amounts of unnecessary strain and compression.
Freely share this Tape Trick with all your friends and colleagues so they
can be on the road to less pain and stress too!

PILLOWS, pillows, pillows under your arm(s) whenever you're sitting down - find ones you like and make it a habit! I loved my Boppy pillow, the U-shaped pillow made for nursing moms, used it in the car riding or driving , at church and visiting others homes. But left it in the Philly airport on one of many trips and haven't replaced it yet. Also use and love my Tempurpedic cervical pillow, hard to sleep without it!

Warm baths with Epsom salts before bed, music, time spent relaxing somehow everyday is good to keep stress down. Walking, even a short distance, to get fresh air and sunshine will help mood and prevent muscle loss. Tuck hands in a pocket or stick your thumb thumb in a belt loop to keep strain off plexus. Dress warmly, gloves, scarf, etc, so you don't "hunch" shoulders in reaction to cold. Drink plenty of water to stay hydrated, meds will often cause dry mouth. Try to practice especially good oral hygiene and see your dentist every six months as dry mouth can cause cavities to form due to absence of "rinsing action" of saliva.

Practice good posture - do a quick body scan several x a day. Are shoulders back, not forward, but relaxed, not military stiff? Is head also back, not poking forward? Are you clenching teeth? Tense? Relax any body parts that are tense. Practice this til it becomes natural to do body scans without thinking, it's really helpful in breaking the bad habits we've fallen into and keeping pain levels lower.

Try to sit up when reading, and support the book on pillows or a bookrest. I found myself tending to slouch when reading on the sofa until I put my feet up on a footstool and a pillow behind my low back (and under my book!).

There are a few creams/lotions that help to numb neuropathic pain at the worst spots a bit. They help because the active ingredients are absorbed right through the skin instead of taken orally, so they are pretty effective, at least for a while. The one I use and swear by is called Sombra; ingredients include menthol, camphor, aloe vera, capsaicin, grape seed and green tea extract, Rose Water and Witch Hazel. It does smell of menthol, but the relief is more than worth it. BioFreeze is another effective pain-relieving cream that does not have an odor so can be used without the locker-room scent.

Pharmacists can also make compounded creams or ointments that include ingredients like ketamine, lidocaine and other pain relievers with a prescription from your Dr. These can be VERY effective, depending on the specific RX.

Pack away, give away or get rid of heavy stoneware dishes, find a nice pattern by Corelle and place dishes, glasses and everyday kitchen needs on the lower shelves in the kitchen. Corelle's unbreakable, which makes it very user-friendly for children assigned to dishwasher-loading and unloading.

Hi again...these are a few of the ideas from the old board from Di; she gave permission to post, so here they are!

If you can keep a diary of every day experiences, particularly the ones that cause more pain you can learn more about your illness and go further to modify what you do and how you do it.

The how is frequently more important than what you do.


TOS General Principles for self care.

1) Have a plan for each day. It sounds like you have to be very organized....It helps.

2) Do what you can reasonably do. Do Not Overdo.
Err on the side of Less than More...Succeed comfortably.

3) Pace Yourself. Do in small time frames. If the activity takes 30 minutes break it up with small periods of rest.

4) Listen to your body. Do not push yourself. Guide yourself.

5) Be wary of using your arms for long periods of time much above lap level, push-pull or lifting. This may cause more pain.

6) Be wary of using your arms repetitively. Again succeed in comfort not pain.


SUGGESTIONS:

1) Walking; support arms in a coat pocket, belt, with a sling or shoulder harness.

2) Sitting; support arm(s) with a pillow, coat or cushion etc.

3) Driving; Keep arms low on the wheel, Support arms with pillows.

4) Driving long distances; Break it up into segments of 30 minutes, Stretch, change positions.

5) Phone; use a speaker phone or headset. Do not hold the phone in your hand.

6) Reach; avoid reaching for objects; use a step stool. Bring things down to your level what you frequently use that are above shoulder level.

7) Reading; Prop, do not hold the book. Try to keep your head in a neutral position. Do not read in bed.

8) Television; Sit in a comfortable chair, not in bed.

9) For women; If you have heavy breast support them with a corset from below or a good supporting bra. The corset will keep the bra straps off your shoulders.

10) Purse; Do not carry a heavy purse, use a fanny pack.

11) Computer; Needs to be ergonomically efficient. Keyboard in lap and screen at eye level. Change positions frequently.

12) Relaxation; Break up activities (Pace) with periods of no work. Support your arms, Dream, meditate, Rest. All needed to decrease stress and work load on the traps.

13) Posture; Do activities with good posture.

14) Heat; Use heat or ice, which ever works best, frequently. Start and end the day with hot baths.

15) Think first; Try not to be impulsive. Remember there are green-light, Red-light and Yellow-light activities. Know which one you will be doing.

16) Walking; Include walking in your schedule at least three times a week. This is your time to relax, change your perspective and forget about your illness. If done on a routine basis it can reduce the total distress you are experiencing.

17) Good Days and Bad Days; You will have them. Do not try to accomplish everything you have to do on a good day.

18) Work at it; You will have to work at it, it will not come easy. It is a change from the way you use to do it.

Dr. Allen Togut


Sleeping:
Mattress Firm- not a fluffy quit top that will shift and bulk up. A tightly quilted one is fine.

No belly sleeping. Sleeping on your back and work with pillows of padding to support your arms at your sides. Hold a pillow if you are a side sleeper, something like a body pillow works good to keep the plexus area open up.

For the side sleeper, you need to keep the area between the neck and shoulder supported when sleeping. (I use two pillows and use the corner of one tucked under my chin in that spot)

Pillows; Dr.Togut recommends a Wal-pil-o, you either love it or hate it. It is two raised edges, the recessed area for the head to lay. I think the foam is too hard for my comfort. I really like a fluff pillow, or two or three around me.

Getting out of bed, do a log roll; roll to your side and then over and off the bed. DO NOT raise your upper back up from the bed and then try to raise your self up. Also do not put your legs over while reclined and lift your self from the bed.

Personal care- Blow dryers, buy a support that holds the dryer or attaches to the wall. If you are holding one take breaks.

For shampooing hair I love the shower massage that removes from the holder. Great massages and water variations too. For many that have vertigo in the shower or difficulty raising from the bath or problems standing, use of a bath chair and again the unit that attaches to the wall. There is an adjustment to raise and lower. This is great for shaving the legs too. (This is De's tip)

Kitchen
Utensils- Good grips makes a lot of good foam wrapped wide handles. There are generics available in the dollar stores also. For peeling potatoes, limit it! Sit do not stand, try using the horizontal peeler instead of a usual vertical one. This action is one of stroking away from the body instead of the short strokes peeling to the body. (Better yet, let someone peel them or have baked-what I like to do)

Purchase some of the foam plumbers tubing. Use this for everything, Brooms-large utensils. The smaller foam can be used on the forks, or pens.

Keep your Pans and everyday dishes on lower shelf that you do not have to reach for. Keep a stool for reaching into shelf, not to reach up!

Washing your dishes, take breaks, stretch, sit when doing them. Unloading or loading a dishwasher- use the golfers bend, you see them swing up the back leg as they lean forward. You know when they put in the tee, or a ball on it, they tilt and then the leg swings up. (use this for taking clothes from the washer to the dryer too or picking up)

Use roller carts to keep near you with the items you are using to prepare dinner. Wheel it along. This is good too with heavy pans. The newer ones have two handles on them; USE THEM BOTH! Especially when carrying water to the sink to drain.

Sit when doing your chores, Break it up. Stop doing when you hurt; don't pursue to finish. Take a break!

Cleaning-On the long handles again use of the foam wraps. Keep your supplies with you in a carry/cart. There are sprays that have ergonomic handles to squeeze too. Use of the pre-wet wipes is great! Also, Use of a product like shower power to keep the cleaning job minimal after every shower use.

Dusting- Use a stool to get up high! Use a grabber on a long handle. Sit to do the low.

Vacuuming -DON'T PUSH AND PULL!- Walk with it next to your leg, as you step forward, it will, when you step back it will too!

To wash the floor or sweep; The new Swifter’s are great, no buckets of water, and light. Just remember to use your foam wrap and walk with the handle not to push and pull!

Shopping-Try taking a friend. Do it in two trips or three, (discipline to spending needed!)Have the clerk use several bags with minimal items in them. (Speak Up; tell them if you need assistance getting them in the car. They have stock boys to take the heavy cart out and put them in the vehicle for you)

If you have others living in your home, delegate out the chore of shopping or putting away the groceries.

Reading-Use of a bed wedge or back support to read in bed, support your book with a holder, Do Not Look down on to the book, get it raised up. For reading in a chair too, remember to put a pillow on the lap and raise the book.

Try the read-out loud books available at most libraries too.

Computer-Monitor, raise it up to your eye level. Raise your chair to the keyboard level so that you do not raise your arms up to the tray level to Key. At elbow height! An adjustable chair is great, the adjustable arm rest too! Put a stool under your feet to raise them if you need.

Use a wrist rest in front of the key board, a wrist rest pad for your mouse.

Keying- TAKE A BREAK. Frequent breaks and stretch.

On good days when I can shave I use a Flicker. It's round and easy to hold and doesn't cut (no matter what) or I use NADS. Pretty easy but use before bathing.

My husband put in a hand held kitchen sink facet in our bathtub. Cheaper then the model for the tub (that was $200, this was $79.00) It is easier to use for me. Makes rinsing the tub sooooooo easy.

There is a wonderful peeling device. Actually 2 of them. One does apples too. It attaches to the counter and you use the hand crank to spin the potatoes around and it peels it. But for $39 I got this thing that peels several potatoes at once by "rubbing" off the skin with a grater type thing. It's all automatic. But most of the time I don't peel. Mashed potatoes taste great with the peels. Also family members can sure as heck use the knife better then I do.

I take all day to load the dishes or unload them. and some days dishes just soak....until I can get to them. Paper plates are a godsend!!!!

I use my steam cleaner to "mop" my kitchen floor. For touch ups I use the dry mop thing (swifter has one) that you put the cloths in but I don't buy the expensive cloths. I use a washrag and spray ammonia on the floor. Easier then a bucket and mop. Also cheaper then the $25-$45 swifter/Clorox models. For dust mopping I got a old fashioned dust mop and spray antistatic stuff on it. There is a new gadget out that not only vacuums your floor but mops it and then dries it too. It's $160 at K-mart and is on my wish list as is the new steamer gadget that steams away dirt.

The big thing to remember is to let the cleaners do the work. Spray then sit and rest then wipe.


Voice recognition programs are cheap now if you go to eBay and get an older program and much better then keying.

For cleaning tubs and stuff I now use Shower Power (Wal-Mart carries it) No scrubbing needed. For toilets I use old fashioned Ajax in a can ( I actually buy the cheap store brand). sprinkle, let set then brush.

Baby wipes can be used for cleaning most everything like in the bathroom (that little area between the toilet seat and the tank. We have dogs and hair goes everywhere, the baby wipes work great. Also nice for quick cleanups and cheaper then the Clorox, and other brands. I keep some in the car in a zip lock bag (with the zipper thingy).

The anti static dust cloths are also great. Use for computer screens, TV sets, general dusting, etc.

A small wagon is great for taking things from room to room. For heavy things get someone else to do it.

I got tons of ideas from the penny pinchers book.


Thanks, Di, for all your great ideas, and letting me repost them!

I'll add a couple of my own...

I just discovered there is an on-screen keyboard, so I can use the mouse instead of having to type with both hands (my left is my worst). It's slower going, but for just a little bit of typing it is really nice. It's under "accessories" in Windows XP.

I also enjoy music for relaxation when I'm tense or have had a bad pain day.

That's all I'm able to type right now...hope these help!

Donna

thanks for the tips I needed reminded on a few.....like take breaks...sucks being type a personality!!!!!!

Vic

So, I know Jo has mentioned Sharon Butler, and I saw Pixel has tried it..Has anyone gotten her TOS book and done the 6wk program start to finish? I just bought it to work through now that I have my botox shots. Thus far (I am only on week 2) it feels pretty good. I was thinking to avoid PT for a while and give it a real chance to work, but wondered what others experiences were.

Any comments?

Johanna

If only I would read before I post...there seems to be a good discussion of Sharon Butler on Pixel's thread....

any more or new additions for this thread ?

I bought a fabulous u-shaped body pillow form The Backstore. It is helping me to sleep better than I have in months.

If I think of anything else I will post it later.
Tracy