In the Spotlight

By Brianne Moore

Turkey day has come and gone, and Black Friday has arrived. Some may choose to stay home on the biggest shopping day of the year, while others will venture forth at the crack of dawn (if not earlier) in pursuit of the best deals on holiday gifts. If you’re in the latter group, here’s some advice to help you prepare for and stay healthy during the big day.

Dress the Part: Baby, it’s cold outside, and chances are you’re going to be waiting in line outside your favorite store for a long time. Being out in cold weather, especially if you’re not used to it, can put you at risk for frostnip or even frostbite. Make sure you dress appropriately and take the proper precautions to avoid harming your skin. When you get home, it might be a good idea to give your skin a little TLC, too, to help combat the effects of winter weather.

Don’t neglect your feet! Many an injury has been caused by the wrong footwear. Do yourself a favor and leave the fashionable heels at home. Opt instead for comfortable, well-fitted, supportive shoes that won’t have you limping by the end of the day. If you do find yourself experiencing pain, here are some ways to ease your discomfort.

Food and Drink: If you’re running around a mall all day, you’re sure to work up an appetite and a thirst. If you’re not willing to face the crowds at the food court, pack some power snacks to keep you going (or to give you something to munch while you’re waiting in line).

The exercise and heat inside the stores might leave you feeling dehydrated as well as hungry. Make sure you drink plenty of fluids (and drink the right kinds of fluids) to keep fatigue at bay.

Get Ready, Get Set… Before you make the 100-yard dash to the electronics department, make sure you don’t pull or sprain something on the way by performing a few simple stretches. If you wind up straining your back hauling around bags or loading the car, here are some ways to ease your pain and avoid it in the future.

Stress Less: Let’s face it, fighting crowds and shopping during the holidays can be stressful. Get a jump start on stress management by eating right before you even get out the door. Trapped in terrible mall traffic or stuck in line next to the worst customer ever? Here are ten quick stress-busters to fall back on. Has all that stress and shopping left you with little energy? Try these six quick ways to give yourself an energy boost so you don’t shop until you drop.

First Aid: Ideally you’ll get through Black Friday unscathed, but you never know when you might sprain an ankle running for this year’s “it” toy or be on the receiving end of an elbow to the face when grappling with a fellow buyer. In all cases, it’s best to be prepared

Good luck and happy holidays!

Peter Abaci, MD, is the Medical Director of the nationally recognized Bay Area Pain and Wellness Center, located in Los Gatos, California. A widely respected expert on chronic pain management and a highly successful chronic pain sufferer, he is the author of Take Charge of Your Chronic Pain: The Latest Research, Cutting-Edge Tools, and Alternative Treatments for Feeling Better.

If you work at a desk job then you may be at risk for developing pain in the neck, shoulders, arms, and lower back due to factors like prolonged sitting, excessive computer use, and challenging workstation ergonomics. The body is designed to create its center of support from the core and the legs, yet we don’t engage them when working at our typical work stations. Instead, we shift our support center up to the base of our neck, upper back and tops of our shoulders. This causes a tightening and elevation of these areas. As a result, our shoulder blades get pulled up and apart, as opposed to together and down. This change in the positioning of the shoulder blades causes postural problems, weakness, and upper back and neck pain. Here are some tools to help counteract these painful pitfalls:

• Postural Correction- Use this to offset potentially painful postural changes created by excessive computer work. Slide your shoulder blades down as if into your back pockets and bring them together in the mid-back. While doing this, your chest will open and the curve in your lower back will expand. In order to maximize this motion, your elbows need to rotate inward toward your sides, and your chin should tuck slightly to lift the top of your head. Keep a piece of colored tape or some other reminder at your workstation and do this postural correction ever time you look at it.

• Stand and Extend- This will help create length throughout your spine and joints. Stand with your arms at your side and your palms facing forward. Bring your feet together so they touch and tighten your buttocks so that your pelvis pushes forward. Let your shoulder blades slide down toward your pockets while lifting the top of your head to the sky. Now take several deep breaths.

• Hip Stretch- This will help prevent tightness in the hips and prevent lower back pain. Stand with your back to your chair. Place your right foot on the seat of your chair and either slide your chair backward with your foot or simply just stretch your leg. Consider holding on to your desk for balance. Repeat the same move with your left foot.

• Deep breathing- This will help your body relax. Take a short time-out to concentrate on the slow outward and inward movement of your belly while breathing through your nose. Try closing your eyes to avoid distraction and place a hand on your belly to focus on the breath.

• Chest expansion- This exercise is to prevent pain in the shoulders, neck, and upper back.  Sit tall at your chair and raise your hands straight up overhead. Now gently pull your arms back toward your ears and press your mid-back against your chair. Keep the shoulder blades down while stretching open your chest and rib cage.

• Wrist Stretch- Overused tendons and muscles in the arms and hands need to be released. Once you get home from work, get down on the floor on your hands and knees. First, rotate your hands so that your fingers now point toward you as opposed to away from you. Slowly lean back toward your heals to stretch the tendons in your forearms. Return to the starting position, but instead of putting your palms down on the floor, bend your wrists toward you and touch the floor with the backs of your hands with your fingers pointing toward you. Again, slowly lean back stretching a different group of tendons in the forearms.