Following below are a collection different alternative health methods that have
been of benefit to some sufferers of RSIs. Subjects inlcude alternative medicine, body
work and movement awareness training techniques.
Articles
After "Ouch"
What? Changing How You Use Your Body by Jesse Parker, PhD
Just how much of your body are you involving in your task? If you’re
using a bar code scanner, are you just flipping your hand from the wrist, with your
forearm and top arm "standing by"? Or, if you operate a computer or play piano,
are you just punching the keys with your fingers, while the rest of your arm "hangs
in there"? Stop! Don’t ignore the rest of your body! Get it involved in that
task, along with your hands and fingers.
Somatic
Education: An approach to repetitive strain injuries by Paul Linden,
PhD
Effective body use is not something we can take for granted or assume people
have. Through miseducation and misuse, people have learned to move in ways
that are awkward, strain-filled, and damaging yet seem normal and right.
People need to be taught how to use their bodies well, or they will hurt
themselves.
Motion
Based Ergonomics™ Keyboard Retraining, Norman J. Kahan, MD, and
Vivienne Griffin
Over the years, computer-related injuries have increasingly plagued the
modern office workplace, debilitating hundreds of thousands of workers,
causing pain, impairment and, in some cases, disability. The vast majority
of computer-related injuries can be attributed to specific faulty
movements and awkward postures inherent in the act of typing, which may
cause fatigue, inflammation of muscles or tendons, compression or
entrapment of nerves, as well as pain or weakness in the upper limbs and
neck. Recognizing and correcting these movements is at the heart of a new
and emerging field known as keyboard retraining, a largely overlooked but
critical component in the fight against RSI.
Motion
Based Ergonomics™ Keyboard Retraining, Part II: "Mousing",
Norman J. Kahan, MD, and Vivienne Griffin
In recent years, the mouse has become an integral tool for most computer
programs as well as for working “on line”. Unfortunately, as computer
users have become more dependent on mouse input devices, the number of
repetitive strain injuries (RSI) related to the mouse has been on the
rise. Most of these injuries can be traced back to both faulty movements
and awkward postures when using the mouse. To complicate matters, the
number of “mice” now include many options, including traditional a two
or three button mouse, (mechanical or optical) trackball, mouse pen, joy
stick, touch pad and glide point. There are even foot and head mice. The
following pitfalls and guidelines apply to whichever mouse you choose to
use. Remember, gadgets alone won’t prevent the development of RSI, but
learning how to use them properly can.
Holistic
Self-Defense, Mark Lipsman
Open any publication by or for writers and chances are you’ll find an
article on repetitive strain injury (RSI). Conventional treatment is
generally limited to rest, avoidance of motions that aggravate the
problem, and ergonomic improvements. These are fine, but they’re
passive—they don’t cause the body to heal any faster and may not
prevent the symptoms from recurring. In this series of three articles, I
offer some thoughts on proactive treatment for RSI. These are based
primarily on Chinese medicine and its fundamental concept of internal
energy, or chi, which flows through the body in channels, or meridians.
Hellerwork
Structural Integration and RSI, by Merry Nell Colborn, Certified
Hellerwork Practitioner
Hellerwork Structural Integration is a bodywork technique that combines
several modalities to provide a complete integration of body, mind, and
spirit. Hellerwork is about balance, fluidity, ease, and alignment, and
involves not only changes in structure but also changes in attitudes: an
exploration into ourselves and our relationship with our environment.
Chiropractic
Health Care by Dr. Timothy Jameson
An overview of chiropractic health care, its theories about the onset of repetitive strain
injuries (RSIs), and how it goes about treating these injuries.
The Alexander Technique:
Education for the Aching Back, by Deborah Caplan, MA, PT, Certified Teacher of the Alexander Technique
Back pain is one of the most common yet perplexing conditions encountered by the medical profession. Whether the cause (disc
protrusion, muscle tension, arthritis, spinal curvatures, etc.) is difficult or easy to determine, providing effective treatment is often
the major problem.
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Acupuncture is a complete medical system that is used to diagnose and treat illness,
prevent disease and improve well-being. It is effective for physical, psychological and
emotional problems. Acupuncture originated in China more than 2,500 years ago and, due to
its proven effectiveness has been embraced throughout the world.
The understanding that human beings are complex bioelectric systems has been the
foundation of acupuncture practice for several thousand years. Energy circulates
throughout the body along well-defined pathways. Points on the skin along these pathways
are energetically connected to specific organs, body structures, and systems. If this
energy circulation is disrupted, optimum function is affected and this results in pain or
illness. Acupuncture points are stimulated to balance the circulation of energy, which
influence the health of the entire being.
Treatment with acupuncture needles is most commonly used technique. However,
acupuncturist or Dr. of Oriental Medicine may utilize other forms of treatment such as
herbal prescriptions, dietary modifications, moxibustion (a form of heat therapy), a
variety of massage, movement techniques and specific therapeutic exercises.
http://www.aaom.org/anverview.html
American Association of Oriental Medicine
http://www.aaom.org/
The oldest National Organization representing the individual practitioner of Oriental
Medicine. Honors and supports the integrity of Oriental Medicine by advocating excellence
in professional standards.
Acupuncture.com
http://acupuncture.com/
Information about Traditional Chinese Medicine, Acupuncturists around the world, and
resources for practitioners and students.
Carpal Tunnel Syndrome Laser Acupuncture Research
http://www.Acupuncture.com/Acup/Naeser.htm
Yahoo Search = Acupuncture
http://search.yahoo.com/bin/search?p=Acupuncture
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We are often unaware of habits that cause us stress and interfere with our ability to
respond effectively to the stimuli in our daily lives. How can we change our habits so
that we can respond more effectively and achieve better functioning? This fundamental
problem is addressed and dealt with in the Alexander Technique, a method that has been
recognized for 100 years as a unique and remarkably effective technique of mind-body
reeducation.
F. Matthias Alexander (1869-1955) was an Australian actor and teacher. He originally
developed the Alexander Technique as a method of vocal training for singers and actors in
the 1890s. While Alexander was developing his method of voice training, he realized that
the basis for all successful vocal education was an efficiently and naturally functioning
respiratory mechanism. So, in teaching voice, Alexander focused primarily on helping the
breathing mechanism to function more effectively. Because of his focus on
"re-educating" the breathing mechanism, some of Alexander's students, who had
come to him for vocal training, found that their respiratory difficulties also improved.
These improvements were recognized by medical doctors who began referring their patients
with respiratory ailments to Alexander for help. In this way, F.M. Alexander's technique
of vocal training developed into a technique he termed "respiratory
re-education." Alexander had also made the discovery that breathing and vocalization
are part and parcel of how the body functions as a whole. Habitual breathing and vocal
patterns are parts of habitual patterns of general coordination. In fact, many problems we
see as involving just one particular part of the body, e.g. lower back pain and
"RSI," are often symptoms of larger habitual patterns of malcoordination.
Just as people had found Alexander's "vocal" technique helped them with their
breathing problems, so a number of his students found his method of respiratory
re-education helped them with other physical difficulties. Basically, Alexander had
evolved a method for learning how to consciously change maladaptive habits of
coordination. (Coordination includes movement, posture, breathing, and tension patterns.)
He had come to the understanding that the mind and body function as an integrated entity,
a rather unusual realization for that time. Alexander found that habits, whether
"physical" habits or "mental" habits, are all psychophysical in
nature. He observed that how we think about our activities determines how we coordinate
ourselves to do those activities, and, equally, how long-held habits of excessive tension
and inefficient coordination affect how we feel and think. In a relatively short period of
time, Alexander evolved his technique from a method of vocal training into a method of
breathing reeducation and then into a comprehensive technique of psychophysical
reeducation. His technique deals with the psychophysical coordination of the whole person,
or what he termed more concisely as "the use of the self."
by Marian Goldberg, Alexander Technique Center of Washington, D.C. - http://www.alexandercenter.com
The Alexander Technique: Education for the Aching Back
http://www.alexandertechnique.com/pt/caplan
Back pain is one of the most common yet perplexing conditions encountered by the medical profession. Whether the cause (disc protrusion, muscle tension, arthritis, spinal curvatures, etc.) is difficult or easy to determine, providing effective treatment is often the major problem.
The Complete Guide To The Alexander Technique
http://www.alexandertechnique.com
This web site provides a systematic guide to all Alexander Technique information and
resources - both on and off the Internet.
American Society of the Alexander Technique
http://www.alexandertechnique.org
Alexander Technique International
http://www.ati-net.com/
Worldwide professional organization.
Alexander Technique Center of Washington D.C.
http://www.alexandercenter.com/
Information Resource on the Alexander Technique
Society of Teachers of the Alexander Technique
http://www.pavilion.co.uk/stat/index.html
North American Society of Teachers of the Alexander Technique
http://www.life.uiuc.edu/jeff/nastat.html
The Alexander Technique
http://www.life.uiuc.edu/jeff/alextech.html
"A unique, century old way of changing habits, and thus changing how we 'use
ourselves' in all our activities."
ergonomics.org
http://www.ergonomics.org/
Dedicated to the exchange of information between the fields of ergonomics and the
Alexander Technique.
Yahoo Search = Alexander Technique
http://search.yahoo.com/bin/search?p=Alexander+Technique
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Bonnie Prudden Myotherapy (Pain Erasure) provides a way for people to actively and
effectively participate in their own health care. It is a technique for relaxing muscle
spasm, improving circulation and alleviating pain. Since the method is very simple and
teachable, you can easily learn to use it for yourself, friends, family and pets.
The products developed by Bonnie Prudden support the health conscious person in his/her
quest for health, pain-free and independent living. Who is Bonnie Prudden? Bonnie has been
a world-class authority on physical fitness and exercise therapy since the 1950s. Her
research on the UNfitness of American children helped create the President's Council on
Physical Fitness during the Eisenhower administration.
Bonnie Prudden Pain Erasure
http://www.wholeliving.com/Ads1/WWW1_3330/prudden.html
"A technique for relaxing muscle spasm, improving circulation and alleviating
pain."
Yahoo Search = Alexander Technique
http://search.yahoo.com/bin/search?p=Bonnie+Prudden
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The Feldenkrais Method is named after its originator, Dr. Moshe Feldenkrais, D.Sc.
(1904-1984) , a Russian born physicist, judo expert, mechanical engineer and educator.
The Feldenkrais Method is a form of Somatic Education that uses gentle movement and
directed attention to improve movement and enhance human functioning. Through this Method,
you can increase your ease and range of motion, improve your flexibility and coordination,
and rediscover your innate capacity for graceful, efficient movement. These improvements
will often generalize to enhance functioning in other aspects of your life.
The Feldenkrais Method is based on principles of physics, biomechanics and an empirical
understanding of learning and human development. By expanding the self-image through
movement sequences that bring attention to the parts of the self that are out of
awareness, the Method enables you to include more of yourself in your functioning
movements. Students become more aware of their habitual neuromuscular patterns and
rigidities and expand options for new ways of moving. By increasing sensitivity the
Feldenkrais Method assists you to live your life more fully, efficiently and comfortably.
(The Feldenkrais Guild - http://www.feldenkrais.com)
The Feldenkrais Method Home Page
http://www.feldenkrais.com/
Somatic Options/Feldenkrais
http://www.somatic.com
Provides information about T'ai Chi, The Reality Illusion, and the bodymind relationship
using awareness to avoid RSI.
Feldenkrais/In Motion
http://www.axess.com/feld/
Description of the method with suggestions and movement sequences to do while at the
computer in order to avoid injury. In English and French
Yahoo Search = Feldenkrais Method
http://search.yahoo.com/bin/search?p=Feldenkrais+Method
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Hellerwork is a series of one-hour sessions of deep tissue bodywork and movement
education designed to realign the body and release chronic tension and stress. Verbal
dialogue is used to assist the client in becoming aware of emotional stress that may be
related to physical tension.
Hellerwork is an integrated system designed to recondition the whole body. It is not a
remedy for illness; rather, it is a process in which people are moved from their current
"average" state to an optimal state of health and well being. This optimal state
of health is the body's "normal" and natural condition.
Although Hellerwork may be effective for temporary pain or tension relief, we recognize
that pain and tension are usually the result of an overall pattern of imbalance occurring
in the body. Rather than treating the pain or tension "symptom" of this
imbalance, Hellerwork focuses on rebalancing the entire body, returning it to a more
aligned, relaxed and youthful state.
Hellerwork International, LLC - http://www.hellerwork.com/
Hellerwork International, LLC
http://www.hellerwork.com/
Hellerwork Web Site
http://www.snowcrest.net/~hwork/
Hellerwork is a series of one-hour sessions of deep tissue bodywork and movement education
designed to realign the body and release chronic tension and stress.
Merry Nell Colborn, Certified Hellerworker
http://members.aol.com/MerryNellC/
Yahoo Search = Hellerwork
http://search.yahoo.com/bin/search?p=Hellerwork
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The Martial Arts FAQ
http://www.cis.ohio-state.edu/hypertext/faq/usenet/martial-arts/top.html
Yahoo Search = Martial Arts
http://search.yahoo.com/bin/search?p=Martial+Arts
Yahoo Search = Tai Chi
http://ink.yahoo.com/bin/query?p=Tai+Chi
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Massage Therapy (therapeutic massage) A manual soft tissue manipulation; includes
causing movement and/or applying pressure to the body aimed at achieving or increasing
health and wellness. A profession in which the practitioner applies manual techniques, and
may apply adjunctive therapies, with the intention of positively affecting the health and
well-being of a client.
American Massage Therapy Association - http://www.amtamassage.org/massagetherapy.htm
American Massage Therapy Association
http://www.amtamassage.org
International member-driven organization representing the massage therapy profession. The
mission of the American Massage Therapy Association is to develop and advance the art,
science and practice of massage therapy in a caring, professional and ethical manner in
order to promote the health and welfare of humanity.
Massage Therapy Web Central
http://www.qwl.com/mts.html
Comprehensive, consumer-friendly resource center and referral directory of Associated MTs
Near You, the professional network for licensed massage therapists.
An Illustrated Guide to Muscles and Illustrated Medical Massage Therapy for
Pain Relief and Posture Alignment in Children, Teens & Adults
http://danke.com/Orthodoc/
Orthodoc Pain & Posture Clinic
Varieties and Techniques of Massage and Bodywork by William
Collinge,
M.P.H., Ph.D.
http://www.healthy.net/hwlibrarybooks/mind/bvandt.htm
Repetitive Stress Injuries
http://planet-hawaii.com/~billpeay/TECHT08.html
A seven-part series of articles on the "transverse friction massage" technique.
The Garden Island Newspaper - Kauai, Hawaii - by: Bill Peay
Yahoo Search = Massage Therapy
http://search.yahoo.com/bin/search?p=Massage+Therapy
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Myofascial Therapy
Complementary Therapies in Rehabilitation
http://www.slackinc.com/books/cdavis/index.htm
Book - Offers descriptions and applications of certain alternative
therapies, including Tai Chi,
Myofascial Therapy, Yoga and Rolfing. Written and developed by therapists with various
backgrounds who offer insightful descriptions and applications of certain alternative
therapies. Each of the chapters provides you with the author's experience and expertise
for an individual approach to help you better understand the background, benefit, and
method used. This book will help explain the differences and benefits of these alternative
therapies vs. traditional medical interventions. It gives you the essential background and
historical development of these approaches to better understand their emerging value.
Yahoo Search = Myofascial Therapy
http://search.yahoo.com/bin/search?p=Myofascial+Therapy
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Developed in the 1920s by the legendary physical trainer and founder of The Pilates
Studio, Joseph H. Pilates, The Pilates Method is an exercise system focused on improving
flexibility and strength for the total body without building bulk. It is a series of
controlled movements engaging your body and mind, performed on specifically designed
exercise apparatus and supervised by extensively trained teachers.
The Pilates Method of body conditioning promotes physical harmony and balance for
people of all ages and physical conditions while providing a refreshing and energizing
workout. Recently discovered by physical therapists, chiropractors and orthopedists, The
Pilates Method of body conditioning can also be integrated into rehabilitative exercise
and physical therapy programs designed to speed recovery of soft tissue injuries.
The Official Pilates Studio
http://www.pilates-studio.com
The Pilates Method, developed by the legendary physical trainer Joseph
Pilates, is a full
body exercise system. Emphasizing body alignment and correct breathing, this conditioning
method uses the abdomen, lower back and buttocks as a power center, enabling the rest of
the body to move freely.
Yahoo Search = Pilates+Method
http://search.yahoo.com/bin/search?p=Pilates+Method
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Rolfing structural integration is named after Dr. Ida P. Rolf, who fifty years ago
called her work structural integration. Dr. Rolf devoted her energy to creating a holistic
system of soft tissue manipulation and movement education that organized the whole body in
gravity. She discovered that she could achieve remarkable changes in posture and structure
by manipulating the body's myofascial system.
Rolfing structural integration has an unequaled and unprecedented ability to
dramatically alter a person's posture and structure. Professional athletes, dancers,
children, business people, and people from all walks of life have benefited from Rolfing.
People seek Rolfing as a way to ease pain and chronic stress, and improve performance in
their professional and daily activities.
http://www.rolf.org/intro.htm
The Rolf Institute of Structural Integration
http://www.rolf.org/index.html
Rolfing is "a holistic system of soft tissue manipulation and movement education that
organizes the whole body in gravity" and is seen as "a way to ease pain and
chronic stress.
Yahoo Search = Rolfing
http://search.yahoo.com/bin/search?p=Rolfing
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Stretching And Flexibility
http://www.cs.huji.ac.il/papers/rma/stretching_toc.html
Everything you never wanted to know - by Brad Appleton
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Wholeliving.com
http://www.wholeliving.com/
Comprehensive health and wellness for mind/body/spirit
Be Well Naturally
http://www.doubleclickd.com/bewell.html
Baltimore Resources 9th Annual Guide to Whole Living
Loving Life Corporation
http://www.lovinglife.org/index.html
Non-profit foundation dedicated to research and teaching in touch healing.
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Developed in India more than 5,000 years ago, Yoga is a psycho-physical discipline used
to maintain physical and psychological well-being. The word "Yoga" means union.
Linguistically, it is related to the Old English "yoke." Traditionally, the goal
of yoga is union with the One, also
known as Atman or Brahman. Today in the West, the focus is usually on the more
down-to-earth benefits that come from the physical and meditative exercises used in Hatha
Yoga. Spirituality, however, is a strong underlying theme to most practices. The primary
benefits of Yoga include improved physical strength and flexibility, mental clarity,
greater self understanding, better stress control and general well-being.
Yoga Site's Yoga FAQ
Yoga Journal's YogaNet
http://www.yogajournal.com
Yoga Site
http://www.yogasite.com/
Includes a directory of yoga teachers, retreats, yoga books, news and links.
Yahoo Search = Yoga
http://search.yahoo.com/bin/search?p=Yoga
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Misc.
Sportstouch(r)CTS Article
http://www.sportstouch.com/art-robot.html
HealingPeople.com
http://www.healingpeople.com
Your source for complementary and alternative medicine
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