Shoulder Injuries - Descriptions

All,

Some useful and very simple descriptions of shoulder injuries below.

AlignMed has many options to: Reduce Pain, Expedite Recovery , and Improve Performance for many of these injuries.

http://www.merrittherald.com/common-shoulder-problems/ 

By Dr. Colin Gage on April 16, 2015

The shoulder is an amazing piece of machinery. It has the greatest range of motion of any joint in the body. However, this large range of motion makes it less stable compared to the stronger but less mobile hip joint. Thus, the shoulder joint is more vulnerable to injury.

I see patients every single day with issues with their shoulders. The following are a few of the more common shoulder problems I see in my clinic.

Acromioclavicular separation

A shoulder separation is a fairly common injury, especially in certain sports. Most shoulder separations are actually injuries to the acromioclavicular (AC) joint. The AC joint is the connection between the scapula (shoulder blade) and the clavicle (collarbone). Shoulder dislocations and AC joint separations are often mistaken for each other, but they are very different injuries.

Bicep tendonitis

Bicep tendonitis, also called bicipital tendonitis, is inflammation in the main tendon that attaches the top of the biceps muscle to the shoulder. The most common cause is overuse from certain types of work or sports activities. Biceps tendonitis may develop gradually from the effects of wear and tear or suddenly from a direct injury. The tendon may also become inflamed in response to other problems in the shoulder, such as rotator cuff tears, impingement, or shoulder instability.

Impingement syndrome

Many people refer to any pain in the shoulder as bursitis. The word bursitis really only means that the part of the shoulder called the bursa is inflamed. Tendonitis is when a tendon gets inflamed. This can be another source of pain in the shoulder. Many different problems can cause inflammation of the bursa and/or tendons. Impingement syndrome is one of those problems. Impingement syndrome occurs when the rotator cuff tendons rub against the boney roof of the shoulder (the acromion).

Rotator cuff tears

The rotator cuff tendons are crucial to the healthy functioning of the shoulder. They are subject to a lot of wear and tear or degeneration as we use our arms. Tearing of the rotator cuff tendons is an especially painful injury. A torn rotator cuff creates a very weak shoulder. Most of the time, patients with torn rotator cuffs are over 30 years old, but rotator cuff tears can happen at any age.

Thoracic outlet syndrome

Thoracic outlet syndrome causes pain along the top of the clavicle and shoulder. The pain may spread along the inside edge of the arm, into the hand, and also into the ring and pinky fingers. Numbness and tingling may accompany the pain, especially in the early hours of the morning before it's time to wake up. Symptoms tend to get worse when driving, lifting, carrying, and writing. The arms may also feel tired when held overhead, as when using a blow dryer. It may be harder to hold and grip things, and the hand may feel clumsy.

These shoulder issues are very common and we successfully treat them every day in our clinic. If you require treatment for your shoulder problem or you simply have questions, please feel free to call me at my office
.

Parkinson's White Paper

 All,

There has been a recent buzz on how AlignMed is a great tool for PARKINSON'S patients.  I have heard it a few times in the recent weeks and thought his white paper from our President, Bill Schultz, was worth sharing with everyone.

AlignMed™ Posture Maintenance and Motor Control in Parkinson's Disease

 

Parkinson's Disease (PD) is a degenerative neurologic disorder attributed to the death of dopamine-generating cells in a region of the midbrain.  The most obvious symptoms are movement-related; these include shaking, slowness of movement, muscle rigidity and difficulty with walking.  Poor posture is a hallmark feature of PD.  As poor posture progresses muscle strength and flexibility decreases.  The physical weakness in turn leads to increase in mental weakness including depression and dementia in advanced stages.  PD is more common in older people with, with most cases occurring after the age of 50.  

The Alignmed SpinalQ™ Vest, Posture Shirt™, and AlignMe™ Bra take an offensive position as a functional care therapy to slow the debilitating cascade of poor posture.   The form-fitting garments incorporate variable elastic fabric panels, called NeuroBands™, to facilitate neuromechanical function, improve posture, strength, flexibility and slow the degenerative process of Parkinson's. 

The Alignmed Experience and Expectation

THE PULL AND THE TOUCH – A gentle Pull of NeuroBands simultaneously stimulates muscles to contract and others to relax to achieve optimal posture.  The consistent Touch of NeuroBands provides an unconscious biofeedback to induce awareness of your posture.  The Pull and Touch working in tandem help fight vulnerable movement patterns that cause slouching, forward head, pelvic tipping and uneven spine loading without the user having to think about it.   

THE HEAT - When muscles are activated, heat is a result. This is known as thermogenesis and lets you know the NeuroBands are working to reduce muscle and joint loads.  A bonus side effect to thermogenesis is that it increases your calorie burn.

THE WORKOUT - Soreness is an indication that your muscles have had a workout without setting foot in the gym.   The use of resistance bands as external therapy can be thought of as an extension of what physical therapists recommend to target muscle groups to help curtail the downward cascade of health in PD that poor posture encourages.  You can wear your Alignmed garments every day, intermittently or even during sleep to retrain and balance a variety of muscle groups.

THE RESULT – An unconscious means to facilitate an improvement in the nervous system and to stave off the progression of poor posture and loss of motor control even when the user has involuntarily lost or is losing control of their motor function. 

THE EFFECT - The desired effect is an improvement in posture, function, control of movement and a carry-over effect of muscle retraining when Alignmed is not being worn.

 

The unique construction of the SpinalQ, Posture Shirt and AlignMe Bra is comfortable and non-restrictive.  The product chosen is based on the wearers' ability and the functional objectives assessed by the caregiver.    The built in or adjustable NeuroBands, in some ways are comparable to the use of elastic skin taping techniques.  The advantage of NeuroBands is they are easier to use, more comfortable and arguably, less expensive.  

To date we have experience with over 100,000 users of Alignmed products whom suffer a variety of neuromuscular and pain disorders.  The products are registered with the FDA; the SpinalQ has a Medicare reimbursement code; our return rate is only 6% and in 10 years we have not seen one legal action against the products.  We have studied the effectiveness of the Posture Shirt and SpinalQ in stimulating muscle activity, improving posture, joint alignment, strength and vascularity.   We have reviewed PD research showing that mobility, spasticity and quality of life can improve with rehabilitation and physical exercise when performed under the supervision of a physical therapist compared to a self-supervised exercise program at home.   However, there are social and economic barriers that affect the amount and quality of care each PD patient receives.   An outpatient study conducted at the University of Utah and Boston University found that the biggest barriers to exercise for people with PD include low expectations of the benefits, lack of time, and fear of falling.  Thus, Alignmed products present great potential as a conservative, cost-effective, adjunctive treatment in a variety of PD care strategies.  We cannot look past the need to find simple solutions to improve quality of life for those with PD.

We see no harm in trying Alignmed for Parkinson's disease; at minimum it represents a simple tool to help improve posture during any daily living activity. 

Contributions:

Bill Schultz, President and Founder,

The Alignmed Medical Advisory Panel (AMAP)

Golf: New Posture Shirt Aids posture at work & Play

http://www.post-gazette.com/sports/golf/2015/04/12/Gerry-Dulac-New-shirt-designed-to-aid-posture-at-work-at-play/stories/201504120099

Gerry Dulac: New shirt designed to aid posture at work, at play

April 12, 2015 8:28 PM

By Gerry Dulac / Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

While I am writing this column, I am already destroying my golf game. Or, should I say, making it more difficult to swing the club and strike the ball the way I desire.

Every time I sit at a computer, which most of America probably does on a daily basis, I am harming the component most essential to a good golf swing -- posture.

Since we were young, we have been told by our parents and teachers to sit up straight, shoulders back, head looking forward. No slouching. And yet it is almost impossible to avoid slouching and sitting the way we were told not to when working at a desk or banging away on a laptop.

No wonder we can't hit 4-irons like Rory McIlroy?

Now there is something to help our posture -- and our game -- while we're working.

It's called the posture shirt, designed by a California company called AlignMed, and it's a medically approved garment that is being worn by golfers, baseball and basketball players -- in fact, any athlete who uses an overhead motion.

The posture shirt uses elastic bands stitched into the material to press gently on upper back and shoulder muscles to pull the shoulders in proper alignment -- a key to avoiding fatigue and injury, CEO and president Bill Schultz said.

"Where you place the bands on muscles and how much elasticity you give them, that's the magic formula," Schultz said. "We do not do compression. If you have bad posture, that's just squeezing a bad jacket. You have to have the bands anatomically placed."

According to research from the Kerlan Jobe Orthopedic Foundation, the bands help with posture and muscle alignment and can stabilize and increase rotator-cuff function. Schultz said the bands also keep the scapula in the proper position, thereby creating better range of motion with the shoulders -- essential for a good turn for golfers.

Several players on the Champions Tour have been wearing the posture shirt. NBA players Anthony Davis, Dwight Howard and Eric Gordon also have worn the shirt after returning from shoulder injuries.

Noted golf instructor Roger Fredericks, a leader in golf fitness and flexibility, has endorsed the shirt because he preaches posture as the most fundamental aspect of a good golf swing. He recommends his students wear the shirt, especially when they're not playing.

"All golf instructors try to get their students into good posture," Fredericks said. "It all makes sense. But the problem is, when I teach, how do you get a person with terrible posture who is weak, tight and rotated and expect to put this person in the proper posture, let alone stay in the same spine angle. They can't do it."

Schultz said the shirt not only has been approved by the United States Golf Association -- meaning it is OK to wear in competition -- but it also has been approved by American Medical Association as a medical device. In some cases, the shirt is available with a prescription.A lot of sports apparel companies, most notably Under Armour and Nike, make compression clothing that "squeeze" parts of the body and make the wearer feel tight and fit. With the posture shirt, AlignMed seemingly has gone an extra step, producing functional clothing that compresses and helps muscles, tendons and joints align physiologically.

In other words, clothing that heals.

"Guys that golf, a lot of these guys work at computers and desks, and the action they do causes the shoulders and heads to move forward," Schultz said. "It's like a bad workout for a golfer. You can't undo that workout at the driving range. You can't undo 10 to 12 hours of a bad workout at a driving range, even one hour at a gym. That's not going to do it. You have to be aware of your body all the time."

Gerry Dulac: gdulac@post-gazette.com and Twitter @gerrydulac. Listen to "The Golf Show with Gerry Dulac" every Thursday, 6-7:30 p.m. on 970 ESPN.

Since I grew up in Pennsylvania, I decided to throw in a Throwback Tuesday Photo from my Pittsburgh days :)

 

Bob Waeger  |  Medical Sales Director

2909 Tech Center Drive, Santa Ana, CA 92705
T 714-975-9330        C  714-514-8038 
bwaeger@alignmed.com     alignmed.com

Testimonial Today

All,

We received this incredible testimonial today, and another testimonial from a few weeks ago:

1) A woman has been in and out of a wheel chair for the last 18 years. In recent years, mostly in. Upon donning our SQ she was able to get out of her wheelchair and move about. Now she spends a great deal of time out of the chair and leading a productive life when she wears the SQ and recently called us crying explaining that "I am so grateful, I will now be able to dance at my son's wedding! Thank you so much for helping me. I have been hoping for something like this for many years"

2) Hello, my name is Wendy M.

I just received my shirt and all I can say is whoever designed this is a complete genius!

I put on the shirt and immediately all the pain in my shoulders relaxed.

I can't tell you the relief I have gotten from your shirt.

If you ever need me to speak about this shirt… I would be so glad because what it has done for me in the last 24 hours is more than any doctor has been able to do for me.

I just want to thank you and your crew and your company for coming up with this shirt because I just cannot believe the relief I have gotten… I just can't believe it!

THANK YOU!

Have a Great Easter,

Bob Waeger  |  Medical Sales Director

2909 Tech Center Drive, Santa Ana, CA 92705
T 714-975-9330        C  714-514-8038 
bwaeger@alignmed.com     alignmed.com