Forward Head Posture

FHP is the result of misalignment of your upper back, shoulders and head.  

          (L) Poor Posture                              (R) Proper posture 

I find my posture always looks weird, especially for my neck. Perhaps it's due to my awkward posture. during activities. I develop this when I'm concentrating such as using computer and phone, reading, reading, watching tv, etc. I did not know I was in that poor posture. My head leans forward gradually and silently once I am focusing on things. This gives me neck sore and stiff which is not a good stuff. Anyway, I found this useful link in Youtube talking about the correction exercise for the Forward Head Posture. I am going to try these exercise and hope to get a better posture and relief the stiffness. Here you go.

Pictures reference: http://activespines.com/clients/7950/images/back_pain_solution_forward_head_posture.jpg

http://www.euclidchiropracticinc.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/01/postural-distortions-and-posture1-300x291.jpg

Uncovertebral Joint Degeneration

Vertebrae are very fundamental to our body, they allow movement as well as to offer protection to our nerves, blood vessel and other internal body structures. Thus any defects at the vertebrae can lead to various levels of disabilities. In this post, one of the spinal condition - Uncovertebral Joint Degenration will be discussed.

Lets start discussing about it by learning from the term~

Uncovertebral Joint

Cervical Spine

First, we know that this condition involves uncovertebral joint! (as the name tells) You can only find uncovertebral joint in cervical spine (more specifically is from C3 - C7). Here's a diagram on the right showing the structure of cervical vertebrae. You can see that the upper border of the vertebral body forms a line of smile, where both sides slope upwards instead of staying flat all the way. This is a specific feature of cervical vertebrae - existance of uncovertebral joint. It cannot be found in other levels of spine i.e. thoracic/ lumbar/ sacral.

Degeneration
- There are different causes leading to this condition, below I will be using disc degeneration as an example (disc degen => joint degen)

So, here we come to the second part of the name - degeneration, what does it tell us about the condition?

Smile like the upper border of C vertebral body!

In between two vertebral bodies of the vertebrae, there is a disc which act as a shock absorber as well as to facilitate spinal movement. There are three basic structures composite the disc: the nucleus pulposus, the annulus fibrosus and the vertebral end-plates.

Using a car tire as an analogy: nucleus pulposus is like the air trapped inside the tire while annulus fibrosus is the circular wall of the tire. Normally the air pressure within the tire is sufficient enough to be fully inflated in a good shape. A degenerative disc happens when there is air leak out of the tire. The drop of pressure deflates the tire and it becomes flatten under pressure. Same thing happens in our spine: water leaks out through annulus fibrosus in a degenerated disc. The disc is then unable to withstand pressure and its height reduces under weight. When this happens, the uncovertebral joint space is narrowed, increasing pressure against it in spinal movements. Osteophytes (often called bone spurs) then formed around the affected area in order to increase stability of spine.

What is worrying?
It is believed that the cells within the nucleus pulposus requires oxygen and nutrients to work efficiently to produce fluid within the disc. Without the nutrients, pressure within the disc drops due to reduced production of fluid. The above disc degeneration will then occur. It is inevitable with increasing age...The best way to prevent it to happen in an early stage of life is to exercise the spine regularly. It can facilitate the exchange of fluid within the disc, so nutrients can be transported into the disc and wastes can be removed from the disc constantly. Therefore, the disc is kept healthy and fresh as much as it can =]

Reference:
http://neckandback.com/conditions/cervical-degenerative-disc-disease

Dook Fishball (1) - Jammed Finger

Jeremy Lin

This post will be discussing a common hand injury happened in basketball games - Dook Fishball. It often happens when u miscatch a fast-coming ball, or while an agressive player trying to steal a ball but accidentally poke onto the ball (._____.)... Although we often refer this to "dook fishball", however two conditions might actually occur when we look into the anatomy of our fingers. Depending on the site of injury, the two conditions are mallet finger and jammed finger. So what is the difference? What structures are involved?




Jammed finger


Where?
Jammed finger is more commonly seen then mallet finger. It can be considered as a sprain of PIP joint. It is poorly defined; you can also find out that some of the websites actually say jammed finger can occur at both DIP and PIP joint.

How?

When there is an unexpected force applying to the tip of the finger. Several structures are responsible to hold the finger joints such as ligaments and joint capsule. High impact force coming from a fast moving basketball can compress the joint or rupture the ligament, causing the swelling and bruising. More severe cases can happen when the finger is forced into hyper-extension, which either PIP or DIP allow only limited extension. As a result, the extensor tendon (or referred as central slip) ruptures. 'Boutonnière deformity' is often referred as the case when this happens. (Click this link to learn more about BD: http://orthoinfo.aaos.org/topic.cfm?topic=A00004&return_link=0) Bone avulsion can also happen (a small part of bone is teared away by the pulling force of a stretched tendon in this case).

What to do?

Buddy Taping

Ice (20 mins per session) and rest should be the first priority right after the injury. Elevation of the finger can increase venous blood flow to your heart to remove the waste produced locally. You can do this by putting your hand on a high table while sleeping or sitting, just remember to keep it above the level of your heart. Taping can help stabilising the injured joint and reducing local swelling. If you want to stabilise the injured joint in a greater amount, buddy taping would help (see diagram).

After the swelling and pain has gone down, remember to do some mobilising exercises! 

The above would be appropriate and helpful in general. If you suspect that your case is more serious, for example you experience a sharp unbearable pain while moving the finger or you cannot move your finger in an unexpectedly large extent, do not hesitate to consult a related medical profession for diagnosis!

Mallet finger will be covered in the coming post =]