Do you experience typing or mousing (these days also swiping and
tapping) pain from too many hours on computers, tablets, and
smartphones?
Another new category of ergonomic stress associated with handheld
device use as smartphones, e-readers, and tablets become the platform
of choice for many users is "text neck", which results from frequent
texting or looking down at your mobile device for extended periods.
Chiropractors say text neck is on the rise. This species of repetitive
stress injury caused by flexing of the neck for prolonged periods can
result in tightness across the shoulders, headaches, neck soreness, and
can even result in permanent arthritic damage if left untreated.
Some suggested strategies to help prevent text neck include:
- Raise your mobile device (or computer monitor) so it is aligned
with your eyes when you read and text.
- Take frequent breaks every 15 minutes and look straight ahead while
tucking the chin back towards the neck every few minutes.
- Stretch your hands: squeeze a stress ball and stretch your chest by
standing up straight with your arms down at your side.
But how many of us will actually do those things?
With computers the main tool of my trade, and being afflicted with
both polyneuritis
and fibromyalgia, I've
struggled with computer interfacing pain for nearly two decades now.
I've developed and cultivated a variety of defence measures, such as
choosing input devices carefully and switching among them frequently,
using dictation
software when practical, using a foot mouse for clicking at my
office workstation, and so forth. Interestingly, I've found that the
virtual keyboard on my iPad 2
doesn't aggravate my symptoms as much as I had expected it to, and it
makes a nice change from regular keyboarding as long as I don't overdo
it.
A couple of weeks ago, I
received a sample for review of a product called Topricin, a topical homeopathic cream
claimed to be effective for Repetitive Stress Injury (RSI) pain such as
typing pain, Carpal Tunnel Syndrome (CTS), and other types of muscle
and soft tissue pain, and by happenstance it arrived at an opportune
moment to give it a good test.
Last Tuesday, the day before Apple's third-generation iPad
announcement event, I developed pain first at the base of my right
thumb, and soon mirrored on the left hand as well, although not as
intensely. I had been typing up a storm and also handling firewood and
so forth, and perhaps it had caught up to me. I don't like taking
analgesics for that type of pain. I can't use aspirin or ibuprofen,
because they aggravate my chronic gastritis, acetaminophen doesn't do
much for the pain and has no anti-inflammatory effect, so at best it
just masks the pain symptoms, which could cause one to further stress
and possibly re-injure the painful tissues, and stronger painkillers
make one dopey.
However, there seemed no downside to trying out the Topricin, which
has no side effects and is claimed to promote healing as well as pain
relief.
I popped open the tube and rubbed some onto the sore spots. The
Topricin cream has absolutely no odor or scent, which I appreciated,
and seemed to be readily absorbed by my skin, which was the objective
noted in the instructions. The homeopathic ingredients are suspended in
a vehicle mixture of coconut oil and glycerin, and it doesn't leave a
notably greasy residue.
Homeopathy is a category of alternative or complimentary medicine
whose advocates and practitioners claim to treat patients using
really highly diluted preparations of substances that are
believed to cause healthy people to exhibit symptoms that are similar
to those exhibited by the patient. The basic principle of homeopathy,
called the "law of similars", is "let like be cured by like" - a term
coined by a German physician named Samuel Hahnemann in 1796 [and a
subject of vigorous controversy ever since]. Homeopathic remedies are
prepared by serial dilution with shaking by forceful striking on an
elastic body, which homeopaths call succussion. Each dilution
followed by succussion is purported to increase the effectiveness a
process homeopaths call potentization. Dilution often continues until
no detectable amount of the original substance remains. Apart from
noting the symptoms, homeopaths examine aspects of the patient's
physical and psychological state, then homeopathic reference books
known as repertories are consulted, and a remedy is selected based on
the totality of symptoms, the objective being to address the illness of
the whole person at a deep level.
Development of the Topricin formulation began when a fellow named
Lou Paradise found himself in pain with Superior Bilateral Carpal
Tunnel Syndrome back in 1985. Paradise had sustained lingering RSI
injuries during two tours as a US Marine Corps combat/rescue helicopter
medevac and chief in Vietnam, and the physical demands of conducting
hundreds of rescue missions of military personnel and Vietnamese
citizens. In his case, the CTS caused burning, tingling, throbbing pain
from his fingers to his elbow.
Having extensive background in physiology and natural medicine, Lou
had also spent some time in Hong Kong in 1965, where he met British and
Chinese doctors who had introduced him to various alternative medicine
techniques like acupuncture, herbal medicine, and homeopathy. Lou came
away impressed by the evident powerful healing potential of these
techniques, and began studying them intensively.
Twenty years later, desperate for some relief from the CTS, Lou says
he commenced self-experimentation, first by taking oral herbal
medicines, which he found had little effect on his pain. Then he tried
some single ingredient homeopathic medicines, and again got very little
relief. From that experience he deduced that maybe a combination of
homeopathic medicines delivered in a cream base and applied to the
specific site of the pain might be the answer.
Lou experimented with select combinations of homeopathic medicines
from the 3,000 different ones available and says he began to feel
measurable improvement in just a few weeks. Thus was the prototype for
the Topricin formula born, and more than 25 years later, Lou, now 65,
claims it has kept him pain-free, symptom-free, medication-free, and
enjoying restoration of full functional mobility and range of motion.
In an interview with Hudson Valley's David Levine, Paradise expresses
pride in his autodidactic approach to research and product development
for Topricin, noting, "If I had been classically trained, I would never
have made this discovery."
"Prescription and over-the-counter oral medications are not the way
to treat pain," Paradise contends. "We are bringing ancient health and
healing practices to modern medicine so people can really get better
and stay well . . . We're not just treating the pain, we're
looking at the causes of the pain and offering-pain relief based on
healing, not just deadening symptoms."
Topricin pain relief and healing cream was introduced by Topical
BioMedics Inc. in 1994 and is claimed to be America's leading natural
therapeutic topical treatment. It combines 11 different homeopathic
medicines that are claimed to work synergistically to relieve pain
associated with a wide range of ailments injuries, including
fibromyalgia, arthritis, lower back and shoulder pain, sciatica, carpal
tunnel syndrome, and sports injuries. Specifically, Topricin's eleven
homeopathic medicines, with their healing qualities claimed by the
homeopathic Materia Medica are:
- Arnica Montana - For injuries and bruising to the muscles and
joints. Arnica is considered especially useful for arthritis, joint
injuries, and bruising
- Rhus Tox - For sprains, arthritic pain, and backaches
- Ruta Graveolens - For relief from injuries to the bone or bone
covering; often used to relieve trauma to the knee, shin, elbow and
cheekbone
- Lachesis Muta - For relief from sciatica, arthritis, lower back
pain and carpal tunnel
- Belladonna - Relief of pain, spasm & inflammation to muscle
tissue
- Echinacea - Anti-inflammatory and anti-bacterial
- Crotalus - For improving localized circulation, and considered
effective for bruises and contusions, and for accelerating repair to
damaged nerves, joints, and muscles
- Aesculus - For chronic pain, especially in the legs & varicose
veins.
- Heloderma - For relief from burning sensation in the hands or
feet.
- Naja - Relieves inflammation and pain in nerve tissue in the
treatment of Carpal Tunnel and neuropathy
- Graphites - For relieving symptoms of skin conditions
The theory, as Mr. Paradise noted, is that rather than masking pain
like most over-the-counter topical pain relievers, Topricin stimulates
the body's natural healing process. There are no known side effects,
drug interactions, or counterindications to using this product. It also
was patented in April 2010 for treatment of pain associated with
fibromyalgia and awarded the 2010 Parent Tested/Parent Approved Seal of
Approval.
Topical BioMedics Inc. has also added two complimentary products:
Topricin Junior Pain Relief and Healing Cream, specially formulated for
treating children, and Topricin Foot Therapy Cream, which is formulated
to address foot and ankle pain, particularly for sports injuries,
including plantar fasciitis, Achilles tendinitis, leg cramps, and
shinsplints, as well as impact injuries, bruising, strains. and
sprains. It is also claimed to be effective for reducing heel pain,
heel spur pain, gouty arthritis, peripheral neuropathic pain, and
neuroma.
As I noted above, homeopathic theory is nothing if not
controversial, and the explanation of how it's supposed to work beggars
credibility for scientific-minded folks. Critics cite studies that have
found homeopathy to be no more effective than a placebo, noting that at
higher dilutions, homeopathic remedies may not contain any
pharmacologically active molecules at all, and for such remedies to
have any pharmacological effect would violate fundamental principles of
science. Advocates counter that some individual studies have
demonstrated positive results and cite evidence of homeopathic
therapy's effectiveness in veterinary medicine, where the
placebo-effect would presumably not apply.
Homeopaths propose that the water used in homeopathic dilutions has
a "memory" that allows homeopathic preparations to work while
containing only an "echo" of the original substance; but critics
riposte that there are no verified observations or scientifically
plausible physical mechanisms to support such a phenomenon. The
antagonistic hypothesis that "homeopathy does not work because it
cannot work" is an unscientific assertion in itself, because it is more
philosophical deduction than proven observation.
Homeopathy garners rather more respect in Europe and other parts of
the planet than it has in North America for the past 100 years or so.
In the UK, 42% of MDs refer patients to homeopaths (British Med.
Jour. 292, 7/7/86), homeopathic outpatient clinics are part of the
UK's national health system, which funds five homeopathic hospitals,
and the discipline is recognized as a postgraduate medical specialty
through an act of Parliament. The British Royal family have been avid
supporters of homeopathy for four generations, and Queen Elizabeth II's
homeopath and rheumatologist, Dr. Peter Fisher, is also the clinical
director at the National Health Service's Royal London Homeopathic
Hospital.
In Germany, in order to become a Homeopathic Physician, individuals
must attend a three-year training program, and the homeopathic anti-flu
medicine Occilococcinum has been a bestseller in German pharmacies at
times. Some homeopathic treatment is covered by the public health
service of several other European countries, including France, Denmark,
and Luxembourg.
In India, there are over 150,000 homeopathic MDs, over 100 five-year
homeopathic medical colleges, and reportedly 10% of the population
(approximately 100 million people) relies primarily on homeopathy for
healthcare. The Indian government recognizes homeopathy as one of its
national systems of medicine, and a minimum of a recognized diploma in
homeopathy and registration on a state register or the Central Register
of Homoeopathy is required to practice homeopathy in India.
The reason why homeopathy persists despite the barrage of opprobrium
and scorn from conventional medical circles is that many users perceive
it as being effective - and not just the gullible and desperate. A
friend of mine who has a postgraduate professional engineering degree
in computer science swears by Occillococcinum as a flu remedy for his
family.
Personally, I've been a patient over the years of at least seven
licensed professionals who practiced homeopathy to varying degrees,
five of them MDs, one a naturopath, and one a pure homeopath, although
only the latter relied solely, or even primarily, on homeopathic
treatments. Based on my experience with various homeopathic therapies,
I'm neither a convinced cheerleader nor a hardened skeptic. Some
homeopathic remedies have seemed to work, while others did not.
So, did the Topricin work for my sore hands last week? Well, by
Wednesday, the pain had decreased, and I managed to get through the
iPad release day without great discomfort. By Thursday, I was
definitely on the mend, and the symptoms had disappeared by Friday.
Would the quick recovery have happened anyway even without the
application of Topricin? That's the imponderable, of course. However,
the positive outcome is anecdotally interesting; at least I find it so,
especially since the Topricin also seems to be helping with another
rheumatic pain problem and/or injury that's been plaguing me for a
couple of months now.
Consequently, I'm provisionally impressed and will continue
experimenting with Topricin for future aches and pains to determine
whether the apparent success I had with it in the hand pain episode
last week is repeatable.
As I see, the big advantage of homeopathic therapy it is that the
medicines tend to be relatively inexpensive, and at worst won't cause
any harm - given the extreme dilutions - not something to discount
lightly with pharmaceutical side-effects reportedly now one of the top
three causes of death in North America. I have to say that the
explanation of how homeopathy works sounds somewhat nonsensical, but
I'm humble enough to venture that just because I find the concept hard
to accept on scientific criteria doesn't mean that it doesn't work. And
so far Topricin seems to.
Conventional scientific knowledge and medical theory don't explain
everything.
Topricin is available either directly from the Topical BioMedics
online store, and also in pharmacies, natural food stores, and other
retailers, including Whole Foods, Vitamin Shoppe, Vitamin World, Fred
Meyer, and Wegmans. A 2 ounce tube of Topricin Ointment sells for
$16.95, and the product is also available in two larger sizes: a 4
ounce jar for $24.95, and an 8 ounce bottle at $39.95. Street prices
may be less.
