On 4/27/2012 9:36 AM, Ken Norton wrote:
> So, here's the deal.
>
> I've been informed that my camera bag carrying days are getting
> numbered. My neck and back are experiencing issues which will continue
> to get worse.
>
> So, there are two aspects to this which I need to consider:
>
> 1. Redefine my kit to minimize shoulder injury,
My standard kit these days is 60D with Tamron 28-300 VC in hand/on strap and
Canon 10-22 in small waist pack with extra
cards, etc.That really keeps the weight down. (It's interesting how hard it is
to find a suitable waist pack,
'photographic' or other. Yet another is on the way, Lowepro Toploader Zoom 50.)
I don't recall if it was in response to you or someone else that I posted this.
<http://galleries.moosemystic.net/MooseFoto/index.php?gallery=Miscellaneous/Images&image=IMG_1277ptlcrni.jpg>
The connectors in front are normal snap-on hooks that slide along the webbing,
as used on many shoulder straps. When at
rest, the camera/lens weight rests against the abdomen, with weight distributed
between front and back, far out on the
shoulders, away from the neck, and balanced. The camera is easily raised to eye
height for use.
The difference in weight distribution/pressure compared to a neck strap is
HUGE. If you try one, I'd advise avoiding
those with elastic straps. Nice wide, smooth, fixed length nylon works best, in
my experience. You don't want any
catching against clothes, pulling, etc.
As I don't have the kind of issues you do, I seldom use mine, but when I was
having some mild neck trouble from heavy
kit, it worked wonders. I do carry a lightish tripod on a strap under one arm
with strap over my head, resting on the
opposite shoulder. With no other camera bag with shoulder strap, ti doesn't
cause me any trouble. With QR plate on the
end of the strap, it never moves as I take the tripod off and put it back on.
> 2. Do an excercise regime that strengthens the neck, shoulder and back.
>
> Unfortunately, I'm not finding what I need in the second aspect yet.
> This is also an issue that I've been suffering when it comes to bike
> riding too, so it's not just photography. The medical community here,
> both chiropractic and regular, has been worthless in giving me any
> information on how to improve the situation.
A few years ago, I was suffering troubles in my left arm and shoulder,
including pain, numbness etc. I was getting quite
concerned and about to break down and look for help. Then I decided to actually
pay attention to it, rather than
ignoring it and hopping it would go away. I spent some time paying attention to
what I was doing with my body and how it
felt. It's all too easy to just go ahead with the way one uses one's body
without paying attention.
What I discovered was that I had taken to holding books, especially paperbacks,
in my left hand alone, using my fingers
to hold them open. This held my fingers and arm under constant tension and my
body slightly angled to the left,
sometimes for hours at a time. I consciously changed my reading posture to hold
the book centered and held with both
hands. Presto, in just a couple of days it was much improved and soon
disappeared altogether.
This is the kind of thing most medical folks, of whatever persuasion, tend to
miss. They are trained to look for organic
disease. I don't know if it applies to you in this case, but I've run across
others who have various aches and pains
physically removed from the bodily posture mistakes that have caused them.
> So, I turn to my friends here on the list looking for long-term
> solutions. Just maybe somebody here knows an answer to this problem.
I don't know what sorts of alternative practitioners you have available there.
Some of the alternatives to mainstream
chiropractic, like Cranio-Sacral therapy, Network Chiropractic, acupuncture,
and so on might help. Even regular bodywork
with someone with Reiki of other healing energy expertise might do a world of
good. Carol has had good luck with
treating that sort chronic pain from injury in her clients with regular
bodywork. Not everybody all the time, but quite
a few.
I've had a few cases of neuro-muscular pain that I've relieved or eliminated
with energy healing like Reiki. Actually,
everybody I've treated has had at least considerable relief, but I don't
advertise, and have few clients.
Another area to explore is how emotional/psychological issues might be
affecting your body. Strong emotions denied
conscious recognition often lodge in the body as constant tension that causes
misalignment and pain, and often more
serious illness. I find it hard to believe that work pressures and raising
children, which are difficult enough on their
own, combined with your wife's serious illnesses, have not created stresses and
emotions that haven't yet found
appropriate outlet/resolution.
Focusing strictly on old physical injuries as causes, may be shortchanging
yourself. After my late wife's two bouts with
cancer, the second ending in death, I had my own grief and the pressures of
trying to keep myself, our son and my son
from a prior marriage together, mentally and physically healthy and moving on
with life to deal with. I know you have a
faith to support you, but some of those issues still may be finding outlet in
your body.
I know you have a busy life, but a few minutes a day spent in quiet meditation
might well make a difference.Some people
make a big deal about technique and/or beliefs that must be used for meditation
to be effective. I think that's
unnecessary. Not long after my wife died, I found myself called to simply sit
quietly* when I had a break in my work and
single parenting tasks. As that seemed to make life better, I did just a tiny
amount of reading about how to clear the
mind and relax the body to help me find my own way to do so.
I have now meditated regularly for many years and gotten regular bodywork, at
first twice a month, then weekly, for well
over ten years. I believe those have a lot to do with my robust health and the
smooth, easy, flexible way my body moves.
Healing Moose
* Yes, I know, but it scans more smoothly with the infinitive split.
--
What if the Hokey Pokey *IS* what it's all about?
--
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