[New] Neck and Pinkie Pain!

symptoms consistent with tendonitis, the inflammation of the thick cords (tendons) that attach muscle to bone or with a condition called tenosynovitis, the inflammation of the lining of the sheath that surrounds the tendons. Studies have linked tenosynovitis to frequent smartphone use. While “smartphone pinkie” isn’t an established medical condition yet, it’s possible that using a pinkie to help hold the weight of your phone could cause problems over time.

Dr. Jennifer Moriatis Wolf, an orthopedic hand surgeon at University of Chicago School of Medicine, said she has seen sprained thumbs on patients who have gripped their phones too tight. Also she noted that when we hold our phones in front of us with elbows bent, we compress the ulnar nerve, which runs from the neck to the hand. This constriction can cause numbness and weakness in the pinkie and ring fingers.

Another term you might not have heard of yet is “text neck.” Consider what happens when you hunch your back over to look at your phone. Compared with holding your head upright, this bent-over position increases the force on your neck and cervical spine by a factor of four or five. This excess force can weaken the ligaments in the spinal column over time and cause pain. This position can lead to accelerated disc degeneration. Doctors are seeing more young people, in their 20’s and 30’s with cer- vical spine problems. Posture while text and reading on a smartphone may be a factor.

So if some of these symptoms are familiar, consider how you use your smartphone. Although the trend seems to be larger screens on smartphones, maybe trying a smaller model would help, especially if you have smaller hands. Also consider using a voice-to-text app, thereby reducing the strain on your fingers. Phone grips and stands can reduce much of the strain using your phone with your fingers and thumbs. A phone stand that holds your phone at eye level may help take the strain off your neck.

If you’re experiencing a lot of pain, it’s a good idea to see your medical professional, although they may not recognize the connection between your pain and your phone. A certified professional personal trainer may also be able to design an exercise program which conditions the muscles connected to your phone use. Maybe the simplest solution is simply to use your phone less.

I want to take this opportunity to wish all of you good health and lots of happy times. I hope it will be great year in which lots of kindness abides. Till next time,

It’s chilly January. It reminds me of an old saying, “slower than molasses in January”—or the shortened version, “slower than molasses.” I’m sure you’ve heard that simile many times. Molasses is refined cane sugar. The gooey liquid is typically used as a sweetener. Molasses is also used to make lots of other products, such as alcohol through fermentation and distillation (rum) or distilled further to produce industrial alcohol—which was used to manufacture munitions in WWI. So, there’s a volatile side to this sweet ingredient used in cookies and baked beans. But who would have guessed molasses could kill people and animals, and destroy cities?

On January 15 in 1919, a catastrophic event occurred in Boston called the “Great Molasses Flood.”

On an unseasonably warm Wednesday, at 12:40 pm, a huge molasses storage tank at the Purity Distilling Company located on Commercial Street in downtown Boston, ruptured. Instantaneously, it released a tidal wave of molasses that killed 21 people, injured 150, and destroyed property and structures.

The 50-foot-tall holding tank contained 2.3 million gallons of molasses calculated to be more than 12,000 tons. When it ruptured, people reported hearing rivets bursting loose that sounded like bullets firing.

Published accounts estimate the molasses wave-height to being 25- to 40-foot high and moving at 35 miles per hour. Obviously, it was one of the greatest industrial accidents of its time. Hundreds of workers and military personnel were used to clean the area using saltwater hoses and to recover the dead. The smell of molasses lingered in the streets through mid-summer.

More than 100 lawsuits were filed involving 3,000 witnesses and 45,000 pages of testimony. Enormous settlements were paid out.

It was concluded that topping-off the storage tank the day before, along with a sudden change in outside temperature, caused the molasses to expand and burst its vessel. However, testimony following the disaster documented the tank had been leaking for years; many Bostonians would sneak near the tank with jugs to gather leaking molasses for their kitchens.

One interesting coincidence is worth noting: On the day following the Great Molasses Flood, the 18th amendment (Prohibition) was officially ratified. Prohibition would become the law one year later. It has

Company was well aware of that fact and had therefore expedited production to produce as much alcohol as it could before being outlawed.

The saying “as slow as molasses in January” was in use as far back as the 1880s.

It’s also ironic the Great Molasses Flood took place in Boston—nicknamed “Beantown. Molasses has been a key ingredient in Boston Baked Beans since colonial days.

So, this tidbit of history illustrates the point that when the right combination of conditions collide, what seems true can be turned on its head – molasses can move very quickly on a cold and quiet winter day. What other trusted adages are one event away from contradiction?

Finally, there was another significant molasses spill in Hawaii on September 12, 2013. A cargo ship carrying molasses leaked 233,000 gallons into Honolulu Harbor (the equivalent of 5,500 barrels of oil). It was a marine disaster—killing massive numbers of fish and other aquatic life.

There was no way to clean it up other than letting nature and ocean currents take their course—for bacteria to ingest the sweet organic matter, dissolved in the ocean waters, over many months.

For last year’s words belong to last year’s language, and next year’s words await another voice. And to make an end is to make a beginning. – T.S. Eliot

In 2019, when everyone around the world began experiencing shutins and lockdowns, I listened to a speaker share wisdom from her time with indigenous tribes. Her words – and their wisdom – much more elegant than the simplicity in which I will summarize. The planet is trying to return to balance and harmony. We had spent 500 years living of the mind (i.e., industrial and technological revolutions). Going forward we would begin to integrate feelings from the heart with thoughts of the mind. Instead of primary focus on the things we needed to “do”, we would begin to also prioritize “be”ing.

This ancient wisdom left an imprint on me. My personal belief now is that the world is not cracking apart; it is cracking open for new beginnings.

In December 2021 I had the opportunity to travel for work to Israel and a dear friend took me to see the view of the picture you have at the start of this article. Her translation of our location. Genesis.

In the beginning.

We established a tradition after our time sitting in silence beholding this breathtaking majestic view. We each write an intention for the year ahead and then we seal them in envelopes for opening together the following year. Our intention that we will open and share after visiting this same location at the end of the following year, like we just did the end of November.

When opening what we wrote, we reflect on what the year brought in respect to manifesting our intentions, marveling at what feels like magic in what transpired and came to be related to our intentions. Like how much I shifted my focus – and began to better balance – looking into the horizon to keep aim on future goals with staying present with each day [as] a blank page in the diary of my life [that I can turn] that story into the best story [I] possible can. How I began to better balance “doing” and “being” with others.

As you read this, soon it will be another new beginning. A new year to usher in. A new year in which we will dance with uncertainties amidst the certainty of life. The certainty that joy and suffering hold the same space and that our only control is our choices in how we wish to respond to what life brings us.

I encourage you to write an intention and seal it in an envelope to be opened December 31, 2023. I have come to experience intention setting acts as a magnet. What we focus on is what we draw to us. Or you could write a letter to yourself – a love letter. It sets the tone for the year ahead, in that magnet kind of way.

Genesis. In the beginning. What is your wish for 2023?