The obsession with joint stiffness in the middle of summer
Recently, the National Hospital of Traditional Medicine has received many cases of patients admitted to the hospital with muscle stiffness and pain in the neck and shoulder area even on hot sunny days.
Being treated at the Department of Obstetrics (Central Hospital of Traditional Medicine) for more than two weeks, Ms. Nguyen Thi Phuong (Hoan Kiem ward, Hanoi) has not forgotten the time of fatigue before being admitted to the hospital. According to the female patient, along with menstrual disorders, she also encountered accompanying symptoms of pain and fatigue in the neck and shoulders.
“When I first got admitted to the hospital, my shoulder joint area was inflamed, the muscles stiffened. At that time, it was really terrible, I completely lost sleep because every night the joints seemed to tighten, it was unbearably painful,” Ms. Phuong shared.
After examination, Ms. Phuong was prescribed a treatment regimen combining traditional and modern medicine, including acupuncture, massage and acupressure, bone ultrasound and medication. Up to now, thanks to persistent treatment, her health has clearly improved, her menstrual cycle is stable and her stiffness and neck and shoulder pain are controlled.
Mistakes when cooling down in the middle of summer
Explaining the paradox of neck and shoulder pain increasing sharply in the summer, Dr. Nguyen Thi Thuy Van (Department of Obstetrics, Central Traditional Medicine Hospital) said that according to traditional medicine, this disease originates from three main groups of causes.
Accordingly, the external causes are wind, cold, dampness (cold wind) entering the body. The internal causes are age factors, liver and kidney yin deficiency leading to cervical spine degeneration. In addition, injuries or working habits, incorrect posture also lead to neck and shoulder pain.
Dr. Thuy Van emphasized that many people often mistakenly believe that hot weather cannot cause colds or neck and shoulder pain. However, in reality, the number of neck and shoulder pain cases has increased at the hospital, due to the habit of cooling incorrectly of people, especially office workers:
Currently, most workplaces use air conditioning. Notably, many people have a habit of letting cold wind blow directly into the neck, shoulders, and nape of the neck. In addition, drinking too much ice water to cool down or showering immediately after going out in hot weather also creates conditions for cold winds to enter the body, causing muscle stiffness, muscle constriction and leading to acute neck and shoulder pain," Dr. Van warned.
To protect health and prevent the risk of neck and shoulder pain in hot weather, doctors recommend that people when sitting at work or resting, do not let wind from fans or air conditioners blow directly into the back of the neck. At the same time, do not turn the air conditioner temperature too low in both the office and the bedroom. Because the excessive temperature difference between outdoors and in the room will cause the muscles of the neck and shoulder area to stiffen.
