Drop Dead Healthy

The Nervous System

The Quest to Hurt Less

I HURT MY SHOULDER the other day. I hurt it while lugging a sheet of drywall out of my apartment. At least that’s what I tell people. Because I don’t want to hear their sass when I tell them the truth. Which is that I hurt my shoulder kayaking. On Wii.

Yes, smirk if you must. Go ahead and marvel at my athletic ineptitude. It wasn’t even a manly video game like Wii football or Wii rugby. It was recreational boating. But listen, I was paddling hard, trying to get a real calorie-burning workout, swerving around the yellow buoys, and, well, the damn Wii remote has no resistance. So I strained my shoulder. And let me add, I’m far from the only Wii victim. A simple Google search reveals dozens of articles on the problem, including one written by an orthopedic surgeon who recommends pre-Wii stretching.

And, in case it helps my cause, the shoulder is an easy part of

the human body to injure. It’s a ball-and-socket joint, meaning it’s got the widest range of motion, and the most chances for muscles, tendons, and ligaments to get tugged in the wrong way.