When 'Fa La La' Becomes 'Fa La Ouch'! Preventing Pain and Injury While Hanging Christmas Lights

It's official. Wintery window scenes are filling malls across America, and the Muzak® version of "Jingle Bells is already being piped into elevators. The holidays are upon us again. Soon we'll delight as beautiful, festive lights begin to pop up on houses in our communities. And while these often elaborate displays are sure to elicit joyful smiles in many, others will respond with anguished groans. I'm not talking about the sound you make when your neighbor has decided to emulate the light display in "National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation." I'm referring to the real physical pain caused by injury to those actually tasked with hanging the lights. According to the Consumer Product Safety Commission, a governmental agency formed to safeguard people from consumer-product related risks, an estimated 13,000 people were treated in emergency rooms around the country last year for injuries tied to holiday lights, Christmas trees, ornaments and other decorations. And beyond the inevitable falls from ladders or shocks from faulty wiring that account for emergency room visits, a far greater number of people end up straining their necks or backs, pulling muscles or aggravating existing conditions. The process of hanging Christmas lights is a ritual that usually begins with the hunt for the box in one's garage, followed by the inevitable untangling, depending on your level of OCD, of course. Then you're up there on a ladder, either stringing lights along preexisting hooks under the eav...
Source: Healthy Living - The Huffington Post - Category: Consumer Health News Source Type: news