Christmas-19 Pandemic Hits Pyrmont
As December rolls in, the team at bounceREHAB have seen a steep rise in the number of Christmas related injuries. Public health experts are advocating for an increased awareness of the dangers of the festive season that see physiotherapy clinics and hospitals swell in patient numbers every year.
The end of the year marks the start of the Christmas party season. With the lifting of restrictions, so too have the prevalence of Dance Floor Injuries (DFI); immediately exceeding pre-pandemic levels for this time of year. Despite popular belief, the annual spark in patient numbers are not limited to acute injuries. Research published from the North Pole Journal of Medicine report cases of Jingle Bells Palsy rising as much as 300% in the December period as compared to the past quarter century.
Rosie Flanagan, a 29-year-old computer engineer living in Pyrmont, had her life change in December 2019 when decorating her families’ 9-foot real scotch pinewood Christmas tree. After spending 3 hours carefully placing 30 meters of tricolor tinsel, Rosie developed acute tinselitis, a vicious overuse injury of her upper limb causing paresthesia, pain and in some cases Grinch-like jaundice.
Rosie spoke to media following her discharge from bounceREHAB, “…it’s called silly season for a reason, one day you’re sucking on a candy cane to the tune of Mariah Carey’s “All I want for Christmas” with my pilates teacher (Paul Dardagan) at 6am on a normal Saturday morning, then you’re needing a walking cane and wondering how anyone tolerates the pop divas tasteless renditions. Rosie later reported “…my friends and family first noticed the green pigment developing until Christmas eve when I became full Grinch. Thankfully, I overcame my Decorations related injury and I am steadily now looking back to normal. My friends say I look exactly like Mariah did when she was slumming it in Bondi jingling Jamie".
Health experts at the WHO (World Health Organisation) are hoping the Queen will include a warning to the world in her annual Christmas address, however, some say that it will be too little too late. Now more than ever, Pyrmont needs strong health leaders in preparation to deal with such musculoskeletal pandemics. The Lord Mayor of Sydney has stated "My unpopularity for introducing bike lanes across the city of Sydney has now been surpassed and no longer in the minds eye of my community bc of people like Rosie, Donald Trump and bless her heart my BFF Gladys. It's been a terrible year for some, others like myself have taken full advantage of the pandemic and gone under the radar".
The end of the year brings no greater joy than the opportunity to express to you season’s greetings and good wishes. May your holidays and New Year be filled with joy. If you do happen to acquire a Christmas Related Injury (CRI) we will see you shortly at bounceREHAB.
Merry Xmas & Stay Safe,
Jack Frost & Blitzen
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