My left shoulder is shot from osteoarthritis. They took away my
Celebrex
because of blood pressure, so I am restricted to Tylenol. When
I do a lot of
wiring or other bonsai work (even though I'm right-handed), my
shoulder feels
it that night. I have no intention of giving this up. Has
anyone with similar
problems developed any tricks or techniques to minimize
shoulder stress?

I suggest Taoist Tai Chi as a way of strengthening aging and
weakening shoulder, neck and back.

Jackie has been doing it for years now. She had cartilage
deterioration in both shoulders. Tai Chi has helped her
immeasurably. I have taken it up too -- just recently -- because
of chronic neck pain. It's early days (I'm only half way through
learning the 108-move set), but it seems to help.

There are other forms of tai chi, but some of them are so rigid
that their muscle/tendon health benefits (aside from
cardiovascular, which all of them help) are limited.
www.taoist.org to find a chapter near you.

Jim Lewis - - Tallahassee, FL - Who is
working on a couple of bonsai for the local/state Taoist Tai Chi
Society headquarters.

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