TerpHealth: Prevention and Management of Interpreting Related Injury

09/07/2026

Sometimes people use the topical application of heat at the wrong time and/or for the wrong condition. Heat application is fantastic for helping reduce muscle spasms and for tight muscles. It is NOT good for an area that is swollen, inflamed or red and hot to the touch. Those things are indications of local heat. You don’t want to add heat to heat - it will make it worse.

Sometimes you may not realize an area is actually inflamed by just looking at it. The litmus test for whether or not heat is a helpful modality is NOT whether or not it feels good while the heat is on the area of concern. The indicator is if it feels better or hurts more an hour or two later or is worse the next morning. If it hurts more, then the application of heat may not be the most effective strategy.

09/03/2026

Interpreters, especially VIs, often ask about how to reduce eye strain. Here is a video that shares a couple of simple ways. I would add one other simple technique to this doctor’s suggestions - make sure that you take time to regularly focus your gaze on something in the distance for a minute or two. This allows the muscles that are being used for close viewing to relax. It can significantly reduce eye strain.

https://www.facebook.com/228157090957737/posts/552999568473486/

Following these simple exercises will greatly help the health of your eyes. Your eyes and brain will thank you. 🙂 Kindly share this video on your social medi...

08/31/2026

This technique can help calm your nervous system in just one minute. It is also great for helping to balance your bodies energy after too much computer or screen time. Both of these benefits can be helpful for interpreters.

Note: If you notice something going on with my eyes, I do have some damage to my eyes. I’m doing well, but I’m due for an eye treatment.

08/28/2026

An interpreter once asked an important question in a workshop I was giving. She asked, ‘What is the difference between a establishing a boundary and putting up a wall?”

Here is my take:

A boundary arises from a place of strength and understanding of one’s own value; from a place of self-respect and respect for others.

Having healthy boundaries acknowledges that a healthy relationship requires good boundaries, otherwise it isn’t truly a ‘relationship’, but rather an ‘entanglement’.

Boundaries make healthy relationships with ourself and others possible. It values the relationship enough to do the authentic, hard work that sometimes relationships require. As Brene’ Brown says, “Boundaries are kind. Lack of boundaries is unkind.”

Interestingly, the only people who tend to object to a healthy boundary are those who are intent on crossing that boundary.

Putting up walls often comes from a place of insecurity and lack of trust in self. It is a common strategy to try to block out, rather than address, pain and conflict.

Walls may keep things out (including pain), but it also prevents us from giving and expressing all of what we have to share.

Walls divide.

Walls are born out of fear.

Walls do not deal with the underlying issue, but rather help ensure its continuation.

There is nothing unkind OR unprofessional about having healthy boundaries. You are a human being, as well as an interpreter. You are deserving of respect.

Establishing healthy boundaries doesn’t have to be done in a antagonistic or heated manner. It can be done in a professional, unequivocal, clear and - yes - kind manner!

08/25/2026

You’re not an idiot because you made a mistake in your interpretation.

You’re not stupid because you didn’t know the sign for something.

You don’t suck because you weren’t perfect.

You’re human!

You’re learning.

You’re growing.

Self abuse is still abuse.

08/19/2026

Many people perpetuate their pain by attempting to stretch and strengthen their chronically painful muscles. While stretching and strengthening is a great idea, it can create pain if it is not done at the right time and in the right way. I frequently have patients whose attempts to stretch and strengthen a tight muscle just makes things worse. Why?

- The stretch reflex. The stretch reflex involves shortening and contracting a muscle to protect it when the brain and nervous system thinks a muscle is in danger of being overly stretched and possibly torn. It's a self-protection mechanism.

- Contraction multiplied. If you try to strengthen a muscle (which involves 'tightening' it) that is already chronically contracted, it can exacerbated the problem.

What is the answer? Balancing muscle strength and flexibility with kinesthetic awareness. If you have a compromised kinesthetic sense, you may be unaware than you are chronically tightening certain muscles, compensating with other muscles, and moving in ways that are essentially dysfunctional. That must be corrected in order to ensure that you aren't adding to chronic muscle tightness when you do strengthening exercises, or causing the muscle to contract as a defensive response when stretching.

"If you think of a muscle as an object that is tight, you might conclude that you have nothing to do with its behavior, as if it had a mind of its own. This faulty impression often gives rise to the feeling that you are a victim of circumstances beyond your control. On contrast, if you think of a muscle as something being tightened, the implication is that someone is tightening it. That someone is you, even if you are not aware of it and do not wish to do so. Muscles do not have minds of their own - they have your mind. Even though you have unconsciously trained your muscles to be tight, you can consciously retrain them to relax. " Muscular Retraining For Pain-Free Living, by Craig Williamson

08/12/2026

The psychological aspect, along with the ergonomic, bio-mechanical and physiological risk factors, is one of the possible predispositions to injury for an interpreter. Years ago I assumed that ergonomic and bio-mechanical factors were the most significant for sign language interpreters. However, after almost 20 years of teaching workshops and performing diagnostics, I now see that the psychological actually is the most impactful.

The psychological factor determines how you take care of yourself physically, how the interpreting task is approached, how you manage your predisposing factors, whether you advocate for yourself or accept unhealthy work terms and conditions, and how you respond if you experience discomfort from interpreting. All of these can impact risk of injury. Some examples of high risk psychological predispositions to injury include:

- External locus of control: An external locus of control means to approach life as if it happens to you. An internal locus of control acknowledges that your personal choices determine how you experience life. An external locus of control increases risk of injury because an interpreter is unlikely to take needed action to take care of themselves and to address issues of concern if they view themselves as powerless.

- “Savior” mentality: Sometimes interpreters find themselves constructing their lives and schedules around what they believe their consumers need – to their own detriment. It is not healthy or helpful to work from a martyr stance, Doing so may result in personal injury.

- Stressful thinking: When you engage in chronic stressful thinking it affects every bodily system. In addition to inhibiting blood circulation, upsetting your body’s hormonal balance, and causing physical muscle tension, chronic stress can also affect the ability of your cells to receive nutrition from the food you eat! The cell receptors can actually get “hijacked” by the stress hormones. Obviously this impacts the ability of your body to repair and nourish itself.

- Perfectionism: I think an “Achilles heel” of many sign language interpreters is demanding perfectionism in their work. This is not to imply that your goal should be anything less than producing work of the highest quality. However, perfectionism is an unfair and unrealistic demand. Approaching the task of interpreting with a need for perfection increases stressful feelings and increases risk of injury.

08/05/2026

I haven’t posted for a few days because I have been decompressing from a traumatic incident.

A few days ago I found myself, along with others, hiding from a sho0ter in a small restaurant employee meeting room at the mall near where I live.

I called my husband from inside the room because I wasn’t totally sure we would all make it out. We weren’t sure whether this was a targeted shooting directed at one person or a mass shooting spree.

The whole incident was terrifying, confusing and surreal.

I have had some decompressing to do. I found myself leaning into strategies I have taught my students and patients for years. They have been extremely helpful. Though there are many others, these were the ones that made a real difference for me in the last few days:

- I allowed myself to cry; to shake; to feel the fear. I know then when we try to stifle those emotions that they tend to get stuck in our bodies.

- I shared my feelings about my experience initially only with people I trusted. I didn’t edit.

- I journaled without editing. These unfiltered vents helped me ‘get it outside of myself’ so that bi could see it with greater clarity.

- After these initial vents, I remembered there is a difference between reliving/re-traumatizing myself and actually processing the trauma. So I endeavored to make my self-talk include helpful planned action rather than just ruminating about what happened. Instead of just replaying it over and over in my mind, I’m saying, “Ok, this *did* happen and it *was* terrifying, so what can I do right now to help myself and calm my nervous system?”

- I’m seeking to make sure my conversation is geared toward supporting my healing. Though we can’t talk our way out of a trauma response, (or vicarious trauma) because it’s not just in our mind but also in our body, how we talk about it to ourselves and others can help worsen or mitigate those responses.

- I splashed very cold water on my face, while holding my breath for 15 to 30 seconds at a time (not recommended if you have heart rhythm issues). This kicked in the ‘diver’s reflex’, which calms the nervous system.

- I meditated, focusing on my body being grounded, here now and safe.

- Along with meditation, I did some alternate nasal breathing, which can significantly reduce stress because it helps to balance the sympathetic and parasympathetic nervous systems.

- I got out in nature and walked.

- I supported myself nutritionally to help my emotional health, including extra B vitamins.

- I was having trouble sleeping, so I tried to nap when I could.

- I focused on my out-breath when memories would flood in. This helped calm the flight, fight and freeze response.

- I massaged Heart 7, CV 17, PC 6, and’s KI 1 acupuncture points (you can look these up online). I also put acupressure pellets in my ear NADA trauma points to help calm my body and mind.

- I did some EFT ‘tapping’ along with a little EMDR for emotional release. Again, these techniques can be found online.

I’m sure I did some other things that are habit for me after so many years, but I thought I’d share these since Interpreters sometimes have to process really difficult things. I hope you find them helpful. I also hope you never need them for something really acute.

Interestingly, one of the things that helped me the most was helping my one and a half month old granddaughter. She had spit up a significant amount – enough that it was scary for her. I went to lay her down to clean her up and her ‘fall reflex’ triggered. The look of terror that came across her face and her entire body reaction was enough for me to scoop her back into my arms, (throw-up and all) to comfort her. I heard myself saying to her, “It’s all right baby. You’re safe. It’s over. It’s over baby. You’re safe. You’re safe.” and suddenly my brain and my entire body heard that all the way to my bones.

07/30/2026

The idea that the customer (consumer) is always right undermines the importance of healthy boundaries. Every consumer deserves to be treated with respect - and so does every service provider, including interpreters.

Consumers have a right to have their concerns taken seriously, but interpreters have a right to expect those concerns be communicated respectfully. Nobody is under the obligation to tolerate abusive behavior directed at them. ‘Good customer service’ doesn’t require us to simply remain silent while being emotionally thrashed.

Where should the line/boundary be drawn? At personal attacks and disrespect aimed directly at the interpreter; When it becomes personal.

07/23/2026

How can you foster a positive approach to work, life, and health challenges without sublimating or repressing authentic emotions? This is a very real issue for interpreters because we often find ourselves in emotionally triggering situations.

Here are a few proven approaches:

- Develop a daily meditation practice. Experts in both Eastern and Western medicine have endorsed meditation as an effective strategy for reducing and managing stressful emotions. There are many different types and approaches to meditation. Don't worry if at first you can't 'turn off' your thoughts. This is pretty common in the beginning. Just notice them and release them.

- Observe your emotional response as if you were an objective 3rd person. Studies have demonstrated that this helps to weaken the neuro-pathways on which disturbing emotions and thoughts are carried in the brain. It allows some space between you and the response, which allows you to more clearly see and respond appropriately to what you are experiencing. It is the difference between jumping into the rapids or standing on the bank and watching the torrent race by.

- Notice where your body is reacting to your feelings of stress. Connect with, and then relax and release this area.

- Tell yourself 'helpful stories'. Most of the time what people are actually emotionally reacting to is a story they have actually made up in their own minds about what occurred. For example, if someone cuts them off in traffic the story they make up might be the person is on the way to the birth of their first child, or that they are a jerk. The story will dictate the response.

- Learn from your emotional response. If someone does something that feels upsetting to you, ask yourself 'why?’ What got triggered inside of you that needs to be addressed and possibly healed?

- Focus on learning greater levels of self-compassion. Remember, you don't have to be perfect. A bonsai tree isn't perfect either, but its imperfection is what actually makes it so beautiful.

There are other ways as well. This is by no means a comprehensive list - but it is a good start!