Back problems
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My first back problem started when I bent over the sink one morning to brush my teeth. Excruciating pain in my right lower back area and shooting down the leg. No amount of ibuprofen would touch it and I woke up during the night in pain for weeks. It was bad.
An MRI was unremarkable. My PCP gave me Tylenol with codeine. The codeine made my heart race but it knocked me out and I slept through the night for the first time in six weeks. But clearly not something I wanted to turn into a new routine.
I saw a doctor (M.D. and PhD in immunology) who treats back pain with exercises that have a basis in tai chi. The one that I find helps me a lot is called a hip rotation. I stop often when I'm out gardening and do a few dozen when I feel my back tightening up. It helps keep it from getting worse, and it reminds me to pay attention to my back so I don't blow past my body's fatigue signals and hurt myself.
Stand with your feet approx shoulder width apart, hands on hips.
Rotate your hips in a circle slowly. Imagine you are using a hula hoop but not as exaggerated a motion. Knees should stay pretty much still, all the motion is in the hips.
Start out slowly and do small circles. Try doing 10 circles in one direction and then reverse and do 10 in the other direction.This helps loosen the muscles and brings blood flow through the lower back.
Another one he gave me was a stair exercise. Best done where you have a handrail to hang onto. Step up one step with your right foot, bring left foot up to the same step. Put right foot back down, then left foot back down. Do 10, then reverse and start with your left foot first, bring right foot up, left foot back down, right foot back down.
I have one more exercise but I need to see if I can find some visuals. It's a little more challenging and might be better to hold off until after you try the first two.
Some people use cold, but I find heat helps my back issues. You kind of have to experiment. You could try a heating pad first to see it feels like warmth might help or if it makes it worse.
I use plasters over the area that feels tense. The ones I use are from Taiwan and I get them from my acupuncturist, but they're basically like a Salonpas or Icy Hot. It's like wearing a heating pad all day. Try them out slowly, as some people have sensitive skin and the plasters have stuff in them that basically sets up low level counterirritation to bring blood flow to the area. A rub on product is Tiger Balm, but if you react to the product it can be hard to wash off.
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Thanks @wtg ! I already did the two exercises you described and while they didn’t hurt I could feel them in the affected area so that’s a good indicator that it’s on the right track! I think you’re right about the heat - I had to go drop off my car for servicing so I put on the seat heater and it was lovely. I also stopped to pick up some A535 (Icy Hot-like stuff). I didn’t read your message until afterwards and now wished I had looked for Tiger Balm! It was a mainstay in theatre school after load ins and strikes for sore muscles but I had forgotten about it! I’ve currently propped myself up on the couch with lots of pillows and a hot pad so I can write report cards and I’m not uncomfortable. Thanks again! And if you can find visuals for the other exercise I’m game to try it!
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@dolmansaxlil Oh, good! That hip rotation is magic for me. And so simple. The doctor watched me do two rotations and said "your left hip is catching." Sure enough, the next time around I realized there was a little hitch in the smoothness of the circle when I was rotating the left hip joint. It must be a little off in some way, maybe a bit of arthritis. I just try to visualize a circle that I'm tracing smoothly and work through that area.
I found a video of the third exercise. It's definitely more challenging, and if your back is pretty bad right now you might want to do the other exercises for a few days before attempting this one. I was past the acute pain stage when I saw the doctor,. This was something to stretch the lower back and hamstrings that had gotten so tight during the back episode; I wasn't taking a full stride anymore on the right side.
Link to videoWhat he instructed me to do was to try to reach for the opposite hand to touch it with my foot. Keep shoulders on floor. The first time I tried it, I couldn't get anywhere near that. My foot was way above floor height and probably in line with my knee; I couldn't touch the floor much less my hand. Over time as the muscles loosened up I was able to lower that leg and also stretch it up toward the hand.
Definitely take care with this one, given that you're still in acute pain.
This is not one that he gave me, but I think it might be a gentler variation that you could try first.
Link to video -
WTG, just so you know, young people don’t call it hip rotation they call it Twerking.
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So that probably means they don't know what a hula hoop is either...
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Dol, so sorry to hear this!! I tweaked my back about three weeks ago and it's finally getting back to normal (just in time for us to move, so I'm being super careful).
One thing i would add to WTG's comments: blood flow is the key to healing. Movement is the key to blood flow. There's a catch 22 when movement involves paid or feels risky, so you have to be careful.
But if you can walk (on a flat surface or treadmill) not fast but at a steady pace and it either doesn't hurt, or starts to feel better as you walk a bit, then I recommend walking in chunks of at least 15 minutes, everyday, twice a day if possible. Your legs get your blood pumping, and the back and forth motion can often work out stiffness in the lower back in ways that promote healing.
The key is a steady pace, not too fast...
Let us know how you're doing!!
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See doctor, get X-ray. Good luck.
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Hope you are better soon, if not already.
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Thanks, all!
@wtg that first one hurt just watching
but I’m going to give the second one a try! Thank you!@ShiroKuro I have been writing report cards all day but have gotten up to walk regularly which is definitely helping!
It already feels looser than this morning, so hopefully with the weekend to rest and do these exercises I will be in good shape Monday. I am able to bend comfortably and it feels good to stretch (carefully) so I’m taking that as a good sign!
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Yep, I tweaked my back right during finals week when I was furiously trying to get all my grading done! Sitting is the worst, so it’s good you’re making a point to get up and move around. Let us know how you’re doing this weekend!
I actually and in mind to try to figure out some exercises I could do to hopefully prevent this from happening, so I’ll have to revisit this there after we get moved and see if WTG’s exercises might work for me.
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How is the back doing these days?
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Thanks for asking @wtg !
It tightens up if I don’t carefully stretch pretty regularly but it definitely feels better than it did yesterday and for sure better than Friday! Hopefully it will continue to improve!
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I remember when we never talked about ailments on the forums. Time marches on.
“I refuse to answer that question on the grounds that I don't know the answer”
― Douglas Adams -
@dolmansaxlil glad to hear this update!
@Mik -
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i've been doing this program for a few months now and it is brilliant. and i hate taking courses online, but this one is different. i worked with the best physical therapist in town for over a year--this online program is better that the in-person, one-on-one help i was getting. and my physical therapist started commenting on how I was improving dramatically (he thought it was because of his exercises, but it wasn't. it was because of this program.)
you get a one-week free trial, then a 30 day money back guarantee, and then if you want to stay with it, it' $99/mo and the program lasts about three months--though you can do it longer if you want or need to go slower. (If you mention me as your referral person, they will give me a free month, but that has nothing to do with why I am recommending it.)
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Pique, wow thanks for posting this! I have been planning to look for exercised I can do specifically to strengthen my back muscles, because I have felt like whatever is wrong with my back would be much improved, if not completely resolved, if I just figure out which muscles need strengthening and then figure out how to strengthen them.
As soon as we get moved, I’m going to look into this online training program, thank you!
A few quick questions (it’s not in his faq) does this program require any equipment? (It looks like not). Do you need a may or anything like that? Also, can you do it just about anywhere, like in the middle of the living room?
TIA
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Very interesting. Thanks for posting it. They get good reviews on Trustpilot.
WHAT EQUIPMENT DO I NEED?
The equipment we recommend includes: a yoga mat, foam roller, and stretchy band (later in the program)... but the most important and valuable piece of equipment is YOUR BODY.
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Thanks @wtg. BTW where was that? I was looking.. Probably will have better luck from my iPad or laptop rather than my phone.
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It was in the FAQs for people thinking about joining.
