Back problems
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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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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'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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I am waiting on a (possible) second opinion from a neurosurgeon in Billings to see if the minimally invasive endoscopic technique he uses (laminectomy/microdiscectomy) might be an option for me. My pain comes from an impinged nerve at the L5/S1 level due to several factors - a herniated disc, and also stenosis of the exit canal (due to arthritis and the fact that my vertebrae are not aligned on top of each other any more - called retrolisthesis). There is a “simple” fix for the pain at L5/S1 (enlarging the hole and clipping the disc,) however I also have a misaligned L4/5 space, along with a herniated disc at that level (that is not causing my left side pain, but likely the reason I sometimes have right side pain). And the orthopedic spinal surgeon said there is a chance that if he did surgery on my current issue, it could destabilize the stuff that’s wrong at L4/5 and cause me to need spinal fusion (metal rods in my back). I do not want metal rods in my back. The neurosurgeon apparently does a procedure that takes out less bone and might not cause that to happen. So waiting to see if I’m a candidate. I am better than I was, I am improving, but I am not “good enough” (I still can’t sit for that long in a chair, but longer than before). And I wanted to wait, but was told that if I wait too long, whatever they do might not help as much as it would if I did something earlier. (6 months was mentioned, and I’m at almost 5). It feels a little like flipping a coin, frankly. I have core exercises I do every day. I am walking twice a day (walking and moving around on my feet is when I feel the best) anywhere from 1 - 3 miles total. I can drive short (10 minutes or so) distances. I can sit in my recliner reclined for much longer now (spending almost no time on the floor). But riding on an airplane, or a long distance car ride, or sitting at dinner at a restaurant still doesn’t work.
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My best friend, who lives in Sequim, had (I think) what you described as the minimally invasive laminectomy/microdiscectomy. She had to go into Seattle for the surgery because.... that's where you go for major surgery when you live in Sequim! (There aren't many doctors, and far fewer specialists on the Olympic Peninsula). I don't know the details of her problem, but I do know that the surgery did resolve her pain issues.
I'll be talking to her soon and can try to get more details, though it sounds like your back problems are a bit more complicated than hers. Hoping you can get some relief from the pain. Back pain is the pits, to say the least. Yours sounds like a real challenge.
