Dooyoo have a pain in the butt ? (Back Injuries)

Member Name: jeanjeannie

Product:	Back Injuries
Date:	01/03/01 (105 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Not having to go out in the rain

Disadvantages: Everything

Lots of us do , we really do!

MorganaDQ has written an excellent opinion on back pain & how it is treated with derision & disbelief by most people – that is until they fall victim. I do not want to go over the same ground but so many turn to alternative treatments it might be useful to relate my experiences.

I had, like many women after child birth, suffered with recurrent backache & took little notice – just upped the painkillers & got on with life. That was until one day in 1992 when I tried to get out of bed but could not move because of the pain. It had crept up on me in the night , no fall, no jerk, no injury just mind consuming pain from my waist , through my buttocks & down my leg.

My husband rang my acupuncturist who agreed to see me later that morning if I could get there. Well, I tried, honestly I tried but it was impossible; if there had been a fire in the room & would have burned – no question.

My GP came out – he did not give me a book on back pain but he did say that all I could do was lie as flat as possible & take very strong painkillers. They were strong – made me feel really sick but hardly touched the pain. How long would it last, how was I going to eat, how could I get to the toilet, how could I wash? All these questions were answered eventually – with great difficulty & a hell of a lot of pain! Without my
husband ‘s constant help ????????????????????????

After a few weeks with little improvement I was sent to see an Orthopaedic Consultant. I screamed as I lowered myself into the car seat, whimpered over every bump & screamed again as I tried to get out of the car. 2 prolapsed vertebrae were diagnosed and Physiotherapy was recommended. This proved useless, the pain I had to go through getting there & then home again totally negated any treatment.

Surgery – that was his next suggestion; fuse number 4 and 5 vertebrae – that s
hould do it he said. Not sure whether the fact that I had private medical insurance had anything to do with his decision but he could do the operation the following week. I said that I thought this was a bit drastic and needed time to think about it.

I then tried my acupuncturist again – I was reminded that she had told me 6 months earlier to slow down & if I did not then my body would make me! Interesting concept that but I was not convinced.
After many many weeks of her treatment the pain started to subside, I could help myself with exercises & gentle walks and, after nearly 6 months returned to work.

I also during this time tried The Alexander technique which primarily teaches you how to hold yourself & how to move but it’s very difficult to remember and it needs to become second nature.

Conventional physio also helped & for 5 years or more I had treatment once a month at the cost of £20 a time. Worth every penny if it kept my back from giving way but…………..it didn’t. I have had several other bouts of crippling pain which have forced me to stay on my back , take the pain killers & wait for the pain to subside but now I think I know why!!

STRESS – yes I know it’s a very fashionable condition nowadays but it’s none the less true; all those years ago my acupuncturist had been right. When you get stressed you get uptight physically as well mentally , your body becomes stiff and you hold yourself more rigidly & this, in turn, causes stress on the weakest part of your body as in my case – my back.

Now when it goes I think – what’s upsetting me now – what has caused this? I realize that my body as well as my mind is stressed so I give into it. I stay in bed and move as little as possible. I try to resist the strong painkillers – if I don’t move it doesn’t hurt too much – stay still, stay calm RELAX. By adopting
this strategy my back “comes back2 after a day or two & I can get on with my life again.

Oh yes – a telly in the bedroom is a must.

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