BLUDDY FRAUD !!! (Back Pain)

Member Name: sidneygee

Product:	Back Pain
Date:	26/05/02 (1443 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: None

Disadvantages: Makes living itself a pain , You have to be permanently on guard to prevent trouble

Back pain?

C'mon let's be sensible about this condition.

Agreed, this can be a real problem that afflicts so many people ? particularly those of the same or similar vintage to Sidneygee.

There are, quite simply, two aspects to be considered ? prevention and 'cure'. Now there are a number of publications that can be obtained on back-pain, and I have no intention of reproducing them here.

This review comes from my personal experience and, I will warn you, is largely anecdotal.

I am going to deal only with two of the commonly described back problems that can be suffered, because that is where my experience lies. They are ?slipped disc? and the more generic condition of ?lower back pain?.

Slipped Disc
Back in 1972, one of my work colleagues (David) was always boasting about how much (physical) work he was doing at the weekend on his brand-new house in Darley Dale (in Derbyshire). He had previously cleared and dug over the (ex-building site) garden, and he was expecting a delivery of stone slabs for the patio. I recall his sarcasm one Friday afternoon referring to me as a lazy S*d who would be supporting the local bars (and trying to do unmentionable things to the local 'maidens') over the weekend, whereas he would be doing some 'real work'.

He arrived at the Laboratory on the Monday looking a little pale. I can recall his stretching and commenting on how those 40 slabs were a 'right swi*e' to move. He had unloaded them alone from a trailer. He went home early that day because he was 'in pain', and we did not see him again in the Laboratory for over 6 months. His macho exertions had caused him to 'slip a disc' and he subsequently had a major spinal operation at Chesterfield General. During his stay in the Orthopaedic Ward, there were a number of miners there from a nearby pit who were badly injured in a falling lift cage. THAT gave
him a completely different outlook o
n life.

His symptoms ? Severe and worsening pain that spread down his right leg with associated numbness. It could not be controlled by pain-killers.

Certainly his experience confirmed with me the lessons taught to me by my father as regards lifting items, arranging items for lifting, and the time to refuse to lift items without help. The latter attitude did NOT make me popular when working on the building site that became the Barry Island Butlins' Holiday Camp in the summer of 1965.

What had happened with David was that the soft disc of cartilage between two of his lower vertebrae had been ruptured. Prior to that 'Day of the Slabs', David reckoned he had no back problems but questioning him when he had returned to work showed that he had broken one of the 'rules' of back-care. He had picked up the slabs from the trailer and twisted his body each time he lifted each of them out. He had then picked up each in turn to carry them to their final resting place, although he had then bent his legs rather than his waist when lifting them (see below).

Fortunately, his operation was successful and he went on in his career, moving to Taunton and but unfortunately passed away only recently in his early 70's (RIP, friend).

Lower Back Pain
Now, just because you have a pain in your lower back does NOT mean that you have necessarily have a 'slipped disc?. Lower back pain, is more of a 'chronic' condition and can take a variety of patterns:

 Some people find that their problem is at its worst first in the morning with painful stiffness that is eased by activities during the day, but with pain returning towards the end of the day.

 Others find that they have no problem first in the morning, but that their problem starts when they exert themselves and gets worse gradually all day.

 Some individuals f
ind their symptoms fluctuate during
the day according to the types of activities they undertake.

 Many people suffer a low level of background ache for much of the day, which may occasionally exhibit sharper levels of pain dependent on the activity they undertake.

 A few people find that their symptoms remain at a high-level for much of the day, and are even woken at night by their pain.

 Another characteristic of the onset of this type of pain is that it may start one or even two days after the event that has caused the pain. Whether or not this is the natural body pain defence coming into operation, and then being over-come, I cannot say.

Prevention
Right those of you reading this who do not suffer back problems, PLEASE take care of your back. Don't be ignorant of the real dangers, and believe that it can never happen to you ? because it can and it WILL, if you don't take care.

When lifting:
Keep the back straight, place the feet about a foot apart and bend the knees when lifting;

Do not bend from the waist;

Particularly avoid twisting at the waist and lifting at the same time.;

Manipulate heavy items into a more convenient position before attempting to lift them;

Do not put undue strain into shifting any item;

If it is too heavy to shift without applying extreme pressure, PLEASE get help.

Bending
Do not bend from the hips when picking up anything ? particularly when pulling weeds in the garden. Never stoop !

Choice of Bed
Buy a good quality Bed, with a firm mattress. Replace the mattress when it shows signs of sagging. A good bed will cost in excess of £1,000 now.

We paid £360 (Sale Price from Harvey Nicks) in 1975 for a "Sleepeze Emperor", and replaced the mattress (for £600 from "Sealy") in 1992.

Seating
Choose seats that support the small of the back
and avoid chairs and settees
that are very low.

Don't 'SLOUCH' when sitting. It may feel comfortable but puts strain on your back muscles.

Also don't cross your legs. Even worse is to 'double-cross' them. Funny how so many ladies seem to do just that when I enter a room .....

Oh and try to avoid wearing high heels. This causes me no difficulty, but may be difficult for some DooYooers to avoid ...

My own approach to any major lifting or moving operations is to assess the job before doing it. Some recent examples:

I needed a couple of bags of sand from B&Q to level some paving slabs. I used one of their supermarket trolleys, and opened its rear end. Two bags of sand on the pallet were carefully 'toppled' into the open end of the trolley. They were then each toppled out of the same aperture into the rear of the Renault Espace onto the 'boot saver', and from there into the wheel barrow when I arrived home. Thus, no actual lifting was involved.

When handling slabs for restoring a patio, each (60 cm square) slab was levered upright with a pick-axe, and then 'walked' away, cleaned up and after a section had been sanded and re-levelled, each slab was 'walked' back. OK I had sore muscles in parts of my body I had forgotten I had, BUT no lasting back pain or damage.

Last summer I needed to mount an Austin Healey 100/4 engine onto an engine stand. With the help of our son, we manoeuvred it onto a wooden pallet, then onto a small wooden platform, then onto an upturned strong wood box, then onto another box, then onto the previous box on top of the pallet. This made it the correct height for bolting onto the engine stand. Otherwise we would have required another strong person to handle the job, still with the risk of back damage.

Indeed the only occasion when I have experienced any significant back-ache in recent years was when
trying to sort out the heater motor on our Mercedes Benz 190. This involved stretching over the wings and the engine and had put my back in tension for a couple of hours. I had some muscular pain on the lower left-hand side of my back the next day. When my 'repair' failed 6 months later and a new heater motor was required, I chickened out and had the local Mercedes agent fit it. I regarded the extra £45 labour as well-worth it.

Cure ?
Well, unfortunately, once the damage is done, there may be little that can be done to effect a cure as such for lower back pain.

The best that can be hoped for is some relief. OK there are pain-relievers of various strengths and various types, and also, the 'black arts' of Osteopaths and Chiropractors.

Heather is a long-time sufferer from lower back pain, brought on from degeneration of the spine caused by carrying bags of money when she worked in a bank. Fortunately, employers now have a greater duty of care towards their employees now under Health & Safety legislation, and all operations involving heavy lifting should be evaluated by the employer as part of their commitment to safety. However, recent studies suggest that degeneration of the spine commences from the age of 25 onwards, almost irrespective of what you do, so the message must be to always take care of your back. Her problem became acute in the early 1980?s following an incident when she assisted a friend to carry a pushchair with toddler on board up some stairs.

Heather has used both Osteopaths and Chiropractors, and our personal recommendation is to use a Chiropractor, since these are properly registered and regulated.

The Chiropractors Act 1994 sets out the system of training, registration and regulation of Chiropractors and the setting up of the General Chiropractic Council. Published on the Web by Her Majesty?s Stationary Office (HMSO), part of the Cabinet Office. (http://nmap.ac.uk/browse/rcn
/detail/1448.html)

Basically, it is an offence to claim to be a Chiropractor without being qualified and registered.

What are the differences between an Osteopath and a Chiropractor? Traditionally, there were many practical and philosophical differences. These differences are gradually eroding and it is claimed that there are now more similarities than at any other time. However, when I think of Osteopaths, I always think of the "... Society Osteopath Stephen Ward ...." in the Christine Keeler affair, and therefore think of the dubious 'therapies' that he supported. Probably unfair to the profession, but it is not subject to equivalent statutory control.

For further general information about Chiropractors visit the web site of the General Chiropractic Council www.gcc-uk.org.uk

For details of Osteopathy, the site is http://www.osteopathy.org

Heather received no lasting relief from visits to such 'manipulators', all of whom (like most of the Alternative Medicine Merchants) rely upon return visits (at £25 - £30 at time) from sufferers to make them a regular income.

?BackCare? - The National Back Pain Association

Heather joined the Edinburgh Branch of the Back Pain Association about 10 years' ago, and membership is good value, for obtaining advice on back-care (www.backcare.org.uk).

Registered as a Charity, it markets a wide variety of publications, videos and posters devoted to either keeping your back healthy, or selecting appropriate treatment.

Examples include: the books ?Self Help for your Back? (£7) and ?Should I have Spinal Surgery?? (£5.95); a set of booklets (£2 each): ?Managing Back Pain?, ?Basic Back Care?, ?Back in the Office?, ?Back in Bed?; and the Fact Sheet ?Back Care for Drivers? (£1) is also excellent.

A journal is published for members each quarter and the Spring issue includes articles on
poor seating at schools and the
results of recent research on sciatica and micro-organisms. The Edinburgh Branch is a surprisingly good group for social activities. Most of the guys who belong support my prescription of (very) large malt whiskies to make life bearable. Heather pays the full subscription rate of £17.50 a year, but there are reduced rates for those on benefits.

Heather's Treatment (that REALLY Works !)
Heather has learned that the best practice is to ensure that she always has a support for her back when sitting, using either rolls or half rolls of plastic foam. These can be purchased with zipped cloth covers from a variety of outlets (including Halfords) and last for years.

When choosing a car, we also now always assess the seats carefully, choosing a good lumbar support whenever possible. The Honda has superb Recaro seats, as has the Vauxhall Astra that we have on order. In any case, a lumbar support half-roll or full roll is always in all three of our family cars.

They are taken into restaurants and theatres, and even friends' houses, to keep Heather's back in shape. And I literally DO mean "in shape". When Heather has lower back pain, the line of her spine is altered noticably. Normally, from the side-view, she has a pronounced feminine curve to her back (with her bum poking out provocatively!). When she has 'the back trouble', there is a definite straightening of this line. Our theory is that the lumbar roll gently forces her back into shape.

Another of her practices that I can recommend is this:

If you have done anything which you consider may be likely to give you back pain, then lie on the floor on your tummy, and lift your chest and legs off the floor ? in other words, flexing your back against the direction in which you have moved that could induce the pain. It certainly seems to help Heather. I even do it myself for prophylactic purposes (!).


BLUDDY FRAUD ?

So, who is the Bl**dy Fraud that I refer to in my Title ? Well (not for the first time) it is yours truly, since (thankfully) I am not a sufferer from back-pain ? only one who suffers from someone with back pain (lol). And we are supposed only to write about things we have direct experience of ....

Well perhaps that is not entirely true. Very occasionally I do feel a sharp twinge of pain in those (and other) areas. But I always reckon that will be because someone somewhere is sticking pins into the wax effigies of myself that have been produced by the occasional witch or warlock that I may have upset on DooYoo and in other social activities...

How do I treat such afflictions ? Well (unless I am driving), a wee malty or twa after lying down and a few back-flexes, but always with a wee smile on my face.

BUT I am generally most careful to ensure that I aggravate people only, and never (NEVER!!!) to aggravate my spine.

© Sidneygee 2002

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