so the displacement is old, but the fractures are new. Joy.
I can get about 10-15 mins of yoga/pilates/stretching/walking in at one time. So Ive been trying to do it a few times a day.
the exercises above are fabulous; my girlfriend has spondy and swears by her acupuncturist; but again, u need to find the right one! Hope u will have a LPN or assistant to help you. Feel for you regarding insurance. Ours isnt the best, but I thank god we have it and my husband works for a major company. Hugs and jingles for some pain relief and recovery.
Last summer I had a really bad riding accident, went off my big dressage gelding. Long story short, I seperated my shoulder, fractured upper ribs and the impact left my thoracic spine so out of wack it was not funny. I was however wearing my helmet. It saved my life b/c I landed flat on my back.
After the healing from the initial accident, which took weeks, from the impact I could not even sit up by myself without help from a lying position, the residual was constant upper back pain, locking and displacement. I would have to bend over to release my spine (and yes you’d hear the pop and see my spine go back into place), multiple times a day. Then the Shooting pain under my scapula would just about leave me breathless. Laying down, ice, heating pad, crying, barely breathing… nothing helped to take the nerve pain away. Think electric prod, every 20-60 seconds lasting 20 seconds and go on for hours and hours. No OTC meds helped and even Tylenol 3 AND another pain killer at the maximum dosage only took the edge off. Labor was easier!
Anyway, by pure accident here’s what worked for me-hula hoops. Honest. It was a fluke, we bought them to train, desentisitize with the horses and got screwing around with them. I can’t hula hoop to save my life BUT the action, for maybe 10-20 minutes a day has done wonders for my back. I am off meds, no shooting, white knuckling it and I don’t have to release my spine but maybe once a day. Even when I do it’s nothing like I had before.
I have always stretched my muscles and am in great physical shape but I was amazed how the simple action of using a hula hoop has helped. We got the $2.00 large ones at a local store. Wish I had figured this out a year ago!
Besides stretching your hamstrings, make sure you stretch your hip flexors - they attach above L4-L5 and if they are tight they put a tremendous amount of pressure on your back.
Besides all the strength and stretching exercises, I have an ab and back plus. I only use it for the back exercise and I use it on the lightest setting, but that has also helped me strengthen my back.
And definitely appeal the workers comp claim.
QR-
I have back problems from handling my disabled father, I do step aerobics (at home) and have wrist weights. I don’t use a bench to step onto, I just step back and forth on the floor, and really put an effort into moving my arms, I’ve upgraded to 2lb weights. Really helped to strengthen my back and my abs - I can put my back not sneezing too hard, but after I’d been doing the aerobics I put my back out and I didn’t feel a thing, it went back ‘in’ much quicker than usual too!
YMMV
Great book on the subject: Back Care Basics: A Doctor’s Gentle Yoga Program for Back and Neck Pain Relief, by Mary Pullig Schatz, MD. Alexander Technique and a good chiropractor have also helped me a lot-- but getting the right instructors/practitioners is crucial. My A.T. instructor is a PhD who trains other physical therapists, yoga instructors, etc., and she’s been adamant about my NOT jumping into Yoga, etc., unless I could be close to certain that it would not be done in ways that could easily worsen my condition. The book I’m recommending takes a similar approach, with the exercise program being both very gentle and extremely effective. I really love it.
Swimming is great for back issues. A trainer or physical therapist can push you to your physical limits. Even if you are 80, your body and back will benefit from swimming.
Back exercises are one of the better ways to relieve yourself from back pain and lead a healthy life. It is important to ensure that exercises are worked within a range of motion, so as not to further strain the painful back. One of the back exercises that gently stretches your back muscles is: lie on your back with knees bent. Slowly raise your left knee to your chest, while pressing your lower back firmly against the floor. Remain in position for 5 seconds. Relax; repeat the exercise with your right knee. Repeat this exercise 10 times for each leg.
[QUOTE=Eggplant_Dressing;5761034]
Swimming is great for back issues. A trainer or physical therapist can push you to your physical limits. Even if you are 80, your body and back will benefit from swimming.[/QUOTE]
If you are going to swim (and I highly recommend it) use a mask and snorkel so that you don’t hyper-extend you back and neck. It’s also easier to swim distance if you are not struggling to get enough air. I would also recommend doing all strokes - breast stroke, crawl stroke, back stroke and side stroke (both sides). These four stroke put you arms and legs through full range of motion - this did wonders for me after I had my back surgery in 1994. Almost 20 years later, as long as I do my exercises I have little to no back pain.
I have RA, plus spondy in my lower spine/SI, as well as neck - as far as radiographs can show.
Can’t have MRI b/c pacemaker…
What has helped me:
chiro and medical massage minimum every 2 weeks
yoga
swimming therapy 2xwk
gabapentin three times a day
baclofen (and sometimes soma) (muscle relaxers) 3xd
prescription NSAIDS 3xd
getting smart about what causes problems (no more throwing hay, carrying water buckets, carrying feed sacks, etc.) pick stalls holding fork both ways, no carrying above my head, sit facing foward for meeting or inservices, computer screen straight ahead (no laptop), read lying down, rather than looking down…etc. etc…etc…
Keeping my back and neck WARM - means a vest as soon as it gets cool - heavy coat in winter, always wearing a scarf or neck gaiter - rather be sweating than even slightly tense in the cold, keeping shirt tucked in, sleeping on a heated mattress pad, ergonomic pillow and memory foam mattress pad, etc…
As long as I stay with the above, I’m doing okay - some bad days, but not crippling and I can FINALLY sleep through the night most nights!! AND I don’t walk with a limp anymore (hip pain and numb leg)!
For those of you with back pain, is it on the right side, left side or both? The reason I’m asking is because the right side of my back, and down through my butt and thighs recently began hurting. My chiro got things mostly fixed, and I started doing back exercises like those mentioned above, and they helped substantially for a while, but then not so much. So now my right side hurts all the time except when I’m riding or walking. Since only my right side is hurting, is getting on and off the horse doing something to the right side? Yesterday night was very bad, and I realized that I had ridden in a Western saddle yesterday afternoon. Usually I ride English. I’m thinking of trying switching sides when mounting and dismounting. Any thoughts? Thanks!
Pony4me, are you using a mounting block? When mounting from the ground, I would think the left side would be more involved…I would bet riding in the western saddle had something to do with your back pain.
My back pain is on the left side, down low. I am fine riding either in my jumping or dressage saddle, but when I ride in my bareback pad I pay for it afterwards, even tho my mare has rather comfy gaits. sigh
