Back Pain Portal Blog

Archive for the ‘Muscles’ Category

I thought I was on the right track, because frankly, without doing yoga each week, my mobility and quality of life would be drastically reduced. On the days I do yoga, I notice a big difference in how I feel physically and mentally. So it doesn’t surprise me to see research confirming that yoga reduces chronic pain.

A new study done in Canada says that patients reported significant reductions in their pain levels, as well as a mental boost from practicing yoga. The title of the study tells the story:

An eight-week yoga intervention is associated with improvements in pain, psychological functioning and mindfulness, and changes in cortisol levels in women with fibromyalgia

My favorite two poses for back pain are demonstrated below.

Triangle Pose for Shoulder Blades and Lower Back Pain

Cat-Cow for Neck, Shoulders and Lower Back Tightness

I talked to someone today who was fresh in a foot boot after falling and injuring her ankle. She said she was going to see a chiropractor tomorrow since she was having hip pain too. It reminded me of when I fell off a ladder three feet to the ground and landed on my wrist. I told the osteopath who took my cast off that my elbow and shoulder was hurting. He informed me that the wrist fracture was healed and there was nothing more to say about it. I was still in excruciating pain, and he had no more to say.

So today I looked up the fun little song that reminds us that all our parts are connected together with our skeletal structure. Understanding this my friends, is critical to your health.

Dem Bones

Your toe bone connected to your foot bone,
Your foot bone connected to your ankle bone,
Your ankle bone connected to your leg bone,
Your leg bone connected to your knee bone,
Your knee bone connected to your thigh bone,
Your thigh bone connected to your hip bone,
Your hip bone connected to your back bone,
Your back bone connected to your shoulder bone,
Your shoulder bone connected to your neck bone,
Your neck bone connected to your head bone,
Now shake dem skeleton bones!

Dem bones, dem bones gonna walk aroun’
Dem bones, dem bones, gonna walk aroun’
Dem bones, dem bones, gonna walk aroun’
Now shake dem skeleton bones!

Disconnect dem bones, dem dry bones
Disconnect dem bones, dem dry bones
Disconnect dem bones, dem dry bones
Now shake dem skeleton bones!

Your head bone connected from your neck bone,
Your neck bone connected from your shoulder bone,
Your shoulder bone connected from your back bone,
Your back bone connected from your hip bone,
Your hip bone connected from your thigh bone,
Your thigh bone connected from your knee bone,
Your knee bone connected from your leg bone,
Your leg bone connected from your ankle bone,
Your ankle bone connected from your foot bone,
Your foot bone connected from your toe bone,
Now shake dem skeleton bones!
Now shake dem skeleton bones!

Dem bones, dem bones gonna walk around
Dem bones, dem bones, gonna walk around
Dem bones, dem bones, gonna walk around
Now shake dem skeleton bones!

Fall can be a demanding time of year. First, there are the social happenings: holiday events, family gatherings. A whole lot of moving around. Then there are the leaves to rake, potted plants to move… weather related changes. I love the yard and garden, even though what I do is limited.

I may I complain about the extra yard work and about finding the extra time for all the holiday hoopla, I am grateful that I can do them.

I lived with constant back pain for years. Being mobility disabled is a real life changer that you may already know. For my sister who is wheel-chair bound from a motorcycle accident, it is a big deal to even go to the store. My niece’s husband who underwent unsuccessful back surgery has days lost to morphine. A friend with unresolved back pain is rarely able to come to community events.

So I keep at it. I keep using the 7 steps on pain-in-my-back.com. When my back starts aching or hurting, it is asking for help, which I willingly give. It is my partner in staying mobile.

A very wise being once told me,  “Take care of what matters.” My mobility matters, so it is worth taking care of. Rather than complain about the inflammation and pain the day after raking leaves, I take arnica and do back stretches. I am grateful that I have the strength and mobility to rake leaves.

A neighbor was having a garage sale and I decided to tag along. Time to clean out the closets and garage! I started at 7 pm Friday for a sale starting 9 am Saturday. Yes, you guessed it, lots of lifting and moving into the wee hours of the night. Not good for the old back.

When the alarm rang Saturday morning, I could hardly move. My lower back was in pain. My legs and arms were sore. But I had to get up, after all that work to get ready!

Once the sale was over at 1 pm, I counted my riches and contemplated what to do to ease my back pain. Should I go straight to bed, or keep moving? I had taken some herbs and an aspirin before sleeping, which I know helped keep the inflammation down, but I was limping and moving slow. My right side was getting tighter and my lower back was really aching.

I decided to go to my 2 pm yoga class at the health club to try to stretch out the muscles that were tight. It worked perfectly. About half way through the class, doing the triangle pose, my lower back  cracked naturally as something went back into alignment. All the stretching helped to release the tightened muscles and bring balance back to my spine. I felt so much better.

I showered, went to the store, then went home and took a nice nap. I was still so sore I had to cancel a Sunday massage, but my back was no longer in pain. By Tuesday I was ready for the next stupid weekend warrior trick!

I really like addressing the physical aspects of back pain, because there are so many things that I can do that help relieve the pain. Yes, it takes action, but the payoff is so big when I can get out of pain rather than go down for a few days. So most of my website and blog are about those things that can be fixed or improved with nutrition, physical exercise or various helpful pain-relieving devices.

But this week I have been dealing with emotional pain related to financial issues. You may have some of that too. Self-employment and the economy are not easy these days.

Unresolved emotional issues affect not only my mind but my body. I am slumping. I have tense shoulders. Even my jaw clenches. None of this is good. The happiness factor is gone this week.

So what is the happiness factor? That is the ability to smile, laugh, let  go and enjoy life. Even if just for awhile. It is good for your body. Smiling relaxes the face and neck. Laughing opens the heart. It gives you the feeling that all is well, and we need that feeling.

Really, even faking laughter is good for you! That is called faking it until you make it! So this week I wish for you moments of happiness, whether from a memory or something that happens. Take a break from your worries and let peace enter your soul. That is what I am doing now.