stupid body!

[goldfish42]

I keep putting my back out. The same vertebra has slipped out of place three or four times in the last two weeks. I get it back in, and it just slips out again. I really want to go dancing, but I've been in too much pain. Worse yet, it has gone out twice while I was asleep, waking me up in the middle of the night. Grrrr.

Comments

back issues

[glamazonwarrior]

I haven't picked it up, myself, but I've heard very good things about the exercises in The YMCA's healthy back book.

For right now, I'd recommend Thermacare heatwraps. When I threw out my back a few weeks ago, they helped enormously.

Also, are you doing any yoga/pilates/tai chi type of exercise? I had chronic back problems from the age of 10 (long before my chest developed), but after a few months of martial arts (budo taijutsu, mostly), my chronic back pain went away. And it wasn't that I wasn't physically active before; I had been in dance classes and whatnot, in addition to aerobics, PE, and the miscellaneous running around of childhood. So, it might be something to look into.

Re: back issues

[goldfish42]

I do a few simple stretches every day, but not any real committed excercise program. I'm sure I should, but every time I start one I get too worn out to continue more than a few weeks. My chiropractor says that the muscles on my back are not quite strong enough to support the stupid size of my breasts, which is why the same place always goes "pop!", so he gave me back strengthening excercises.

I'm alternating heat and cold (and large amounts of ibuprophen,) and I have a chiropractor's appt. tomorrow.

Re: back issues

[glamazonwarrior]

Do the back exercises, and get into a class. (Beginning yoga would probably be good.)

Re getting worn out after a few weeks: what is your nutrition like? It's recommended to get at least 20 grams of decent protein within 20 minutes of exercise. I tend to do soy protein shakes, but whey and eggs are good sources, too. (Whey and eggs are actually the best sources of protein for most people; the body can use more of them. That's one reason they are so popular with body builders.)

Re: back issues

[goldfish42]

The short answer for why I get too tired to keep it up is: fibromyalgia sucks. I eat better than most people because if I didn't I wouldn't be able to do even as much as I do. I've thought about one of those yoga classes that is designed for people who are elderly or recovering from surgery or such, but I haven't gotten around to finding one.

oh, also

[glamazonwarrior]

I've recently had some success using the neoprene waist wrap-around things for back support at night. (When I had mostly recovered from throwing my back out.) You can find them in the exercise section of Target, KMart, and such. (They imply that they'll whittle your waist, but that's not really true. They do work well for mild support, though.)

Re: oh, also

[goldfish42]

The vertabra that goes out is between my shoulder blades, so I'm not sure how much help that would be, but thanks for the idea.

Re: oh, also

[glamazonwarrior]

I'm a "fixer", so if I'm crossing a line here, I apologize. Do you sleep in a bra? I've slept in a bra for years, and I'm pretty busty (36F), so that may help.

Definitely do the back exercises, though.

Re: oh, also

[goldfish42]

I know some people get annoyed about unsolicited advice, but unless it's really snarky it doesn't bother me. I know it is easy to overlook "obvious" answers!