With back pain awareness week just drawing to a close, today we bring some useful tried and tested tips from fellow spoonies in the Chronic Illness community who live through back pain and want to share what has helped them.
Disclaimer:AD- This post is sponsored by The Bad Back Company who do a range of solutions for those struggling with back pain- but all words are our own and the advice is all from bloggers in our chronic illness bloggers facebook group.
1.Use wrap-around heat packs
“Wrap around heat packs are a godsend especially if you still need to work with back pain. They’re long-lasting and help ease the immediate issue while the pain meds kick in!” advises Fiona of From Fiona. Using a back heat pad can be a great soothing way of using heat therapy instead of traditional medication. Shireen agrees: “Be You make these wonderful all-natural period pain relief patches -I can’t recommend them enough! I also carry heat patches everywhere I go and they also help. ” Heat pads are inexpensive and can also be used on the go-whether travelling or working.
2.Listen to what your body needs
“I had to retire from work when I was 28 due to my back,” explains blogger Elizabeth who runs Despite Pain Blog. “My biggest tip is to learn to listen to what it needs rather than fight against it. One of the first posts on my blog was about that very thing. I have to try to find a balance between moving around, sitting to rest, and lying down. That varies every day – again, it comes down to listening and learning what my body needs.” Such important advice!
3.Use cushions when using a computer
With more of us sitting at a computer during our lockdown, you might need to invest in some proper cushions for lower back support for your home office. ” My pain radiates from coccydynia so I find using a coccyx cushion and back support allows me to sit at a computer for about an hour. explains Jo from Tea and Cake For The Soul. If you’re working from home, make sure your work provides proper equipment to meet your needs. Avoid hunching over a computer if you can help it.
4. Don’t forget traditional medicine
Natural remedies and medication can be used side by side, they don’t need to be an either/or situation so don’t be afraid to speak to your doctor.” I use prescription painkillers to keep me mobile along with other small helpers, like Voltarol and using CBD warming gels ” explains Caroline from Invisibly Me. A combination of the two can be really effective.
5. Looking for advice from a physiotherapist?
If in doubt, speak to the experts: this is a great post from Sheryl who interviews a physiotherapist with their top tips for preventing and helping back pain.
6. Consider Electromagnetic Pulse Therapy
Donna from Fed Up With Fatigue has a bulged disc in my lower back that causes daily pain.” I couldn’t live without my ActiPatch pain device. I wear it over the bad disc in my back 24/7 except when showering. If I don’t wear it, I’m basically lame w/in 2 days.” If you’re not familiar, actipatch is a medication free device which works via electromagnetic pulse therapy.
7. Daily Stretching
Work with a qualified chiropractor who will be able to suggest at-home exercises to do in between sessions. ” I do gentle stretches my chiropractor showed me. Which combination I do depends on the location of the pain, severity, etc. It’s a bit of trial and error at times.To try and help prevent the pain, I try to remember to bend correctly when picking things up. ” explains blogger Laurie.
8 .Invest in massage equipment
Blogger Tom has a great list of self-care tools to use at home if you can’t make it to a chiropractor or massage therapist: these include things like self-massagers and accupressure balls. having these in your toolkit can really help!
Great advice thank you. I’ve found people who understand! Yay❣️❣️❣️