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Frugal Answer to Lower Back Pain

Yes, along with suffering from migraines, I also deal with lower back pain. Not that I’m falling apart, it’s just that I’m in my 40’s and…well…you know how it goes. I think those are my only problems right now (knock on wood).

A couple years ago our youngest son was in a body cast for a broken femur (another story in itself) - you can visualize the kind of body cast with one leg straight, the other leg bent, and a bar between them (spica cast). He was 5 years old at the time, but lifting him was difficult because of the spread out position his body was in. In the cast for 6 weeks, my back finally blew.

I spent months visiting a chiropractor who came highly recommended. After no relief from the pain, we were at a Christmas party and a gentleman (who is a physical therapist) came up to me and my husband. He asked if I was suffering from low back pain. Later he revealed he could tell by the way I moved. And I thought I hid it so well. He asked us to step into a bedroom with him and he showed me how to properly sit. Not kidding! With that alone, my back pain subsided within a week. Completely subsided. He told me to sit in a chair with a rolled up towel (secured with duct tape) behind my lower back so I had pressure. He told me to keep my legs in front of me and try to make sure my knees were lower than my hips. That’s it folks. Since then, whenever I sneak back into old habits all I have to do is put his advice into practice.

I know it sounds simple, but it’s worth a try. I was on the verge of considering seeing an M.D. and going the traditional medical route - yikes. Talk about a frugal save! I don’t even need to take ibuprofen. Just thought I’d pass that along.

This entry was posted on 15. July 2008 at 17:59 and is filed under WFMW, HEALTH TIPS. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response or trackback from your own site.

7 Responses to “Frugal Answer to Lower Back Pain”

  1. Mother Hen says:
    16. July 2008 at 06:42

    I suffer lower back pain as well and sitting in a hard chair first thing in the morning for about 20 minutes does the trick for me. If I skip it I almost can’t walk, so I don’t skip it.

  2. Amanda says:
    16. July 2008 at 19:53

    That’s awesome! I need a cushion under my bum apparently because I have long legs and my knees are too high. I’ll be sharing this with my dh who has back problems! I hope yours stays feeling well!

  3. Melissa says:
    16. July 2008 at 23:28

    Great tip. Sometimes the simplest things work the best. Do you think this will help in pregnancy? Towards the end my back is miserable. I also suffer from migraines, but of course during pregnancy medications are very limited. I am not the traditional medicine taker, but if you suffer from migraines you will do anything to ease the pain. I have had to completely come off of caffeine (which causes a headache of its own) and when I start to get a migraine (I can feel mine coming about 24 hours in advance) I drink a Pepsi. This usually works, is more frugal the RX drugs, and in my mind much safer.

  4. Audra Krell says:
    17. July 2008 at 02:02

    I wrote a comment but forgot to answer the question…anyway thanks for the tips, I don’t want to develop back pain by sitting poorly at the computer. I don’t know if you have visited my blog or not, but I’d love for you stop by when you can. Thanks Lisa! Blessing to you for the rest of the week. www.audrakrell.com

  5. Tasha says:
    20. July 2008 at 06:27

    Sorry, I accidentally hit enter before my comment was finished. To answer Melissa’s concern about back pain in pregnancy, I always had back pain too until my last pregnancy, when I contiunued a weight-lifting routine. If I didn’t miss my back routine (rows, lat-pull down, & straight leg dead-lift), I had absolutely no back pain. It was amazing!

  6. Tasha says:
    20. July 2008 at 06:32

    I had the same results from a book called “7 steps to a pain free life by Robin McKenzie. The book talks about how to rapidly relive back and neck pain using correct posture and a few simple exercises. The pain relief was quick & complete.
    To answer

  7. mom2fur says:
    23. July 2008 at 21:59

    I’m glad you are finding some relief. It’s my sacroiliac joint that gives me trouble, and nothing I’ve tried helps. It just becomes part of your life.
    Oh, boy, I sure sympathize/empathize about a kid in a spica cast! My son was hit by a car and spent 6 weeks in traction followed by 2 months in the body cast. This was 14 years ago–he’s 21 and just fine now. I can remember struggling to move him. I don’t think I could even begin to handle that today, at my age of 52.
    Can you believe the kid actually learned to walk up and down stairs in the darned thing?

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