A great start to my holidays

[jointpain]

I am in France, stopped off in Sainsburys in Ashford for supplies (Gluten free) and other odds and ends. Leant over the trolley to tie the handles together of a free bag (pay for them in Wales) and BANG my back went. Unable to walk without a weird gait, cannot lean from the vertical without extreme pain in the very lower spine. Able to drive though uncomfortable as is everything else. feels like I have slipped a disc or have a prolapsed disc, none of which I have a clue of the meaning, so in light of this and that I have had the same before over the past twenty years, mostly taking the best part of a year to get somewhat better but not perfect by any means. Doctors have as you might guess never been interested. Do any readers know what has happened? and how I can get better quicker? Last time I tried hanging from a beam by my hands allowing my legs to stretch my spine which helped, but at the moment that hurts too much.

Any hep much appreciated. Thanks, One miserable old git.

[Sewnsew]

What ever is happening to your spine it sounds like your muscles have gone into spasm. They do this to protect your spine. You will find that for, at least, the next few days every time you move the muscles will spasm. Initially apply cold pack to the area then after2/3 days apply heat, this will start to relax the muscles.

It is difficult to walk upright when the back muscles are in spasm, you will not be able to bend over without pain. The pain is there for a reason, to stop you doing anything to cause further damage, so do not try to ignore it.

Hope you feel better soon!

[johnsmith]

A number of things could have happened. It is not possible to guess without an appropriate examination. You need the Gp to examine you to check you have nothing worth worrying about.

There is a new law coming in concerning wilful neglect. Not sure how much teeth this will give patients.

You need to see a chiropractor. It is possible that you have a muscle spasm which is causing problems. A McTimony chiropractor will be able to release the muscle spasm if you have one. Also you have your back checked for any problems which will worth knowing about.

It is worth seeing an Alexander Teacher to help you with any postural related issues. Much back problems have a cause in poor posture control and poor muscular usage. An Alexander teacher can show you better ways of doing things as well as an increased awareness of how you use your muscles.

If you have got a locked muscle gone into spasm you can try the following.

Determine where the locked muscle is. What you need to do is think of moving side to side or back and forth the area where the locked muscle is. Do not make any large movements. The movements you must make must be very very small. So small as to be barely noticeable. Do this for two or three minutes. The concentration can be quite tiring.

The purpose of this exercise is to wake up the shut down propioceptors which provide input to the spine and have an influence on the behaviour of the muscle.

This exercise may help get the locked muscle moving again. If the muscle has freed up then you can make larger movements. Resist the temptation to tense the muscle to see how it is.

Let me know if this works.

Hope I have been helpful.