Lower Back Pain Relief

[Roger C Hayden]

Hey, Guys,

in '93 I blew a disc so bad it leaked into my spinal column.  Inflamation
sent flaming sciatic pain all the way to my heel.  I was in gross pain
and crawling around slowly with tears in my eyes.  Surgery was emminent,
however my blessed Dr. said, "let's try therapy"  I was out of most pain
in one week, and back to work in six.  Miraculous!!

I learned these excercises from a therapist, they are part of a back
treatment system devised by Robin Makenzie, author of "Treat Your Own
Back".

Back Exercises that work for many people, and they shouldn't hurt you.

Floor laying and push-ups
1.  Lay on a carpeted floor flat on your stomach in this position:  Put
both arms near your head or at your side, both up or both down.  Head to
either side.  Take in three deep breaths through the nose slowly, then
exhale naturally through the mouth.  Stay there pretty motionless for
four or five minutes.
(This may seem very uncomfortable at first.  It did for me; I told the
therapist I couldn't stay there very long, he said, be patient and stay
as long as I could stand it.  I stayed.  The point of it is to get the
bones of the back realigned.  They are supposed to curve inward (or
towards the floor as you lay).  By laying on your stomach, gravity pulls
gently on your back dropping it down and back in alinement.  Breathing
deeply gets the tight muscles to relax some, breathing normally afterward
seems to message the area very gently.  It feels good.) 

2.  Rise gently up to your elbows, leaving everything from the shoulders
down totally relaxed, and ‘on the floor'.  Stay there for another four or
five minutes.  
(I could not do this at all in the beginning.  I raised up just a
little,very low on my elbows, breathing normally, trying to get the back
to relax.  Very, very uncomfortable, and feeling like I must be doing
damage, but the therapist had studied my MRI and felt it was tolerable
and useful.)

3.  Going back down, put your hands in a position to do pushups.  Push up
only your shoulders just a bit at first, continuing to leave your stomach
on the carpet, everything below the shoulders totally relaxed.   Push up
ten times altogether, pausing at the top and the bottom, and each push-up
higher and higher until on number ten you are straight armed.  (Or as
much as you can tolerate.)
(You can imagine that the back is very arched by the time you can do
this.  I couldn't start this until the second week.  And if I get in
trouble now, it may be by the end of the day or two days before I can
achieve it.)
Gently, slowly, perhaps rolling to the side, get up on your feet.

 "Posture against the Wall"  
1. Stand with your back to a wall (that has no baseboard heat at the
bottom) with your heels pretty close to the wall.  Your buttocks and
shoulder blades should touch the wall and your flattened hand fit behind
your back at the small or curve.  With your head and back in this quite
erect position, step away from the wall, walking with a natural arm swing
across a larger room, a straight path if possible, with very little
obstructions for your feet. 
     When you get to the far wall, turn around and do it again from that
wall, ten repetitions in all.
(You will think you look a little strange doing this, but it feels
wonderful.   Feel the back arch naturally and feel it message itself as
you ‘sway' walking.)

"Back Arches"   
Stand with your feet slightly apart, your hands on your hips, tilt your
head back.  Lean back a little, pause, then straighten up, pausing again.
 Lean back again just a little more, looking back behind you at the
ceiling, then straighten up again.  Ten repetitions, each increasing as
you are able. 
"Side Glides"   
Stand with your shoulder against the wall, the injured side away from the
wall, feet together about eight to ten inches from the wall.  Put your
wall-side arm in an ‘L' position at your waist.  Put the outside hand
palm down on your hip.  Slowly, gently, press your hip into the wall with
your outside hand, repeat ten times.  On the tenth repetition, hold
yourself against the wall, lift the inner foot and put it next to the
wall, and slowly stand erect.  
(This exercise can be done at any time.  It is especially useful to use
as soon as you feel some back pain.  It can realign the spine and relieve
pain often instantly.  Erin got instant relief using this exercise when
she had back pain from pregnancy.)

The other exercises I did were for my specific injury.  Both for the
purpose of nerve root stretching, no fun at all as you can imagine!!  
The inner gelatinous material that had escaped into my spinal nerve area
had inflamed, and ‘grown fast' to the nerve.  I had to methodically and
painfully rip it loose so I could lift my left leg up.  That took weeks
to accomplish.  That's what the Dr's expected to have to go in and
remove.  The stuff is still there.  It causes some discomfort if I
misbehave, but except for picking up pianos, I am pretty much unlimited. 


You must get a couple chairs with strong lumbar support.  And perhaps add
support to your car seat.  Our Toyota Avalon, (unlike the Camry) has no
lumbar adjustment.  I had to put in one of McKenzie's lumbar roll devices
they sell to be able to drive for any distance.  There is only one chair
I can use in our whole house by itself, the rest I stuff a lumbar roll
behind me, and sometimes an extra pillow.  Cushy chairs are rotten on the
back.  They force your ‘curve' backwards.

Keep me posted.  You have all my sympathy, and yes, prayer.

Roger
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