Polycystic Kidney Disease (PKD) Support Group

You know my answer but i don't know what i would do if i couldn't exercise. When i can't for a few weeks i take pain pills! Don't know if thats an answer for you but i do wish you well and pray that you pain will diminish.

Have you tried a back support brace to help improve your posture? I know that having a larger waist makes getting one that's comfortable a little difficult, but it might help. Also, I've seen those bras for women, that help with upper back posture. They have a lot of support in between the shoulder blades and help keep your shoulders squared and in the proper position. Maybe that would help too. I don't know about the wrist pain. It could just be arthritis or even carpal tunnel.
Tami

A few years ago, the Physiotherapist I was seeing strapped my shoulders back because I'd been in intense pain for over a week. It worked (though I had a nasty reaction to the strapping!), but was a short term solution. I think I'd have problems finding a brace in my shape. I don't really need a great deal of support from a bra! When I achieve what the physio says is a better posture, I feel like my ribs are really digging into my left side where my kidney and liver stick out. Perhaps there's no solution apart from finding non-med ways to manage this pain, along with all the other pain.

Perhaps your physiotherapist can give you some exercises to help strengthen your upper body with a focus on the shoulder and upper back such as lat pull downs for the lattisimus dorsi and some other exercises. Strengthening those muscles should help work as an internal brace, helping you to improve your posture and alleviate some pressure on your ribs from the liver and kidneys. Just be sure to pay attention to your breathing while doing any weight training so you don't inadvertently hold your breath and raise your blood pressure.

Stretching your arms and shoulders can also help. I find that putting my arms behind my back, grasping my hands together and then trying to raise them up give a great stretch to the shoulders and upper arms and opens up the rib cage as well, easing the pressure on the ribs.

Paying attention to your posture while sitting and standing helps too. It's all too easy to slump in a chair and then my ribs dig into my liver, causing pain both in my ribs, liver and subsequently my shoulders from keeping them rounded and hunched. It's a vicious cycle and a hard one to break. If you do a lot of work sittin down, perhaps a post-it note on your computer or desk reminding you to sit up straight will help, or use "Sit up straight" as a marquee screen saver.

Shoulders up, back and down. Try taking a break every 15-30 minutes and just focus on some simple stretches and getting your shoulders back into position and you may find in time that moving your shoulders up, then back, then down will make a big difference in how you sit and stand and help alleviate some of the pain.

Good luck!
Ruth

Thanks for the tips, Ruth. I'll try the exercises and talk to the physio about more shoulder and neck work. She's been very conservative in my management, and I've seen no real improvement. I think she's afraid of causing me more pain. I'm already doing lower body exercises, as well as some for my wrist and feet. I'll soon need the whole day to get through them! Anyone know how to make more hours in the day? No wait, where would I find the energy for a longer day?!
Thanks again.

I really do find the shoulder and upper back exercises helpful, when I remember to do them.

If you can also find a comfortable way to sleep without putting excess pressure on your shoulders and neck by propping yourself up on too many pillows or using bending your neck at an unusual angle at night, you may find that helpful as well. Sleep is elusive and painful for me, so I toss and turn for hours and find it hard to sleep on either side or my back (stomach of course is out of the question due to my liver and kidneys). I also tend to wrap my arms around me when I sleep on my side to I tense my shouders up and wake up with serious shoulder pain and that just adds to the pain throughout the day.

So in addition to the exercise, try finding a comfortable bed and pillow and work on finding a comfortable sleeping position, at least one you can fall asleep in. When you wake up in the middle of the night, if you're wrapped in a ball and uncomfortable, unwrap yourself and get back into that comforable postion, do some calm breathing exericses and drift off again. In time that will also help ease the pain in your shoulders as well.

And when needed and the pain is bad, please don't hesitate to take the pain medication. Fighting pain can be exhausting and cause the rest of your body to tense up even worse and all the exercise and relaxation in the world isn't going to help enough until you can break through the pain. Do what you can with exercise, stretching and relaxation exercises, but don't cause youself harm and added stress by trying to grit your teeth and get through it on those days when it's just too much to bear.

Gentle hugs,
Ruth