Back Pain Support Group
Back pain is one of the most common reasons people seek medical care. In fact, about 3 in 4 adults will experience back pain during their lifetime! The term back pain includes pain affecting the neck, midback and low back. Acute back pain may begin suddenly with intense pain but typically lasts fewer than three months. Usually, chronic back pain is persistent, steady, and...
So far, a heating pad is helping my back, however, I cannot use the damned thing all day. I also wear a wrap around brace to support my back during the day.
What are some of the things you all do to relieve the pain besides popping pain meds?
What are some of the things you all do to relieve the pain besides popping pain meds?
My main thing is heat and all kinds of it! I have what I like to call, "the lower back pain from hell". It's horrible and absolutely crippling. If I'm in tears and the meds aint working I have several different ways of getting heat onto my back and depending on which way it is, it will affect me differently. I will list them for ya.
1) Taking a shower- This one is pretty normal but very affective for getting relief for at least 30min, sometimes longer depending on what you do after your shower but the moist heat from a shower has saved me from immediate sharp crippling pain many a time.
2) Electric heating pad- Of all the heating pads I have the electic one is the least affective but the most conveniant. It's extremely conveniant because all I have to do is plug it in and I can control the heat with the touch of a button. The type of heat though just doesn't seem to be quite as good as any of the other heating pads I use. One huge plus though besides the convieniance is that it's really thin so I can lay on it without it pushing into my back.
3) Arouma therapy bean heat wrap- It's a heating pad I got for Christmas several years ago. I don't know how the people that made it did it but it still smells wonderful EVERY TIME I heat it up! I love it because I can get that sucker so hot it burns. But it burns sooooo good, and I know it sounds crazy but the wonderful smell does something to relax the muscles (or maybe just me I'm not sure). I love that one, but it does have to be heated every time in the mic. Oh and it's also good for laying on in bed because the beans flatten out when I lay on them so it doesnt jam into my back. Although it's not as thin as the electric one.
4) Rice heating pad- The rice heating pad is great for moist heat. It's basically like having the shower on your back for a while. The problem with this one though is that when it starts to cool off, it REALLY cools off! The moistness of it causes it to get cold rather quickly and then it's just kinda a cool soggy mess.
5) The heating pad I use the most (it's right under my electric heating pad as far as how often I use it) is one I got for Christmas just this last year and it's the most amazing heating pad I've ever seen. I'm not even sure what to call it, but it's made by a company called "Body Comfort" you can find their web site at "www.mybodycomfort.com" and the heating pad is a clear jell pad that has a little disk in it (mine has two because of how big it is), and when you bend the disk in the jell ithe jell turns white and heats up to a perfect warm tempature for your body. The company will tell you that it lasts an hour, but it really lasts about 30-40 min tops. But it's awesome because it's instant heat that is reusable. When it cools off all you have to do is boil the pad in water and it goes back to it's origional soft jell form. The only problem with it is that you do have to reboil it every time you use it and it's really bad for laying on for me because it jabs into my back. But it's super conveniant because unlike the electric one, you don't have to plug it in so I take it every where. I've used it in church, at friends houses. It's great!
I could go on about the pros and cons of all these but I don't want to write any longer of a novel than I already have. If you have any questions about any of the stuff I've said please feel free to write me here or message me. I've been trying to get rid of back pain for as long as I can remember so I've tried a lot. Good luck and God bless. -- David
I have been doing cold then hot just once..but when I hurt a lot I'll be doing cold,heat,cold, and heat. All my showers have a some hot water on my back...that feels sooo good to me.