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Thursday, February 28, 2013

massage, please?

It's no secret that I have a bad back. At least, it shouldn't be a secret, because I complain about it. A lot. I keep thinking maybe someone will take the hint and get me a massage chair, but so far, no luck.
So my back. It started when I was about 35 weeks pregnant with Juno and I made the mistake of raking the leaves. Then after she was born, it just didn't get better. First I was lifting a floppy newborn in and out of a crib (and that is really hard for a short person) and then I was carrying around what was essentially a 15 pound block of cement. I would be ok for a while, and then I would do something really innocent, like reach across the counter for something, and I would be down and out for three days. Probably the worst time was one afternoon when I was reading to my girls outside. We were sitting under our favorite tree with a stack of library books, enjoying a lovely spring afternoon, when I took a book out of the library bag and bam. I was down. I tried to roll to my feet so we could go inside and I could lay down on the couch, but I was in so much pain that I was literally blacking out every time I tried. After about five minutes of trying and failing, I finally had to send Tempe over to my neighbor's house to ask for help. Paulette helped me into the house, gathered up the books, the blanket, and the baby, and set a movie up for my girls. She was a lifesaver.
Now that I've been dealing with this for over two years, I've figured some things out. So here are my tips for when you throw out your back!
1) Get moving as soon as you can. I know it sounds counter-intuitive, but the faster you get up and start moving, the faster your back will loosen up. Don't do anything crazy, just walk a little bit!
2) Take a lot of Ibuprofen. 
3) Do some gentle stretches. I have two favorites: braced against a wall doing shallow crunches, or on my hands and knees, stretching like a cat.
4) Put heat on it. Some people say cold, but I prefer heat. I have a rice bag that I microwave.
Well, those are my tips. Hope none of you need to use them!
This is a sponsored post however, all the points and views are my own.

2 comments:

Claire said...

Ughh I've never ever had back problems but mine's been hurting a ton lately. I'm guessing it's because Ava's getting heavier and I'm carrying her around all the time. I've never had it "go out" thank goodness but I'll remember this in case!

Amber Huntington said...

I walked around with a tweaked back and messed up knees for a year and a half after having my baby before seeing a great chiropractor. Turns out my pelvis was out of position(you know how things loosen up while pregnant) and that alone made my muscles in my body out of balance...problems. Two adjustments and my problems were solved. I felt dumb I waited so long. A tempurpedic bed also made a difference two months later. I learned my lesson late, but I'm glad I figured it out cuz i fell so much younger!