[Sca-cooks] Back Pain Issues

[Helen Schultz]

A couple folks have been talking about chronic back pain... I am sitting 
there along with them.  I have what is called Spondololysthesis... it is a 
permanent shifting of L-5 forward at S-1 (about a 3/8" slippage)... I get 
some really nasty pains ranging from the spine area, buttocks, and down to 
my right leg and foot from it when I stand up for too long, much the same as 
Jared described.

I usually rent a scooter to be able to handle 2 weeks at Pennsic.  To make 
the story slightly shorter, this year, my scooter wouldn't hold a charge and 
I couldn't use it, so I had to walk everywhere.  I found that those 
disposable heat pads they sell in the pharmacy section really helped me at 
this past Pennsic... I was able to do almost everything as a normal person 
(except carry anything over 10 pounds <sigh> for more than 50 steps).  Now, 
these pads aren't a permanent cure, but they sure do make it easier to move 
about.  Don't know why they work, as for me, it is gravity that works 
against me (upper body weighing more than lower, so pushing against that 
sciatic nerve when standing), but I was able to stand up for much longer 
periods with minimal pain.  It is worth a try, for those of you who also 
have similar pains.  I used the pads that had adhesive on them (meant for 
shoulders and the like)... the ones made just for the back don't have 
adhesive, and you have to get them large enough to wrap around your hips 
(which could be a problem if you are a rather large person... I weigh about 
140 pounds, and even found the Large/X-Large to be a bit tight).  However, I 
was totally amazed at how much that silly little heat patch worked for me 
this past Pennsic (made things really warm, though, in the heat of the 
Pennsic summer <grin>).

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Meisterin Katarina Helene von Schönborn, OL
Shire of Narrental (Peru, Indiana)  http://narrental.home.comcast.net
Middle Kingdom
http://meisterin.katarina.home.comcast.net

"A room without books is like a body without a soul." -- Cicero

"The danger in life is not that we aim too high and miss.
The problem is that we aim too low and hit the mark."  -- Michaelangelo

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