elaine&#39;s strange little world

oh, that's such a good idea! heh...i'm very loopy not to have thought of it first thing.

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linley.livejournal.com

Gentle stretching. Cobra pose, cat's pose and child's pose from yoga are all ones I like. Massage is also good. If you don't have someone with a willing pair of hands, you can put two tennis balls in a sock, tie it, and then lie on the floor with it under your back (roll up and down). A heating pad or warm bath is nice (if your bathtub isn't tiny and cramped). Keep good posture while sitting at your desk to avoid aggravating the painful muscles further. In general, keep yourself as relaxed as possible. And if all else fails, a couple of Advil can't hurt.

Can you tell that I've had lots of issues with back pain?

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heh...sounds like you speak from much personal experience. poor linley!

not sure what the yoga poses actually are, but i suppose google images will probably be helpful. my bathtub might be more hindrance than help, but perhaps if i fill it as high as it goes and sit instead of trying to lay down, it may help. thanks for the suggestions! i like the massage idea especially...the boy may be recruited to help. heh.

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i highly recommend a good massage therapist like

threadwalker or going to a chiropractor. the sooner the better before you start having other problems (just went through a year of problems with ankle/hip/back issues so i don't take this lightly anymore)

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and ice is also pretty good if it's an immediate injury. apparently heat is for injuries that aren't super recent. i found ice to be a better solution than heat though i prefer heat.

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hmm...now to figure out if "2 days ago" counts as recent or not. heh.

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My various physical therapists have also advised me to alternate between heat and ice for upper back, foot, and wrist pain (at various times). Ice takes down swelling, while heat brings more blood to the area or something, and seemd to reduce tightness. I've generally had better luck with ice, but that's just me and my injuries. :~) For feet I'd alternate rapidly (30-60 seconds of each), for back I was advised to do longer stints of each (5-10 minutes). And yes, ibuprofen is also good to take down swelling - I've been told that the anti-inflammatory dose is 600mg, 3 times a day, but you should really check with an expert before taking that much (esp. if your tummy chemistry is a bit unstable ...).

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the ice i used helped a little, but i think the ibuprofen helped more. after i read your comment i remembered that i'd taken the same dose (600mg, 3 times a day) when i had shoulder and wrist issues a couple of years ago, and then when i had shin splints, so the dosage does make sense. i'm gonna stick to a lower dose for these few days, but if it doesn't improve, i may have to launch a full scale attack. heh. at least it's getting somewhat better today.

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you're right, it's definitely not something to take lightly. i'm kind of hoping it's just a consequence of too much driving (and being stressed out while doing it, due to torrential downpour type weather), but if it doesn't get significantly better over the next day or two, i should probably go see someone about it.

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it's also a good idea to try to sort out what is causing it to prevent further injury. if it's driving then try bending/stretching when you get out of the car more often to help ease the back issues. if it's leaning too forward then be sure to stretch/straighten the back/lie down when you can.

2 days ago then i'd still do ice. just wrap some ice in a blanket and lie on it for awhile.

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thanks for the advice! i'm thinking it's probably hurting because i drove to LA and back (from SF) this past weekend, and i'm just not used to driving so much in a row...which is bad, considering i'm driving down again on friday. but yeah, i need to remember to get out and stretch more often when i go this weekend.

not sure i have any ice cubes at home, but i definitely have a bag of frozen veggies. hehe. it's back to college-style ice packs i go.

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one of the triggers for my problem had been a long motorcycle ride from rwc which had been hot that day to yosemite which we had camped at and was snowing so the weather extremes and hard ride for the back just didn't have me recovering fast enough.

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A bit of lumbar support for you car seat may help (if you don't have it already).

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are you thinking along the lines of one of those brace-type things to use while sitting? i've seen those, but never had one. where would i go to buy one, do you know?

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One of those cushion things that just go up to the middle back ... like the ones here or here. Search Google or your favorite shopping site for "lumbar support" and you'll find lots. :~) Here are two examples of what I'm thinking of:

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that looks very happily comfortable...now to find one before friday! heh...probably not so much, but that's ok.

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If you find yourself in Berkeley, there's a store right at Ashby and San Pablo that has all manner of comfy ergonomic things - I bet they'd have some. I'm sure there are some in SF too. Look for "relax the back" stores, maybe - they're a big chain ... and I'm sure there are lots of such stores around SF, but I just don't know SF very well. :~P

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fireopal.livejournal.com

I can do a lot of the driving if you prefer. And stretch breaks are good! And hopefully the driving conditions will be much improved.

In other news I think I will stay on campus Thursday night so it probably makes sense for you to swing by Friday morning with your car if that works out. [Yay for LJ in place of what should have actually been an email to you...]

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i think i should be ok driving (well, not the entire time, but switching off) since my back is doing better today and i'm hoping that it just keeps improving. and yeah, if the weather isn't horrible, the driving isn't that bad...the downpour and being unable to see much out the windshield made our drive on sunday highly stressful.

i can definitely swing by stanford on friday. i'll find out tomorrow whether or not i need to come in at all on friday and i'll give you a call in the evening...but call me if you don't hear from me, just in case. oh, you know what? we should stop at casa de fruita on the way and get munchy snacks for the weekend! and yes, yay for LJ...making communication more convenient. heh.

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