Worked for me, backpain relief

Posted , 6 users are following.

I have suffered from awful low back pain for over 6 years, X ray said there was some arthritis. Have tried everything, mattresses, excercises, Naproxen daily which makes me feel sick. Well, I recently went to stay with my son and had to sleep on their knackered leather couch, best nights sleep for years. On getting up I found I could almost touch my toes, usually I can only move about half an inch forward from the waist at that time in the morning, it usually improves a bit through the day but bending, sitting and standing was always so painful. So, about this couch? Its one of those 2 seater ones with the big deep squidgy type cushions that sags down in the middle. When I got home I tried to replicate this on my bed. I took 2 similar sized cushions off our sofa and butted one up against the headboard under the bottom sheet, left a gap of about 8 inches for my bottom to sink in and placed the second cushion further down with the sheet draping into the hollow between, a couple of usual pillows for the head gives a nice gentle slope and this means you are sort of sitting bottom down in the dip with shoulders, head and legs raised and it works the same as the old sofa. Sooo comfy and am now able to get a good nights sleep without having to try find a pain free position all the time. I was so surprised and relieved by this I thought I would post it on here with the hope that it may help some of you out there who have the same back problems. I am 63 and got my bike out today for the first time in about 5 years that had been languishing in the garage and cycled a few miles, no problems and I have managed to plant a few potatos in the garden. Just need to find 2 new cushions for the sofa. I can lie flat or on my side like this. So, why not give it a go, hope it works for you like it has me. So wish I had discovered this years ago.

3 likes, 8 replies

8 Replies

  • Posted

    Hi Liz!  Glad you found some relief!  It's always good to be reminded that back pain is different for all of us.  What works for some doesn't on others.  Clinical trieals are fraught with problems in biases and statistics and seldom shows each individual result before and after treatment.  Clinical management tends to go on 'averages' and as you clearly identify, you are an individual with your own pain characteristics.  It is a good reminder to all who read this that trying different pain relief strategies is well worth it.  Hope the potatos taste good!
  • Posted

    Hi liz

    yes it is necessary to sleep very deiiferently when u r in so much pain and I tooo have many cushions pillows etc and it really helps. I'm having my oP soon and I'm sure I will be surrounded by cushions n pillows afterwards as usual to help get comfy.

    Surely they can do something for you? I can see how you are meant to try n life like that .

  • Posted

    Hi Liz.

    When I first hurt my back I literally lived in a recliner chair for nine months as lying in bed was agony.

    after my op I still have trouble lying in bed so find my sofa a much painless option.

    I have tried a lot of things over the 7yrs but now even the sofa isn't that comfortable.

    Just wanted to add my support

    • Posted

      Hi Sherry, since my post above I have managed to buy an ex nursing home adjustable bed, its superb, you can use the remote control to adjust the position even while you are lying on it, I have it so that my head is raised and my legs too. I have put a spring interior matress on it, so much better and I can get a whole nights sleep now and am able to get out of it in the morning without too much pain. Can even get my socks on!

      I really cant lie on a flat bed anymore. I think any adjustable bed would be better than the traditional flat one, do try one if possible, you can try them out in bed shops sometimes. As we spend a third of our lives in it, it pays to be as comfy as possible.

  • Posted

    Hi. I'm not sure if its relative to you, but I posted a discussion recently about my back pain and have been looking through other postings. `What's really interesting is that their seem to be quite a few postings that say, as you have, that the pain has been going on for six or seven years. In my case I diagnosed Mycotic (fungal) arthiritis which is caused by a fungal infection in the joints and bones.  I have wandered how I got the infection in the first place and with the prevalance of cases with a similar time line, then maybe the infection was originally caused by something like a batch of infected holiday vaccination serum or tetnus or similar.  I'm very curious about the hows and whys. maybe you could help.
  • Posted

    I havnt really looked into this, but it must be a possibility. I have heard it could be triggered by an infection of some sort. mine did first start after a very horrible bout of flu one winter, which made me think.
  • Posted

    Hi Liz 

    Thanks for responding, with the time scale of a mycotic infection (very slow) the infection could (i guess) happen many months before any problems arise. 

    Also, as a thought, the use of antibiotics could allow the condition to take hold. 

    The antibiotics kill everything, bad and good and leave the body open to other infections. Roughly speaking.

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