Back Pain Cured
Tony Crisp
What I am about to explain may not be applicable to your own back problem. But I will describe the simple process that has transformed my back health in case you too can find the same relief.
For years I suffered paralysing back pain that re-occurred about every four to six weeks. At those times it was very difficult to move around, and getting in and out of a car took a very long time.
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Because I had worked for many years in the building industry I thought there was no possibility of cure because my back had been well worn and injured. Carrying heavy sacks of cement, sand and other building materials had, I thought, done permanent injury. This whole concept changed one day when a friend asked me to help her in her garden. At the time I was experiencing one of my frequent back pain attacks, so I was taking things very carefully and slowly. I thought that if I sat down and rested every few minutes it would be okay. We had trimmed some of my friend's hedges and she had to go off somewhere urgently. This left me with the problem of having to pick up the trimmings and put them sacks. There was quite a lot to pick up. However, as said, I thought I would do it slowly and rest often. This may sound strange that with back pain I would even consider doing work in a garden. I say this because I know some people suffering pain completely stop any activity and take painkillers. Fortunately this wasn't my attitude, and because of that I discovered what has now left me free of back pain for many years. |
So I started picking up the trimmings and putting them in plastic bags. This meant bending down to pick the stuff off the ground, then straightening up and putting the trimmings in the bag. I felt, at the time, because of the amount of trimmings, I would never be able to finish it. But, as I progressed into about the second bag I noticed my back pain was easier. So I gently carried on picking up the trimmings until I had in fact cleared the whole garden - and there were about sixty metres of hedge.
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If you want to beat back pain touch your toes says controversial health guru. By PETA BEE - Few of us have been spared the agony of back pain. In the past 12 months alone, over a third of the population has suffered back problems, says the charity BackCare. For some the agony is fleeting, but for many it can last for weeks, months, and even years. Why has back pain become so common? According to leading physiotherapist Sarah Key, our sedentary lifestyle, and the fact that we are taller and heavier than we used to be, are to blame. |
At the end of that work my back was completely healed. I was honestly amazed. I had always believed the body is a system designed to work, but the amount of pain I suffered gave me the sense that there was a real problem there that work would only further injure. How wrong I was. My body loved that movement of bending and straightening. What I gathered from the experience was that in my daily life - and I am quite an active person - I am not bending and straightening my spine often enough. So now, at least twice a week, I stand with my feet about a foot apart, and then touch the floor and straighten fifty times. That revolutionary change occurred four years ago. Since then I have not had a single return of the painful back problem. Also, a posture that helps is the yoga child posture. The reason it helps is because it gently lengthens the spine - something we seldom do in everyday life.  |
Another position that may be more helpful even than the child posture, but a bit more difficult to set up is what I call the cradle position. I intuitively found this position once when I had put a vertebrae out while lifting an oven down stairs. I was barely able to move and had been to see an osteopath. She told me that I was in so much pain and tension that she dare not work on me - I still had to pay her fee though!
In trying to find some relief from the pain, I set up large cushions on the floor to support my head and shoulders, and used a low settee to slightly lift my hips and support my legs. What is used isn't important, the thing aimed for is to use a setting that both enables you to relax, and also gently lengthens the spine in the sort of spinal bend shown in the child posture, but without the legs pulled to the chest.
The second day I used this setup I felt and heard a thump in my body. The vertebrae had gone back into position. The cure was instant. Immediately I was free of pain.
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I couldn't find a good picture to illustrate the position, but if you imagine the mother on the left supporting her baby with one big hand under it's head and shoulders, and another under its pelvis, and slightly stretching apart, that is what is aimed for. In some cases however it is the gentle backward stretch that will help the vertebrae to re-position. This can be done over a pile of pillows, or one of those big exercise balls. It is important to remember though that the spine cannot re-adjust itself if there is still pain or tension. There has to be enough relaxation of the muscles to enable the spine to lengthen. So it would be good to experiment with what is suggested until you find what works for you. |
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