Oooooogggg.....

[dancinghorse]

Whimper.

I have had back spasms for two days. I have never had anything like them before. Occasional small aches, usually from the tireds or too much heavy lifting, but this is a new thing.

Major stress reaction, beats a heart attack or a stroke, and really I can soldier through pain, but I have horses to feed. And that involves a lot of walking and stretching and lifting and bending and pulling. And moving fairly fast sometimes, if one of them needs to be snagged and redirected, or corrected.

Forget Easter dinner. No way I was driving 40 minutes one-way. Parentals came here instead, bearing food, which I ate eventually, and Drooogs, which I leaped on immediately. Just advil. Works well for me.

Horse corrals were not cleaned today. (Bad me. I clean them daily.) Horses have been fed and watered. Was feeling enough better this noon that I was able to brush out a couple, not very well but it's the principle of the thing. I even made a necessary phone call and did a necessary e-mail. Aren't I virtuous. I still must Write Pages--good news there, mip came to the other night and is up and staggering again. And feed horses again. Also, dogs. Which involves hauling a 50lb sack of kibble in from the shed. I'm in denial over that, for the moment. Cats' sack is only 20lbs and I managed that earlier. It's not lifting that's getting me, it's standing up. And walking. Spasms keep knocking me off my stride though not yet, quite, off my feet.

Gee, you think I'm stressed? According to a certain person, I have no excuse. Tell that to my back muscles, please.

Comments

[maryosmanski.livejournal.com]

Yow! Is there someplace you can go and flake out in a jacuzzi or hot tub for a while? Do you know anybody who can give a good back massage and loosen up the spasmed muscles?

[rolanni.livejournal.com]

Yeah, yeah, you don't have an excuse. Me neither, since I'm pursuing the life I chose. Except somebody left out the Unalloyed Joy and Rich Beyond My Wildest Dreams sections. Damn' budget cuts.

I learned a Trick from the back guy last time in PT. Lay on your stomach on the floor -- or the bed, if you can't get to the floor -- put your hands flat on the mattress/floor right under your shoulders. Push up, keeping your hip bones on the floor/mattress. Hold for a count of four/five/six, lower yourself and do it again. Three times together. Four if you feel brave. A couple, three times a day, in between Being Sensible and not cleaning out stalls and schlepping grain sacks. I was *astonished* how well -- and how quickly -- this works.

Feel better....

[dancinghorse.livejournal.com]

Wow. That works. I thought I'd killed myself the first time, but then it felt gooooood.

Thank you.

Mary, no hot tub or masseuse, alack. But a heating pad I've got. Took hot shower but standing up that long was Not On. Maybe a hot bath later.

[kristine-smith.livejournal.com]

Ok, I have to keep this in mind. It sounds counterintuitive because that is one direction my back doesn't want to work when it goes out. But it's been acting up lately and I've gotten a tad desperate.

[windrose.livejournal.com]

Continued {{{hugs}}} and healing vibes your way.

I get back spasms with some regularity, thanks to that lovely sprained lumbar I had a few years ago. Heat tends to work well for me, whether hot bath, shower or heating pad. And Advil. LOTS of Advil.

Gentle stretching is good if you feel up to it. One I did a lot in physical therapy was to simply lie on my back and very gently pull one knee up to my chest. Hold for a second or two, then stretch the leg back out. Repeat with other knee. I do that whenever my back acts up and it seems to help.

[kristine-smith.livejournal.com]

My back is aching in sympathy. They do pick the jim-dandiest times to go out, don't they?

I've found that the occasional icepack helps. The cold slows down the wonky muscle/nerve signalling, I guess. Warmth feels better, imho, but cold packs work better.

[badgermirlacca.livejournal.com]

Oh, bull pucky.

If you get up here in July, it would be a Good Thing if you made an appointment with St. Bobbi the Sadist for a massage. She'd be happy to do it in Santa Fe... and believe me it would help.

That doesn't do you a damn bit of good right now, though. I'm sorry!

[dancinghorse.livejournal.com]

Good advice from all, and thanks.

Ashley, what does she charge? Because there will be a bunch of us, and we'll have been sitting in hard chairs all day, and several people might want to play.

[badgermirlacca.livejournal.com]

$50/hr. My one shameless indulgence is a two-hour massage once a month. Normally we run over, but she doesn't charge me when it does.

I have very loose ligaments, and my shoulder tendons slide out of place. Bobbi puts them back in, shifts ribs back where they're supposed to be--all kinds of stuff. It can hurt like hell when she's doing it, but the relief is exquisite.

And I usually end up a complete puddle at the end!

[dancinghorse.livejournal.com]

OH yeah.....

[badgermirlacca.livejournal.com]

Let me know if y'all decide you want to do this, so I can alert Bobbi to have room on her schedule for you.

[dancinghorse.livejournal.com]

Thanks! I'll see what I can do.

[djonn]

Owwwww. Sympathies; I've reached the age where the muscles occasionally go twinnge!!.

Two Hersheys kisses have been consumed in your name.

[dancinghorse.livejournal.com]

Awww. I'm touched. Thank you.

[dancinghorse.livejournal.com]

Thanks for all the good advice. I'm paying attention. And appreciating, too. 8)

[sfmarty.livejournal.com]

Huh. Last Tues, the 7th, the test for one test, and the non secure stuff for another test arrived. 13 boxes weighing 35-40 pounds each. I had to lift, empty and repack them all. My lower back went sprong, and I tried the lay on the back thingie.

I have lung problems and all that did was start me coughing. I couldn't sit at the computer, couldn't walk straight, had trouble breathing. All seems to be almost better now.

Of course 7 more boxes are due today.

sigh.

[dancinghorse.livejournal.com]

Ouch. You need Sven and Olaf, the Nubile Swedish Stableboys. They do heavy lifting.

I'm wonky this morning. Could be the 50lb bag of dogfood I womanhandled yesterday evening.

[sfmarty.livejournal.com]

Fortunately I have a volunteer to help me down the stairs with all of the boxes. Nic!

Speaking of dog food, what is your dog and cat population now? (names please)

[dancinghorse.livejournal.com]

Speaking of dog food, what is your dog and cat population now? (names please)

Dogs: Shadow (Dobie, getting on in years), Kaz (Kismet Kamikaze, Cardigan Welsh Corgi)

Cats: Taminy (big orange three-leggedy guy), Trouble (little tortie polydactyl kitty), Hillary The World's Most Perfect Cat (white with orange spots--in horse neep, a sorrel tobiano), and the Maine Coon Brothers, Tenshi (grey tabby and white) and BT (classic brown tabby--looks like a lynx with a big plumy tail). There are dissertations written on "BT: Myth or Legend?" He's shy. Sightings by visitors are rare. Tenshi is a Samurai Cat. He's one tough customer. BEEEEG, too, though average for a Coon Cat.

[sfmarty.livejournal.com]

Ah, no new ones. I seem to have photos of all of your cats, but not one of the dogs. Must rectify that next time.

(I think I even have a shot of BT)

Thank you.

[dancinghorse.livejournal.com]

The Mythical BT. Yes, I think you do.

You're welcome.

[house-draven.livejournal.com]

I'm glad you were able to get so much done, despite the pain, and VERY glad the mip has come back home, but it does sound as if you could use a major therapeutic stretching regimen.

There's a fabulous book called Stretching by Bob Anderson, well-illustrated, easy to follow. It's been around forever -- this is the 20th anniversary. You can find it here. As I recall, there's also advice on how to put together a stretching routine that's right for what *you* need. Mike Gray, my fibro doctor, highly recommends it, and he's right -- when I do it, it makes all the difference in the world -- I'm not doing it now because I don't have the book here with me and I'm too fibro-brained to remember the full routine.

[dancinghorse.livejournal.com]

Flexibility is not usually a problem--I have a really good daily regimen for staying limber and in shape--but when tension decides to localize in a particular muscle group, it sounds like just the thing.

Thank you.

One thing that is helping is riding-type tension release. It really helps when I'm in motion. Kind of like martial-arts centering, then draining the knots away.

[house-draven.livejournal.com]

Yeah, I wasn't clear because of fibro-brain -- I was talking about having the exercises to work on the particular knotted groups as they grabbed you.

Hope it may be of use to you.

I'd think those riding-type tension release exercises *would* be of great use, yes, indeed. Maybe a combination of everything will be just the ticket. Do you have a garden tub in your bathroom? Maybe using those little hand roller-ball massagers in the tub on the shoulders or other area that was knotted might be of use when you were soaking, too. I do a lot of self-massage, but of course, can't reach much of my back.

Oddly enough, I, too, am getting back to writing. There must indeed be something in the air.

[maytree.livejournal.com]

[[[[[]]]]] Hugs, and I am glad you're feeling better.

[dancinghorse.livejournal.com]

Thank you.