Top 3

[BlackenedBiker]

Thank you. I like to think so.

Joking right.

You are like a mine.

You are Anti-Personable

[bogeyman]

Empire Builders

Know-it-Alls

Know Nothings

Not job types but irritating personality traits

Those are pretty much the labels I mentally assign to people when I first go into an new, strange organisation and finding out who's who (along with 'evil bastard' and 'poison bitch').

[PM-Junkie]

Yes. Thanks. I might well give that a go. Just a bit concerned that there may be a more serious underlying problem.

Been through it myself - seen it, done it, bought the tshirt and have the scaffolding.

Things that helped me...

TENS - absolutely, but see a physio or a doc about where to place the pads because if you're not careful you could make it worse.

Acupuncture - was as skeptical as hell, but the physio recommended it and at the time I would have tried anything. It works, or at least it did with me (for pain relief). Since found out that some women use acupuncture for pain relief when they are in labour, so there must be something to it!

Swimming - I think everyone knows this one.

Pilates - absolutely brilliant, and in my view a must if you have back problems. If you can find someone who can give you 1:1 pilates instruction it will definitely help. And if you keep it up, your back will be less of an issue as you get older...but the bottom line is that nearly all of us have degenerative disc disease (dessication of the discs in the spine) because of the way we walk and sit, so pretty much everyone will have back problems...more so as we get older. The fitter we are and the less weight we carry, the less it degenerates.

....and the other one is to get the hell out of Britain. Apparently if you have any rheumatic-type problems (which back injuries often develop into), this is one of the worst climates in the world.

Me no doctor though...this is just based on my (painful) experiences.

[bogeyman]

Sounds like either a slipped or herniated disc, in which case you'd have trouble standing up at all, or most likely a simple muscle strain.

Rest for a few of days, avoid any strenuous exertion, bending or lifting and try using a heat pad or hot water bottle on it to relieve the pain.

Thanks for advice. Sounds sensible. Wife is nagging me to mow lawn. We have a gardener, but he's even more incapacitated than I am, currently, having fallen through a garage roof and gashed his leg, poor bugger.

It's like a jungle out there. Several local children are missing and there are sightings of unusually large stripey cats.

[bogeyman]

Been through it myself - seen it, done it, bought the tshirt and have the scaffolding.

Things that helped me...

TENS - absolutely, but see a physio or a doc about where to place the pads because if you're not careful you could make it worse.

Acupuncture - was as skeptical as hell, but the physio recommended it and at the time I would have tried anything. It works, or at least it did with me (for pain relief). Since found out that some women use acupuncture for pain relief when they are in labour, so there must be something to it!

Swimming - I think everyone knows this one.

Pilates - absolutely brilliant, and in my view a must if you have back problems. If you can find someone who can give you 1:1 pilates instruction it will definitely help. And if you keep it up, your back will be less of an issue as you get older...but the bottom line is that nearly all of us have degenerative disc disease (dessication of the discs in the spine) because of the way we walk and sit, so pretty much everyone will have back problems...more so as we get older. The fitter we are and the less weight we carry, the less it degenerates.

....and the other one is to get the hell out of Britain. Apparently if you have any rheumatic-type problems (which back injuries often develop into), this is one of the worst climates in the world.

Me no doctor though...this is just based on my (painful) experiences.

Thanks PMJ. All sounds like good advice.

As for getting the hell out of Britain, I'm spending over half my time in Vancouver. It's a contract but I'm hoping it will eventually turn into a permanent role. I love the place. Always feel much better when I'm there.

[realityhack]

a variety of occult materials in your urine - e.g., protein, glucose, blood etc.

Wow - I didn't know protein & sugar were evil. Evil meat, evil peanut butter. We're all doomed!

[RichardCranium]

Wow - I didn't know protein & sugar were evil. Evil meat, evil peanut butter. We're all doomed!

'occult' <> 'evil'. 'Hidden' is nearer to its meaning which in this context, is pretty good.

[Mich the Tester]

Swimming - I think everyone knows this one.

Pilates - absolutely brilliant, and in my view a must if you have back problems. If you can find someone who can give you 1:1 pilates instruction it will definitely help. And if you keep it up, your back will be less of an issue as you get older...but the bottom line is that nearly all of us have degenerative disc disease (dessication of the discs in the spine) because of the way we walk and sit, so pretty much everyone will have back problems...more so as we get older. The fitter we are and the less weight we carry, the less it degenerates.

Good points. Many people with sedentary professions suffer from lower back pain. One common cause is that the iliopsoas become too short and tight. This explanation’s a bit technical, but bare with me; the iliopsoas are muscles which run from the lower spine to the femur, lifting the knee when you climb stairs or run. Sprinters and other sportspeople who lift their knees high during running have very well developed iliopsoas muscles as they have to pull the femur forward and upwards very quickly. However, running sportspeople also make a full stretch of the iliopsoas as the leg is extended behind the body; sedentary people and even fit people who don’t sprint or stretch don’t get this stretching movement and so the iliopsoas becomes short and tight, and pulls continually on the spine whenever they stand. That pulling compresses the lower vertebrae, thus causing pain, premature disc wear and severely aggravating pain from another possible nerve or skeletal condition.

Iliopsoas; http://www.exrx.net/Muscles/Iliopsoas.html

What can you do about it?

There are some exercises that have helped my father; an ex parachutist and top rugby player who had been told by doctors his back was knackered by the combination of impacts of landing after a jump and playing rugby. There´s me, fitness instructor, thinking hang on, he only developed this back pain AFTER he stopped playing rugby, and therefore after stopping with the kind of exercise that helps. It’s also helped Mrs Tester, seeing as she always thought her pain was caused by lifting people early in her nursing career; it was actually caused by her move to a more sedentary job in management.

Try these exercises;

http://muscul.az.free.fr/uk/stret/st10.htm

Better website, known as an authoritative source for fitness instructors;

http://www.exrx.net/Stretches/HipFle...HipFlexor.html

http://www.exrx.net/Lists/ExList/Hip...#anchor1938598

[bogeyman]

Great informative stuff Mich. Thanks.

[sunnysan]

Exercise

Great informative stuff Mich. Thanks.

I started developing back problems AFTER i stopped running, a point I picked up on as well.

In its acute form, accupuncture works well. I was skeptical, but it really did loosen things up, and speed the healing process.

Long term, exercise is the best, I started jogging again every day and initially my back was extremely stiff and sore, but as I got fitter it went away and I have had nary a hint of a problem since then, as well things that used to knacker my back dont bother it anymore.