Winter back pain

[puglogic]

It seems that every January I suffer some sort of back ailment. It's not a sudden thing (from shoveling snow, etc.) but a chronic, painful something-or-other that feels like a pinched nerve; the pain is very specific and very intense. It has something to do with the cold, and how the muscles up and down my whole spine ratchet down in reaction to it, like one of those come-along straps you use to tighten luggage or gear on top of a car or truck. It generally sucks, but oh well.

In the past, I've gotten to the point where I buckle and go to the MD for muscle relaxants and anti-inflammatory drugs, and just plan on being out of it for three or four days to get rid of it. Is anyone aware of a natural or home remedy I might try to relax those muscles and reduce in the inflammation? Do you think massage would hurt or harm it? (I'm sorely tempted to get a massage) Ice? Herbs? Anyone else ever have this happen, or am I (as usual) a freak of nature? :D

[Rosemary]

I tense up in reaction to cold, and this makes all my muscles tense. In the past few years I've been working on saying to myself, "It's just cold. Relax." and consciously relaxing my shoulders, back, legs. I also wear longjohns when the temp is below freezing (silk when it's not very cold, and then heavier ones), and I keep a fleece throw in the car to put on my lap on frigid mornings - trapping the heat of my legs rather than losing it to the chilly car, which takes at least 15 minutes to warm up when the temp is around zero F.

All that aside - the best thing I've ever done for my back is Zumba. All that moving really loosens things up. I used to end up in physical therapy every year or two for serious back pain, and what I've learned is that for me, it's all tight muscles pulling here and there and getting so tense that I can't release them. So now I avoid that.

I have never gone the muscle relaxant/pain reliever route with my back pain. I have some stretches that I do when things get too tight, such as:
extended child's pose
yoga cat/cow stretches
stretches for the piriformis muscle in the hip

When my back is painful I will make an effort to walk as much as possible, trying to loosen my body up by swinging my arms and rotating around my waist/hips.

I also occasionally get the symptom of a pinched nerve in my upper back/neck/shoulders, and I treat this with the same method. In my experience massage does not make things worse - but it really depends on the therapist whether it will bring relief. Sometimes parts of my body are tighter for a couple of days after a massage than before.

[CathyA]

Fortunately, there's lots of good info online about various exercises for various parts of the body. I'm finding that stretching is very under-rated. And the thing about stretching is that you have to hold positions firmly for at least 20-30 seconds. Bopping/pulsing doesn't accomplish anything.

Also, how about a warm bath with epsom salts?
I use a heating pad alot too.
You might try massage.......but find a really good physical therapy person.

After I had my first child, I had this huge lump in my upper front leg. I thought it was a tumor. I went to a physical therapist, and she massaged it away the first time!
The thing about massage is sometimes it really hurts after the first few times, but gets better as you go.
Water physical therapy is good too (although it didn't seem to help with my fibromyalgia).
Be sure to take calcium and magnesium together, which help muscles/tendons alot. I get muscles spasms if I let up on my dose.
I've also noticed that sugar and carbs make things worse for me.

Good luck Pug.
And you're not the only "freak of nature". Let's start a club, okay? :)

[awakenedsoul]

There's a great book called Mind Over Back Pain that really helped me. Sorry, I forget the name of the author, but if you google it you can find it. I ordered my copy from the library. He also says that it's tension. I have to remind myself all the time to relax my hips and legs. I grip them without realizing it. Same with my hands...sometimes I clench my fists. Shaking the muscles really helps me. I just stand there and shimmy like a Polynesian dancer. I find walking and exercise really helps to discharge negative energy, too. I also do yoga almost every night before bed.

[Mrs. Hermit]

I have a shoulder that spasms when I get cold (read every winter). Once it is tight, it stays that way for a LONG time, and causes all the muscles in my neck/back/shoulder/arm to tighten too. I have to keep that shoulder warm, and once it is tight, I have to be very aggressive about loosening it up. Ice doesn't help because it makes me tense, but heat doesn't always help either. Massage often helps. Exercise, stretching, etc can sometimes help. If nothing does the trick, and it happens sometimes, I use meds to knock it down. Usually NSAIDs work for me. My Doc gave me a script for topical VOLTAREN, a NSAID. It works wonders.

[HappyHiker]

My husband does these exercises every night before bed (takes five minutes). His bad back pain--herniated disk? Sciatica? Muscle strain? don't know what was causing it, but very painful. The pain has gone away since he started.

You can Google "McKenzie Exercises" for more info, but here's a video demo...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=trWBj8pJXV8

I know they sound too simple to work, but they do work...