Has anyone else here experienced more back aches from all the crap going on in the US last few years

[triron]

?

[XanaDUer2]

1. My back is killing me right now

Took alive and muscle relaxant

[triron]

2. What alive supplement?

[XanaDUer2]

3. Whoops Aleve

Damn auto-correct

[Skittles]

8. same

but I think it's because I was stuck on a conference call for eight hours

[Frasier Balzov]

4. Is this a euphemism for pain in the ass?

[applegrove]

5. I had back pain when I worked in admin for a human rights group.

I had a conflict with a colleague who did not like me. Her view was not that everyone has some value. I think she's revised that by now. I was being targeted at the time in and out of my work and private life. I had no clue about that. My back was terrible and I had insomnia. I completely lost my working memory (my sequential memory was never good but I went caput as my hippocampus shrank). I made an ass of myself at some point. My colleague and I found some sort of connection and I even spent time with her outside of work. But I never forgot those first few months. That is one thing that stuck with me. I left and went on anti-depressants... a few months later.....a selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor. My back pain immediately went away. So did my insomnia. A decade later I changed to another kind of antidepressant and my back pain came back. When I went back on the SSRI again my back pain was gone. There definitely is a connection between dangerous times and some kinds of back pain. I know that for sure. I've since met people many times more dangerous than her but thankfully have been on an ssri the whole time. Maybe back pain of that type is related to social danger and you hit the decks and would literally lie low in old time villages we lived in back when we were evolving.

[triron]

7. I sleep well and exercise daily for at least 30 minutes.

But I recently had a bout with a cold (not covid) with a nagging cough. Maybe that also exasperated my back aches.

[femmedem]

6. Not me, but I've been getting debilitating headaches.

At least a couple a month, this week two.
Bad insomnia, too.

[2naSalit]

9. Yes...

And bouts of other symptoms too.

[Frustratedlady]

10. I am in physical therapy at present and the therapist can't believe how tense

my back muscles are. Once they get "unwound" my back no longer aches, but a day or two later, I'm right back to having a hard time walking because of it.

I don't think we realize how tight we can wind up our muscles through mental concerns. Now, when it hits me, I "tell myself" to relax and let the muscles more or less ease up. Try it, you'll be surprised how tense they are without you even knowing it. I swear the events in the country at this time is the cause, as my life is pretty carefree and easy to maneuver.

[triron]

11. I feel likewise. My doctor called my attention to the tightness back in the summer. He said I 'was

tight as a board'. Suggested chiropractic which of course didn't work this time.
I'm using heating pads and massage to help it. I take herbal supplements for relaxation.
Helps some but tightness keeps coming back. I think this all started when Trump was in office.
God help us if he or a supporter gets back into the presidency. My psychologist tries to tell me not to
get to tied up with something I have no control over which may help eventually.

[Frustratedlady]

12. I agree. However, it's like a car wreck...you can't turn away from watching it.

I watch too much news, but I feel we need to keep a close eye on what's happening. It is looking worse by the day, particularly with so many congresscritters retiring. If the committee can get the evidence lined up soon, some of them "retiring" could be Repukes.

My therapist does a great job of massaging those muscles and it lasts for a few days. I just got the bill today and it is $260/massage. Medicare is still covering it. Phew!

[triron]

13. what do the PTs do? Just message therapy? Does that help quite a bit.

Maybe I should look into it. Hesitant due to pandemic.

[Frustratedlady]

14. The PT I have mostly massages that muscle deeply. It hurts when he hits a sore spot, but

once he has massaged that muscle a few times, it feels great.

There is a young girl who fills in for him, but she isn't very good. She tries, but you need someone who has strong hands and knows where the affected muscles are to make the biggest difference. This guy has been PT for quite a few years and once you explain the pain, he goes right to the spot and corrects the problem. On my back, he has probably given me 4 treatments.

I also stretched a bicep too far when reaching to put a heavy box on an upper shelf in the closet. It hurt like the devil, but he pretty much relieved the pain in the bicep with just a couple sessions. They also have a gadget they strap on the muscle that has an electrical current that runs over the spot. It helps some, but not like the massage.

As for the pandemic, our therapists (all employees, actually) at the hospital wear masks, as do the patients. No exceptions, so I don't worry about catching it out there.