Help for a sore back.... Ouch!!

“Need some advice here.For the past five years,I`ve woken up with a very stiff sore back,after spending the night on my Therma -rest.It has been taking me two to three hours once, I wake up to get limber enough to do anything.Sometimes My wife has to help me get up,due to the stiffness.I`m not willing to give up but I would appreciate some suggestions. Kodos Paddles”

“I have trouble too....I am getting old I guess.....try stretching...Yoga is great....start with some neck stretching...look down.....hold & stretch..and then look up & hold & stretch.....turn head to side..hold & stretch then other way.....do some head rolls.....now some shoulder shrugs....& roll your shoulders....put hand over head.....slowly stretch and hold.....now other hand.......now slowly do some spinal twists......now lean over forward as far as you can.......and hold......and then I like to get up on knees and put arms over head and face on the floor.......just relax and stretch.......that is what helps me.......seriously ...look into yoga........”

“Get rid of the thermarest and get a big agnes inflatable pad. It's a lot thicker and much more comfortable. Of course it does feel like you're sleeping on a raft, but the soreness factor really goes down.”

“Divinity thanks for your info... But it`s not for me,to much like Eastern Religions.. each stretch represents some form of worship to a god.Treebait thanks also for your advice.Does Agnes have a web site,we only have one outfitter up here and they don`t carry it.thanks again Paddles”

“Yoga?”

“Yoga does not necessarily have to do with religion. It can be approached in a non religious and non spiritual way. It's a series of exercises.”

“Treebait's right. Yoga is simply exercise and stretching. There is no divinity worship associated with it whatsoever.”

“I suspose if you're old enough, yoga movements are not all the different from the Romper Room "Bend and Stretch" routine!








lol”

“have you tried sleeping in a hammock? - some people with bad backs love them for the comfort - my back is OK but I still love a hammock for comfortable sleeping in the backcountry”

“I agree, try the yoga! Do it everyday at night at home before while you are warmed up from walking or cleaning up. It will make a big difference on the trail, you won't stiffen up so much.”

“Do you only get this pain after you spend the night on the Therma rest or is this occuring also at home?

Something is causing the problem, have you flip or rotated the house bed? Beds don't last forever, so how is its quality, and age? Is it replacement time?

Another thing to think about is footwear either on or off the trail. You would be amazied at the amount of back pain cause by crappy ill fitting footwear. A simple pair of inserts in your work/dress shoes can make a world of difference especially if you're on your feet all day.

Skeletal alignment of ankles and knees, like possible excessive ankle rollage. Do your shoes show funny wear? Also muscle tone around the mid section or lack there of. Can you recall from the past any time you might have strained or damaged your back, due to improper lifting or sexual position.

Are you flat footed? How is the waist band?

have you thought about a 'Chiro' or Thai massage? Both are good at working out the kinks.

Have you thought about trying Glucosamine/Chondroitin or other herbals and pain meds?”

“Yoga does not have to be a religion...my Yoga instructor is a Christian...and takes her Yoga classes with the Nuns in Cullman Alabama......it is for stretching,toning, breathing and relaxing.....My instructor is 87 yrs old,...she looks 60!!!and does everything except the shoulder and head stand....”

“Flexorill!”

“Hey,Divinity....Unfortunately you can not take religion out of yoga..Yoga is religion period.Every movement,stretch,chant or mantrea is meant as a form of worship to a eastern god.You can modernize,westernize it even give it a new name and it still comes out as religion.People in India ,Bangladesh,Vietnamn know what it really is.You can`t change it and say no it`s not because every thing in yoga is worship.Have you ever heard of the Kundalini spirit?Some forms of yoga worship are meant to release this spirit allowing it to wrap its self around your spine.Look this spirit up it doesnot have a nice reputation.Many Gurus from the east will admit that yoga is a religion.It is centuries old...just because it has become westernized doesn`t change its true nature.Ther is only one true God and that`s the God of Exodus 3:14 and John 8:58 (I AM). thats the God I choose to worship!! Divinity I also come from a long family line of witches ,gypsies and devil worshippers...I know a little about the occult and other gods and when you practice yoga your willing or unwilling worshipping them!!My answer is no thanks!!! Sincerely Paddles”

“Sorry for you then.”

“sheesh......then just do some stretching......”

“Paddles

You are completely insane if you think that performing the basic yoga form stretches means that you are worshipping some other god than the christian espoused god.


Completely cuckoo. Nuts. Wacko.


For the stretches and yoga forms to have a "religious" content (and I agree with you there . . yoga does have an eastern religion MINDSET) . . .you have to adopt the spirtual mindset. embrace the breathing, dietary and meditative qualities of yoga.


TO perform the mere mechanical stretches means nothing.





Let's put it another way. There is a well known stetching author. . .Anderson I think???? His stretching charts are often on the walls of gyms. SOME, I repeat, SOME of the stretches use the same form or postures as yoga stretches.

You don' really believe that merely performing these stretches that coincidently are the same as yoga postures means that you are worshipping other gods?? Do you??



let's flip it around. I have read the bible (old and new testaments). . .2+ times. Does that make me a christian? I have been in churches too many times to count in my life, does this make me a christian???

Wouldn't you agree that being a christian means consciously accepting christ into your life and accepting him as your saviour???

It is not the physical act of going to church, or reading the bible . . .it is the mental act of acceptance that is the distinction.

Would you agree that there are folks who go to church faithfully, read the gospel and espouse christianity who you think are the worst possible examples of what a good christian is (Jerry Fawell, Jim Bakker, Pat Robertson and their ilk).

If it is so hard to be a real or good christian, even when pretending to be . . .

How could you possibly become a practioner of eastern religion merely by using yoga as a stretching mechanism??

Maybe your muscle spasm is god's way of telling you to take up yoga??? Maybe you are missing the most important message god has ever personally delivered to you because of your narrow perspective??

Food for thought.

Good luck with the spasm . . .maybe it needs to be exorcised??”

“Paddles,
Do you have any pain radiating down any of your limbs?

I do. I'm getting a microdiskectomy next month. Woohoo. Supposed to aleviate the radial pain. Not 100% on back pain.
Walking is good for your back.
Stretching is good. Get one of those big balls (about 22-24" in dia. and use it to stretch on. It works good and you don't have to chant at the ball or anything like that to make it work. The main chant I use is when exercising doing repetitions and it goes: "onetubytubytwotubytubythreetubytuby....

Divine intervention with your back there brother.”

“I think chanting and doing things like that is fun

When I took world drumming in collage I learned so many diffrent ways to use chant while drumming.

I beleve that God understands that it is a stress relever or a way to exspress ones inner feeling.

When I play some of my more strange drums like the tabula or talking drum I use chanting and body moves as part of playing.


Its freedom people.”

“.......Oh and it makes you feel good.


8)”

“You ok Mike?”

“Very good, Lee! I have to admit I am a little surprised, because often you are more sarcastic than that. Very well thought out and logically put forth.”

“I feel great!


8)”

“paddles makes about as much sense as a three-armed monkey flying a jetliner.”

“NO, NO, NO, Artex you got it wrong,I`m a four armed monkey and I drive a taxi. I gave flying jet liners years ago......sheesh get it right ....the three armed monkey is my cousin Waldo.”