Back Pain (Score 1)

In 1987 I was 25 and I had such terrible back pain I thought I'd land in a wheelchair or worse by the time I was 50. I made frequent late-night visits in agony to emergency rooms only to have the doctor on duty look at my X-rays, say something vague about pulled muscles, then dispatch me with lots of pain killers or muscle relaxers (or both!) and follow-up instructions. I saw a chiropractor for 8 years, from '88 to '96, and now I don't need him anymore. He was a great one, the kind of doctor who teaches you how to heal yourself. Here's what I know: Posture is everything. If you haven't made any discoveries along these lines, you have a very long way to go. There is a complex and delicate lattice of muscles around the spine, and they are in a constant state of flux. You need to explore their state from moment to moment, and stay tuned in. I've never studied yoga, but I've read enough to employ a few of its concepts, and I've also integrated some reading about zen meditation into my discipline. It's pretty easy: Breathe-stretch vertically-repeat. The zen book stressed how it was always important to sit (or stand, or lie) so that you were trying to always be an inch taller than you are. I've been working on this for 11 years now, and my lower back pain is a thing of the past (gone for more than 9 years) , although it can flare up slightly from time to time. When I see it coming, I stretch and, usually after a slight clicking noise I'm well again. The catch: This takes time, and discipline. Mental discipline. Enter the word "meditation". You can control the whole show, putting vertebrae back into place, loosening knotted muscles, and calming your mind and body to a state you've never experienced in your entire life. It feels like you'd been plugged into an electrical socket and someone finally turned off the power. Words cannot describe the feeling of relief. "Bliss" might come close. You need quiet time to do this. Turn off the TV and sit quietly on the floor, Indian-style. I don't tuck my feet the way the yoga people do, but go with whatever works. The key point is that you need time to discover your insides, and how your spine is balanced and how the muscles are pulling. To do this you'll have to quiet your mind and turn off any extraneous programs that are looping endlessly: song fragments, fears about work/home, conversations, etc. The goal is simply (sounds easier than it is) to empty your mind and stretch. Breath from the diaphragm, so that your lower abdomen "inflates" (stomach sticks out) when you breath in, and deflates when you breath out. Many people believe that all of the above can be practiced throughout the day, always having an inner retreat of solace with you even though you may be on a crowded trading floor full of screaming people. Indeed, we all know of "zen masters" in different disciplines who seem unruffled by their surroundings, no matter how they heat up. Anyhow, to review: sit bolt upright (don't use chair backs - "work out" every waking moment by stretching your frame up straight and strong against gravity), breath deeply and rhythmically from the diaphragm, and empty your mind of unnecessary, stress-inducing subprograms. In fact, try to empty it altogether. Leave cron running. Aim for the bliss. Also, check out the lumbar curves (lower back) on your favorite supermodel or bodybuilder. If you're like many adults your lower back and chest muscles are too tight, and your stomach and shoulder muscles are too loose. You don't have asthma as well, do you? A good targeted excercise program isn't a bad idea. Well, that's my rant. I have to stay on top of this constantly, or something tightens up, and I start having problems again. As I said, it's a discipline. In the end, it goes well beyond relieving back pain though. Or talk to your MD, as there's always the knife ... -mz A hodge-podge of random references: - Chicago Tribune: sometime in 1987 featured in a Sunday section 100 or 200 top suggestions from readers on how they cope with back pain. - North Dallas Forty: I haven't seen this in 15-20 years, but note how Nick Nolte's character pops his spine back into place following a football game. Lotsa crunching sound effects, but a good example of how we can be responsible for/manipulate our entire system. Somehow it stayed with me - Any good yoga instructor will know everything listed above. Or find someone who teaches zen meditation - Star Wars Phantom Menace: Obi-Wan to young Aniken near the end, about learning to quiet his mind