Thursday, October 05, 2006

Being healthy and a sore back

Keeping healthy and a sore back
From Peceli

For five days I have had a sore back, right in the middle. When I stand up I have to get up slowly because of the pain. When I bend down I have to do it carefully. I haven’t played golf since last Friday so that means something! Usually I play in golf competitions on Saturday, Tuesday, and play a social match on Thursday. I think I probably twisted it playing golf.

It is not serious enough though to go to a doctor and it is getting better slowly. I do gentle stretching exercises on the advise of my youngest son but I don’t use his gym equipment. Also I went swimming twice in a heated pool this week and had a sauna and spa. The physio here is expensive. In Fiji relatives often do massage with coconut oil to help with a sore back.



Any suggestions how to relieve the problem?

Fiji Day is coming and I want to be fit to go up to Melbourne for the celebration. Last year we had a good time at Sir Doug Nicolls Park in Melbourne and had many visitors from Fiji from the Police Wives. This year the venue is the Harlequin’s Rugby Ground.

3 comments:

Pandabonium said...

I'm not a doctor - I don't even play one on TV. But from what I've read and experienced, here are a couple of suggestions. First, bed rest is not recommended, you need some movement. Your son's stretching exercises sound like good advice to me.

Cold or heat can help. If it is tense, heat might help. If it is inflamed try cold. I get relief from various products - the ones I favor are jells which have a warm/cold feeling to them, usually marketed with names like "Icy Hot" or "Mineral Ice". They aren't greasy.

On occassion I've used medicated patches, but those can feel uncomforatble to me. They do have the advantage of not having a strong smell. Tiger Balm makes one.

I don't take any oral medications myself, but some people take pain relievers to relax the muscles.

Hope you feel better and have a good time. Take it easy.

Um Naief said...

oral meds tend to mask the prob by making it feel better when it actually isn't better. i agree w/ pandabonium, i'd try alternating cold/hot packs on your back. if it's inflammed, go w/ cold. 15 mins on, 15 mins off. sore muscles can benefit from moist heat.. not heating pads but towels soaked in hot water and then placed on your back, or moist heat paks from the pharmacy. creams are good as well and can help to penetrate into the muscle.

hope you get better soon.

Peceli and Wendy's Blog said...

Thank you for the comments.
Peceli's up in Melbourne today. When he returns I'll tell him to read your comments. I don't know about golf this coming week because that mightn't be good for the back as it slowly improves.
W.