Back Pain - Five Slightly Wacky Remedies

The suggestions listed below are simple and have worked for me in the course of a life time of lower back paincaused by slipped (herniated) discs, falls on ice-skates, and (yes it's true) just plain living in the world left-handed. (Left-handers tend to have more back pain than others merely because the world is right-handed. The torque is all wrong, for example, when opening a pickle jar, using a right-handed corkscrew, or even opening the front door!) In the "interest of full disclosure," the suggestions below are not endorsed by the AMA, FDA, or OSHA, or any other "a" type of organization I can think of. I have absolutely NO medical background and have no idea if any of these suggestions will ease your pain. At the very least, let's hope this article, in keeping with the physicians code of ethics, will cause no harm! All of my “findings” are based on the assumption that shifting weight from the source of the pain, helps alleviate it. Just last week, one of the recommendations I’ve listed below worked like a proverbial charm for me. I, therefore, offer the following remedies, however glaringly obvious or slightly wacky they may seem, with the hope that one or all of them just might work for you!

1. CHANGE YOUR MOUSE BUTTON

This is my favorite and easiest remedy to try. If you’re left-handed and are using your mouse right-handed, switch it right now. How? On a PC: Go to your desktop. Click in the middle of the screen and

a. Choose Properties or Personalize

b. Click on Mouse Pointers, click on Buttons, go down to sentence:

“Swap left and right button functions of USB mouse” and check this box. Click Apply (right-handed/right button) and then OK (left-handed/left button).

If your right-handed, you might want to try this anyway!

However, whether you’re right or left-handed, if you’ve never used your mouse with your left-hand, you may need a little time getting used to it. (Note: if you don’t want to drive your family to insanity if they use the same computer, be sure to change the mouse back to right-handed before you turn it over to an unsuspecting spouse or child.

(Did I mention I have absolutely NO medical background and this is not endorsed by the AMA,FDA,OSHA, or any other agencies I can think of ?)

2. CHANGE YOUR SHOES

Here’s my theory. If you change the way your feet are hitting the ground, there will be a shift of weight away from the source of the pain. If you were wearing tennis shoes when your back started aching, change to shoes with a heel and walk around a bit to see if that helps. If you were wearing shoes with a heel, try hitting the ground with more of a flat foot.

Special Warning Regarding "Rockered" Shoes: Although podiatrists have been suggesting rocker shoes to alleviate certain foot conditions, www.footsolutionsblog.com lists a consumer warning for certain individuals: "If your ankles and feet roll in a lot and you’re not wearing good orthotics you’re asking for BIG trouble. This will cause more stress on your feet, knees and hips and could complicate physiological issues." Several years ago I purchased expensive rockered tennis shoes that had a great arch support for my unusually high instep. After a few weeks wearing these shoes around the campus where I was working all day, I experienced severe pain similar to the kind described by those with plantar fasciitis. Fortunately, I happened to tune into a local news special one evening at the precise moment the consumer advocate spoke about testing your gym shoes to see if they could be the source of trouble. The commentator suggested putting the shoe on a table. If the tip of the toe and the back of the heel was raised above the sole, i.e. you could rock the shoe on the flat surface, could cause a problem for certain individuals. I immediately started wearing new shoes that didn't "rock" and the pain was gone in a day! That was enough to convince me that sometimes something as simple as changing shoes can fix a problem.

3. LOOSEN YOUR BELT OR OPEN YOUR PANTS BUTTON

This is an obvious, but often over-looked source of back pain. Sometimes we can be so busy at work, we don’t notice the constriction around the middle that occured when we had to slink into our size "too-small" skirt or pants that morning . (Don’t ask me how I know about this tip so well.)

4. CHANGE THE HEIGHT OF YOUR DESK CHAIR We often remember to adjust the back rest, but we forget the importance of the height of the seat. Just try swiveling your desk chair until the seat is higher or lower, whatever feels best. (I notice a positive difference when my feet are dangling a little bit.)

(Again, Did I mention I have absolutely NO medical background and the above suggestions are not endorsed by the AMA, FDA, OSHA or any other agency I've ever heard of?)

5. CHANGE THE WAY YOU’RE SLEEPING Several years ago when I had a herniated disc, a chiropractor told me to try this position for sleeping. Scoot half-way down the bed, turn on your stomach, and let your feet dangle off the bottom of the bed, pointing downward. It seems to me that gravity pulls down on your spine and opens it allowing a space for the fluid to return from its herniated position.

If, while reading this hub, you've tried any of the above methods and they worked, they might not be wacky at all. Of course there are numerous online sites that provide real medical advice and proven exercises for lower back pain that are extremely helpful. The popular technique of lying on the floor with your knees to your chest and rocking back and forth in this position as illustrated in the video to the right is my favorite, but there are a plethora of other exercises by reputable sites. Hopefully, the five suggestions above which I wasn’t able to find on the web are some simple harmless adjustments to try. They have all worked for me at one time or another, and I’d love to hear if they worked for you!