Okay-so this is now the 2nd time my back has gone out-I am laid up in bed, on meds and cringing every time I take a deep breath due to the muscle spasms in my back. I have been to my doctor, a chiropractor and a massage therapist, and although it slowly feels better, it still hurts and keeps happening again.
I think it is from sitting at a computer all day every day...but it doesn't seem to be happening to anyone else...so am I the only one with this problem?
Does anyone have advice on sitting at a computer all day long and how not to have your back ache and spasm on you?
Please stop the pain!!!!
Once you're all healed up (relatively speaking, of course) you need to start doing exercises for your back and abdominal muscles. Sitting on a chair is an unnatural posture/position that can be made worse by bad habits, posture, etc. And contrary to popular belief, sitting up straight is NOT necessarily good for your back.
In the meantime, when you get back to work, do all the things you've been told to do - on your coffee and lunch breaks make sure to stand up and walk around. Change your posture throughout the day. Make sure that the top of your monitor is lined up with your eyes, etc. And you may want to look into a different chair.
Oh, and STRETCH whenever you get the chance. Although I don't do yoga or pilates, those activities are great for stretching and strengthening core muscles (meaning back, sides and stomach).
i tend to sit differently about every 30 minutes when i'm in a chair......gotta keep the spine from lockin up on you......also stretch and walk for a quick minute........
drink alot of water too......
keep going to the massage person and the chiro........ the doctor will just give you drugs to cover the real issue........
tinydancer - I used to suffer from similar ailments when in arch school. I had done the usual trips to chiropractor and physio but they did work. The best advise I got was from the gym instructor who told that most back pains unless skeletol are usually because due to weak muscles. He encouraged me to strengthen my core...particularly my abdominals.
Along with the advise about changing positions during the day and stretching, strengthening your core is the way to go. Also change your chair
yeah thats the catch 22 when you are havin back trouble. you want to do things to help it, but you are in pain etc and need to let that heal before ya can do anything. and by then you forget about it and have alcohol.
8 yrs ago i was making coffee in the morning, stretched up to reach something in an upper cabinet, and sneezed.
spent the next week flat on my back.
dr said that basically i had yanked something with that sneeze that was on its way to being a problem eventually anyway, that i needed to change my sitting, walking, lifting, exercising, blah blah habits. gave me drugs for a week or so and sent me to a physical therapist.
these days my back still hurts but i have a much better office chair and i walk regularly. i learned some pretty good stretches from the physical therapist after i got vertical again. no yoga/pilates or any of that, though i'm sure they'd help. never been an exerciser; seems like such a waste of valuable time.
as an aside: physical therapy was a wonderful experience. such a luxury to have to set aside time on a regular basis to go have someone take care of you. i dug it. wish health insurance would continue to pay for a weekly visit, but it ended after 2 mos.
**
back trouble at right around 30yo (+ or - a couple) may just be an architect's rite of passage.
stress is the real killer here. I've pulled my back out by stretching (just arms above head), mtn biking, snowboarding and running. It has taken anywhere from 1 week to 6 months to heal.
I have never taken pain pills (for my back) and will never do the chiro. I go with acupuncture (just wonderful) and massage (many chiros to massage, so you can 'fool' your insurance - I made sure mine covers acupuncture).
Preventative therapy is the best. I stretch and work out daily, and now that stress has been reduced, I haven't pulled it in a while.
massage. massage. massage. i used to think this was something unnecessary that was only for people who had extra money to waste at spas. One of my friends convinced me to get one with her last semester for relatively cheap so i went. They got kinks out of my neck & back that i didn't know existed and going back to my drawings/studio work was so much more comfortable after that
still in pain and going back to the doc tomorrow-but I am hopeful-and as soon as I can move again, I am going to work to make sure this doesn't happen again. Stretching, yoga, pilates, whatever it takes!
I swaer, this is a pain in the you know what-and not just the back!
I get neck spasms sometimes. The thing that helps for me is exercise, and not yoga or or walking, but flat out hard-as-I-can-work exercise until my muscles all turn to jelly. Maybe it's different- for me it seems to be stress more than actual tweaking.
Chiropractors, also known as doctors of chiropractic or chiropractic physicians, diagnose and treat patients with health problems of the musculoskeletal system and treat the effects of those problems on the nervous system and on general health. Many chiropractic treatments deal specifically with the spine and the manipulation of the spine.
Chiropractic is based on the principle that spinal joint misalignments interfere with the nervous system and can result in lower resistance to disease and many different conditions of diminished health.
Some chiropractors use additional procedures in their practices, including therapies using heat, water, light, massage, ultrasound, electric currents, and acupuncture . They may apply supports such as straps, tape, braces, or shoe inserts. LAWRENCEVILLE GA CHIROPRACTOR
no back problems (yet), no pain at all, but, for a few years now, when i exercise, which is less often then it should be, there is a mild grinding sound around my right elbow, like the sinew is built up or inflamed and scraping against the bone with each arm movement --- it does not hurt at all, but it sounds like it could hurt eventually. i imagine it is from working the mouse way too many hours a day in a wrong posture. not sure what to do about it though.
I have been freelancing for almost 2 years now, and I can feel how my body is deteriorating due to spending so many allnighters... One day my leg started to hurt, and the pain doesn't go away, I get headaches almost everyday, I even had no work for 1 month, and the pain still remains. I don't have insurance so I can't even go see a doctor, if I go to a doctor, that means I will be short on my rent this month or end up without food for a week...
Now my back starts to hurt too, but it is in the area of kidney, there is a strange pulling pain, when I wake up in the morning, but seems to go away when I am walking and seating.
This economy has really screwed me up, both financially and physically :(
Absolutely! The ergonomics for the daily computer user normally is poor, especially at home when we end up pulling any chair around the house for a computer desk and stay there for hours and hours.
I have problems too with some office furniture that really suck! There are serious stations out there, but most of the times are overlooked for many reasons.
Any suggestions or good experience anyone want to share?
Am I the only one?????
Okay-so this is now the 2nd time my back has gone out-I am laid up in bed, on meds and cringing every time I take a deep breath due to the muscle spasms in my back. I have been to my doctor, a chiropractor and a massage therapist, and although it slowly feels better, it still hurts and keeps happening again.
I think it is from sitting at a computer all day every day...but it doesn't seem to be happening to anyone else...so am I the only one with this problem?
Does anyone have advice on sitting at a computer all day long and how not to have your back ache and spasm on you?
Please stop the pain!!!!
Once you're all healed up (relatively speaking, of course) you need to start doing exercises for your back and abdominal muscles. Sitting on a chair is an unnatural posture/position that can be made worse by bad habits, posture, etc. And contrary to popular belief, sitting up straight is NOT necessarily good for your back.
In the meantime, when you get back to work, do all the things you've been told to do - on your coffee and lunch breaks make sure to stand up and walk around. Change your posture throughout the day. Make sure that the top of your monitor is lined up with your eyes, etc. And you may want to look into a different chair.
Oh, and STRETCH whenever you get the chance. Although I don't do yoga or pilates, those activities are great for stretching and strengthening core muscles (meaning back, sides and stomach).
i tend to sit differently about every 30 minutes when i'm in a chair......gotta keep the spine from lockin up on you......also stretch and walk for a quick minute........
drink alot of water too......
keep going to the massage person and the chiro........ the doctor will just give you drugs to cover the real issue........
b
thanks for the advice-I did start taking pilates, but had to briefly stop due to the recurring spasm! I plan on getting back into it soon.
thanks for the advice-I did start taking pilates, but had to briefly stop due to the recurring spasm! I plan on getting back into it soon.
yoga
tinydancer - I used to suffer from similar ailments when in arch school. I had done the usual trips to chiropractor and physio but they did work. The best advise I got was from the gym instructor who told that most back pains unless skeletol are usually because due to weak muscles. He encouraged me to strengthen my core...particularly my abdominals.
Along with the advise about changing positions during the day and stretching, strengthening your core is the way to go. Also change your chair
yeah thats the catch 22 when you are havin back trouble. you want to do things to help it, but you are in pain etc and need to let that heal before ya can do anything. and by then you forget about it and have alcohol.
I second yoga
pilates are a pain
8 yrs ago i was making coffee in the morning, stretched up to reach something in an upper cabinet, and sneezed.
spent the next week flat on my back.
dr said that basically i had yanked something with that sneeze that was on its way to being a problem eventually anyway, that i needed to change my sitting, walking, lifting, exercising, blah blah habits. gave me drugs for a week or so and sent me to a physical therapist.
these days my back still hurts but i have a much better office chair and i walk regularly. i learned some pretty good stretches from the physical therapist after i got vertical again. no yoga/pilates or any of that, though i'm sure they'd help. never been an exerciser; seems like such a waste of valuable time.
as an aside: physical therapy was a wonderful experience. such a luxury to have to set aside time on a regular basis to go have someone take care of you. i dug it. wish health insurance would continue to pay for a weekly visit, but it ended after 2 mos.
**
back trouble at right around 30yo (+ or - a couple) may just be an architect's rite of passage.
im designing a heating pad suit...
stress is the real killer here. I've pulled my back out by stretching (just arms above head), mtn biking, snowboarding and running. It has taken anywhere from 1 week to 6 months to heal.
I have never taken pain pills (for my back) and will never do the chiro. I go with acupuncture (just wonderful) and massage (many chiros to massage, so you can 'fool' your insurance - I made sure mine covers acupuncture).
Preventative therapy is the best. I stretch and work out daily, and now that stress has been reduced, I haven't pulled it in a while.
Get a good chair, too. I love my Aeron.
its funny since this thread has been started i have seen about three or four commercials for back and body pain relievers.
massage. massage. massage. i used to think this was something unnecessary that was only for people who had extra money to waste at spas. One of my friends convinced me to get one with her last semester for relatively cheap so i went. They got kinks out of my neck & back that i didn't know existed and going back to my drawings/studio work was so much more comfortable after that
still in pain and going back to the doc tomorrow-but I am hopeful-and as soon as I can move again, I am going to work to make sure this doesn't happen again. Stretching, yoga, pilates, whatever it takes!
I swaer, this is a pain in the you know what-and not just the back!
I get neck spasms sometimes. The thing that helps for me is exercise, and not yoga or or walking, but flat out hard-as-I-can-work exercise until my muscles all turn to jelly. Maybe it's different- for me it seems to be stress more than actual tweaking.
Chiropractors, also known as doctors of chiropractic or chiropractic physicians, diagnose and treat patients with health problems of the musculoskeletal system and treat the effects of those problems on the nervous system and on general health. Many chiropractic treatments deal specifically with the spine and the manipulation of the spine.
Chiropractic is based on the principle that spinal joint misalignments interfere with the nervous system and can result in lower resistance to disease and many different conditions of diminished health.
Some chiropractors use additional procedures in their practices, including therapies using heat, water, light, massage, ultrasound, electric currents, and acupuncture . They may apply supports such as straps, tape, braces, or shoe inserts.
LAWRENCEVILLE GA CHIROPRACTOR
quack...quack....QUACK!
I take a cigarette break once every hour on the hour. Take up smoking, it'll cure all of your social and physical problems.
Welcome back archinect!
no back problems (yet), no pain at all, but, for a few years now, when i exercise, which is less often then it should be, there is a mild grinding sound around my right elbow, like the sinew is built up or inflamed and scraping against the bone with each arm movement --- it does not hurt at all, but it sounds like it could hurt eventually. i imagine it is from working the mouse way too many hours a day in a wrong posture. not sure what to do about it though.
I have been freelancing for almost 2 years now, and I can feel how my body is deteriorating due to spending so many allnighters... One day my leg started to hurt, and the pain doesn't go away, I get headaches almost everyday, I even had no work for 1 month, and the pain still remains. I don't have insurance so I can't even go see a doctor, if I go to a doctor, that means I will be short on my rent this month or end up without food for a week...
Now my back starts to hurt too, but it is in the area of kidney, there is a strange pulling pain, when I wake up in the morning, but seems to go away when I am walking and seating.
This economy has really screwed me up, both financially and physically :(
Absolutely! The ergonomics for the daily computer user normally is poor, especially at home when we end up pulling any chair around the house for a computer desk and stay there for hours and hours.
I have problems too with some office furniture that really suck! There are serious stations out there, but most of the times are overlooked for many reasons.
Any suggestions or good experience anyone want to share?
I've been doing these everyday, it works for me:
http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/back-pain/LB00001_D
There is a set of stretching exercises on this site specifically for the office.
http://mobilitywod.blogspot.com/
thanks gibson - I'll check those out . . .
but first though I'm getting a new mattress - my mattress SUCKS!
I have a client - a builder who I've know forever - who was ready to get surgery on his back and got a new mattress and all his troubles went away
DUH! that motivated the everlasting crap out of me to get a new friggin mattress!
cheers, I'll let you know how it goes
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