wetcw@pyuxa.UUCP (T C Wheeler) (07/25/84)
In the area of back problems, I think I can speak with some authority from the victims viewpoint. I had problems for many years, but ignored the warnings. As a result, I ended up in Cornell Medical Center to have microsurgery performed to remove the offending disk. As to exercises, do sit-ups to strengthen the stomach muscles. This is important. Next, lie on the floor and flatten the small of the back against the floor by raising the pelvis and squeezing the buttocks together. This is the basic manuver to all other exercises, including sit-ups. From the flat-back position, slowly raise one leg at a time to an upright position. Keep the back flat (most important). Lower the leg and repeat with the other leg. Do this every day, slowly increasing the number of times you raise the legs. Start out with maybe five lifts, increasing one or two a day till you get to ten or so. Remain at this level for a week, then begin increasing again, slowly. From the flat-back position, bring the knee up to your chest, pulling it with your hands. Do the same with the other leg. Pull the leg to your chest. Repeat this one the same as the last one. There are some other exercises which will help, but I just do these and have had no problems. You can get a pamphlet from a good orthopedic surgeons office that will outline several other exercises that will help. These exercises strengthen the lower back muscles and the stomach. The key to doing them right is to keep that lower back straight while doing them. One exercise which you can do all day long is to pull in the stomach while thrusting the pelvis forward and squeezing the buttocks together. This one helps relieve pressure on the spinal cord in the lower back and helps to lessen the pain during periods of back pain. I went through it all. I spent 5 weeks in traction. No help for me (the guy in the next bed was out in 6 days). I had cortezone shots into the disk. No help. I was fed horse sized byutal pills to relieve the swelling in the area. No help (but I whinny when I pass a hay field). The doctors finally gave up after 7 weeks of trying. In the meantime, I went from being able to walk and bear it to flat on my back with pain killers every 4 hours. I was lucky in that I found, through a doctor friend, a surgeon with a new technique, microsurgery. Instead of 5 weeks recuperation, it was less than 4 days, in the hospital. Don't let your back get you down. They say that 80% of the back cases can be cured using rest and traction. I was one of those 20 percenters that only surgery could cure. Do the exercises. Don't jog. The doctor specifically said that one. It's a killer to the spine if you have a bad back. KEEP that back flat. T. C. Wheeler
steiny@scc.UUCP (Don Steiny) (07/25/84)
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If you have pain or tension in your body, I highly recommend the exercises in
"Awareness from Movement"
by
Moshe Feldenkrais
Moshe Feldenkrais (who, sadly, died about three week ago),
was an Israeli that invented a method of physical therapy.
He was Dr. Feldenkrais, but the doctorate was a Phd. in physics.
He worked in the laboratory of Madam and Pierre Curie. He was
the first judo black belt in the Western hemisphere.
He hurt his knee in a Judo accident and was told that
he would have to have many operations and that his knee would
never be right again. He sail "bullsh*t" (he was like that),
and he went all over the world seeking some other way. He went
to England to study Alexander training, he went to the far East, India,
and he figured out how to fix his knee. He also figured out
many other things about the human body that can help any of us.
There are Feldenkrais practiceners throughout the
country because he trained many people before he died.
The book is a series of exercises that align the body and
relax superfulous muscle tension.
Don Steiny
Personetics
109 Torrey Pine Terr.
Santa Cruz, Calif. 95060
(408) 425-0382
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