10. I played soccer—a lot of soccer. It didn’t even seem like a big deal when I’d take off my cleats after a game and find a bloody sock. Pain was temporary before fibromyalgia.
9. I ran around mountains, up mountains, and once down a mountain.
8. I tried new sports, like rollerblading, just for fun. There was no fear of the repercussions of taking a stiff, broken body through a new routine.
7. I took ibuprofen for pain and it actually worked.
6. I sat in a chair and read books for hours without my back hurting.
5. I ate ice cream and brownies and cookies and knew nothing about total-body inflammation.
4. I planned my days around choices rather than obligations—choices like when to go to the gym rather than obligations like having to see the chiropractor just so I can stand to be alive.
3. I travelled, and didn’t have to plan trips around muscle spasms and pain. I carried fun stuff in my luggage rather than needing a carload of pain-relieving props (Back Buddy, camping mattress in case the hotel bed is too soft, cervical pillow, Tiger Balm, etc.).
2. I went to sleep like a normal person. No handfuls of herbal supplements, no piles of pillows to ease back pain, no special cervical pillow. I would just lie down and pull up the covers.
1. I was free without realizing it—free to live as boldly as I wished and without pain—free to explore, to take risks, and to relax.
Taking a break from most fibromyalgia symptoms, contemplating this topic: ad campaigns that help my blog make a (tiny) bit of money. The quick overview: I need the money. I just got a $90 bill for an x-ray that the doctor didn’t even look at, and of course that’s in addition to copays and insurance premiums. However, when the ads are for things I object to, am I compromising my standards?
This is what I’ve come up with so far. The ads are always labeled as such, and I’ve posted before (and am doing so now) that I have little to no control over the ads. The only control I have is in allowing or not allowing them, which means I truly only control whether or not my blog brings in any money or goes broke. Readers have given me lots of feedback that they enjoy my blog, and many of us have been able to connect and offer advice and online friendship in the face of a really crappy chronic illness. The blog itself costs money to maintain, and I like to at least make my cost to run it.
On an ad-positive note, sometimes the services advertised really are beneficial to some people, and at the very least informative. I recently saw an ad for a new type of spinal surgery, and while I’m strictly forbidden to click, I Googled the service so I could read more about it. The advancements beyond spinal fusion sounded promising, and I wouldn’t have been as informed if I hadn’t seen an ad.
In a perfect world, this site would be ad-free, and the x-ray wouldn’t cost $90 and the doctor definitely wouldn’t bill for it if he didn’t even look at it. That said, I’m still uncomfortable with some of the ad content. It’s not explicit or political (I do have the power to block that stuff), but when it’s for products that I have no experience with, it can seem a little shady. I like to believe that everybody takes responsibility for themselves and doesn’t believe everything they read/click/etc. But I feel a responsibility to readers, and I want to know what y’all think. In the meantime, the ads will continue because the fibromyalgia-related medical bills continue. Thanks for your input!
I’ve known for a long time that hamstring inflexibility can cause and exacerbate low back pain. Even when I was younger and my body worked well, my muscles were stiff. Now that I’m in my thirties, I’m stiffer than ever. I’ve been dealing with hip and back pain for a year, but until recently, my hamstrings didn’t seem to be the culprit.
This is my position for the hamstring stretch. Oddly, I thought my left leg was flat on the mat, but obviously it’s not. Leg-selfie, LOL!
As with all things health-related, our bodies are unique, and what benefits and harms them is often different than what produces similar results in our friends and family. Last week, after my usual chiropractic adjustment, I decided to try a new way of stretching to give my hamstrings one last chance to loosen up and relax their overly powerful grip on my back. My chiropractor agreed that the L5 “involvement” in my back is probably related to stiff legs.
I’ve tried every way imaginable to stretch my hamstrings in the past. I work in physical therapy and have even tried some unconventional methods. This time, I went with the tried-and-true, but with a few modifications.
Lying on my back on a yoga mat, I locked down my abdominal muscles to protect my back. I looped a Stretch Out Strap around my right foot and extended my leg into the air. I allowed my left leg to lie flat on the mat, which isn’t the easiest position to get into while ab bracing.
When I straightened my right leg in the air above my body, I felt an extremely uncomfortable (and familiar) pull at my ankle and knee. Muscles were definitely getting stretched. I used my right hand to hold the Stretch Out Strap and my left hand to force my right knee completely straight. My abs were braced the whole time, and for three minutes without a break I stayed in that position.
I can’t say it was pleasant. Far from it. I sweated. I cursed. I tried to think of distractions. If I’d allowed my resting leg to bend at the knee, as many people recommend, my pelvis would’ve been more comfortable. But I was going for gold. After a year of back pain, I knew taking the comfortable way was not the way for me.
I repeated the scenario on my left leg, with about a minute’s rest between stretches. For a few hours, my back felt worse, but later in the day, I noticed improvement. After five days of aggressively stretching my hamstrings, my back is so much better– no more crazed, pain-driven howling in the middle of the night.
I have no idea if hamstring stretching will work for everybody, but I’m certain that stiff muscles leave us all more susceptible to injury. Ask a physical therapist, check out reputable websites, and get to work on those hamstrings. Don’t give up if results aren’t immediate or the first few positions you try don’t help. You might find relief like I have through trial and error, and once you’re feeling better, the discomfort to get there will have been worth it.
As with all things health-related, ask your healthcare provider before trying anything new.
