techniques for undoing your doing

ok, we all are dealing with recovering from life as our lifestyle. how do you "unwind" back to your baseline?

I have a ritual that I must go through, oh geez, 10 times a day. Hours of time in a sort of "recovery glaze". When my neck is done doing its hold my head up job, I can't even watch the tv or read a book until I reset myself.

I lie on my back ergonomically, using the weight of my body and the positioning of pillows to create light traction for my whole spine.

Once I find the point of comfort for my basic body, I move on to focus on breathing and relaxing my jaw while lying on tennis balls for relaxing my back.

All the time being aware of any spot that needs me to shift or stretch or _______? to settle it down. I work the balls from one end of my spine to the other and back again until no spot is hollarin at me.

Then I rest a bit, just breathing, making little shifts, inventorying myself from top to bottom. Give pokes and prods where needed acupressurewise. I go for the gurgle. When I breath through a tighty, my belly gurgles approval. It's a neat biofeedback loop.

Then I do stretches and rest. Stretches and rest until my back starts popping back into place. Then I rest and enjoy being "in nuetral" (or as close to nuetral as I could get). Then get up and put in another 15 minutes to living my life.

If I can't get back to neutral and it's worn me down, I stop trying to do anything.....

I'm in flare, but can't figure out what I did to cause it... and have decided it is because I haven't been getting physical therapy the 3x a week like I need... for over a month it's been off count...and none since last Tuesday and not til Thursday now... plus the stress over the lawyer's incompetence.

I am using TENS... only 4 electrodes right now, but that's because I'm taking them on and off to get into a hot tub trying to ease the knots in my muscles! You can run your hands down my legs and physically feel the lumps of the knots When I got to bed (and hopefully sleep) tonight I will put 8 electrodes on.

I use ice packs also, and ice massages on the originating area (my sacrum is out...ilia and is resting on the sciatic nerves, pain radiating down both legs now) I have to alternate either ice or heat 15 minutes on , 15 minutes off... grrr

I also have a bottle of pain med set aside that I use just for break through pain like this. So I take what I need to, to try and keep from pacing and sobbing... and to find some sleep.

Stretching the ham strings and calf muscles is important with this flare... and yes, using the tennis balls into the knots and trigger points and especially the ilia's dimples has to be done, though it hurts me more. The pain won't subside and the muscles won't allow the bones to be put back into place until the knots are worked out some.

I'm at level 9++ right now... running on only 3 1/2 hours sleep since Saturday night

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Sky
Do you think the stress of the last week is catching up with you? Sometimes I have to just take one of everthing, lortab, skelaxin, xanax, hot bath then go to bed to let my body rest. It is much much better since I have the neurostimulator, but bad days are bad days
Hugz and Oh yes, the old tupperware rolling pin that you could fill with water and freeze helps some

"have decided it is because I haven't been getting physical therapy the 3x a week like I need... for over a month it's been off count...and none since last Tuesday and not til Thursday now... plus the stress over the lawyer's incompetence."

I really was trying to handle things well... when I said I was so angry, I wasn't acting out, just acknowledging the anger... no better way to handle it imo but things add up, and with the chronic pain patient, as you know... grrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr

Believe in Him or not --- GOD LOVES YOU!

Want to share your Christian faith? Click HERE

yeh, regular physical therapy is sooo helpful. When I was slipping through a crack and got 2 times a week for 7 whole years, gosh, I could DO something and know that if I overdid a bit, somebody would help put me back together again. I could take a couple risks instead of always walking the high wire....

and never never never get chilled....... oh baby what that does to the mess is ugly....... i need heat compensation on my body to even contemplate ice, though it helps "the spot" that is screaming. I'm a wuss when it comes to being cold. My whole body goes rigid. ugly ugly ugly