oh, my back!

[Marthe48]

I got the lower back ache from old shoes cleared up, and was feeling good.

But I pulled a shoulder blade muscle in my sleep. Who does that?! I put muscle rub on it, iced it, took ibuprofen, and then put linament on it. No help, so I guess I'll go lay on the hot pad. I'm miserable.

If anyone has any tips, thanks!

[Walleye]

1. I have no advice but I can commiserate. My right shoulder is all messed up

[Tetrachloride]

2. you may need to do what i call

cat rubs of your back on the edge of a door

for muscles between the shoulder blades

[Marthe48]

9. I tried that

hurt to put pressure on it. That trick works great for my lower back and sciatica.

[yankee87]

3. Lidocane Patch

Try a lidocane patch, helped me.

[underpants]

4. I did something like that two weeks ago.

Things I did in addition to what you mentioned.

A Bio Freeze type rub is best.
Try to get it moving. Nothing drastic.
Here was the key I found - elevate it. Upper arm/bicep area parallel to the ground (if you are in a chair). Pillows or something underneath it on the arm of the chair. I’ve done a lot of driving recently and putting my left elbow on the window ledge has been huge.

[niyad]

5. Do you have lidocaine cream or patches or spray? Do you have Aleve

(naproxen sodium)? I don't know why, but sometimes the Aleve works better for me than ibuprofen, for exactly what you are experiencing. As a sister sufferer, I wish you rest and healing.

[Marthe48]

7. I'm aleergic to Aleve

naproxen.

I'll take tylenol at 11. Planning to cycle the 2 meds. I don't want to. I'm so mad that it happened while I was asleep. I had plans to be active today, and this is going to interfere.

Thanks for the well wishes.

[niyad]

11. Two more suggestions: arnica gel or cream, and the jet pulse on your

showerhead.

[Marthe48]

13. I've wondered about arnica

It seemed to work miracles in the old Britis detective stories. Lol

[marble falls]

6. You might need to get the nerve released, I can do it by rotating my arm and shoulder slowly ...

... first one direction then then the other. It's hard to describe. It's one of the very few things I'd trust a chiropractor with.

[Marthe48]

8. Do I want to hold my arm out or raise it,

or just let it dangle? Thank you.

[marble falls]

15. Bring it forward, palm in, I use my other hand to help it go forward. I go around steadily slow ...

... once counter clockwise keeping my arm straight and close to my head one rev and then do the same in reverse. Sometimes a simple bending off the elbow and using the other hang, gently pulling my arm across my chest works, too.

Ge gentle, slow and a little firm. I get relief at least 90% of the time, and I go easy on that should for rest of the day.

The idea is to lift the scapula off the nerve and then when it returns, it pushes the nerve out from under it.

[Marthe48]

20. I kept trying different positions and got some relief

I laid down on the hot pad, and ended up extending my right arm up and across my face, to the left, and used my left hand to pull a little. I found an angle that relieved the pain quite a bit. Waiting to see if I fixed it.

Thank you for the advice.

[marble falls]

24. Over the years it's worked for me pretty well.

Last edited Tue Aug 8, 2023, 02:33 PM - Edit history (1)

[Marthe48]

25. A dr. showed me a stretch for my lower back

I have more trouble with my lower back, so this was a big help.

Just stand, feet flat on the floor, just a little apart, and carefully raise both arms straight up above your head. Hold the stance for about 10 seconds. I was having muscle spasms and he showed me that over 8 years ago. No spasms since

[AnnaLee]

10. I don't know if you are in a CBD legal State

But the CBD Balm like at this link was a sanity saver for me:
[link:https://www.iheartjane.com/products/146147/ceres-dragon-balm-super-cbd-3-4oz-500mg|

[Marthe48]

12. I'm in Ohio

If I can go out, I might stop and get some. Ty for the reminder

[canuckledragger]

14. As I get older, I'm getting a lot of joint pains, etc that keep me from sleeping well.

And one of the easy, drug-free tricks that work for is a simple, hot as I can stand it soak in the bath tub.

For me, the heat loosens up tight, sore muscles, the buoyancy helps to make things a wee bit lighter on my frame, the water itself helps to regulate body temperature if that's acting up in any way.

The bath tub is my go to, simple remedy for a lot of what ails me lately.

[multigraincracker]

16. YouTube has videos for

shoulder pain relief. Go there and do a search. Lots of stretches and exercises for it.
Had terrible pain and my doc sent me to rehab and the movements I learned there worked better than any pills or ointment.
Good luck.

[Marthe48]

18. I found a video with stretches

I've done 2 sets, also tried the stretch described above. On the hot pad. This has happened at least 2 other times in my sleep, more than 2 years ago.

[RussBLib]

17. See if you can find....

....a Myofascial release therapist, not a chiropractor. It worked wonders on my wife's lower back and neck pain.

[Marthe48]

19. I truly appreciate the advice

Trying as many as I can, and hoping to be ok sooner than later.thank you!

[Warpy]

21. My lower back is saying rude things to me

so I'm sitting here with an ice pack on it, something that numbs the nerves enough that I can take a shower soon.

Ice feels awful when it first goes on, but I've found it does a better job than heat. Heat feels great until I walk away from it, then I get rebound pain and can't get anything done. If it gets worse, I'll break out the TENS unit or lidocaine patch.

Muscle spasms are nasty. Yours is especially bad because it's so hard to reach.

Ice is 20 minutes on, 20 minutes off.

[Marthe48]

22. Ice is my long-time friend

Last edited Tue Aug 8, 2023, 02:11 PM - Edit history (1)

I keep an ice pack in the freezer and a towel handy, so I can wrap it and get relief or head off an ache. Today, I iced the place as soon as I got out of bed, but it didn't help. It is a bad place to get to. I dribbled some muscle rub and used the back of a back scratcher to spread it a little. It is crappy muscle rub, and didn't work. Later, I put some linament on it. That usually helps, but not today. I laid on the hot pad and also tried the stretching Marble Falls suggested. I finally figured out a position and a direction to stretch that made it feel 90% better.

I use ice on my lower back pretty often, and use every trick I know to keep my back from bothering me. I got some new Chacos sandals and my back was over that. I was looking forward to doing some work today, but I put it off. Disappointing. But I have easier things I can do.

This strecth really helped me over the years: Just stand, feet flat on the floor, just a little apart, and carefully raise both arms straight up above your head. Hold the stance for about 10 seconds. I was having muscle spasms and the dr. I went to showed me that stretch over 8 years ago. No spasms since I liked the muscle relaxer but not the reason I got them! lol

I don't think humans were meant to walk upright :/

[Warpy]

26. I don't think humans were meant to live beyond the age of 40 or so

Living long enough to breed and raise the young is it in the Darwinian sense. After 40, we start to notice all the design flaws.

[Marthe48]

27. I'd miss the grandkids

Wouldn't miss the vehicle falling apart

[Marthe48]

23. I got some relief

Marble Falls suggested stretching and I found a position and direction that helps a lot. And I sure hope the relief lasts!

[Midnight Writer]

28. I use a pulse vibrator on my back, concentrating around the spine, every AM.

I wake up with lots of aches, and just a couple minutes with the vibrator seems to loosen things up.

[Marthe48]

29. I gave all of the massage devices I had

to my daughter a couple years ago. She really messed up her back, and I gave her 2 or 3 to see what would help her. I'm happy to say I didn't miss them. I guess I should have something here for times like this

[japple]

30. Do you have a TENS unit? Do you mostly sleep on your side?

I have had issues in the past with lower back, hip and knee pain. Walking every day helped, but sometimes life interferes with that. Sleeping on your side also can cause leg, knee, lower back and shoulder pain. For the leg and lower back, try sleeping with a small pillow between your knees. I have been trying to train myself to sleep on my back. I use a firm foam pillow that supports my neck and it has eliminated the muscle spasms I used to get in my cervical vertebrae. Also, sleeping on your back can eliminate lower back pain. The TENS units really help with muscular pain or knots in the muscles and it also feel great after you get used to it. These units come in all price ranges. It helps if you have someone who can help you apply the electrodes.

https://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/323632#uses

[Marthe48]

31. Thank you for the advice!

I started using a bigger pillow recently, to prop my arm. Seems to help me sleep better, less chance to wake up with back, shoulder pain.
I hurt my shoulder again recently. I thought I bookmarked this thread and I couldn't find it. I finally remembered what I did to get relief.
I am so glad you offered more ideas to relieve this particular ache. Brought the thread back to view.
Happy Thanksgiving!

[japple]

32. I came to this forum to try and find if other folks had the same reactions to some

new meds I was prescribed. I didn't even look at the date when I responded to your OP. Glad to know that anything I posted was well-received. Happy Thanksgiving and wishing you freedom from pain.

[Maraya1969]

33. I find the best thing that helps me is some exercises from physical therapy.

https://www.mayoclinic.org/healthy-lifestyle/adult-health/in-depth/back-pain/art-20546859

This one helps the best. The PT said to push on you feet flat and make sure you push down with your lower back on the bed or floor