Cure Back Pain

Yes, it will! Try it yourself right now! This is a summary of the ‘McKenzie Method’. Try this before you let anyone cut into you! I have just had a laminectomy which has ‘gone wrong’. I should have stuck with this (and the instructions below) The 2/3 junction which had a disc bulge has been ‘decompressed’ successfully but that has transferred the pain to a misalignment (I did not have before) at the ¾ junction (which I thought ‘cured’ by an earlier operation) and which is impacting several nerves and producing exquisite agony – much worse than the original disc bulge which had very nearly got better before the operation – but I feared it would ‘slip’ again sometime when I was in the wilderness. (We all make mistakes – there is no sense regretting them), so that I wish I had discovered this method before surgery as I would then (certainly) have been able to cure myself. Nonetheless you have to move on. My parents would have said, ‘Grin and bear it’ or ‘Be a man’ – and they were right. Lesson #101 in the ‘School of Hard Knocks’ teaches that when you fall off your bicycle (or your horse when I attended) you have to get right back on again. So, here I go…

Interlude: My all-time favourite song: Je Ne Regret Rien – I Regret Nothing by Edith Piaf: Do press the “Play’ button as you read on.

It always makes the hairs stand up on the back of my neck. There are better (sound only) reproductions, but I like to see Piaf.

To continue:

Now I may need spinal fusion if the McKenzie method does not work for me – so wish me luck! However, I can report even on Day Two of beginning it that I can now control the pain and banish it for extended periods of time (minutes-hours). The pain is also slowly moving inwards (from my legs) towards the centre of my back. McKenzie claims it will slowly do that, and then vanish. I certainly hope so. I think it is worth a shot if you have back pain. The first two/three exercises definitely banish the pain for a time, so they are worth trying for that reason alone. I can walk about a kilometre before I have to stop to perform them. My usual afternoon walk is now taking at least twice as long. The dogs are annoyed.

I bought the book in ebook from from Amazon for US$11.99: https://www.amazon.com.au/Treat-Your-Back-Robin-McKenzie-ebook/dp/B00UM2O264 I downloaded the book. It then appears in a new place on your computer, (hard to find) something Like this: ‘C:\Users\Steve\Documents\My Kindle Content’/B006LQICE8_EBOK You will see what I mean.

If you download a programme called: https://www.epubsoft.com/kindle-drm-removal.html?c=KIEDR1 (open it and install it – Norton will tell you it is safe) you can remove the proprietary ‘drm’ protection from any Amazon Kindle book, so it can be copied – which is what I did (Easy). Then you can convert it into epub or pdf form (with the same programme) so it can be read or even printed out. Obviously you save the converted copy in an appropriate file.

Then you can copy it to your phone and read it eg with the Coolreader App (epub) or (I use) the qPDF Viewer App – if you prefer Pdf.  You can print out sections – like the exercises (I have) and eg highlight the important bits you want to remember. I think you should.

Additionally you could ‘lend’ it to a friend who also had a bad back, though this might break copyright, even if you have made a printed copy – I don’t know. I do know that I have a friend who has a bad back and very little money – or computer savvy – such that if I were to help him with this book I would have to buy/make him a printed copy…

Another great thing you can do about your back pain. This helps preserve your ‘lordosis’ (the forward curve of your lower back). Buy one/some of these Ikea chairs. They are just great. Nothing soothes my back so much as sitting in them for a while. I think I would have almost died without them on the verandah. I also have a rocker in the lounge: Ikea Poang Armchair ($A99- Oct 2018): https://www.ikea.com/au/en/catalog/products/S99197776/#/S19240788 or Pello ($A69-Oct 2018) https://www.ikea.com/au/en/catalog/products/90160720/ (Delivery $A9) Poang Rocker ($A199 – Oct 2018): https://www.ikea.com/au/en/catalog/products/S99241538/

Here is a summary of the exercises, a sort of ‘try before you buy’ – but I recommend you buy the book:

McKenzie Method Simple  Instructions:

‘Exercise 1: Lying face down

Lie face down with your arms beside your body and your head turned to one side.

Stay in this position, take a few deep breaths, and then relax completely for two or three minutes. Start each session with this exercise. Repeat the sessions about every two hours. In addition, you may lie face down whenever you are resting.

Exercise 2: Lying face down in extension

Remain lying face down, place your elbows under your shoulders so that you lean on your forearms

Allow the muscles in the low back, hips and legs to relax completely. Remain in this position for two to three minutes.

Exercise 3: Extension in lying

(This is also the most useful and effective first-aid procedure in the treatment of acute low back pain The exercise can also be used to treat stiffness).

Remain lying face down. Place your hands under your shoulders in the press-up position Now you are ready to begin as you straighten your elbows, push the top half of your body up as far as pain permits

(PS: I will get better photos when Della is home from her crafting conference)

It is important that you completely relax the pelvis, hips and legs as you do this, and remember to keep breathing. Maintain this position for a second or two, then lower yourself to the starting position. Repeat this movement cycle in a smooth rhythmical motion and try to raise your upper body a little higher each time, so that in the end your back is extended as much as possible, with your arms as straight as possible. Once your arms are straight, remember to hold the sag for a second or two as this is the most important part of the exercise. The sag may be maintained for longer than one or two seconds if you feel the pain is reducing or centralising. Never be satisfied that you have moved as far as possible. Say to yourself each time you push up, “Further, further, further”. Perform this exercise ten times per session.

Emergency Panic Page

In case of a sudden onset of acute pain, carry out the following instructions:

• Immediately lie face down (if this is impossible because of pain intensity, go to bed and attempt exercises the next day).
• If absolutely necessary, rest for two days maximum, correctly supported.
• Use The Original McKenzie® Night Roll around your waist when resting in bed. (You can use a piece of sponge rubber or a rolled towel if you do not have a ‘Night Roll’. Aside: I have found a pillow under the knees (but none under the head) works for me.).
• Perform Exercises 1 and 2 once, and then 3 ten times Repeat this sequence every two hours during your waking hours.
• If the pain is more to one side and not reducing, move hips away from the painful side (3-4″ – 7.5-10 cm) and do Exercises 2 and 3.
• Avoid all movements that aggravate symptoms.
• Do not slouch or bend forward for three to four days.
• Use The Original McKenzie® lumbar roll for support when sitting. (Something soft in the lumbar region – there are things like this in $2 stores I find work well)
• Maintain perfect posture at all times.’
• There are more exercises (and advice) If the above works for you, buy the book. Good luck!

PS: If you enjoyed that Piaf song, try ‘La Vie en Rose’  which was my parents-in-law’s favourite song – and is inscribed on their grave:

La Vie en Rose:

A truly beautiful love song. I can feel why it meant so much to them.

Edith had a very hard short life. She died from multiple illnesses aged 48 in 1963, about when I first discovered her wonderful song, ‘Milord’ when others teenagers were listening to Elvis. Nuts! Piaf was so much better:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nuWO6IPWvoY

See Also:

http://www.theultralighthiker.com/back-operation/

http://www.theultralighthiker.com/count-dracula-had-it-right/

PS: McKenzie also has a treatment for knees and etc (Try Google).

For example here is a video about knees:

See Also:

http://www.theultralighthiker.com/my-life-was-wide-and-wild-and-who-can-know-my-heart/

http://www.theultralighthiker.com/you-will-not-live-forever/

http://www.theultralighthiker.com/free-willdeterminism/