Dear LPG

When I was a lot younger I always wondered why the oldest members of the population walked in that all-bent way while pulling faces and relying on a walking stick as they went.   But I am now at the end of my eighth decade on this planet and I am fast learning about just how debilitating continuous back pain can be.

When it all started I tried lots of different therapies including acupuncture and pain pens, ointments, exercises, massage chairs, massage, deep heat therapy, specialised exercise beds and pads, and for a while they do help.  Perhaps they act as a placebo or the effort involved in finding, acquiring, trying and testing their effects diverts the concentration for a while, then their influence gradually becomes less effective. 

I know that learning to live with it is the way forward and, like many I have attended pain management classes.  Some of these remedies help for a while, and I know that I am not saying anything that has not been said or thought before by many people who are approaching their nineties, and younger people too.  I am finding that it is getting harder to do anything without having to stop for a sit-down rest period.

The inconvenience of not achieving all the things that I used to be able to is getting harder to deal with as I find myself spending more and more time just sitting and thinking depressing thoughts while, at the end of the day having achieved less and less.

I am painfully aware that I am one of so many people suffering in this way, and that many of my fellow sufferers are a lot younger than me, and I know that we also, and quite often, find ourselves sitting in whichever chair is nearest when the pain really gets to be too much while we let the whole thing and every other depressing thought take over.  The more this happens; the more depressed and upset we get with life in general.

Sitting is also not good because, when you are just sitting you have the opportunity to think about all the really depressing aspects of your future and if you are not careful this will help you to sink into real depression.  

I have found some videos which really have helped me because they are designed to divert the mind from all those depressing thoughts by provoking thoughts of restfulness and fighting your pain while focussing on the more positive aspects of life.  I suggest that more people affected with chronic back pain try listening when your back stops you from doing what you really want to, although it may be a good idea not to be on your own the first time you give this therapy a go.

I hope that it works for you…

OE, Bickley.

There are many similar videos on the internet and they may well be helpful for you but we at LPG would again stress the importance of not being alone the first time you try one of these videos.

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