Three ways to conquer back pain

November 28, 2013

In anatomy, lumbar is an adjective that means of or pertaining to the abdominal segment of the torso, between the diaphragm and the sacrum (pelvis). The five vertebrae in the lumbar region of the back are the largest and strongest in the spinal column. In most mammals, the lumbar region of the spine curves outward; this is called lordosis. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

There is no pain without gain but sometimes there is so much pain that the only ones who gain by it are the doctors who treat you and the pharma companies who manufacture painkillers.

All of us have had to deal with pain in some form or the other at some time or the other. While the commonest pain to deal with is metaphorical (pain in the neck/butt), more often than not we have to deal with a real palpable pain in other body parts like the head, teeth, shoulder, legs and of course the back.

For the past several months I’ve been plagued by a particularly bad lower back pain – one so bad that the only way I could handle it was to walk with back support in the form of a tightly wound dupatta around my waist. This was a softer alternative to the regular lumbar support available at the chemists and recommended by doctors. So for several weeks, I carried out my own therapy

Simple tips on tackling back pain

sleeping on a firm mattress without a pillow
turning to the side and then getting out of bed
gently twisting from side to side while seated on the bed before getting up for the day

This was followed by a bath routine which consisted of

gently fomenting the lower back during my bath with a hot shower spray
gently massaging in some liniment like Rapid, Heat, Universal oil ( anyone that I could get hold of)
tightly bandaging my waist with a soft dupatta. This kept in the heat generated by the topical pain killer and kept the back warm and happy

But obviously, this was not the answer so when my father loaned me his book “Why we hurt” I read it from cover to cover. While a lot of the book went over my head, there were two things I learnt from it

back problems can be cured
only you can deal with your problem

So, after analysing my problem I came up with two solutions

I had to improve my posture while working on the computer
I had to exercise my back

Using orthopedic support while sitting

Sitting for long hours at the computer was what did my back in.

Unfortunately, I can’t avoid that but I can definitely do something about it. My father who seems to be having a similar problem tackled this issue by using BackBuddy which is orthopaedic support which he swears by. This pillow of sorts is light and is endorsed by the IAF as per their claim on the website. I still haven’t got down to buying the pillow but the one day that I used it, I did indeed get some relief.

But, what really helps is exercise. And funnily enough, exercise done at the golden hour which is any time between 4 and 5 am is best. May be it’s only me but I found that at 4 am my back is supple (even after sleeping pillowless on a firm mattress) because by the time I get out of bed at 6 am I am absolutely stiff. So after getting up at 4, I get out of bed and do a simple program of yoga .

[bctt tweet=”Exercise done at the golden hour which is any time between 4 and 5 am is best to combat back pain” username=”viaunishta”]

My personal Yoga routine

Start off in Sukhasana breathing gently with eyes closed. This centres your body and gets you in the mood for some serious stretching
Sit down on the floor and do some gentle Janu Shirshasan keeping a watch on the breathing as you twist from side to side with one leg extended and the bent. After 3-5 repetitions on either side, stretch your back along the extended leg and hold for another 5-7 counts. Repeat on the other leg and repeat the entire sequence three times on each leg.
With your back slowly warmed up, now lie flat on your back for some simple leg lifts with knee straight. Each leg should be lifted and kept perpendicular to the floor for 5-7 counts. Lower gently and after 3 repetitions with each leg, raise both legs together and hold for 5 counts. Repeat this double leg raise 3 more times.
The fourth time round of double leg raise, lower the legs keeping them straight to 60 degrees holding this pose for 12 counts and then to 15 degrees off the floor for another 10 counts before lowering the legs to the floor.
Pavanmuktasana is a great way to release the lower back so bend your legs and hug your knees to your chest.
After a few counts of Pavanmuktasana, release the knees but keeping them bent and at your chest raise your head off the ground and support your head/neck with your hands and bring your bent arms around your ears to touch your knees. Extend your legs one by one like shooting arrows for an equal number of counts on each leg. Aim for at least 27×2 by the end of the month.
Working further with this pose, extend your arms to form a T and keeping the legs in Pavan muktasan gradually let your knees drop to one side , head turned to the other, legs close together to have a great twist in Parshvapavanmuktasan. Aim to eventually do 108 x 2 sets but before you get to that colossal figure you can start off with 7 sets of one twist on each side
The last exercise on your back is Sethubandhasan where you bend your knees keeping the feet on the ground close to your bottom. Hold the ankles and then raise your body keeping the head firmly on the ground. Hold the pose for as long as you are comfortable and repeat according to your capacity.
Then Roll over to one side and get ready for Ananthasan. Before you get into the final pose, raise each leg as high as you can for 5-10 counts. Repeat on the other side before flipping onto your stomach.
Holding the Chaturangdandasana pose for 12 counts is a great way to strengthen your core. Repeat as your back gets stronger for 2-3 repetitions increasing the counts if you can.
Then relax the back with Bhujangasana, raising your upper body keeping the lower half firmly on the floor. Hold the pose with arms straightened at the elbow for 5-10 counts. Repeat 3 times.
Then go into Dhanurasana for a lovely stretch holding the pose for as long as you can.
Straighten out and go into an Adhomukhshvanasan which you should hold for a bit.
Come out of the pose and go into Marjariasan. After a few minutes sit back on your heels with arms extended over head and head down and relax for a bit.
A few minutes later move into Uttanasana slowly bringing yourself to a normal standing pose.
A few minutes of Tadasana helps stretch the spine out before going into 2×3 repetitions of Trikonasana
Wind down then with a few minutes of Shavasana before ending your sequence.

I find these exercises work for me and aim to add more once the back gets stronger but what I forgot to tell you, in the beginning, is that the only real cure for backache is an optimum body weight. Most of us forget that it is the excess weight that is putting pressure on our bodies. But till you get to the optimum weight you could try any or all of these techniques to ease the pain.

[bctt tweet=”The only real cure for back pain is maintaining the ideal weight for your height and age” username=”viaunishta”]

Written in Blood

November 24, 2013

Prerna was rightly named thought Maasiji as she sat shelling the peas one winter afternoon. Shelling peas was a wonderful pastime she thought, as wonderful as cleaning the rice or rolling the wicks for the oil lamps for her daily pooja. She loved doing these mundane activities as it made her feel useful for the three months of the year she spent with her nephew Lalit Gupta and his family.

Maasiji was lucky – Her nephew lived in Bombay, way down South and way warmer than compared to Bhopal where she lived most of the time. But she didn’t like the winter in Bhopal and when Lalit invited her to his home in Bombay, she just jumped at the chance. She loved the busy city and the Bombay winter which was as milder than a pleasant day in Spring. Apart from the warmth being good for her bones, staying with her nephew was good for her spirit. After nine months of living alone in her own home, she enjoyed being part of a family even though she had to share the room with Prerna, Lalit’s daughter. Every evening she would go down to the garden and meet up with the other old people who had come down for the winter, staying with their sons/daughters or other relatives. It was fun meeting up with different people thought Maasiji as she caught the pea that escaped.

There was one problem though, well not exactly a problem, but you could call it a mild inconvenience. Prerna, was a lively child and was more than just inspired to mischief. Not that being mischievous was bad, thought Maasiji – after all a spirited child was any day better than a child with no spunk. But what she minded was that often Prerna used Maasiji as an alibi especially when she was caught. It troubled Maasiji’s soul to be her partner in crime.

“Maasiji, tell Papa that I was doing my Hindi homework with you, wasn’t I?” she’d plead when her Papa would scold her for some prank or the other. And poor Maasiji would nod her head in agreement consoling herself that it’s like replying to a hunter who asks ” did the deer go this way?” If you tell the truth the deer will be killed so it is better to tell a lie and save the deer and she would count 10 extra beads on her prayer beads that night hoping that God would pardon her and give Prerna some better sense next time.

She had just finished shelling the last peapod when Prerna came into the room, breathless with excitement. She quickly shut the door and told Maasiji to be quiet. Then she took out a pen and dipped it in a bottle of red ink and wrote

” This is written in BLOOD. We will come tonight at midnight to take your blood.”

She giggled as she thought of Saroj Aunty reading the note.

“What are you doing beta?” asked Maasiji suspecting that she was upto no good.

“Nothing, Maasiji, remember if Papa asks, say you know nothing, ” and she left the room with the note in her hand.

She went across the landing and slipped the note under the door.

That night at midnight, the doorbell rang. The door opened to reveal two men with a tray of test tubes ;

“We have come for your blood,” they said,” May we collect yours?”

“Sure ,” said Prerna’s mother and the entire family lined up for the medical assistants to collect the blood samples from them all. “I’m glad the Health Department is taking such strong measures against Malaria,” she told her husband as the men left the apartment and the family went back to bed

Within minutes there was a shriek from the neighbouring apartment. The Gupta’s ran to the door and saw their neighbour collapsed in a heap. Many other families too came to see what had happened. Someone put water on Saroj Jain’s face as she came to, pale and shaking.

“What happened?” they asked and she showed them a small crumpled piece of paper on which was written

This is written in BLOOD. We will come tonight at midnight to take your blood.

Lalit Gupta peered closely at the note. He had a faint suspicion it looked like Prerna’s writing. But she wouldn’t go so far, would she?

After the crowd dispersed, he came into Prerna’s room and woke her up. “You didn’t have anything to do with Saroj Aunty’s fainting episode, did you? he asked.

Prerna looked sufficiently shocked and rubbed her eyes sleepily and said “Of course not. Ask Maasiji. I was with her the whole morning shelling peas, Hain na?” she said turning to the old lady who had opened one eye to see what was happening.

And Maasiji who was secretly chuckling at the thought of that wishy washy Saroj quivering in fear nodded her head in agreement. Prerna was naughty all right, but this time she raised the bar.

This post is a part of Write Over the Weekend, an initiative for Indian Bloggers by BlogAdda.
8 Reasons Why Old People take the Wrong Dose/Medication

November 24, 2013
My earlier post on the “Perils of Growing Old” evoked a strong reaction from my father. He felt that failing memory and poor eyesight which is part of the natural ageing process is not the sole reason why old people make mistakes while taking their medication. It is largely the fault of the Pharmaceutical companies manufacturing those medicines.As he grumbled and grumbled about what the problems were, I remembered distinctly while growing up that there were only five tablets I really knew of :
- APC – a big white bitter tasting tablet for colds, fevers and general malaise
- Vit. B Complex – a ghastly smelling yellow ochre tablet
- Mexaform – a smallish sized dirty pink tablet for a runny tummy
- Ledermycin – a white and red capsule( if I remember right) a general antibiotic
- Avil – a tiny white sweetish covered pill for allergies
These tablets were so distinct that I could identify them even without a foil or bottle. Moreover, these were all that we really needed at home to keep us in good health.

He rang me up one morning to tell me that it is all THEIR FAULT – They being modern pharmaceutical companies. After his rant, I realised that old people are at risk.

The Hazards of Geriatric Medicine
- Advances in pharmaceutical
  industry have greatly contributed to longevity and comfort of human life. Today
  there is a specific ‘pill’ for every specific ‘ill’.
- Majority of old aged people have multiple maladies resulting in multidrug therapy with its inbuilt increasedincidence of noncompliance. This has major side effects and it is nice to know
  that the industry is trying to formulate a single pill approach. Till that
  happens the old people have to face quite a few hazards.
- The various combinations of the prescribed drugs have to be stored separately to avoid double dosing or missing the dose altogether.
- The multiplicity of generics with increasingly tongue twisting names and different trade names adds to ordering difficulty. This coupled with frequent shortages results in non interferes with
  the treatment.
- The crinkled metallic wrappers with microscopic lettering and similar size and markings on the strips for different drugs makes it difficult to identify the drug to be taken in especially failing
  light and necessitates use of magnifying glass
- As you come to the end of the
  strip there is no visible drug name and the tablet has to be wasted.
- The drugs
  supplied have different strengths that require the tablet to be halved or
  quartered; a difficult task if the tablet is of very small size. An old time ‘supari’ nut cracker is very useful for this purpose.
- While unwrapping, a tablet may slip out and then it becomes difficult to identify it as different drug tablets may have same colour,size and shape.
To illustrate his point he sent me a photo of the medication he has to take every day – some tablets twice a day, some tablets once a day, some tablets in a dose of 1 in the morning and 1/2 in the evening……You get the drift.

So if Mr. D’s mother-in-law indeed took the wrong medicine or the wrong dose, it should not be blamed on her poor memory but rather on the pharmaceutical companies which still have not manufactured one pill for all ills.

p.s. I have not only reproduced his entry in a different font but also increased the size so that it will be easier for him to read!