Scoliosis: Life, Support & Friends

Well as you all know it is the holiday season and I was expecting to be feeling much better, I have been taking it easy, spending lots of time relaxing and doing bugger all, however, the back brace has been in and out of the cupboard more times this past month than I had used for the last year! I am really struggling with the right hand side muscles again............ it hurts so much and I have noticed that I have been in a bad mood these past few days, I have been taking it out on everyone - not like me at all, but sometimes we just get to the end of our tethers don't we? I feel I am stuck between a rock and a hard place, I don't want more Scoliosis surgery or injections for this and that, I would just like to be a normal person and yes I know I have to deal with my Scoliosis but bloody hell it gets hard sometimes. I am now in bed again as this is the only place that I get any relief, but I am a 31 year old woman who has had Scoliosis since age 12 and I want to feel 31 not 61!...

I am feeling a lot better today and the brace has now come off, my back muscles are now able to support me much better - the last few days have been hell and I can honestly say this is the worst I have been in many years, the last time I had a bout of pain and discomfort as bad as this was in 2000, I really thought that time was the end of me! However, in 2000 I was not as knowledgeable about Scoliosis as I am today, I did not have my memory foam mattress, I was not using heat pads or microwave heat patches, I didn't have the support from my Scoliosis members and needless to say, I felt all alone. I must have pulled a muscle as the pain was so acute and localised and sent me bending over to the left and walking very strangely indeed, so much so, my right leg started to give me some pain because that had been taking all the weight with my body being in the wrong position. I went for a walk on Sunday - in this state, all the Drs tell you that exercise is what you need and laying do...

I read an article that was suggesting that chronic pain and sweets really do help pain. I am not going to argue about this, but I am going to say - CHUFFING GREAT! :) Apparently sweet tastes and sweet smells have been shown to increase our pain tolerance, our perceptions of pain diminishes when we smell or taste sweet foods. ScienceBlog carried out on a study and followed 3 types of smells: Sweet and Pleasant (Caramel) Unsweet and Pleasant (After Shave) Unpleasant (Civet Musk) The reason for including both the sweet and unsweet smells allowed the study to distinguish between the analgesic effects of the pleasantness of the smell from that to the sweetness. The participants who took part were given a mask and the smells were placed inside of the mask, they measured the breathing patterns of each participant, the particpants were not told that the mask was performing this task. Each participants put on the mask, and then placed their hands into a vat of water at 5° Celsius (41° Fahrenhei...

I got up feeling great this morning, I always do though I must admit, my bed takes my pain away and I sleep so well, however, once I had got going and walking round the garden, the pain was back and I had to reach for the brace again. Without the brace I cannot keep myself upright. I have just sat down after doing minimal chores (which ain't much!) to write this blog post, I will continue with jobs but I am really having to make an effort to stand, walk or do anything, I am so frustrated. New house and new beginnings and I am sat indoors looking out on my wonderful garden unable to do much of any significance, pissed off doesn't even come close, but I suppose this is the STORY OF MY LIFE and living with Scoliosis is now a chore anyway! I am finding this pain difficult to explain, it is almost definitely a muscle that keeps trying to spasm and every now and then goes into full spasm - this explains the screaming ;) I am extremely unfcomfortable, forever shifting my weight and I ...

Well, here they are again, the dreaded lumbar muscle spasms. I am back wearing my TLSO, cannot make any sudden movements, can't bend over to pick anything up off the floor, can't dress myself, can't even wipe my own bottom! I am walking half bent over forward and then bent over to the left, I cannot relax my back, I am only comfortable when I sit still with my bottom back in my chair, a cushion half way up my back and my head forward. Having a bath helps and heat is a wonderful comfort - however, my heat pads do not arrive until next Thursday, until then, I will have to make do with my microwave patches. I was carrying a single towel to the bathroom last night, from the kitchen to the lounge, which isn't far, I didn't make it, I had an almighty spasm which sent me to my knees, this caused the spasm to be more fierce - frightening as I just didn't know what to do with myself, I couldn't move my legs, couldn't bend over, roll over - I was just in a heap sc...

I got up this morning and OMG do I hurt, I am having to wear my back brace TLSO because I just cannot keep myself upright and if I try to right myself it hurts so much, the muscles on my right hip contract and then I cry out and try to find a position that is comfortable for me. I hate wearing the brace but sometimes it does make me feel better, I am just glad it is not Summer, I cannot even begin to consider wearing a brace when it is Summer in Spain, too damn hot! I think this has come on because I was sitting on a cushion on the floor last night, leaning back and forth to get my drink from the table - a bit unfair if this is the cause, but hey, this is life with Scoliosis I suppose, if your back decides to stop you from what you are doing, it WILL! I think in a few hours I will be working in bed as tomorrow we have a busy day seeing clients, collecting deposits or final payments for their work and I need to be walking upright at least. I had a look in the mirror earlier and I am alm...

How to use RICE treatment correctly Rest: Resting is important immediately after injury for two reasons. First, rest is vital to protect the injured muscle, tendon, ligament or other tissue from further injury. Second, your body needs to rest so it has the energy it needs to heal itself most effectively. Ice: Use ice bags, cold packs or even a bag of frozen peas wrapped in a thin towel to provide cold to the injured area. Cold can provide short-term pain relief. It also limits swelling by reducing blood flow to the injured area. Keep in mind, though, that you should never leave ice on an injury for more than 15-20 minutes at a time. Longer exposure can damage your skin. The best rule is to apply cold compresses for 15 minutes and then leave them off for at least 20 minutes. Compression: Compression limits swelling, which slows down healing. Some people notice pain relief from compression as well. An easy way to compress the area of the injury is to wrap an ACE bandage over it. If you...

I have been receiving many emails about memory foam and whether it actually works. I will let you into the secrets of my good night's sleep and what I think about memory foam and why it has helped me so much, for starters I no longer sleep with Valium, I simply don't need it. The memory foam that I sleep on was invented by a guy in the UK, who, unfortunately does not have the dollars behind him that his competitors like Tempur do, therefore he has not been as recognised as a brand name like he should have been - it's all down to money, and what a shame that is. I have heard great reports about Tempur mattresses and I have tried one, however, I have to say that their product is not as wonderful as the OroMed Sleep System that I use - you understand that this is MY personal opinion and I am entitled to have one ;) I started my quest for memory foam 4 years ago, I just couldn't sleep and was getting beyond my tether of walking around the house at night in tears because I ...

I have been approached via my website from someone in India who needs help finding a surgeon. I do not have much knowledge on surgeons for Scoliosis in India and would really like to help this person, I decided to write a blog post and see if I can attract the attention of anyone who would have good advice on surgeons in India, where she should go for surgery in India and who would be recommended in India to perform the surgery. Personally, I would have thought that Deli would have a good selection of top spine surgeons who could help this lady who has a 59º curve, surgery is considered when a spinal curvature peaks over 50º, I do know that many Indian back specialists train in the UK, some stay and work in the UK and others go back to India and work there. Perhaps there is a surgeon in the USA that is doing pro bono work, I have heard of many top USA surgeons going to other countries and performing surgeries on people who desperately need help. If anyone has any advice or suggestions,...

We have just moved house and boy has that taken it's toll, moving and lifting boxes, packing and then unpacking........I am sure you know the drill. The last house we lived in had stairs and I was battling them daily, this gave me bad lumbar pain and caused me to walk bent over after a long day, it became distressing and annoying. I am so pleased that we have now moved home and I have no stairs anymore, life has become so much easier for me and I do not miss the stairs from the other house! Despite all the packing and unpacking it has been worth the stress to move, I am hoping that over time my pain will become less and less, however, I am into gardening and weeding at the moment and that is a killer but I am taking that easy. Tonight though, I am very sore in my lumbar, the pain is not a sharp one but a dull ache and it feels like I am going to have a muscle spasm and I hate muscle spasms it is the worst pain ever! I am looking forward to going to bed now - my memory foam mattres...