When my doctor told me I had severe osteoarthritis of the spine, I was relieved to at last have a diagnosis for my back pain. This condition is also known as Degenerative Joint Disease and is the most common form of arthritis, affecting more than 20 million Americans. I would rather not have surgery, so I collected some tips on the treatment of this chronic condition. For me, weight loss and back strengthening exercises appear to be the best options for now. I hope these exercises can be useful to some of you. As always, check with your doctor before beginning any exercise program.


BACK STRENGTHENING EXERCISES

(I lie down on my bed for the exercises that begin "Lie flat on your back". Floor exercises are too painful for me.)

1) Wall Squats. Begin by standing flat against the wall and walk your feet out 12-14 inches. Bend your knees to a squatting position and hold that position 15-45 seconds. Repeat exercise 10 times or as you are able.

2) Heel Raise. Stand in front of a wall using one hand against the wall to balance yourself. Rise on your toes, then lower heels. Repeat 10 times.

3) The Ankle Pump. Lie flat on back, and point the toes away from, then towards your upper body. You will feel the muscles of your calves contracting. Repeat 10 times.

4) Abdominal Contractions. Lie flat on back with feet flat on floor, knees bent, and hands clasped across the abdomen. Contract your stomach muscles and raise your head from the floor. Hold for a count of 5 seconds. Breathe while doing the exercises. Repeat 10 times.

5) Straight Leg Raises. Lie flat on your back with hands on abdomen and one leg bent. Raise the straight leg up and hold 5 seconds then lower. Repeat for each leg 10 times.

6) Hamstring stretch. Lie flat on back with one leg bent. Using both hands, pull the bent leg towards your chest and hold for 20 seconds. Repeat 5 times for each leg.

7) Leg Roll. Lie on back with both legs bent and held close together. Bring both legs to your left, hold, then take both legs to the right and hold briefly. Repeat indefinitely.

8) Leg Lift. Lying flat on the back, lift both legs simultaneously about 6 inches, and hold for a count of 5. Repeat 5-10 times, as you are able.

9) Pelvic Tilt. Lie flat on your back with your legs bent and your hands at your sides, right next to your butt. You will keep your hands, feet, and upper back on the floor or bed while raising your butt and pelvic area into the air. Hold for a few seconds.

On www.backpainforum.com I found these words of advice:

"Avoid staying too long in any position which causes the natural curves of the spine to be distorted. Change positions often, whether sitting, standing or lying down. Sitting can actually put a moderate amount of strain on the low back, and it is important to get up and walk around frequently. Sit straight up, not hunched over. A lumbar support may help with this. When standing for a long period of time, keep the spine straight, again aligning the center of gravity over the feet. It is often helpful to place on foot on a box or some other object, as it takes pressure off the low back and the sacro-iliac joints. Also remember to shift legs. Switch feet periodically, every thirty minutes. When sleeping, if on one's side, a pillow between the knees can take strain off the low back. When driving, sit straight up, not slumped. Keep the seat far enough forward, so that your knees are slightly bent."

Straight Leg Toe Touches are not recommended for those of us with spinal problems. Stretch exercises should be done gently.

BoomBoom

[ August 02, 2005, 01:36 PM: Message edited by: BoomBoom ]

Wow!
If you could do all that you could just lift that doctor who said you had that disease up in your arms and take him home for one of those little Carmen Electra lap dances. (Now there's some exercise for sure)

(It was JJ that made me say that! JJ What's this out of pocket stuff? Get your buns in here)

smile

Maybe I should have called them Bed Exercises since most of them can be done in bed.

I swear I am doing some of them now as I watch TV with Buddy. Commercial is over, so back to the bed for my exercises.

BoomBoom

BoomBoom..

Keep moving...I have the same thing as you. However, it has progressed to the point where I am taking what I feel is a lot of prescription med (I was doing great with the Vioxx, but they pulled it.) per day for pain mgmt. I can't do squats at all because I wll injure my knee. Strengthening muscles around the spine, neck, etc... does help alot.

I'd ignored the warning signals for a long time -having to roll over on my ab and slither out of bed like a snake, take a hot shower and 2 Bayer just to stop aching and get to work. In April, 2003, I ruptured a disk that pinched the sciatic nerve. Agony! I screamed in pain until the emergency room doc gave me a shot of morphine, then a second one to stop the pain.
Surgery is a quik-fix to this. However, everyone I know that has had it, ends up having another and another, ad infinitum....
My sister, Nurse Goodbody, highly recommended therapy and chiropracty. It took months for me to walk normally, and I still have numb areas on my foot and left leg. (I limped badly from April til
Christmas). However, I have learned these valuable lessons:
1.Don't ignore the warning signs. Deal with it.
2.Do the therapeutic exercises several times a week, on bed or in floor as a preventative measure.
3.My motto is -"I gotta walk so I can walk"

Walking is great for 'most anything that ails you including back issues. It strengthens the back as well as other body parts. My favorite back exercise is to lie on the family room floor (thick carpeting)whilst watching the news in the evenings. The therapist taught me this:
Lie down flat, drawing knees upward til feet almost touch the buttocks. Slowly swing the knees from side to side, not pulling too hard, just go a comfortable distance. Do this 50-75 times at a time. This is the only exercise I truly like; it's easy and feels great as you're doing it - kinda like a back massage. It allows me to multi-task - increasing knowledge and body strength at the same time. Water aerobics are wonderful for both prevention and healing of arthritic bodies
and back trauma. Wish I could participate, but is a time issue.
Virginia

This morning, I wondered whether I should exercise since I was in pain.

According to http://www.backworksphysicaltherapy.com/newsletter.html
most of the time it is ok to exercise carefully while in pain. If the pain should advance to a certain point, I will assume my body is telling me "Don't do that!" and check back with my doctor.

BTW, my doctor has approved back exercise for me. I have not asked him about that Carmen Elektra video...

Neither naproxen nor diclofenac reduce the pain. However, a nice hot shower or a heating pad do seem to help temporarily. I want to try those back wraps when I can get them.

BoomBoom

[ August 02, 2005, 11:13 AM: Message edited by: BoomBoom ]

I have a ruptured disc and torn spinal ligaments as a result of injuries in a car accident. I have avoided surgery because like Robo said, everyone I know who has it winds up with several surgeries and continued pain. Still recovering from surgery to repair an ankle injury, I sure was not looking forward to more.

I have been receiving laser therapy and accupuncture for my ankle, my knees (those went during the 4 months of being in a cast), and my back.

It has helped tremendously. I rarely ever need medication now and I was taking everything I could find just to make it through the day before. Now I am half afraid to exercise, but I need to start soon.

I'm honestly not sure which is helping more, but I'm glad something is. I would recommend it.
smile

Hi,
I share your pain- I had spinal decompression surgery last Dec6-I have permanenent sciatic nerve damage but I keep on- The best thing for us computer people is to get a stability exercise ball and use it instead of your computer chair- this was the ULTIMATE best advice from my physical therepist . Medication doesn't work for me either but capsacin creme does- don't know if the heat from the pepper creme and it is hot just replaces the pain but ot works for me