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PaperclipPerfector  1yr ago (text post)   2499 thread views

Wellness Wednesday for September 27, 2023

The Wednesday Wellness threads are meant to encourage users to ask for and provide advice and motivation to improve their lives. It isn't intended as a 'containment thread' and any content which could go here could instead be posted in its own thread. You could post:

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I am 27 and work at a big box grocery store, so I stoop, crouch, and kneel a lot. I've slowly developed a shooting pain that begins in my right lower back and extends to my outer right thigh. There is no obvious activity that aggravates it, but today I woke up and it had graduated from "noticeable" to "annoying", so it's time to do something about it. I plan to start a yoga routine because I suspect it has to do with inflexibility. I also think my crappy desk chair is contributing. Any recommendations for better desk chairs? I typically sit cross legged. Beyond that, does anyone have advice for potential causes, fixes, or preventative measures?

I messed up my back in my late 20's, though it was honestly from sheer laziness and a careless sneeze. I thought I'd gotten through it then I spent the first year of the pandemic in a terrible chair from office depot which slowly undid 3/4 of my progress and I was in pain daily for a good while. Get a quality chair, definitely, which in my experience start new around $1k. I credit getting a new job that was on prem, and spending my workday in a decent chair (ergohuman), along with a fairly basic stretching and core workout routine with getting me back on track. These stretches seem like they are a secret sauce-- child's pose, downward dog, stretching lower back. Along with hip flexor stretching.

These stretches absolutely helped my lower back as well, but I think the post on the image you've linked to doesn't stretch it. It's a great stretch for the anterior chain, though, including hip flexors and abs that try to round your lower spine.

I typically sit cross legged.

Try sitting with your feet flat on the floor. This provides better support.

Huh. This initially felt worse but after about 15 minutes it improved. I typically squirm around, altering my posture every couple minutes, but felt no need to after the initial discomfort passed.

I've slowly developed a shooting pain that begins in my right lower back and extends to my outer right thigh.

I'm not a doctor, but this sounds like sciatica. The internet can suggest some specific stretches that might help.

It could also be the pyriformis muscle if it's specifically in the back of the thigh. If lying down on your back, with your left foot on the ground, crossing your right leg over the left, then with your arms pushing both legs toward your chest and stretching the back of the thigh = pain. According to a physical therapist I went to see for this, sitting at a desk should be on a draft-like chair angled 45 degrees to the ground (forward tilt). To prevent tightening of the hamstrings and legs in general. It could be a matter of adjustment of your current chair or you could get one of these 3 models modway articulate ; alera elusion multifunction high back ; alpha home ergonomic or something like a herman miller but supposedly they're not that great for the price. Ideally you get a chance to try them in a show-room and see what fits your size.

Minimal/no pain when performing that exercise. The pain is on the outside of my thigh, at around 2 o'clock if 12 is oriented straight ahead the way my eyeballs face.

Well I don't know then, probably hamstring muscles putting pressure on the sciatica nerve. One exercise that felt very satisfying was a deep stretch of the thigh by simply lying down and lifting the leg straight, holding it and pushing it toward your chest at the limit of it being painful.

Shooting pain is most commonly associated with neuropathic pain, and in this context I'd suspect a back issue. Could even be a slipped disc, either from repetitive straining or lifting something heavy.

You could try exercise for a bit, but if you can afford it, a visit to a doctor or a physiotherapist is probably not the worst idea.

I typically lift ~30 pounds frequently, up to hundreds of times a day, and sometimes at awkward angles. Occasionally lift more than 50 lbs, but always with proper form. It's almost certainly not bad enough to be a slipped disc, but repetitive stress is likely. I'm trying to fix it on my own before I try a doctor, not out of financial concerns but just because I dislike dealing with doctors. If I don't see fairly rapid improvement I'll see a doctor.

Out of curiosity, why do you suggest a doctor? My priors are that they would either recommend what I'm already doing, or recommend a medical intervention that would arguably be worse than what I'm dealing with (like back surgery). Is that inaccurate? It took 15+ years for the pain to get to that point, aggravated by a NEET phase where I was sitting in a slouched chair aggravating back pain for 14 hours a day and in bed the other 10. Working through pain would be better than enforced sloth.

The additional context you provided makes an outright slipped disc somewhat less unlikely, but it's perfectly possible that you have a slower/progressive degenerative disc disease.

Shooting pain of the kind you described, especially going from the back to your legs, is a very common presentation of the same. It strongly suggests pressure or damage on some nerve or the other.

But if it's cheaper for you, see a physiotherapist first, or if your exercise plan works out. If it makes a difference, I am a doctor myself, but this isn't my speciality.

Yoga with Adrienne and Yoga with Tim are great. I highly recommend doing a full yoga session each day. Stretching doesn't really do anything unless you spend a bit of time loosening the muscles, don't fall into the trap of doing a few 'stretching sessions' throughout the day for one to two minutes. You won't get nearly the same benefits.

Tried a generic 20 minute beginner routine with Adriene and noticed some immediate relief. I'll try her 30 day course. I have the free time for it, and the health benefits are an effective motivator.

Do you stretch, like ever? Yoga is great, but if it feels like a high bar/difficult to motivate yourself too, you'd be amazed what two minutes stretching once or twice most days will do.

If you go the yoga route, consider 30 days of yoga with adriene. Minimal woo, beginner friendly.

No. I hate stretching. Yoga is easier to do, mentally, because a guided routine makes it feel more like an exercise and less like static stretching.

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