It’s important to ensure that your maximizing your benefits. It’s really boring, but I would highly recommend taking the time to review your benefit plan in detail. Otherwise, you’re just throwing that money away and you could be negatively affecting your health.

Living in pain is not fun, I’ve lived with back pain for 6 years now. I have back pain from the base of my skull, all the way down to my hips, and every area in between, I’m constantly in pain. And having to deal with a 10 month old baby and breast feeding doesn’t help the matter. I see a chiropractor every 2-3 weeks and a massage therapist every 3-4 weeks. It costs a lot of money, but most of the costs are recovered through our Extended Health benefits (fortunately!)

Some people have already made some very good suggestions like having someone check your workstation and to read up on ergonomics for your home workstation. Invest in good quality keyboard trays and chairs (it does make a difference over cheap ones). However, the reality is that the human body wasn’t made to sit in one position for any length of time. Get up from your desk every 20 mins, stretch your body and move around.

Find different ways to exercise. If you’re taking the bus, get off a few stops earlier and walk. Park your car out further. Take the stairs (run up them if you can!) Play with your kids! Even though it’s winter in SK, there are open gyms at the community centres. You are modeling good healthy habits this way to your kids, so this is an added bonus.

I would suggest hiring a personal trainer at your gym to give you some routines to do, it may make exercise a little more interesting for you. Make certain that this person teaches you proper form. I see many people at the gym doing exercises improperly, which can lead to injury.

You mentioned that you need to do core exercises. There are more to core exercises than just crunches. Your core actually consists of muscles in the front and the back of your abdomen. I did core exercise in the 3rd trimester of my pregnancy, and didn’t do a single crunch. Pilates is great, even my husband did it with me pre-baby. He does notice a difference when he bikes to work (~16 km one way) and doesn’t do Pilates for a few months.

Get your Chiropractor/Physio to show you some stretches and exercises you can do on a regular basis. If you feel like you need to work out tight muscles, and don’t want to fork out money to see an RMT, a tennis ball is a good option (it’s like using an elbow to dig into a muscle knot). I have a stretch routine that I do every night to help work out the kinks, and that includes time with the tennis ball. It makes it bearable for me in between RMT visits.

I have an assessment booked in the near future, hopefully it’ll help.

@Blond Heretic – I’ve heard good and bad things about chiropractors, I’m pretty proactive with my health so I’m hoping for a push in the right direction.

@The Rat:

I’ve waited the pain out previously, and it always comes back, I’m hoping for something more long-term that won’t flare up.

@ JVR: I booked a physio appointment (never been there either) after your post – I’m thinking a combined attack (strengthening the muscles as well as correcting what’s wrong) may help more.

@ Customers Revenge – I enjoyed your post – I am also more in favour of working the muscles out to strengthen them rather then taking pills. My mother has had 2 pretty major back surgeries caused by a degenerative disc, and I hope I can avoid that.

@ Laura – I’m willing to give most treatments a try, I would love to see results in 6 weeks.

@ Mama Zen – Like most men (according to the trainers at my gym) I have been resistant to Yoga and Pilates, but will give them a shot in the near future

@ Canadian Money – Other then my back pain I would say I am in excellent health (like running 10-15km with minimal effort health) – I think I need to focus some energy on gaining core strength and flexibility and maybe spend less time in front of a computer (which is hard to do when its -15c outside).

I agree wholeheartedly in putting health first and hope I will learn from this pain about how to reduce chances of hurting myself in the future.

@ Robert – I am open to any and all stretches I’m given – thanks for the tips!

I work contract so have a new workstation almost every year. Most companies are very good about Occupational Health, assessment, etc. and it can help tremendously. If you can’t access that resource, look for tips on Google and do it yourself.

I almost want to purchase a good chair and take it with me from job to job, because the pain can be quite debilitating occasionally.

I have had back problems for years. I have had a few times when I could only lie down on the couch for a couple of days.

Prevention is the key. Daily…Daily…Gentle exercise that strengthens and stretches the back muscles is the solution.

Find ways to spend less time at the computer and more time taking care of your body. Build stretching time into your work schedule. Get up for frequent breaks. Walk to the farthest bathroom you can justify. Go visit so and so for a couple of minutes down the hall. Any excuse you can find…get moving.

Make taking care of yourself your first priority in life. Without your health nothing else matters.

Been doing that for decades.

A couple of everyone can do it tips..

Always sit on the floor to put your socks on. Three year olds do it…so can you.

Always take the stairs when you have a choice between an elevator and the stairs. If you have to start out easy…take the elevator part way, then take the stairs.

Hope this helps a little.

ps…chiropractors don’t make money by giving you a permanent solution. They are a good short-term fix it.

You said you go to the gym, you must discuss your condition with your trainer. If you dont have one, take at least an appointment every month to ensure your workout is properly balanced! Beleive me (I am a trainer more than 10 years of experience) and unproperly planned workout can harm yourself very badly.

A chiropractor can help you gain back some range of movement, but as a permanent solution you’ll better to opt for yoga or pilates, even if you take only one class a week. Yoga and pilates can help you to raise your kinestetic consciousness, so you improve your posture, gain flexibility and strenght. Bye bye chiropractor but as a temporary help, in your situation a chiropractor is a good option.

Good luck managing your pain.