Before I got pregnant, I already knew I had a herniated disc at L5-S1. When I learned I was expecting, I naturally wanted to know how the two conditions would interact.
Tag: back pain
Women’s Spines Are Made for Pregnancy
Since my existing back problems are hard enough to manage, I wanted to know what exactly would change with pregnancy. Would it exacerbate my existing problems, or put me at risk of new ones? Was there anything I could do to prepare myself?
Book Review: Stabbed in the Back: Confronting Back Pain in an Overtreated Society by Nortin M. Hadler
Until I read Stabbed in the Back: Confronting Back Pain in an Overtreated Society, I didn’t realize that it was possible to write a book about back pain that was thoughtful and full of interesting tidbits, and yet had nothing useful to say to patients.
Book Review: Treat Your Own Back by Robin McKenzie
After years of getting secondhand versions of his advice from websites, forums, and patient stories, I picked up Robin McKenzie’s book, Treat Your Own Back, to see what the man himself had to say.
7 Exercises to Avoid If You Have Sciatica
In his textbook for coaches and trainers of elite athletes, Ultimate Back Fitness and Performance: Sixth Edition, Dr. Stuart McGill lists pervasive exercises that are particularly damaging to the spine. To my consternation, this list overlaps almost perfectly with the list of exercises I loved best when I was dedicated to pole dancing. Don’t be like me, kids! Save your spines! Don’t do these seven exercises!
Even Neanderthals Had Back Pain
This article is devoted to the bad spines of hominins that walked upright, but weren’t fully human in the sense of being Homo sapiens. That may sound like an oddly specific topic, but it still breezes through about 3.5 million years of history.
Three Tools for Measuring Back Pain
I knew there must be better tools for measuring back pain. There must be scales that acknowledge the complexity of the condition, and reveal the sacrifices that are made to avoid pain.
Disc Herniations: A Failure Between the Bones
A disc herniation is a simple concept to explain. A bit of disc material crosses the border, and starts occupying space that belongs to other tissues. But when I started reading up on disc herniations in an effort to understand my own, I realized that this simple definition belies the complex nature of the tissues and processes involved. The disc itself is an impressive feat of engineering, but it also has fatal weaknesses. And once structural integrity has failed, the disc is capable of wreaking havoc on the body to a degree inconsistent with its small size. What a Disc…
Nick’s Story: A Mobile Software Developer Remains Sedentary, Develops Back Pain
Nick B. was establishing himself as a mobile software developer when anterolisthesis made seated work impossible.
Back Pain as Metaphor
Do you know of any books, TV shows, or movies, where a character’s back problems are a significant focus? Or even a distinct part of their identity?