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So much pain

QUARE

QUARE

Bluelighter
Joined
Oct 29, 2012
Messages
668
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Studying research chemicals
I started a new job about 2 months ago and since I suffer so much pain... my job is physic and consist in the production and assembly of hockey gears and other item related to hockey. The pain is located mainly in my back, my legs, knee and feets. I believe the pain in my back is cause by my arms moving constantly up and down and the pain in my legs, knee and feet are cause by 2 things, first I have flat feets and second I stand up 10h in a day 4 days a week.

To help with the pain I take : Acetaminophen, Ibuprofen, Methocarbamol and Opioid research chemicals.
The OTC meds doesnt help much... the opioids help but not completly and I cant imagine my self taking Opioid research chemicals all day every days for all the time I will work there.

Do you have tips for me ?
 
Hi Quare that't terrible. i can't imagine OTC not working on my back pains yikes! On the other hand, have you gone to a doctor to see if you can get some xrays done and such? If you haven't I would suggest you do just in case it is something that needs to be corrected.
 
have you tried yoga?

stretching muscles and developing core strength is a must for people who do repetitive physical jobs

i am a kitchenhand at a busy kitchen and no longer suffer back pain and sleepless nights after practicing yoga with regularity
 
OTC pain relievers don't work for a lot of people. Most people don't process them.

The other suggestions like doing deep stretching regularly and getting insoles are excellent. Those would have been my first recommendations.

You also need to ask yourself if this kind of work is appropriate for your body's condition, and if your employer is providing you with the necessary means to do this work without injuring yourself. In most of the developed world, there are laws governing workplace safety that you should consider looking at. And if you are getting injured on the job from repetitive strain injury, you could file a complaint and get compensation for therapy.

The amount of standing you're doing is unacceptable, and I don't think looking for pain relief is the answer. Standing for 10 hours without sitting breaks is going to damage your body, and numbing the pain is just going to make it worse in the long term. The more you try to numb the pain with medication, the more pain you will experience when you are not taking those medications. This is because pain relievers take over your body's natural ability to fight pain. Is there no way for your employer to provide you with a stool, or something to sit on periodically?

Having flat feet doesn't help. Insoles may not be enough, you may have to see a podiatrist and invest in custom orthotics. They are expensive but worth it if you can somehow afford it. Orthotics will realign your posture from the sole of your foot. If your work place has a really hard floor like concrete, it will compound the problem.

Most of the remedies I know that could help you simply won't work because you are re-straining your back every single day you work there. When the areas are actively inflammed, there is not much that can be applied to it apart from ice. The only way to really address this is with a change in your work environment to ensure prevention.
 
Start deadlifting and stretching out your hip flexors. Sounds like you used to sit down a lot and your back is straining to pull itself into proper alignment but your hip flexors are tight which makes them pull against you pelvic giving you poor lower back posture. All of this throws everything else out of alignment as well.

You can also likely benefit from tennis ball rolling on the bottom of your feet while standing to get you hamstrings and gluts to fire more consistently. Basically what I am saying is that your spinal erectors are weak, and your hip flexors are likely tightly wound up balls of muscles that need to be stretched out properly.


BTW I used to stand/walk for 20+ hours at a time, no issues from that. Even carried 75+ pounds a lot of that time too.
 
^ This- some good advise there. Get your self into a nice solid routine of yoga and basic gym routine. . . Google Starting Strength by Mark Ripptoe, or Supermen: Building Maximum Muscle for a Life Time By Craig Cecil. Great books that cover basic exercises with weights, and look into some simple body weight exercises. I used to be in the Army, lot of standing, walking, running ect with heavy weights, and I work now in a High End Kitchen as a Sus chef so I stand for 12hrs at a shot. Trust me some basic strength training and some stretching will help with your pain. But seriously talk to your General Practitioner Dr. - if OTC pain meds, and some basic strength and stretching routines do not help there could be an underlying Skeletal/muscular issue going on. But in all seriousness try What Joeof1 and others have said. Yeah standing for 10hrs a day sucks but lots of people do it, think construction, and other physical jobs, masking the pain is only going to do you but so much good; addressing the underlying issue is what you want to do. See your Doc, build up some strength and some flexibility and you will be surprised at the change.
 
I would suggest buying some high quality foot wear. I have had back pain since I was a teenager due to a nasty snowboarding accident. I got into nice shoes for fashion reasons and really discovered very quickly how much better quality footwear affects your back.

I personally prefer Jordans and Nikes. Also mid top shoes and high top shoes really seem to help out the back. I always go for basketball shoes as I find they have the most support.

I would also highly recommend hitting the gym. Squats are probably the best exercise for your legs and back. They work so many muscles. If you do benchpress, squats, and hang cleans you pretty much hit every muscle in your body. If you do those exercises you can do it 3 days a week for pretty good results. It is important to have a day of rest in between each work out session. Sometimes people work out to much and actually get less results.

Another exercise program if your a bit more motivated would be to do a four day split program. That is when you do you legs and back/biceps one day and then you do your chest/triceps and shoulders the other day. This would be working out two days in a row and taking a break for one day and then working out two more days in a row. Its very effective to switch back and forth between a 3 day program and a 4 day program every few weeks.

I really could go on and on about weightlifting but I am not going to unless you are interested.

I cannot recommend enough doing stretch workouts. They are truly under-rated. Also if you have access to a swimming pool its great to stretch in the pool and then swim a bit.

You might want to see a doctor about your pain medication instead of using rc's, but be very wary of pain doctors as they are in it for the money and not your wellbeing always. Often times medications get reformulated so do not ever get too attached to one as you never know when a pharm rep will pay a doctor to prescribe his patients a new drug. All the same it may be a bit safer. Its best if you can get pain meds from an ethical family doctor if you absolutely need them.

Also long walks are very good for you. Any sort of exercise regimen is going to produce natural endorphins which is basically your body producing pain killers on its own.
 
Thanks for all those awnsers guys.

Like I already said I already tried the Insoles and it didnt work for me.

I used to be a bodybuilder but since my car accident I had a spine fracture and I cant lift heavy weight anymore... Sad, I used to like working out, I was weighting 200lbs with not to much fat, I mean I had some belly fat but that was all. Now I pratically lost all what I worked for, I now weight 158lbs.

I would love to wear quality shoes but Im doomed, I also have large foots so all I can wear without hurting my foots are skate shoes.

Also, welcome to my country, Opiates are not prescribe for pain unless you currently suffer from a recent fracture or surgery or have very severe chronic pain. ( I think they think Opiate are evil lol) I mean yes they are addictive but if they help me its not a bad thing... They prescribed me Naproxen for my pain, Laugh !

I think ill go with some stretching, I hate walks but meaby ill do some and see if it helps.
 
Hi there QUARE. In my experience, paracetamol combined with ibuprofen can make a surprisingly effective non-opiate painkiller. My mum has chronic back pain, and one thing that helps her is methocarbamol, a muscle relaxant. (Not sure if it's otc though). A hot bath can help soothe back pain, or a good massage, or even a few sessions of chiropracty.
 
Yeah the power of a Hot bath and or shower should not be over looked. Might want to look into a set of 3/4 length compression tights and a shirt for the back. Might help as well.
 
I love hot showers and baths but I have pain during I work and it get better when I get home. Today I had SO much pain in the legs, I could barely stand at the end of the shift... I would rate it at 9/10, I stopped using the Opioid RC and the pain in my legs are getting very bad. Strangely I dont have pain in my back at the moment.

I forgot to mention, I have to wear Steel cap boots at work.

How do compression tights works for pain ? I cant believe it to be so easy. Also where can I buy that kind of stuff, I never seen these anywere. Sports shop ?
 
Here in the states you can buy the footwear and tights at pharmacies and hospital/medical supply stores.

How's the numbness? I noticed your other thread was closed.
 
The compression tights work mainly by giving you a little bit more support for the muscles and muscle groups you are using all day. It's not going to take the pain away like you hear on the commercials but- and here is where they really help out: with long term fatigue. They help to support you so that over time the muscles become less fatigued then they would have been if you were totally unsupported. Good foot wear will help. And good foot wear with good insoles, and some compression gear will help better- sounds like a lot but hey think of it like strapping on pads before a game. As for buying the stuff Amazon. http://www.amazon.com/CW-X-Length-R...2&sr=1-47&keywords=compression+tights+for+men

These are the ones I own and a top by the same company, and they work, Like I said man i had a left knee replaced and the right has had ACL & MCL reconstructions. I used to work construction, and now im on my feet all day in a kitchen. And they do work man. But they wont take the pain totally away. I feel you on the trying to stay away from opioid meds especially the RC ones; after the surgery i was on some serious shit for a few years ( 2 years clean now ). Steel caps suck but look into getting a nice set of ones from some where like http://www.uscav.com/Home.aspx
They offer a great selection if gear for guys in the service and law enforcement as well as outdoors men, so they cater to guys that are on their feet all day. But If your pain is that sever man you may want to see your dr about being put on a long term pain management program. My mother has 6 bolts and a cage around part of her lower spine shes had three fusions done there - and is on a long term management prgm but let me tell you man - she wishes she never got on the stuff because in the long run its just another set of issues to deal with. But if after a few months of stretching, working out, walks and taking a proactive approach to trying to fix and or releave this pain it may be time for you to see a dr to see if there is a major underlying issue ( if you stated earlier that there is and i missed it sorry mate). But hang in thee man physical pain is only temporary what really gets you is the mental aspect of known your not working at 100% . Hopefully this helps mate good luck
 
The numbness in my big toes are this there, it might be cause by my first pair of caps boots which were very painful my feets, I changed them for my olds boots, those are great boots, I bought them at the army surplus but they are pretty worn out now, I should but a new pair. Someone asked how was the mobility of my toes, they move very well only the flesh seems numb I dont know why my toes are this numb though, meaby the combination of the bad boots and the AH-7921. Im going to see my doctor in a few weeks for some reason and Ill talk to him about this at the same time.

@Neoprimitive, your tights are expensive and im not even sure its going to work and how do I know my size ? My pants size is 34 (I dont know if its the same size as in the us though) , Ill have to think about this. Also like I said my boots are good but worn out, I will probably buy some new this week end.

Im also checking for a new job already, but its easier said then done and there is no garanty that its going to be better.

Today, the pain in my legs was less severe (7/10), my back got worst than tomorow (5/10). Seems like the pain is not constant. I took some Acetaminophen though, it probably made it a little better.
 
Do you think you may be feeling some withdrawals from the ah-7921 still? That would make your pain feel much worse and makes sense since you lost a bunch of weight too. Your body's still recovering. Good you stopped taking that stuff! See if hot baths and trying different boots help.
 
Sorry brother I know how it is to be strapped for cash and in some pain- before i was able to purchase the expensive gear ( before i landed in a good paying job) all i did was buy a pair of regular tights and fold the lower legs up so they covered the calf. And I bought a few pair of knee socks and wore them under the regular socks; think thins as you dotn want to cut the circulation off of your feet with tight boots and tight socks. What country are you in man Im not to sure on EU sizes or Asian but im sure you could Google the conversions. They might not work I know its a risk but for me they helped a fair bit, and in the end helped get me off of a serious drug regimen( 2 80mg Oxycontin a day plus 4-6 15mg oxycodone IRs every day with 2-4 350mg Somas daily) that was prescribe to me ( and that’s what was prescribed to me not the additional shit I was taking after being on for a few years), shit is rough getting off of a serious drug regimen even when you want off. In the end it was a selection of aids like the compression sleeves where an aid one of a long list that added up to help me make up some battle armor as it were for getting back to a place where my pain was at a tolerable level 5/10. I am glad I am off of the drugs and back to a healthy style of living. But for me it was just bad knees and a series of issues that where less serious from the shrapnel and a missing testicle .Watch the Acetaminophen man prolonged use at high doses can lead to liver issues, and long term high dose use of NSAIDs have issues. There are other issues at work here though numb extremities can be serious-glad to hear your seeing a Dr. good luck man hopefully there is a nice simple answer Also look into shoe inserts ( wedges ) they may help shift the pressure to the proper area of your foot on Amazon. try to look at Tommie Copper ( http://www.tommiecopper.com/ ) they are compression sleeves way cheaper but pretty good none the less and they make a wide array of sleeves, pants, knee calf, ankle, shirts ect ect. Any way man good luck and I hope this helps; some times just talking about it helps. Cheers mate
 
@ T.Calderone- you might be right there mate: There is not a lot of research on these novel Research Opioid Compounds- so it is conceivable that he is in withdraw still.
 
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