now here is a silly question

[ORNurse]

i am probably not the only one with back pain. it has really bothered me as of late. now of course whoever does the anesthesia only has to move the head over to the stretcher so that part is okay. but what about pushing heavy beds and wheeling stretchers through the hallways? has anyone noticed this taking a toll on your back? do you have to push/lift anything else?

[assilem]

good shoes have always been a priority for me. i got caught the other day though with some aches and pains after dealing with cysto and eswl tables and trying to get to my pt.

[NHEDTECH]

How about getting some stronger abs? I muck a ton of horse stalls and my back has gone from 8/10P after doing the stalls to 0/10 just from really working on my abs for a few months. Pilates, standard weight lifting, etc.

[m_playman]

Agree with NH; "core" strength often improves LBP. Can be as simple as getting a exercise "ball" and using it for basic stretching and strengthening exercises. Often your posture becomes lazy and ultimately puts increasing strain on erectors and SI region. Stretching hamstrings is also helpful in that regard. Essentially helps restore some balance to the area. (realize am sounding a little sappie here)

[ORNurse]

it is all worth a shot, i know my back is getting worse as time goes by and who knows what i'll be able to do in 10 years from now.

[deepz]

Check out this guy

http://www.mckenziemdt.org/robin.cfm

His stuff works! Five years ago I had a raging sciatica. Thanks to a PT skilled in MacKenzie technics, plus a change in lifestyle to emphasize better posture (including lumbar rolls in the car and office chair) and MacKenzie's preventive stretches, I'm fine. Took several months to ease, though. One study I have seen compared PT like the MacKenzie methods to laminectomy: one year later the symptom relief was not significantly different.

Read his book. Good luck.

d

[WakingLife]

I try to be consistent about raising the bed to the appropriate height prior to transport. If that means I have to spend 2 minutes extra plugging it in and raising it, so be it... I also am careful about positioning during spinals and epidurals, ie raising the bed. It's kind of funny because I usually do this, and a lot of the people I work with look at me like I am crazy or like I have some debilitating back disorder....but I don't, I just want to save my back for the future!