Tuesday 16 October 2007

Living With Back Pain : Making A Bed

Hi there,

Bed making-such a simple task but one that seemed daunting to me when I suffered severe back pain and sciatica. With prolapsed discs I was worried about all the bending and lifting making a bed can entail. I dont get pain anymore but I still feel I want to be careful with tasks like these.

So this is my solution for bed making, it may or may not be yours. You should always check with your healthcare provider over anything you should not be doing.

It may sound a little strange but warm up a bit before you do anything physical like bed making, if your body is warm there is less likelihood of strain. If you have the Lose the Back Pain system you may like to warm up then do some of the stretches before and afterwards. If you do not have the Lose the back pain system you may want to consider it to help you help yourself(with support) to get rid of the back pain. Click here if you would like to learn more about  Lose the Back Pain.

Wherever possible try to get someone to help you or delegate this bedmaking task to someone else.

Stripping the bed is the first task. Just take it slow and one layer at a time. I walk around the bed rather than stretching across it. Then I carry the sheets in light loads down to the washing machine.

Instead of the flat sheets I use the fitted sheets with elastic corners as they are so much easier to put on. I actually kneel by the bed and work my way around it flipping the fitted sheet into place, no problem. I keep my back straight and do not strain over the bed. It saves having to lift the mattress at all to slide sheets underneath.

Then with the quilt I just put the quilt into the top of the cover and shake it down, slowly one bit at a time, pulling it gently where necessary. I use a lightweight quilt so I am not doing too much lifting.

I always walk around the bed to do adjustments. If you can get someone to help you that is so much better. Make sure as much as possible your bed is accessible from all sides so you can walk around it, as this will make it easier for you to manage.

While doing this I find it best to take it slow and in stages. If it is too much for you and you live with other people, discuss who could take on this task instead of you. If you can share this task that is so much better for you and your back .

Also if you are in the market for a new bed, choose one which does not need turning. Ours has to be turned and I am concerned about doing it or even helping anyone doing it so it is a real pain for my husband to do it by himself. The next bed we get will not need turning!

Also consider a memory foam mattress or mattress topper. My mum has just recently got a new bed with a memory foam inbuilt and she loves it. We have a mattress topper which is very comfortable and good for me.



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Lose The Back Pain System
Lose the Back Pain, is a system of self assessments to determine what physical imbalances you may have that may be causing your pain, then specific and targeted exercises to follow to address the imbalances, along with pain reduction strategies. 

For useful information and suggestions there is a Free Back Pain Book Written by the Healthy back Institute-

7 Day Back Pain Cure
This free book (there is a small shipping/handling fee for physical book) will give you a good starting point for taking back control of your back pain covering reasons for pain, pain relief, possible treatments, action plans and many other things you will find useful.
Follow Jasmine Ann Raintree's board Back And Sciatic Pain Strategies. on Pinterest.

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