Saturday 15 December 2007

Ten Tips for Shopping with Sciatica.

Busy shopping centre
The Easy Guide to Shopping with Back Pain and Sciatica symptoms: Ten Hints and Tips.

If you have back pain and sciatica symptoms shopping can be a real pain. Here are ten top shopping tips I have utilized to help make your weekly grocery shop and other shopping trips a more bearable or pleasant experience for you and your back.

· Go shopping at quieter times when it is not so busy especially if you are concerned about busy shopping malls, congested public transport, people or trolleys bumping into your back or people who may inadvertently push you. Plan ahead so that you are not rushing around putting yourself under stress.

· If you find it difficult to reach products high up or low down on the shelves ask a store assistant for some help to get those items. If it is very difficult for you ask for an assistant to go round the shop with you. Depending on the store you may need to ask them in advance, check with the store you use.

· Get a trolley rather than a basket. With a trolley there is no weight for you to lift. When shopping in a supermarket/superstore you will, if you are like me, invariably buy more than you thought you needed and end up with a heavy and awkward to carry basket which is not good for you. If you find it difficult to reach down into the deep trolleys get a trolley that is shallow.

· At checkout accept help with packing or ask them for assistance and tell them you need to have bags packed lightly so you are able to lift them in to your car and out of the car when you get home.

· Only lift one bag at a time and place them near the front of the boot (or trunk) of your car. Otherwise lay them on the back seats of your car or passenger side so you have easy access to them. You do not want to be having to lean deep into the car to drag the bags out.

· If you can take a friend, partner or family member with you when you go shopping that would ease the physical demands on you. Alternatively you may feel comfortable with delegating the task of the weekly grocery shop to another family member.

· If you are planning a trip shopping for clothes or other goods do take regular breaks and rest stops. If you are intending buying a lot and think you will find it difficult to carry your purchases around with you ask if the store will keep them safe for you to pick up later in the day. Take a lumbar support pillow with you so that any seating will be made more comfortable for your back. If it helps you use heat pads on your back. You can get some that are very discreet and give around 8 hours of therapeutic warming heat. Don’t push yourself to do too much shopping in one day.

· Keep drinking good quality water if you are out all day, it is easy to get dehydrated when you are concentrating on shopping. Carrying a small bottle of water is a handy way to take frequent sips throughout the day without constantly looking for cafes. Also take opportunities to do some of your back pain relief stretches when you can.

· When you get home have a warm bath or shower, do your back pain relief stretches and then get some rest.

· Whether your back pain or sciatica is at a stage where you cannot tolerate the physical demands of shopping, or whether you would just find it easier, on line supermarket shopping is offered by many major stores and is a great tool to do all your food shopping at once without you having to lift at all and get purchases delivered to your door.

When I found it difficult to get out to the shops and especially when walking was difficult for me but I could tolerate sitting for short periods of time, I discovered there are also many internet sites where you can purchase clothes, beauty, household goods, really most things you could want. So if you love to shop and find that is difficult for you at the moment you don’t need to miss out.

If you are interested in learning more about a way to get rid of the back pain and sciatica check out the links below on "7 Day Back Pain Cure" and Lose The Back Pain System" to help you get rid of the back pain and sciatica.


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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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