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I'm lazy girl with low back pain problem...ahaha...because of too lazy, so that having low back pain...hope u all can help me improve^^

Thursday, March 19, 2009

Final Blog


 


  It’s time for me to conclude what I had done in past few months to improve my low back pain. Low back pain is a common problem nowadays. As mentioned in Health Psych textbook, most of the low back pain is not permanent and most people recover after sometimes. 

I experienced low back pain since four years ago. At first, I did go and consult a Chinese physician. He told me that he could not do any treatment to my back because it is due to inflammation of ligaments of my back. He recommended me to use a corset with steel inside to support my back, so that I could sit straight to avoid pressing the ligaments. He also prescribed some antiphlogistic drug for me to let it recover faster. After one week, the pain disappears itself. Therefore, I never care about it anymore because I thought that since no pain anymore means that it recovered already.

In this few years, my low back pain come and goes frequently. This phenomenon will occur during study week or holidays. After sometimes, I found out that my low back pain is cause by sitting for a long time without moving around after sitting for twenty or thirty minutes. Unfortunately, my low back pain come back to me day before Chinese New Year Eve after I do some households. At the beginning of the pain, I had the thought like “rest for few days and it will be fine after all”. According to the Theory of Reasoned Action, individual belief takes place in this situation. I think that if I rest enough, I will be fine. Therefore, I did not go for treatment although I was in pain. My attitude toward the behavior in this case is I do not want to see doctor because it is only small injury and will recover soon if I use the corset to support my back. Moreover, it is around Chinese New Year, maybe there is no physician available. Thus, I just ignored my low back pain. My parent knew that my low back pain problem and keep advice me to see doctor or physician. Relative importance of attitude and subjective norm comes in at this point. My parent nagged at me about this issue everyday. After my Chinese New Year holiday, I came back to KL. My low back pain is still there after one week. That time I felt worry and wondering why it will be pain for so long time. Then I think that it will be better if I go for treatment and cure it completely. If not I will be suffer in the future during my pregnancy in the future. 

As a result, I have the intention to go to the Tung Shin Hospital, which is near the Puduraya bus station there to consult the Chinese physician. Because I do not have class on every Monday and Wednesday, hence, I went to hospital to have acupuncture sessions twice a week. The Chinese physician advice me try to do more exercise but not to do strenuous sports, such as playing badminton, running etc. He also told me do not sit for too long time and carry heavy things. He said swimming is a good exercise for me to improve my low back pain.

Actually, I felt a little bit scare to have acupuncture at first. If there is any alternative, I think I will not choose acupuncture because I have a bad experience before. The first time I went for acupuncture in my hometown make me feel terrible and horrible. When the physician pricks the needles onto my acupoint, and connect with a mild electrical stimulation, the pain is indescribable with any words on the world. My tears came out automatically and non-stoppable. After that time, I really feel phobia towards acupuncture. Luckily, the Chinese physician I met in Tung Shin Hospital is expert in acupuncture. Although I did felt some numbness and little bit pricking pain, but it is very okay compare to my first acupuncture experience. From my back to my leg, the physician put the needles on twelve of my acupoints. Each session takes time twenty to thirty minutes. Besides the needles, the physician will connect the needles with the electrical stimulate machine and oscillate an infrared or heater on my back. Tung Shin Hospital Chinese Medical Department actually is a charity department. The outpatients there no need to pay consultation fee. They only need to pay the treatments fee. Therefore, many old folks go there for treatments because the treatments fees are very reasonable. This is one of the reasons I willing to have my treatments there. Another reason is the transport there is very convenient for me as an outstation student without own transport. I can take the LRT there and walk for a short distance to reach there. All these factors are important to determine adherence of a person. Acupuncture is a long run treatment, thus, the factors I mentioned above are very important.

Besides acupuncture, I accept the physician’s advice that I should do more exercise but not strenuous exercise. Although I do not know how to swim, but I still learn from my housemate and friends. I practice the legs movements by the side of the swimming pool. The most important is I did exercise and move my body instead of sitting all of the time. No matter how busy I am, I will go for swimming with friends at least once a week. I have strong will to improve and cure my low back pain to avoid any unnecessary consequences in the future. Swimming not only improves my low back pain problem, it can also improve my health because I was lazy to exercise previously. After exercise, I can feel the difference. I feel more refreshing and healthier compare to before. Swimming can stretch out the back muscles and it can reduce the period of time that the back muscles and bone being pressed.

I getting adopt the habit of not to sit for a long time. After I sit for around thirty minutes, I will try to walk around or stretching to prevent long time pressure on my back. In addition, I try to avoid lift thing without bend down the knees and squat down for a long time. However, sometimes it is unavoidable because I need to clean and wash the bathroom and toilet. Hence, I use some tools to aid me clean the walls and toilet bowl, so that I no need squat down to wash. 

Sedentary lifestyle is the main cause of low back pain in my case. In order to maintain my low back in good condition, I need to change my lifestyle by do more exercise. I hope that I could go for swimming twice or more a week. I also tend to reduce my time of using laptop to play games and online. I found three swim-mates that could motivate and encourage me to be more commit to my plan in the future.

This health blog did help me to improve my health and take good care of myself. Hopefully I could maintain myself in a healthy condition in the future. Although this is blog is comes to an ends, but my plan will not stop here due to the end of the semester.

And I wish all of the classmates can maintaining your health and good habits in the future to become a person who always have good condition in physical, psychological and mental.  

  
  


 

Monday, March 16, 2009

pain...

omg...last week i was sick...then my back pain is coming back and harrassing me again!!!actually not only my back pain, my whole body felt pain in the whole weekend...until now...swt=="...

the most sweat thing is...the blog is due on this coming friday!!!seem like nothing in my blog...

actually my low back pain is somehow improving...i went for acupuncture, swimming twice a week, keep my sitting postures straight, moving around after sitting for around 30 minutes...all these actions did helps me in reduce my low back pain problem.

through health psych class, i think i become more aware of my health status. i did a medical checkup, i went for injection for cervical cancer vaccine etc.....i realized that health is really imprtant to an individual life.without good health, you can't do anything, including the thing you like the most.

after so many weeks, only have so few people come and leave their comments for me...sad...

hpefully in the very last week, will have more people view and leave their constructive comments for me to improve my health...yeah!!!

 

Wednesday, February 25, 2009

Back no pain?!

today is so lazy to go for acupuncture...so i stay at home and skip the session today.by the way, my leg is not pain anymore...hehe...so happy...i think only need to go acupuncture for 1 or 2 times.

yesterday, Mr James talk about low back pain and it's causes in health psych class. I wondering whether my back pain is cause by slip disc or not, cause it began painning at low back, then transfer to hips, from hips to thigh...maybe hurt the nerves so that my thigh felt pain?

can take X-ray to see how is it??or MRI?or any other methods?

Monday, February 16, 2009

Byebye, Backache~

I'm having backache before the past Chinese New Year Eve. Maybe because of I squat down for a long time, after that day, my back pain until cannot walk properly. Actually, this kind of situation happened before, but this time is the most serious one. The pain is still there since Chinese New Year. It began from back to lower back, lower back to hips, hips to thigh, thigh to knee...I do not know how to describe the painful feeling. It feels like got a rubber band being pull tightly between my left thigh and knee.

I am trying some methods which recommended by researchers, like doing more exercises, such as swimming. Since few weeks ago, I went for swimming at least once per week. This week is the forth week that I began my plan to do more exercise and reduce the time for remain sitting.

Besides, I also went for acupuncture on my back, and it does feel better. This coming Wednesday I will go for my 4th session of acupuncture.