Over the years, I've had some serious problems with my back. Usually, I'm able to figure out the cause and find the proper treatment. With the advent of the Internet, things have gotten easier. Well sorta! There's almost too much information and much of it just not true or helpful. So what has helped? You can see that Tai Chi Qui Gong and Yoga are very beneficial. Yoga has kept me from debilitating pain since I was 19. However, the past twelve years has brought on Post-Polio Syndrome and a whole new set of challenges. From unending, chronic pain from one end to the other to fatigue, muscle spasms, and loss of ability to do many of the things I love. But that's just the way it is. After figuring out all the prescriptions the doctors gave me did absolutely nothing to help, I had to chart my own course.

So here are a few things that have helped me. First, I got off all the medications since they didn't do much except give me brain fog. Second, I found supplements that really work. A good whole food multi, MSM, Bromelain, and Omega-3 with Fish, Borage, and Flax Of course there are others, but those are not really relevant to this discussion. Third is the yoga to keep me limber and stretch my muscles. My daily activities are fairly strenuous so they help too. My biggest problem is I sit too much. My jobs require me to use the computer a lot. I do, however, try to not sit for more than a half hour without getting up and moving around.

Let me give you a specific example. I started having really bad upper back pain. The chiropractor helped but the problem kept coming back. I said to myself, "Kitty, you need to think this through and do some research." I realized that this was a muscle issue not a bone issue. Now what? Maybe the problem wasn't my back at all but the upper chest and arm muscles. I found some yoga positions that work on the pectorals, neck muscles, and shoulder muscles. I cried with joy at the relief within a matter of days. GONE! The pain was gone.

Now I have sciatica. Happy, happy, joy, joy. Something else I know nothing about; never had that problem. We're talking serious pain here. And coupled with PPS the pain causes me total exhaustion. Well, I've found out a lot about sciatica. I've ordered an herbal complex for help. After doing search and search on the Internet, I think I've found a site that will help me get over this horrible condition. I have learned more in 1/2 hour that the past two months about sciatica. And that statement is no bull. It's called The Back Pain Blog. You can visit this site and learn so much, no matter what kind of back pain you have. I've been going to a chiropractor for two months now with some temporary, very temporary, relief. Within three days the pain starts coming back. And I haven't gotten a bill yet either; can't wait for that. I'm going to take the advice of Dean Moyer and rebuild my back. I'm going to defeat sciatica. So take a few minutes and visit the site. You have nothing to lose except back problems and pain. Here it is again: http://www.rebuildyourback.com. Now on to my Facebook page to let my friends there know about help for back pain.

~Kitty Hegemann

Peace and love to all

Cosmic Breezes