Postural training with a specialized doctor (ie a physiotherapist, don't go to personal trainers or anyone else without a medical degree in the field) then repeating the exercises by myself reduced my back pains and the painkiller consumption to zero. Now I take them occasionally only for other problems mostly related to age, weight, other health related issues (Haglund), and a motorcycle accident I had in 2020.
In my situation, I learned to stretch my spine without thinking when walking, riding the motorcycle, or even sitting. Keeping the correct posture is so important, and often overlooked, but at least in my case was all i had to do to change everything. YMMV of course.
Ask HN: How do you deal with neck and back pain?
31–40 of 45 posts
Re: Ask HN: How do you deal with neck and back pain?
#32Deadlifts and squats.
Re: Ask HN: How do you deal with neck and back pain?
#33I have lordosis, and admittedly, I should be seeing a PT because the curve is getting worse. But when I'm in pain, I go for an intense bicycle ride. Something about the blood flow loosening everything up and the endorphins it releases. For hours after my body will naturally want to do those stretches that just feel so good. It will last for a handful of days and then my back and body starts to ache again and it reminds me to go again.
Re: Ask HN: How do you deal with neck and back pain?
#34(1) See a doctor. General-purpose advice isn't meaningful here.
(2) Pain can be from something as simple as underusing a region of muscles. Once you know your specific problems it's often really easy to treat and prevent.
(3) Fixing that sooner rather than later is probably a good idea. You heal faster when you're younger, and chronic pain can easily become a mental pattern long after the physical trigger has healed (and AFAICT psychological therapies for that sort of pain are still in their infancy).
(4) Muscles and bones benefit from impact, even something as mild as walking 10-60min daily. If you're physically atypical in any sense then still see a doctor to make a plan first, but adding a little of any sort of exercise will probably help mitigate any issues.
(5) Reiterating, if you're currently in pain, see a professional.
Re: Ask HN: How do you deal with neck and back pain?
#35I just had my first physical therapy session for frequent pins and needles on my right hand & arm today morning, frequency increased significantly in the last four weeks.
All doctors I've seen say I've tight muscles and have very few moments in months with no headaches and/or pain in my extremities. Tests did not show any diseases like lupus and doctors think it is a combination of sinus issues (headaches) and early onset of arthritis, so I have learned to live with the pain and consider it normal.
But today after PT evaluation, they think I've cervical radiculopathy and believe most of the issues stem from pinched nerves and left untreated could result in loss of strength.
So it maybe a good idea to go see a doctor if you have frequent neck/back pain.
Re: Ask HN: How do you deal with neck and back pain?
#36(1) See a doctor. General-purpose advice isn't meaningful here. (2) Pain can be from something as simple as underusing a region of muscles. Once you know your specific problems it's often really easy to treat and prevent. (3) Fixing that sooner rather than later is probably a good idea. You heal faster when you're younger, and chronic pain can easily become a mental pattern long after the physical trigger has healed…
"See a doctor" is not a silver bullet. I have pretty severe chronic upper back pain that I have repeatedly brought to my doctor's attention at Stanford Med. I've only ever gotten "I dunno, maybe see a PT" as a response. No imaging referrals, no diagnosis, just a tacit admission that my issue is hard to diagnose or treat, and therefore uninteresting.
I've gone to a series of physical therapists. They all offered me extremely generic regimens of stretches and exercises that had little impact on my pain. None of them suggested any particular diagnosis or escalation options. Just... it's not working? Well, how about you pay for a few more sessions?
Edit: I have long ago bought all the desk jockey ergonomic accessories -- a standing desk, a split keyboard, a floor mat, a balance board, an ergo mouse, long walks twice a day. They made no difference.
Re: Ask HN: How do you deal with neck and back pain?
#37You need to build strength, no way around it.
Re: Ask HN: How do you deal with neck and back pain?
#38(1) See a doctor. General-purpose advice isn't meaningful here. (2) Pain can be from something as simple as underusing a region of muscles. Once you know your specific problems it's often really easy to treat and prevent. (3) Fixing that sooner rather than later is probably a good idea. You heal faster when you're younger, and chronic pain can easily become a mental pattern long after the physical trigger has healed…
"See a doctor" is not a silver bullet. I have pretty severe chronic upper back pain that I have repeatedly brought to my doctor's attention at Stanford Med. I've only ever gotten "I dunno, maybe see a PT" as a response. No imaging referrals, no diagnosis, just a tacit admission that my issue is hard to diagnose or treat, and therefore uninteresting. I've gone to a series of physical therapists. They all offered me ex…
Sorry to hear you're in pain :(
I agree it's not a silver bullet, and I probably should have made that more clear. The point I was trying to make is that they're likely to get a lot of advice in this thread, and knowing nothing else about them other than that they have back pain and a standard desk job it's more likely that a doctor will be able to help than that any recommendation here will make a difference.
To your issue, back pain can be really complicated. Before I found a doctor that helped I found swimming in cold water made a huge difference where nothing else did (lucky to live near the ocean). If your typical doctor doesn't have a clue because something atypical is going on then it can be time consuming and expensive to find somebody who can actually help though. I don't have any actionable advice for atypical issues :/
Re: Ask HN: How do you deal with neck and back pain?
#39Have you seen a therapist? Your back and neck pain pain might be because you are very stressed.
Re: Ask HN: How do you deal with neck and back pain?
#40I just had my first physical therapy session for frequent pins and needles on my right hand & arm today morning, frequency increased significantly in the last four weeks. All doctors I've seen say I've tight muscles and have very few moments in months with no headaches and/or pain in my extremities. Tests did not show any diseases like lupus and doctors think it is a combination of sinus issues (headaches) and early…
Edit: forgot to add how this relates to a question on neck pain - the pinched nerve is in my neck that was causing neck and shoulder pain and possibly the cause of frequent and long pins and needles on my arms & hands.