• Boozilla@sh.itjust.works
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    23 hours ago

    Several months ago, I was moving some boxes in the attic and torqued my lower back just wrong. Felt like I had a spear stabbed into me. Could barely move. Had to park myself on a heating pad and take a liver-destroying dose of an NSAID to recover.

    • MinnesotaGoddam@lemmy.world
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      3 hours ago

      huh, so my dad had back problems his entire life. he trained me to put cold on my back if i hurt it. basically, if there’s a pinched nerve, the cold reduces the inflammation. eases the pressure. whereas heat expands everything, and could (doesn’t always) increase the pinch on the nerve or cause a spasm.

      and y’know, what you’re taught as a kid is what you think is normal. has putting heat on your back ever caused it to get worse? more i think about it the more that sounds bullshit to me.

      • Boozilla@sh.itjust.works
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        3 hours ago

        Some recommend heat, some recommend cold, some recommend alternating between them. My back was ‘seizing up’ and the heat seemed to relax it. I mostly think it’s just something to do while waiting for the drugs to kick in.