Hi Beth-
I get back spasms from sitting. My mid and lower back just sort of 'go' after a while. On a good day I can sit for a few hours, on a bad day I can sit for about 10 minutes. If I go for too long I get a big knot by my left shoulder blade. It will stick with me until I take my hefty vicadin before bed, and if I sleep well it will go away by morning. Lidoderm patch also helps it.


I spent a long time explaining to my manager why I needed a super spiffy chair at work for exactly this reason. I change the position of it many times during a day so that my body is not stuck in one place. It also has a head rest which is critical. When my neck hurts I just recline for a while and rest my head. I get on the floor and stretch several times during the day, too.

I know that for me some of it is just muscle weakness. Mt PT is working in two directions- One to reduce movement restrictions that keep me from rotating properly in the shoulder, back, arms, and neck. (there are a LOT fo retrictions so this is a very long process) Two is some very gentle toning exercises to help me regain strength in abs, back, legs, and arms. And by very gentle I mean nobody else in the world but us tosers would actually call it exercise. What really scares me about that is how hard it is to do the exercises...when I see that, well, no wonder I can't sit up. *sigh*


Johanna