Back Pain
So as I sit here to write this I have a nagging, burning sensation between my shoulder blades taht tells me 25 years of moving patients and leaning over people and a couple of short term injuries to the area sustained while moving patients are beginning to take their toll.
Oh, yeah, and that lumbar burst fracture from getting thrown off my horse isn't helping either.
The area is getting arthritic, I can tell from the continually tight and spasming muscles to the area. Leaning and puling does not help there either. Many healthcare providers find themselves in similar, or worse, situations. Back injuries are the number one injury to nurses.
Oh, yeah, and that lumbar burst fracture from getting thrown off my horse isn't helping either.
The area is getting arthritic, I can tell from the continually tight and spasming muscles to the area. Leaning and puling does not help there either. Many healthcare providers find themselves in similar, or worse, situations. Back injuries are the number one injury to nurses.
We continually are pulling up in bed that weigh more than we do. We turn them. We move them up in bed. We transfer them to chairs and back..and stretchers and tilt tables. We position them for procedures. We feed them, bathe them, and make them comfortable. All of this requires leaning and twisting. I have been leaning twisting and pulling people up for too long.
We are also continually reaching up and over them for various reasons...to adjust traction, hang IV's, input information into monitors buried in banks of IV pumps for which we frequently have to lean in and twist to get to.
But the fact remains that as we age on the nursing floor, we begin to feel it. I relieve my pain with over the counter medications, ahot water bottle, and working my sore and spasming muscles loose with whatever is available. I find corners to be helpful to work the muscles loose. I find coworkers to massage(forcefully and painfully) the area for a brief period of time. I find the strongest pair of hands on the floor that day and have them apply bfief and painful pressure. Sometimes it works.
We have to take care of ourselves. Our facility has begun installing ceiling lifts in most rooms, to ease the back burden. And they work well. But to move someone who weighs 160 lbs, they are a bit cumbersome. For someone who weighs 300 lbs plus, they are wonderful.
We have large beds for people that need them. We work together to move most people. Sometimes it takes 4-7 of us to move someone or perform different things. And we all feel it.
Low back pain and neck pain cen be debilitating to anyone. Other symptoms include pulsating pain down lega or arms, constant or not, numbness and tingling of fingers or toes, electrical sensations that follow a specific pattern. These sensations can impair normal movement, and can, if in the right area, interfere with bowel and bladder function. But the most aggrevating to people is the overall interference in normal life activities.
Over a period of time, these symptoms can effect your overall tolerance and performance..of work, of life, of pretty much everything.
You have to take care of yourself. It's rather like never maintaining your car engine.The vehicle will continue to run for awhile, but eventually it will break down. Maintain your vehicle.
We are also continually reaching up and over them for various reasons...to adjust traction, hang IV's, input information into monitors buried in banks of IV pumps for which we frequently have to lean in and twist to get to.
But the fact remains that as we age on the nursing floor, we begin to feel it. I relieve my pain with over the counter medications, ahot water bottle, and working my sore and spasming muscles loose with whatever is available. I find corners to be helpful to work the muscles loose. I find coworkers to massage(forcefully and painfully) the area for a brief period of time. I find the strongest pair of hands on the floor that day and have them apply bfief and painful pressure. Sometimes it works.
We have to take care of ourselves. Our facility has begun installing ceiling lifts in most rooms, to ease the back burden. And they work well. But to move someone who weighs 160 lbs, they are a bit cumbersome. For someone who weighs 300 lbs plus, they are wonderful.
We have large beds for people that need them. We work together to move most people. Sometimes it takes 4-7 of us to move someone or perform different things. And we all feel it.
Low back pain and neck pain cen be debilitating to anyone. Other symptoms include pulsating pain down lega or arms, constant or not, numbness and tingling of fingers or toes, electrical sensations that follow a specific pattern. These sensations can impair normal movement, and can, if in the right area, interfere with bowel and bladder function. But the most aggrevating to people is the overall interference in normal life activities.
Over a period of time, these symptoms can effect your overall tolerance and performance..of work, of life, of pretty much everything.
You have to take care of yourself. It's rather like never maintaining your car engine.The vehicle will continue to run for awhile, but eventually it will break down. Maintain your vehicle.
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