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QUESTION:
I've been experiencing pain in my upper back and frontal ribcage
for the past year now. I've seen a doctor, a physiotherapist and
am now currenly seeing a chiropractor. I must say my current
chiropractor is the only person that's managed to relieve some of
this pain recently.
My chiropractor has suggested that I purchase a recliner, so that long
periods of sitting in one spot (which I do on weekends) will not aggravate
my upper back pain and allow it to heal over time.
What I'm really looking for is a second opinion? I respect the knowledege
and experience of my chiropractor, she has given me great success in relieving
this pain - I just want to get as much opinions on this as possible before I
justify spending a reasonable large amount of money on a good recliner.
ANSWER:
1. It might very well help. I have one that I sit in (pelvic pain). My
wife bought it for me and I complained about the waste of money, but I have
to admit that it does make a difference. (In other words, she was right and
I was wrong. I even admitted it to her.) But buy a good one -- cheap
furniture can cause pain and it certainly adds to pain caused by other
problems.
1a. I don't believe that there is any way to calculate the odds. You
choose, and then you find out whether it was a good idea or not.
2. Why do you sit in one spot for long periods? Do you think this might be
causing or contributing to your pain? Can you change this behavior? Maybe
a good walk is what you need most. Or maybe you can't change it -- you
didn't tell us enough about your physical condition for us to know. But
maybe lying down on the couch (again, a good one -- I prefer a futon on a
wood frame, because of the total support it gives) would be better than
sitting in a chair, any chair.
One final comment. I understand your questioning (question everything), but
somehow I read this post as a reluctance to buy the recliner. (Maybe I'm
reading something that isn't real, so in that case you can just ignore this
paragraph.) If it's the money (including delivery, since you don't want to
aggravate your back), aren't you worth it? If it's control (who's life is
it anyway, yours or the chiropracter's?), then you need to make your choices
based on what you think is right, not whose idea it is. This can be hard
(it causes corporations no end of trouble), but it's something you've got to
do.
Note also that the behavior change (if you can) is quite a bit less
expensive. Although, once you've walked your neighborhood a bit, you might
get tired of that and need to visit museums and art galleries and so forth.
And eat out while you're out. And so forth. This can get pretty expensive.
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