Susanne
Good morning, I read your article regarding back pain. I have had a bulging disk for a long time now and was putting up with the pain and sciatic pain down right leg. could not sleep properly. I looked at a new bed which made a little difference, made sure I looked at my posture as I have a sitting job and this agravated my back. Also I became careful how I carried loads. But the main thing that has helped me is the exercise which I am doing with LifeCare Physio. The cost is $33:00 per session of one in a class of 4. The exercises are personalised to me and are for strengthening the back and stomach and hips so that you can maintain that strength all day without thinking. You keep the tummy muscles tight even when you are not thinking about it. I was going twice a week, but had to cut back to once and I do a lot during the week of my own exercises, but I found a slight backward trend when I cut down to once a week. I definitely think careful exercise is the way to go. But the Physio should be mindful of the disk problem. This cost is covered under HBF and you can claim up to $1400 or thereabouts in a year. This is the reason I cut back to one, then I can go all year round. Cheers. Hope you can find relief. Susanne Willshire