Lower Back Pain
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Lower Back Pain
I work for a UK airline flying small regional jets. I also suffer from episodes of moderate/severe lower back pain. Despite all the best eforts of doctors and physiotherapists, it looks like I am going to have to live with the problem for the longer term.
Like many smaller aircraft types the little jet (E145) does not provide very comfortable seating, especially if you are tall like me. Needless to say this exacerbates the problem. Does anyone know about any good cushions or other portable support device that I can buy for aircraft use?
Like many smaller aircraft types the little jet (E145) does not provide very comfortable seating, especially if you are tall like me. Needless to say this exacerbates the problem. Does anyone know about any good cushions or other portable support device that I can buy for aircraft use?
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I seem to remember that on the nimrod fleet quite a lot of the crew had back problems due to the seats. If you complained you could get a tailor made support from the central medical establishmet. In these times of comercial accountability I´m sure a civilian could purchase one of these, for a price. Those people who used them said they were very good.
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a5in_the_sim
I've been there too and I sympathise!!
BackCare, which used to be called the National Back Pain Association, has a web site at www.backpain.org
Their telephone number is 020-89775474 and, if you are a member you get a quarterly magazine (which contains more ads for cushions, lower back supports, tens units etc than you can shake a stick at.)
I am sure you will be able to find something to make life more bearable.
The trouble is that no-one takes back pain seriously; unless you meet someone who has had it themselves!!
Good luck!
Edit: Just looked at the web site above and I don't think it will help you much. If you e-mail me I will send you a copy of the magazine they publish; this has lots of adverts for back gadgets etc.
[This message has been edited by GRpr (edited 27 April 2001).]
I've been there too and I sympathise!!
BackCare, which used to be called the National Back Pain Association, has a web site at www.backpain.org
Their telephone number is 020-89775474 and, if you are a member you get a quarterly magazine (which contains more ads for cushions, lower back supports, tens units etc than you can shake a stick at.)
I am sure you will be able to find something to make life more bearable.
The trouble is that no-one takes back pain seriously; unless you meet someone who has had it themselves!!
Good luck!
Edit: Just looked at the web site above and I don't think it will help you much. If you e-mail me I will send you a copy of the magazine they publish; this has lots of adverts for back gadgets etc.
[This message has been edited by GRpr (edited 27 April 2001).]
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The trouble with back pain, is nobody wants to talk about it, its a bit like piles. But when one sufferer meets another...mate.....I have suffered the damm thing for years, I found Acapuncture very good before a long haul flight, I used to be able to get of the other end without a need to clutch my back, it seems to put the F/O off when the Skipper takes 10 minutes to vacate the LH seat!!
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This has probably been mentioned by your physiotherapists but in some cases (depending on whether or not your back is ok otherwise, i.e. no pathological probs) strengthening the back muscles together with your abdominals helps.
It helped me when I had problems with mine (due to sports injury). The annoying bit was that despite seeing the best specialists none of them gave me any specific exercises to do. Even the physiotherapists failed to help me. I ended up ordering a book on kinesiology (strength training basically) that showed an exercise that forever cast away the pain.
As I said, it depends on what you got to start with.
Regards,
Cosmo
It helped me when I had problems with mine (due to sports injury). The annoying bit was that despite seeing the best specialists none of them gave me any specific exercises to do. Even the physiotherapists failed to help me. I ended up ordering a book on kinesiology (strength training basically) that showed an exercise that forever cast away the pain.
As I said, it depends on what you got to start with.
Regards,
Cosmo
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I sympathise also as a fellow sufferer.
I have had pain from the age of 15 after a sports injury and my problem is disk related.
I am now 36 and things at the moment are fine. I still have to look after my back and get the occasional twinge but it's much better than it was and it's one of those things which will never be perfect.
Things reached a peak a few years ago after instructing in 152's. I could barely walk after a 1 hour lesson.
However I have stopped playing squash and badminton and now play golf which seems ok on my back.
I used to fly the Dornier 328 which has very hard seats. In fact many pilots brought cushions in to work with them! The hard seats did not help. But the aircraft I now fly is much kinder.
The biggest help to my back was visiting an ostiopath once a month to keep everything supple.
I don't know how tall you are but it may be worth considering your car driving position, or maybe investing in an automatic if you drive a lot of miles.
Good luck
I have had pain from the age of 15 after a sports injury and my problem is disk related.
I am now 36 and things at the moment are fine. I still have to look after my back and get the occasional twinge but it's much better than it was and it's one of those things which will never be perfect.
Things reached a peak a few years ago after instructing in 152's. I could barely walk after a 1 hour lesson.
However I have stopped playing squash and badminton and now play golf which seems ok on my back.
I used to fly the Dornier 328 which has very hard seats. In fact many pilots brought cushions in to work with them! The hard seats did not help. But the aircraft I now fly is much kinder.
The biggest help to my back was visiting an ostiopath once a month to keep everything supple.
I don't know how tall you are but it may be worth considering your car driving position, or maybe investing in an automatic if you drive a lot of miles.
Good luck
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I had bad problems doing 8 to 9 hrs a day sling loading in helos, i can speak for helos, its a combination of constant feet position on the two pedals and the two shoulder postions for the collective and cyclic, all this together is back pain. I started using a roll cushion its about 12 inches long and about 7 inches in diameter, you sit it at your low spine above your butt and youd be surprised what a difference it makes. A guy i flew with loved my cushion so much it became a part of the aircraft, it worked for me and I even use it in my car, give it a go, see what happens
