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Is it normal for pain to get worse before it gets better?

egnartsarual
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06/11/2010 - 9:44pm
Is it normal for pain to get worse before it gets better?
Hi, I am a healthy 20 year old female who has been experiencing a lot of pain this summer. I have known before that I have a slight scoliosis in my lower back, with slightly uneven hips, shoulders and leg lengths. But it has never been anything truly troublesome. Out of the blue about 4 weeks ago I experienced excruciating pain in my coccyx and sacrum, which resulted in visits to chiropractors, neurosurgeons, and physical therapy. PT is helping with the back it seems. But then out of no where I began and still do experience horrible pain in my knees. Refusing to start a life of pain so early, I found your method last night and starting trying to employ the small things I can from your youtube video and book preview until I can get a copy of the book. The easiest thing for me to start employing seemed to be the tallstanding, stretch sitting, particularly the shoulder rolls as my shoulders are always hunched forward. It all felt very good at first but as the night came on, my right shoulder/back/neck area started feeling a lot of pain from having the shoulders rolled back all day and now my whole back is in a lot of pain. With the pain in my tailbone and knees, I can't handle any more areas of pain. Is this a normal adjustment or is this a clear sign of mistakes on my part. I just want to get back to my life! Is there any chance I did any damage to my back and shoulder by trying the shoulder rolls too soon? What can I do to relieve the pain? Thanks, Laura Also... I tend to have back sway, I don't think I normally tuck my pelvis. PT has been struggling to get me to do so actually. And my feet are quite overpronated.
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This approach is definitely not about working through pain. 1. Tallstanding is a very difficult starting point because there are so many moving parts to keep track of. Also, if you begin to do shoulder rolls while standing it is very likely to result in an exaggeration of your sway. I always start people off doing shoulder rolls in stretchsitting where your back is firmly "glued" to the backrest which prevents your back from swaying. Once you learn to isolate your shoulders from your ribs cage when doing shoulder rolls, you can go on to do them in standing, walking, sitting away from a backrest, etc.  2. Shoulder rolls should be done once every once in a while when you discover that you have lost your baseline position. If you do them too frequently you risk inflaming your tissues (and also having people around think you have some sort of tic!) 3. Wait till you get the 8 Steps book before you get too gung ho implementing these measures - the book presents the steps in a good order. The orientation chapter will help you understand the lay of the land as well. 4. I very much doubt you did any serious damage to your tissues - just give them a break and they will recover (particularly rapidly since you are age 20!) To relieve pain, my favorite things are: rest, hot and cold packs (doing what feels good), acupuncture, everyday movement done fluidly, meds (if the pain is stronger than you want to bear).
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