Moving helps ease the pain

I've had this horrible low back pain for the past couple of days.  That happens from time to time.  I just wake up with my lower back hurting and it hurts to sit up in bed and even worse when I stand up.  I feel like I'm 100 years old and must look pretty funny walking around.  I think it's caused by tight muscles in my hips that connect at the top of my hips.  I get inflammation and arthritis in my hips so it must cause those muscles to tighten up and then it wont release.  It could also be a Fibromyalgia flare up.  I'm not sure.  The doctors don't really know for sure what's going on either and just tell me to take Aleve.  

I have my own little box of tools that I use though that I've found though trail and error.  I try different stretches to try to release those muscles.  When it's really bad I can't bend down very far so it's not possible to touch my toes.  I have to start off slow so I use a tall stool to support myself while I try to stretch my back muscles.  Then I move on to a kitchen chair and then to an large inflated exercise ball.  Eventually I get to where I can reach my shins or the floor.  Today I was finally able to reach my shins but not the floor yet.  

I also use an ice pack to help release tight muscles.  My Rheumatologist told me that you should always use ice to help relieve pain caused by inflammation and never heat.  Some people insist that heat makes their pain better and don't want to try cold packs but I've found that it helps me.  Heat may feel better for a while but cold actually helps it go away or makes a large improvement because it counteracts the inflammation.  I have a large ice pack that I bought on amazon.  It's for shoulders but when it's open flat it covers my whole lower back.  You can use the velcro strap to hold it around the front so you can get up and walk around when needed.  That ice pack stays cold longer and it is flexible and not hard like ice.  

Today when I got up it was still hurting but was not as bad.  I've been stretching some more and then I took my bike out.  I started out pretty slow but as I went my muscles loosened up more.  I went down 3 blocks and then around and back home.  I'm glad I did that because it helped more than walking.  

I was finally able to walk like normal again and my husband look me out for lunch.  It was so nice to get out of the house for a while.  It's a nice day with some sunshine but also a little cloudy with a breeze.  My flowers are looking pretty good considering I haven't done anything at all in my garden.  I only have perennials so they come back on their own usually.  

D