My best accessory

Not just in the van. If your knees aren't as flexible as they should be.....

I've got a yellow one, courtesy of Scarborough out patients ,use it most days.
Boaby

I have a yellow one too , courtesy of my late mom.

I had to pay for mine, I think £1.40, from IKEA.

What does it do ?

Mines yellow. Courtesy of Spires (NHS patient ) for after my hip op.

I have three blue ones, one kept near the front door, one near the back door and one in the van.

Frank

Is it any good for ( very) bad backs ? I've got one of those at the moment.

Please, please tell me what it is !

Quilter wrote:Is it any good for ( very) bad backs ? I've got one of those at the moment.

Please, please tell me what it is !

It's a shoe horn, but long enough to use standing up.

Thanks.

Yes, I could do with one of those at the moment but need something to get my socks on  and the rest of the clothing below waist level first.  Sufficient codeine and diazepam and I dont really care much however.

Socks are a problem but shoes no longer are.

Is your back pain likely to last?

I wish I knew. It came right out of the blue last Monday and my doctor is as puzzled as I am. 

Best gadget I have is a Dreamland Heatpad turned up to Fry.

Quilter wrote:I wish I knew. It came right out of the blue last Monday and my doctor is as puzzled as I am. 

I get that on a semi regular basis, my doctor isn't puzzled though, he puts it down to a trapped nerve.
There's no treatment [in my case] apart from pain killers. It can be fine and dandy one minute and then a sudden or wrong movement will result in agony for hours or perhaps days.
Then it will go again as quickly as it came.

Frank

That's reassuring Frank. I used to get it, very irregularly, when I was working but have not had it since I retired. All other systems seem to be working normally and I feel fine otherwise. With no chance of an MRI scan until after we return post Christmas I shall keep taking the tablets.

Don't have that accessory yet. There is a similar gadget to assist in the process of getting socks on but I use the method my mum used to get mine on when I was small, rolling them back and then rolling the onto my feet.

I regularly have sciatic pain, fairly easy to recognise as it affects my lower right or left back and the pain sometimes extends down my right or left leg. As much as ibuprofen works, it has side effects so I try not to use it. Regular applications of an ice pack to reduce the inflammation that causes the pain (I keep one in the freezer for the purpose) usually does the trick after a couple of days.

I had the same years ago and suffered on and off for more years, sciatic pain, trapped nerve, call it what you may.
I ended up having a laminectomy, which was so successful that I threw away all my long handled aids, including shoe horn and grabber..
Al.

bikeralw wrote:I ended up having a laminectomy, which was so successful that I threw away all my long handled aids, including shoe horn and grabber..
Al.

I've had the sqidgy stuff between two of my neck vertebrae replaced with slivers of bone on metal plates and screwed in. Is this what you had? [but on your back]

Frank

I was told by the consultant that they cut off the bits of squashed discs in my lower back that were impinging on my nerves. By the time I had the procedure I could barely walk at times, to me it was a miracle.
Al.

bikeralw wrote:I was told by the consultant that they cut off the bits of squashed discs in my lower back that were impinging on my nerves. By the time I had the procedure I could barely walk at times, to me it was a miracle.
Al.

Been there. done that. Years later pain again and it was my hip that time. Just hoping my other hip holds up.

I wonder if there is a way to relate these problems to people's ages.

My back problems started when I was in my late 20s. I picked up and threw a 33kg bale of rubber, only to discover that it was stuck to the one beneath it. Didn't do that again!
Don't think age helps though.

Frank

My back goes (sciatica) every couple of months, sometimes gets better in a couple of days, other times can take a month. I worked for the frozen food chain Iceland for 13 years, constant filling of freezers and emptying them to defrost didn't suit my height. The other recurring problem I have is my left knee. Had miniscus damage removed in both knees over 25 years ago . Current X-ray simply showed mild arthritic change. Doesn't feel mild when it suddenly gives way. As mentioned previously socks are the hardest challenge.

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/S8SZ-Sock-Stocking-Aid-Puller-Assit-Disabilty-Aid-Helper-Terry-Cloth-Dressing-/112160795560?hash=item1a1d4deba8:g:PTMAAOSwYIxX-LSj
Here you are Paulmold. My husband has a similar one. And they work

Thanks Rose. My mother had a similar aid and I'd forgotten all about it.