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24 -- PORT PERRY STAR -- Tuesday, October 2, 1990 Prisoner In My Body The author of the following arti- cle, Janice Holtby of Port Perry, has been plagued by back problems since early childhood. This week, "Part 2" of her story "Prisoner In My Body", a personal account of her on-going problems and how she and her family have learned to deal with them. Janice does not claim to be an ex- pert in the field of back pain, but this personal glimpse of how she has en- dured the pain and suffering of chroic back pain, may be an inspiration to others experiencing similar problems. Prisoner In My Body will be printed in three episodes. Following is Part Two: Facts show that 80 percent of the population will suffer tnree serious bouts of back pain (higher incidence in the baby boomers, and those predisposed heredically), during their lifetime. Of that; 80-85 percent of those people have poor posture, not getting enough exercise, emotional problems (stress-learning to relax), and doing things with improper body mechanics. The other 15-20 percent require some sort of back surgery. Out of the 100 per- cent of people operated on, only 5 per- cent will develop scar tissue, so if you're scheduled for surgery don't let this ar- ticle scare you. | just happen to be in that rotten 5 percent. Also in the 15-20 percent, there will be people that can- not be operated on, but have a physical problem causing their pain. These people slip fast into chronic pain syn- drome, because their anxiety fuels their depression. Other symptoms of C.P.S. include, being explosive after overpacing yourself. Say you have just finished vacuuming your house and washed aid remade beds, (two most difficult chores for people with back problems), and then your child comes in across your cream carpet (popular colour these days) muddy from falling in a puddle. Or for men, you have felt good for three days, so you spend 7 hours cleaning up the garage or workshop and you are in severe pain, your child comes home and oils his/her bicycle chains on the garage floor. There may be a loss or increase in appetite with C.P.S. Drugs over a long period of time can cause addiction, liver or kidney damage, ulcers, and sometimes heart damage. Smoking (a drug) can cause increased aging, degeneration, and deterioration of discs. In the group members over the last 4 years, some misconceptions have been cleared up. | personally thought that it was more difficult for a wife and mother to be laid up, then a man. The men members quickly straightened me out. We laughed and snickered during one meeting while viewing Dr. Hall's ex- ercise video tape. One man in particular said "If | could do that, I'd be back to work!" Ironically, Ken later had a spinal fusion by Dr. Hamilton Hall! The warm- ups were good though, but everyone should seek a doctor's and physiotherapist's help in getting an ap- propriate exercise programme for yourself. If housebound, check with your doctor about having a home visit programme. | will briefly state some Toronto and Oshawa help, from the west of your community. You will have to investigate the east for yourself. Some of these ad- dresses may need to be updated. Canadian Back Institute, Dr. Hamilton Hall, 12 Sheppard St., "oron- to, Ont. Phone 865-9922. M5H 3A1. Back Association of Canada (BAC) Judylaine Fine, 83 Cottingham St., Toronto, Ont. Phone 967-4670. M4V 1B9. Toronto Western Pain Clinic, Dr. Vanderlinden. Phone 368-3546 - General Info. 368-2581. Toronto Wellesley Hospital, Dr. Per- rin (neurosurgeon). 926-7775; Oshawa 725-8632. Toronto General, Symthe Pain Clinic, 101 College St., Toronto, Ont. M5G 1L7. Phone 579-3111. Dr. Millar, David Coreys' Clinic, Behaviourial Health Inc., Suite 254, 250 Eglinton Ave. W., Toronto, Ont. M4R 1A7. Phone 486-5303. (This clinic is for people who cannot have any or anymore surgery. If you are housebound, they will send workers to your home, but the fee is not covered by O.H.I.P. Check with your in- surance company, or Workmen's Com- pensation Board, to see if they can help you with the fee, ranging from $5,000.00 - $10,000.00 to teach you strategies to have control over pain and your life. (They have 8 group therapy sessions in Toronto for around $500.00 if you can travel to T.0.) North American Chronic Pain Association, Ontario Chapter, 6 Handel Ct., Brampton, Ont. L6S 1Y4. Phone 793-5230. Closer to home Oshawa General Hospital has a Back Pro- gramme (4 sessions), but you will need areferral, as with the above mentioned doctors. Behaviourial Health Inc. does a free assessment. Relaxation expert and pain therapist, Dr. John Hunchak, author of '"'Cool, Calm and Collected" or his Stress Pak (above mentioned book, plus a workbook and Relaxation tape 1 and 2 and 3rd tape panic attacks) works out of Oshawa General Hospital. Phone 576-8711 and ask for Dr. Hunchak. He uses relaxation techniques and self- hypnosis for pain relief. Dr. Majeed, js a psychiatrist specializing in marriage counseling, and has had personal ex- perience with back problems. He will ween you from addictive drugs and on- to Tylenols or Aspirin, with Elavil or Pro- zac. If on Elavil, you must be in a doc- tor's care, as you must be weened off of Elavil, too, but this antidepressant works well to relieve depression and pain where signals in the midbrain become confused, because pain and depression go hand and hand. All the doctors and the clinics have long waiting lists 2-12 months depen- ding on which doctor, but in the mean- time, you can start by reading Judylaine Fines' book "Your Guide to Coping With Back Pain' (if not in the Library or bookstore, try a pharmacy, or write or phone the Back Association of Canada. I haven't read all of Dr. Ed Wheats' book "Love Life, for every married cou- ple," but he has a great acronym (B.E.S.T.). | know the T. stands for touch. Love pats and acknowledging each others' care can go a long way. Massage (back, neck and feet, in par- ticular) is a form of touching and saves money if you can't afford a Reg. Massage Therapist. My husband uses acupressure massage (learned by my massage therapist, who has a unique European massage) for my shoulders and in bet- ween my shoulder blades (but sometimes | think he does it too hard, so | won't ask again, just kidding Brian). Love Life is a Christian book, and may be ordered by writing to the Zondervan Publishing House Inc., Grand Rapids, Michigan, if unattainable from a book store. Eli Bays' Relaxation Course (Toron- to) was highlighted on 'Beyond Stress' Channel 19. He describes the four levels of brain cycles (I'm not exactly sure, because | lost my five taped ses- sions), and how they are effected by relaxation. Just by closing your eyes, you can drop your brain cycles lower, causing some relaxation. Don't grab that extra doughnut or caffine drink, just close your eyes for a 10-15 minute break, but set an alarm just in case you drop into the lowest brain cycle, sleep. Watch your attitude toward negativism. You may be in pain, but your children are growing up, as you either work or "wait" for someone or something to "stop" your pain, which can be referred from the affected nerves' level of injury to other parts of your body. Often people don't realize that | have pain down my legs and in my right foot like toothache pain. My daughter started drawing me lying down, in grade one art (I was bedridden for three years), so | became concerned about our children's role models. We have a son, too. Although it hurt, | contacted Big Sister's in Port Perry, and my daughter was mat- ched with a wonderful, loving and gen- tle sister/mother role model. | cried after that first meeting, and letting her go, but | was so happy to see her blossom, with her once a week visit with Marilyn. Final Episode Next Week Every household in Canada will be receiving an 8-page information guide in the next few days. It COMING SOON TO YOUR HOME If you haven't received the guide by October 15th, call the toll-free number below and a copy will be sent to your home. 1-800-267-6620 Hearing impaired, please call 1-800-267-6650. Pour obtenir la version frangaise de cette publication, veuillez composez le 1-800-267-6640. outlines the country's economic plan and contains important information about Canada's future. Please look for it in your mailbox and take the time to read what's inside. Gouvernement du Canada Government of Canada i+ EN | LOLS I TL NL I J J INL