Ridiculous Back Pain

[xo_kathy]

Getting up and away from the desk is key! Your muscles are just getting knotted into the wrong (and painful) alignment. In addition to the chair, check with your benefits department to see if they offer any sort of ergonomic assistance. We have a consultant that comes through and checks your work station. She gave me just a few simple tips that have really helped my lower back pain.

I also reccommed accupuncture - it's helped my husband's neck/shoulder pain a ton. And while it's pricey, too, often it's cheaper than massage. Both may be covered by your insurance, though, check it out.

[AlexMack]

You're probably carrying a lot of stress in your back too which isn't helping. I'm in a rehab program right now for my lower back because it was just one solid knot, all from stress.
Get back to the gym and start weightlifting. I'm doing that right now at PT and it's helping.
Remember not to sit for long periods of time, get up and walk around and do some stresses. A good one-lie flat on your back and pull your knees up to your chest.
For your neck, turn your neck to the right as far as you can. Now start pulling your opposite arm towards the ground. Hold for five seconds and repeat. Then switch directions.

Do some arm swinging exercises to loosen up your shoulders.

Finally, use thermacare wraps-you put them on your neck (or lower back in my case) and they provide heat that feels amazing. You can wear them for 8 hours. The heat will also loosen up your muscles.
If your chair is bad, it's not helping you-see if you can get a better chair.

[Xylochick216]

You may want to see your physician or physical therapist. I was in physical therapy for 8 months for my back and neck. One of my biggest issues was that I was getting forward head motion from sitting at my computer for so long. I had many exercises I had to do during the day that could be done at my desk. It's helped a great deal with my back pain. I also had massages twice a week as well as e-stim therapy at the physical therapist, which was a last resort. Good luck!