I too have back problems and often it is upper/shoulder blade pain. I'm currently having my own struggles between pain relief/management without narcotics, so I can't help all that much, but I have had trigger point injections (is that cortisone?) and I have my hubby put biofreeze gel on the problem area and rub it in really good ( you should definately be able to get it @ your chiropractor's office). I don't find that either of those are very effective, but we are all different..I am currently looking into maybe some yoga moves, although I have found out that i am not as flexible as I used to be (ha, ha). I wish you luck and please post if you find some relief and how for the rest of us. Thnx.
The lidocanine patch doesn't help me at all. It just feels like a wet rag on my back.
Good to know about the shower thing. That would have been interesting.
If Ibeprphen doesn't help ask your doctor to prescribe Lidocaine patches. They are not addictive and can really help. I've used them for sever knee pain and sciatic pain. They are expensive but last a long time. You can cut the patches up in 3 sections or 4. You only leave them on for 12 hours at a time. And don't get in the shower with them or they blow up like a babies dirty diaper. Anyway, i highly reccommend the Lidocaine patch.
yes I hear about Biofreeze I hope the chiro has some today, no corisone shots never had them, I had a bad car accident in 01 and never recover + I think is stress pains, I do heat pads in the evenings also ice hot pads, and I use a tennis ball and roll it in my shoulder bladde. Thanks
I have upper back pain too and we tried a lot before and in addition to the Norco - first we tried the cortisone shots - have you tried that? (what kind of injury go you have) The chiropracter helps - but I need to go often - 3x a week to get regular relief. Het helps mine - hot baths, heating pad and sometimes I have to lay down and hang my head and upper back off the side of the bed. My dad just bought an inversion board which you use for several minutes a day which is supposed to stretch out the space in between vertebrae and alleviate pressure. Ibuprofen is what everyone tells me to use - I don't find it helps a great deal but I think it's better than nothing. It really messes up my stomach, though. I think there is something called celexa (?) that my dr. said I could take and then I would less Norco. I am looking for anything too because I would like to take zero Norco. Sometimes I used a topical gel called Biofreeze - I got it from the chiropracter. Massages really help but are expensive! Hope that helps a bit....