As someone with chronic pain, especially in the back, here are my tips for writing chronic back pain and solutions to ease it
try and use descriptors. For example, whenever I have a headache, there's this one spot on the side of the bridge of my nose that always hurts; i describe it as having an arrow stuck through that specific part. When my back hurts, it feels like someone is stabbing a spear or trident into that area.
Chronic back pain doesn’t go away, at least not fully (in my case). We instinctively hunch and Colt's doing work that means he's getting beat up a lot. Have the pain be in different levels. Maybe its just a small ache one day and the next, a searing debilitating pain.
Some days it feels like I’m drowning in molasses and other days it hurts to move. Let them have bad days.
Have the back pain manifest as weird things. Maybe one day it feels like there's rocks in my spine and another it feels like the knot in my back are rootbound tree roots.
Have them have strange wishes regarding their back pain. For example, I often wish that someone would rip out my spine and pop the area of my tailbone or just remove that knotted muscle all together. Make them think of unconventional ways to fix the pain(ie: tearing out their knee and popping it)
if its a nerve related condition, make them suddenly aware of parts of their bodies for a moment. For example, I occasionally become aware of my spine (an icky feeling) or my ribcage (an even more icky feeling bc i always want to remove my ribs and rearrange them bc of how uncomfortable I feel)
Solutions (none of these are permanent, but they help):
Aspirin patches. There are these patches that you can put on your body that have aspirin in them. But due to them (at least the ones I use) having camphor and menthol as well, describe the area as numbing before it feels like that spot is on fire. And they come loose when you get sweaty, and you should never put one on and then a heating pad over it as it can cause overabsorption of the medicine.
Pills. Ibuprofens is a common one, but also branch out. Naproxen lasts longer so have Colt take a naproxen before a long day of shooting. But remember, it can wear off faster if you're doing a lot of things and metabolizing a lot and using a lot of calories.
Heat. Heating pads and hot showers are amazing. You can just sit in a hot shower and you'll feel somewhat better in no time
Physical therapy. A given. Physical therapy is great even for chronic pain that comes from the nervous system and not muscles (like AMPS, which I have). You're basically retraining that muscle (or in the case of nerves: desensitizing them). Now physical therapy is a long and ardurous process. Your character isn’t going to magically get better after a few weeks of physical therapy (that can be true for like maybe an injury, but chronic pain is different). And physical therapy is taxing and exhausting. Have your character crash after PT or take a nap before. And make them struggle in certain things, like carrying weights of a certain weight or if the handle is too rough and hurts their palms. It's not going to be a breeze, its an uphill climb.
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blakekathryn
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