When I cast my mind back to my deepest and worst times with my herniated disc and sciatic leg pain, all I can remember is a fuzz (primarily due to pain killers). Basically the most I did during the day was write an entry on the blog, eat something small, and watch a bit of TV or a few movies.

The problem was the pain killers were so strong, I was in a haze.

However over time you get the pain under control, you start getting a little more comfortable, reducing the pain meds and basically you start getting really bored. My partner had to keep working to earn the cash to pay the bills, so that left me a lotta time to fill.

You can’t go for a walk, you can’t do much in the house, so you have the internet, movies, tv, books and magazines.

I stumbled on to something recently that I wished I had during those times to pass many of the boring hours, and although I don’t want to turn this into an IT techie blog I feel that my experience with this insane world changing technology was worth sharing for anyone who is stuck at home, needs to keep themselves connected to the world and needs to keep occupied if they’ve got niggling pain.

An amazing friend of mine bought me an Amazon Kindle (Kindle: Amazon’s New Wireless Reading Device). My next question was “what the hell is it”… it’s simple. It’s a screen that resembles ink on a page.

It’s linked to Amazon, and it allows you to buy books, newspapers, everything.
The battery life lasts about 8 days for me (wow), less if you have the wireless on (about 3, but who leaves it on). It weights about 10 ounces (about 0.29KG), so it’s easy to hold and read (long into the day and night), and comes with inbuilt wireless (apparently the same as your mobile phone, but doesn’t cost a cent!) which is awesome because you don’t need to hook it up to a computer, and you don’t need your own wireless internet! I know, wow!

So, the best things on the device for me are the books. They’re cheaper than buying the actual book, and after watching TV shows (no I don’t watch Oprah, okay, sometimes I do) you can download the book and get cracking right when you have the inspiration.The 1 downside is the cost. At around $399US I think it was worth every penny, I guess it comes down to where you are financially and what your sanity is worth Fortunately I had a friend gift it, but if you want to give your family something to contribute to, I think it’s worth it – assuming everyone has read this post in particular tip number 11, and now owns a cold pack and uses it regularly!

Anyone watch the movie Jane Austen book club.. me neither, damn it, okay, I did, but I was forced. Well if you got inspired to start a book club, I recommend everyone getting one of these puppies. Also good for bed gatherings with family for a laugh!

There is a promo video on the site (here), which basically tells it like it is, and more interestingly it seems that there are ways you can check your email over the Kindle, and I’m sure there is more to come.. so convenient, small and light…

lastly, they’re not joking when it says it looks like ink.. it really does.

Unfortunately, now I’m back in Australia it doesn’t work – ie I can’t download anything through the wireless – targeted for US market. However, I can through USB.

For all US readers, well you’re in luck and hopefully in range. I think I’ve already mentioned it, but the books to buy through this device are more than half price… I’m not sure how long that will last, but it is awesome.

This is about one of the only pieces of technology, asides from an iPod I think I’ll recommend on the blog. But trust me, it’s worth it.

Check it out:
Click Here

Cheers
Matt

Things I think anyone stuck at home with a bad back should have:

8GB iPod Nano …….. Amazon Kindle ………. Back Pain Books ……

I’ve been thinking what else would I want from a website about bad backs & herniated discs? There are my personal experiences, there are the specialist articles and I’ve started throwing in the odd quirky post about some random back fact. There must be more!

The other day I was lying down with a tens machine on my lower back to ease some of the muscle pain (spasms), and I was starring at the label on the tens machine thinking what else would be good. And it hit me, how about a section on product reviews !

I’m thinking I’ll cover what they do, how they work, what brands there are etc, pricing, craftsmanship, and how well I thought they worked.

Here are some of the products/services I thought would be interesting to review:

Products:
Tens machines
Back braces
Lumbar rolls
Anti-inflammatory tables (Voltaren, Mobic etc)
Anti-inflammatory creams
Heat creams/rubs
Inverter tables/beds
Zero gravity chairs
Massaging devices
Any other type of gizmo you’ve seen (like back balls etc)

Services:
Types of massages
Types of treatments (Physio, Chiro, Pilates, Cox technique)
Physio traction

That’s all I can think of right now, but I thought I’d put it out there, and see if anyone was particularly interested in me reviewing something they had thought of using, but had held back because they believed it was BS (bullshit, which there are lots of).

So, if there is something you want reviewed, make SURE you add a comment to the blog, and I’ll see what I can do (no promises because some of it might be expensive, but I’ll try to haggle anything )

Thoughts, comments?

Cheers
Matt

Tags: herniated, disc, herniated-disc, l4-5, l4, l5, l4l5, bulging, disc, buldging, ruptured, prolapsed, bulging-disc, herniation, bad, back, back, pain, back-pain