#I have chronic pain in areas that are awkward to heat (shoulders and back and neck) and although I couldn’t use them on my worst area

[b-blushes]

adhesive heat patches. Thoughts?

[ciriceart]

OC profiles: the Lawson family

From the now-defunct semi-interactive comic/creative writing projects, “Hunger, Nevada”, “Far From Any Road”, and “Saudade”.

The plot of these three stories cover topics and conflicts such as learning to relate to those around you, breaking toxic cycles, smalltown stagnation and the isolation of close-knit communities, and metaphorical (sometimes literal) body horror monsters that slowly poison towns and families. I wrote these stories from the ages of 14 to 21, and they're all very much a reflection of myself and my perspectives/outlook at those times. I still go back and revisit certain areas, but can't see myself rewriting them in full any time soon. I feel like that would be a disservice to my past self - I used these to sort out and explore my own feelings and hangups, and they served their purpose, but I still draw and talk about the boys more often than I expected I would when I drew my first doodle of Ellis and Lawrence in 8th grade detention. This post is just an infodump about the family of the main characters. I'm not getting into plot details just yet. Though it is worth noting, this was at the height of my Silent Hill hyperfixation, and Ellis and Lawrence began life as the protags of my imaginary Silent Hill fangame for which I made an entire gamefaqs walkthrough because I did not know how to write or draw too well. That doesn't really matter too much now, I just think it's fun.

The Lawson family consists of Francis (or Frank) and Amalia Lawson, and their two sons, Ellis and Lawrence.

Frank is a large man, about 6’3 with green eyes, short auburn hair,  and a beard. His skin is somewhat pale but has a minor farmer’s tan from working outdoors, and there’s a spatter of freckles across his entire face. He sometimes wears rectangular half-frame glasses and uses a walking stick.

Amalia is about 5’4 and stocky, with dark brown, almost black hair cut in the patented Mom Bob(tm) with bangs and dark eyes. Her face is somewhat oblong with round, soft features and her skin is a warm mid-to-light brown.

Ellis ranges in age from 17 to 26 across plots. His facial structure favors his father. He’s about 5’10,  has very light brown skin, freckles on his face, arms, chest and shoulders, dark eyes and auburn hair. As a teenager, his hair reaches to about his jaw with an off-center part, and he keeps it short and parted on the side as he gets older. He usually at least attempts to comb his hair back but half of it just falls back in front of his face anyway. Sometimes sports various non-serious injuries such as scratches and bruises. He’s rough-and-tumble.

As a teen, most of his outfits consist of torn up jeans, skater shoes, and a plethora of graphic or band tees. Sometimes an old flannel stolen from dad, or black canvas jacket. As an adult, he wears mostly intact but faded black work pants, black or brown work boots, a plain T-shirt and often an unbuttoned overshirt with either short sleeves or the sleeves rolled up.

Lawrence also ranges in age across stories, from 9 to 17. His facial structure favors his mother. He has pale skin, freckles across his cheeks and the bridge of his nose, green eyes, and auburn hair in a short, choppy buzzcut that he later grows out to reach past his shoulders as he gets into his teens. As a child, he’s very short and scrappy, and then becomes gangly and awkward as a teenager.

As a child, his wardrobe is typically all childish graphic tees and cargo shorts or jeans, all picked out by his parents. As he gets older, he becomes introverted and shy, always covering himself up in an absurd number of layers – he's often seen wearing a short-sleeved shirt with long sleeves underneath, either a flannel or sweater, and a massively oversized forest green jacket with a red fleece collar. He usually sticks to plain, slightly baggy jeans and sneakers.

--

Frank and Amalia married in their mid to late 20’s and moved to Frank’s hometown of Ansley, [state redacted].

Frank works in a hardware store and as a repairman. Some years ago, Frank suffered a spinal injury, resulting in chronic pain and his use of a walking stick. He still works at the hardware store and takes repair jobs, though he’s unable to work as often or for as long as he used to.

Ellis drops out of high school in the second quarter of 11th grade to work full-time at the hardware store and begins picking up smaller repair jobs around town. Lawrence, being much younger, is not employed but occasionally does smaller tasks such as sweeping up or organizing shelves after closing hours, or tagging along with his brother or dad on repair jobs to help where he can.

Amalia works at a packing and shipping facility in the city. She works overnight, six days a week with Mondays off. She’s usually home about an hour before her sons have to get up for school. Amalia’s pack a day smoking habit and Frank’s temper are the subjects of most conflicts, but they never progress past passive aggressive remarks or heated discussions. The family occasionally relies on financial help from a man named Mike, whose family has been friends with Frank’s for several years, to make ends meet. He’s often the reason that their heat and water stay on.

The Lawsons are a practicing family of Amicists. They regularly attend service at The First Church of the Shoal United in the next town over. More on Amicism at a later date.

Ellis has a lot of pent up resentment toward authority figures and “grown-ups” in general, even into his own adulthood, due to Backstory Reasons I won’t get into here.

James, Marie, Robin, and Brian are Ellis’ friends from high school. They mostly sit around smoking pot and watching bad movies, sneak out to drink at the park after curfew, and attempt to skate in vacant parking lots.

James was held back in middle school and is one or two years older than the rest of the group. Most parents in town still call him Jimmy and think he’s a very nice boy. If asked to describe him, his long line of ex-girlfriends would say “he’s so nice, but GOD he’s so dumb.” Marie was closer to Robin and James than she was to Ellis, so they didn’t hang out outside of the group at all. She thought Ellis was kinda weird, but not a “bad weird” so she never mentioned it or complained. Robin is that sort of midwestern emo girl in everyone’s math class who’s an artist, but all she draws is semi realistic eyes with elaborate eyeliner in her English notes. She regularly gets into arguments with Ellis and James on what genre different bands count as. Brian is the obvious stoner friend who would be kinda chill to hang out with if he weren’t so loud and annoying about how his parents totally don’t even care and just like, totally let him do whatever he wants.

Dropping out of high school to work a fulltime job, having no interest in college, minimal relationship experience, and staying in such a small and rural town leads to Ellis becoming socially isolated and unable to fully relate with people his own age. He slowly falls out of touch with his friends and people he knew from school, preferring surface level interactions with older coworkers, relatives and friends of the family.

Lawrence, as a result of his older brother’s attempt at parenting while Frank and Amalia are working, learns to be untrusting and uncooperative as well. He picks up a smoking habit by age 14, often stealing them from Ellis or from their mom's purse when she’s home, and sneaks out of his and Ellis’ shared bedroom through the window at night.

Lawrence is a nice kid, but struggles to make friends. Throughout all of middle school and into high school, he only manages to befriend two others named Catherine and Donnie.

Donnie is Brian’s little brother. He and Lawrence aren’t actually friends, but they tend to tag along when Ellis and Brian hang out at each other’s houses. Catherine has known Lawrence since they were in third grade, but they never hung out until they got put in the same advanced math class in middle school.

As he gets older, Lawrence begins to neglect his few friendships and social life in favor of fiction; most notably stories and unfiction focusing on the occult and supernatural, as well as a video game series called Sprout Friends, a puzzle game involving farming and anthropomorphic fruits and vegetables. If he isn’t hiding out on the rooftop of the house at night, he’s locked in the bedroom playing one of multiple Sprout Friends titles, or hunting for strange occurrences around town during the night.

--

Fun fact: Ellis' middle name is Layne, and Lawrence's middle name is Elijah. I thought it would be cute if their middle names had the same first letters as each other's firsts.

[souljaboydraco]

How Should I Sleep To Avoid Neck Pain?

Most people are unaware of the damage that can be done to your neck by sleeping in an awkward position. This is a huge problem because most people today sleep on their backs, and the way they hold their heads when doing so often causes neck pain.

If you want to avoid this issue entirely, it's important that you learn how to sleep without causing harm to your neck. In this blog post, we will discuss three tips for sleeping on your back while also avoiding severe headaches or stiff necks in the morning!

How Should I Sleep To Avoid Neck Pain?

As we were saying, sleep positions that include the head being tilted back or are on one side, for example when you're lying down in a fetal position, cause neck pain. These positions can even lead to sleeping problems as well!

The most important thing is that your head should always be aligned with your spine and flat against the mattress instead of hanging off it at an angle. You also want to make sure not to sleep too deeply because if you do this then there will be strain on your neck muscles which could give you terrible headaches in the morning.

Finally, avoid turning from left to right while asleep as much as possible because these movements put stress on your joints and they'll ache like crazy when you wake up!

How To Relief Neck Pain?

There are many different ways to relieve neck pain. Some of the most common treatments include:

- Massaging and stretching your neck muscles, which is a great way for preventing stiffness in the morning! Take five minutes each day when you get home from work or school and spend time massaging your neck by doing circles with one finger on either side of your spine. This will help loosen up those tight knots that cause so much discomfort!

- Relieving stress through meditation can also be helpful because it decreases cortisol levels, boosts immunity, alleviates depression symptoms and reduces anxiety among other things. It's worth mentioning that some yoga positions such as shoulder stands can actually aggravate headaches however if done correctly they're very beneficial at relieving tension in the neck.

- Another tip for reducing tension in the neck is to use ice packs and heat therapy! Apply an ice pack on your shoulders, back, or temples for about fifteen minutes at a time before bedtime. This will help reduce inflammation and discomfort while you sleep. You can also apply a heating pad to these areas as well if they're feeling particularly sore.

Should You See A Doctor For Neck Pain?

If you have severe neck pain that doesn't go away after following these simple tips, then it's probably time to see a doctor. The majority of the time, muscle spasms and misalignment are what causes neck pain so if your symptoms don't respond to treatment or get worse over time then seeing medical professionals is recommended!

Some people prefer visiting a chiropractor or massage therapist to get their neck relief instead of going straight to the doctor. This is also an option if you don't have insurance or want a solution without prescription medication!

Does NeckRelax Reduce Neck Pain?

A NeckRelax is known to be a great way to relieve neck pain and stiffness. It's a simple, comfortable device that decreases the amount of pressure on your spine which can be due to muscle tension or misalignment!

NeckRelax is an FDA-registered medical device for reducing neck pain caused by muscular stress, spinal stenosis, herniated discs, arthritis in the cervical region as well as other problems like whiplash. This product has been clinically tested and proven safe for use with no adverse side effects.

The NeckRelax was created by Dr. Michael Huxtable who specializes in orthopedic medicine at Harvard Medical School while also having extensive experience treating patients suffering from chronic back or neck pain.

He invented this system because he wanted something more efficient than conventional treatment methods and he's confident that NeckRelax is the answer. So, don't forget to get a NeckRelax to relieve your neck pain right away!

Conclusion

We hope you found this post to be helpful in relieving neck pain and preventing it from happening again. While there are many different ways to do this, we recommend you try some of the tips listed above and do your research. Happy sleeping!

[quirklove]

Can I get some comfort headcanons for Shoto please 😭 My back and shoulders have been hurting since last Friday and I'm in need of the cuddles and dumb conversations 😭❤️

mannnn of course!

as I said I often try to do these in the order I get them, but when someone needs some comfort, I like to do those ones as soon as I can!

my lower back has been hurting from work lately too so like... I feel u... just thinking of Shoto using those icy hot hands on my back makes everything a little better

I’m just sayin’, if you really loved me, you would share him! XD

SHOTO

He’s very… awkward? At first? He wants to hold you and try to make it better, but then he’s afraid that he’ll touch you in a way that might make the pain worse. Obviously that’s the last thing he wants to do. His concern very much lies with trying to find a position that’s comfortable for you that will also make you feel better emotionally.

So, Juzo Honenuki likes to do the massage thing, doesn’t he? Shoto is pretty sure he remembers hearing about that, so he asks the other guy for advice. Though he’s very shy about being shown on himself the things that massage involves, he has exactly zero shame in asking Juzo to show him what kinds of techniques he can try to ease your pain. It helps that it’s easy to tell Shoto is worried about you and trying to find ways to help rather than asking in a way that implies he’s trying to make fun. (Which has sometimes been an issue for Juzo, to the point where he’s a bit wary when Shoto approaches him about it.) Thankfully, Shoto is a very quick learner. He starts rubbing your back and shoulders, giving you gentle massages whenever the two of you are together, in an effort to make the pain subside.

Starts carrying around your preferred painkiller just in case you might happen to forget it or run out. Aspirin, paracetamol, ibuprofen ― you name which one you need and he’ll have it on hand. Actually, moreover, you don’t even have to tell him which one you usually take. He pays a lot of attention to things like that, so he’ll notice which painkiller you use and just begins to carry a stash of it without being asked.

It’s difficult for him to get the hang of making you laugh because he’s a bit of a stoic person. He’s not used to joking around or being goofy. Still, he tries really hard for you. God, he will do anything to make you smile. The main thing he makes use of are those cheesy pickup lines or silly puns that should sound really stupid coming from him, but manage to sound cute and/or charming. “Ice to see you, sweetheart.” “You can turn off the heater; we won’t be getting cold tonight.” Bonus points if you smile or laugh so hard that you get him to chuckle along with you. The man’s laugh is literally the cure for everything.

The nickname “Icy Hot” isn’t just for show. If it would help, he’ll act like your personal pain relief patch. One hand will run over the areas that hurt, bringing heat into the muscles… slowly followed by his other hand to cool things down. Unsurprisingly, he gets very good at this, and will feel extremely proud if he’s able to ease your pain enough that you fall asleep in his arms.

Like with anything when he has a lover with any kind of chronic or short-term condition, he consults Natsuo to see if there’s anything else that can be done. Since his brother is pursuing a career in the health field, Shoto thinks he might know a thing or two about the best ways to manage pain or medical conditions. Natsuo is, of course, always willing to help his little brother and his datemate. Whatever he suggests, Shoto will bring it up to you and see if any of it would be a viable option to try.

He takes over doing most of the household chores, at least until your pain is better. (Though, let’s be honest, he might have you begging to let you help him before he cautiously gives up a few tasks. Just because he’s so concerned!) Cooking, cleaning, helping you into a warm bath, washing dishes… he’s happy to do all of that so that you don’t hurt yourself more.

[mithrilwren]

Closed Hold

The long awaited next installment of the Shadowgast Figure Skating AU (inspired, as always, by the amazing art of @fiovske) is finally here! I don’t know if it’s cheating, since I was already planning to write this, but I’m also counting this as my submission for Day 7 of @essek-week because hey, it’s definitely an AU! :D You technically don’t have to read the first two works in the series - Inside Edge and 3 Turn - to enjoy this one, but some details may make more sense in context. Also, warning that things get a little NSFW by the end, in case that’s not everyone’s cup of tea! [Also on Ao3] [Find the whole series of one-shots in this AU here!]

(cw. implied past dub/con, chronic pain)

Essek never thought he’d find himself in a place where he could call sharing a hotel room with someone else ‘comfortable’. Yet here he is, sitting at a little table with his laptop open while Caleb slouches against the headboard, too engrossed in his novel to care for posture or dignity, Essek finds himself at ease in a way he didn’t know he was capable of - at least, not in another’s presence.

A bottle of wine sits open and half-finished by the tray on the nightstand, and every so often Caleb reaches over and takes a bit of carrot from the remains of Essek’s salad. He eats absentmindedly, the motion so regularly spaced that Essek can’t believe he’s aware of what he’s doing. He should find it disgusting, but not a single drop of dressing spills onto the sheets, and there’s something about the movement that’s almost mesmerizing in its steady, involuntary rhythm.

He almost wants to tell Caleb that they can order more food, if he’s still hungry. He doesn’t need to pick the scraps from Essek’s plate. But he knows enough now to say that the suggestion would be ill-advised - or rather, he knows enough now to say that he doesn’t know what Caleb’s reaction would be, and that is a good enough reason to be cautious. Slow steps have worked well for them in the last few months. There’s no reason to take unnecessary risks with something so delicate.

These evenings, where they share the same space - conversation - a good meal - are still difficult to come by. There are murmurings of renewed hostilities between the Dynasty and Empire, and orders from the Bright Queen to reduce contact while the situation cools, and fewer and fewer public spaces they could go where privacy would be assured. Essek is certain that some would find the idea of the two of them sneaking off to hotel rooms together, only to do nothing more illicit that talk the night away, an utterly unbelievable story. But truthfully, it’s only after long nights of competition that they find themselves in the same countries - much less the same cities - and neither has the energy for much else after so many hours at the rink.

And besides, this quiet time - where both are engrossed in their own worlds, but still close - it’s just as soothing as a calm bath, just as warm in his chest as a hot drink, and Essek wouldn’t trade it for any more exciting diversion.

Caleb stretches, the book’s spine knocking the top of the headboard as he curls backwards like a cat. As he settles once more, there’s an audible creak - not of the wooden bedframe, but of tendon against bone. Essek glances over again in time to catch a wince of pain in Caleb’s jaw, and his fingers pushing gingerly against the small of his back. Eventually, he flips on his stomach and resumes his reading.

“Are you alright? That sounded... unpleasant,” Essek says. Caleb doesn’t even look up from his book to reply.

“Sorry to bother you,” he says coolly, “I’ll try to keep it down.” A note of dry humour laces his voice, and as always, Essek’s heart lifts to hear it. They’ve gotten easier around each other, slowly but surely, and Caleb’s knife-sharp, often obscure wit is one of the greatest discoveries he’s made in the process.

Still, Essek’s concern isn’t assuaged. Caleb took a hard fall this evening - not so disastrous as to knock him out of the running, but ugly enough that Essek had ached in sympathy as Caleb picked himself up off the ice. If he isn’t bruised from calf to hip, which Essek quietly expects, he’s at least likely to have twisted something in his back from the awkward one-handed press he had to do, to get back on his feet in time for the next element.

“Did you stretch enough?” he asks. Caleb hums noncommittally, nose still pressed into his book, and Essek thinks back to the moments after Caleb’s routine finished. “I didn’t see Beau there this evening. Were resistance bands enough, or did someone else help you?” Again, there’s no answer except a grunt. Essek gets the sense he’s being purposefully ignored. “Caleb,” he says, more loudly. “Please tell me that you stretched.”

“Stop worrying,” Caleb says, flipping another page. “I did stretch.”

“Clearly not enough,” Essek chides, standing so he can better survey Caleb’s posture. Even prone on his stomach, he’s still favouring his right side. Not a good sign. “You need to take care of your body, or you’re going to injure yourself, permanently.”

Caleb shrugs. “I’m old, Essek - too old for this sport, according to most people. How much worse could it get?” A twinge of heat sparks in Essek’s stomach, something low but simmering to a boil, until his hands are clenched and his jaw clicks with the effort of not snapping.

“Worse,” he says, and at last, Caleb looks up. The rising frustration fades just as quickly as he clocks Caleb’s assessing gaze, and pivots to embarrassment at his own unguarded reaction.

They need to choose another subject, and soon is not quick enough.

“Just… will you let me help you? At least to work out the worst of it, before you fall asleep on that book and wake up with a cramp.”

Caleb’s eyes narrow. “You want to... help me stretch?”

Essek clucks his tongue at Caleb’s dubious tone. “I assure you, I’ve had many years of practice, and it’s always easier with a partner than with a band.”

Caleb’s gaze grows more distant, less like he’s looking at Essek, and more like he’s found a ghost at the edge of the room.

“...I know,” Caleb says, voice softer than before, but still, he doesn’t move from his place on the bed. Essek sits down on the other side, leaning closer, but not so close that his weight disturbs Caleb’s half of the sheets.

“Then let me help. It would set my mind at ease, at least.”

“Well,” says Caleb, with a small smile, still not quite meeting Essek’s eyes, “if it would set yours at ease… give me a few minutes.”

Caleb pushes himself up at last, closing the book while trailing a rather forlorn finger down its spine, as though saying a reluctant goodbye to an old friend. Then he walks to the hall between the two rooms of the suite, and begins jogging lightly in place.

Caleb’s warmup gives Essek plenty of time to consider his plan of action. He closely watches the muscles twist beneath Caleb’s long-sleeved tee and loose sweatpants, searching for a place to start. Pain in the lower back often stems from tightness of the hips, which is also one of the most difficult areas to stretch without help. Essek notices too that his shoulders still ride up to below his ears as he runs, creeping higher and higher with each footfall. That could use work, and maybe his obliques as well, if the side Caleb jarred today isn’t too bruised…

At last, Caleb finishes and returns, slightly more cherry-cheeked than before, but not huffing and puffing - just enough to get the muscles warm and limber.

“Show me what you usually do for cooldown,” Essek says, still seated on the bed, and Caleb launches into a series of standard stretches, ones that any skater has in their arsenal. Essek does notice the age difference between them as he watches, but not in a significant way. Caleb’s joints don’t bend with quite the same arc as they might have for a dancer ten years younger, but he’s still very flexible. His arabesque reaches past his head - though Essek notes a small tremor in the inside of his thigh as he holds the position, and there’s an unsteadiness there that concerns him. It could be hip tension, as he suspected before, but Essek worries-

But it’s one in a million chance, as it was for him. There’s no logical reason to believe the tremor is anything more than fatigue.

“That’s it,” Caleb says, rising back into a standing position after his final lunge. Essek presses his fingers to his lips, considering.

“Let’s start with your shoulders,” he suggests. “You have a good range of motion overall, but I’d like to loosen them up, the right one especially.”

He moves behind Caleb, bracing one hand on his left shoulder while placing a flat palm against the apple of the other, and begins to gently rock the joint in its socket.

It’s a position he’s quite accustomed to, having done the same for others on his team when he was far younger - back when he still had peers, rather than admirers. And yet, there’s something strangely more aware in coming back to the action as an adult. He feels the differences between his own body and Caleb’s keenly. Though Caleb is far from stocky - very few figure skaters are - the muscles beneath Essek’s hands are less lithe than his own. Broader, as though bred for a different purpose, and whittled down to their current lean shape. He wonders if Caleb grew up doing manual labour of some sort, a kind his body still remembers in form, if not in substance.

For the first few pushes it almost feels as though those muscles are getting tighter. Like Caleb is tensing, resisting the movement. Essek frowns.

“Breathe,” he instructs. Caleb, with effort, takes a deep breath, and the catching of the tendon finally releases with a soft click. The process goes much more smoothly after that, the joint sliding like butter in his palm by the end of the seventh rotation. He moves to the other side, and has no more issues.

As Essek steps away, Caleb swings his arms forward and back experimentally. “Better?”

“Much,” he says, smiling a surprised grin. “Thank you.” Essek nods.

“Of course.”

“Anything else?”

“Hips, I think, if that’s alright with you.”

He guides Caleb down to the floor and onto his back, and takes a position on his knees at his side. Though Caleb ordinarily has a few inches of height on him, from this position, he feels very high up. Caleb waits, motionless, as Essek hooks a hand under his knee and raises it up slowly, watching the microsmal twitches in Caleb’s expression for any sign of pain or discomfort as he pushes the leg up towards his chest. But Caleb’s eyes fall closed, and whatever resistance he had offered before, he lets Essek’s hands work now without any complaint, bodily or otherwise.

When he spies the first twinge in Caleb’s jaw, Essek slows his pace, but continues pressing, trusting his hands to feel when the resistance is too great. It’s a delicate balance; too little pressure, and the stretch does no good, but too much, and he risks injuring Caleb. He could strain muscles, even tear ligaments, if he’s not certain of how hard to push.

It requires a great deal of trust, he muses, to let someone do this for them. Since his days as a trainee, he has allowed few others to help him, unless they’ve proven themselves time and time again to understand the nuances of his own situation. Mirimm is one of the small number on that list, and his own mother, when she still had time for such things.

Who has Caleb - cautious, reserved Caleb - given such trust? He knows he’s seen Beau follow Caleb into the locker room at least once, so presumably her, but have there been others?

He presses one more inch. Caleb winces, but does not fight him. He remains perfectly still.

An awful, nauseating thought floats into Essek’s mind.

He lets the leg float gently down to the floor, bowing the knee out ever so slightly so that the joint has a chance to rotate, then removes his hands to his lap. Caleb cracks one eye open, looking up at Essek and raising an eyebrow, as if to say is something wrong?

Yes, Essek thinks, I’m afraid there might be.

“Caleb,” he says quietly. He does not want to ask this question. He must ask it. “Did… Did Ikithon ever-”

Both of Caleb’s eyes fly open.

“No,” Caleb says, the clipped syllable harsh, and it sounds believable, and Essek so wants to believe him. “Whatever you are thinking, no.”

Essek breathes out slowly. “Then this sort of thing-”

“I would not have done with him.” Caleb turns his head to the ceiling, staring up at the hospital-white plaster, and Essek is still very conscious of his height, so he leans back on his hands into an uncharacteristic slouch. “He was… he was not a hands-on sort of teacher, so to speak. He preferred to instruct, and trust the three of us to do as he asked.” Caleb falls silent for a moment. “With them, yes,” he says at last. “We did this sort of thing together, always.”

Astrid. Eodwulf. Names never to be forgotten, though Caleb has only spoken them aloud once. They are burned there, in Essek’s mind, along with every spare detail Caleb has told him of his past. He wishes, some nights, that he did not know. That he could exorcise the names from his memory, and the pain from Caleb’s as well. But at least the burden is shared between them now, and he has to believe that is better than the alternative.

Essek reaches out and pats Caleb’s ankle. “I’m sorry to bring it up,” he apologizes, and Caleb’s smile is acknowledging, and forgiving too. “Do you want to keep going?”

He’s gratified that Caleb seems to genuinely consider the question before answering. It gives him hope that he hasn’t, yet again, overstepped a line, one hidden beneath the layers of uncertainty between them he fears he’ll never fully unravel.

“I think so.” Caleb shifts his hips. “It was already feeling a little better.” He lifts his other leg, just slightly, and as Essek shifts around to take it in hand, he thinks again of trust. Of Caleb putting his body in his hands, believing he will treat it kindly, even when others have not. The warmth in his chest grows, and grows.

He presses down, and this time Caleb keeps his eyes open.

When Essek is satisfied that both hip flexors are as loose as they’re going to get without professional help, he asks Caleb to sit up, then kneels behind him. He leans his weight into the space between Caleb’s shoulder blades until Caleb bows, forehead touching his knees as he curls his arms beneath them. Already, Essek can see the difference in the fluidity of the movement from earlier, and he presses with his thumbs at various points of the lower back, pleased to discover that most of the tension there has been released. He guides Caleb back up, then prods at his upper back. The left side isn’t bad, but his right… Essek can barely go five inches without finding another knot.

This isn’t the result of a night or two of inadequate stretching after a competition. This is months, years worth of stress gnarled up beneath the skin and never adequately dealt with, if addressed at all. No wonder Caleb’s shoulders rise so high that the judges take off points for it. No wonder relaxing at all is a force of will. His body is wound so tightly that Essek barely needs to dig deeper than the surface to find the evidence.

“How long has it been since you’ve had a massage?” he asks, curious. Caleb’s incredulous little laugh ripples out beneath his palms.

“A very, very long time. That’s a kind of luxury I can’t usually afford.”

Essek wants to argue that it isn’t a luxury - that it is, in fact, essential to the proper functioning of a figure skater’s body. The benefits in terms of flexibility and mobility are incalculable. And yet, without sponsorships or other income, the calculation must be done.

How very far Caleb has managed to go, despite his lack of resources, continues to impress Essek, but scrappiness doesn’t equal a healthy body that will outlast the competitions to come.

“They have a spa here, downstairs,” Essek suggests. “It might be closed now, but I’m sure if I called the front desk-”

“No,” says Caleb, just as clipped, though his voice softens much more quickly than it did before. “Thank you. I don’t- it doesn’t appeal to me.”

“A massage?”

“The environment,” Caleb replies. “The table. All of it.” Essek doesn’t press for more details, sensing he’s hit upon another wall neither is eager to dismantle tonight. Caleb’s shoulders are already rising again beneath his hands. He smoothes them back down with his hands, not fully conscious of what he’s done until the motion is already complete.

“Would a bed be better?”

“What,” ask Caleb, glancing over at the bed, mere feet from where they currently sit on the carpet, “order up?” He chuckles again. “I think that you might have a harder time explaining that expense to your superiors than an extra plate of room service.”

“True.” It takes Essek far longer to offer the second suggestion, because even though he fully expects Caleb to refuse, he still has to work up the courage to speak it. “Or, I could try my hand?”

Caleb swivels, his face so close to Essek’s that his bangs tickle the tip of his nose. “...Oh?”

“I’m no professional, but I have some experience.” No need to explain more than that, about the hours spent frantically massaging his own legs in the bathroom, willing the cramps to release in time to make it onto the ice. He knows that he can coax a bitterly stubborn muscle into functioning, and Caleb’s would be far easier than his to manage.

And still, he’s nervous in the seconds after speaking - not for fear that he can’t do what he’s offered, but that Caleb will say no, and be upset or offended.

That he will say yes, and the place that leaves them.

“...Ok.”

Caleb stands, then turns back to Essek, who still kneels on the floor. His hands flutter nervously at the hemline of his shirt, first tugging up the fabric, and then letting it fall back down. “How do you- I’m not sure what the procedure is. What do you need me to do?”

Essek swallows, fighting down the lump of anxiety in his throat. He pushes himself to his feet, and tries hard to project his usual air of confidence, one he does not currently feel.

“It would be easiest if you took off your shirt - if you’re alright with that, of course. I have some oil in my bag.” He goes to fetch the bottle from the other room: massage is still an essential part of his travel regimine, and he keeps it with him at all times. By the time he returns to the bedroom, Caleb is still standing where he was before, but now barechested, clutching the discarded shirt in his hands. Essek pauses at the doorframe, momentarily caught off guard, then shakes himself and continues on.

“Lie on your front.” Caleb does, still watching Essek as he approaches from the corner of his eye, and the look in his eyes is apprehensive.

Essek can feel it too - the difference now. The tension in the air that wasn’t there before. What they did for the last fifteen minutes was accustomed. They’re both athletes, used to having their bodies maneuvered by others for very specific purposes. The practice of guided stretching, while still sensual in the more general sense, doesn’t carry the same implications for them as it might for those outside their world.

But as Essek sinks down onto the side of the bed, and as he ghosts his cool hand over Caleb’s skin and watches the goosebumps rise at his almost-touch… he realizes this is something different entirely, and that they’re both aware of it. Caleb turns his face into the mattress, out of embarrassment, maybe, Essek can’t quite tell, but he knows his own face is burning just as bright as the flush creeping down Caleb’s neck.

It’s intimate, to a degree that frightens Essek more than it excites him.

“A little closer,” he murmurs as he sets the bottle aside and warms a generous squeeze of oil between his palms. Caleb shuffles over far enough that their hips brush, and Essek leans forward and places his hands in the shallow plane between Caleb’s shoulders. The skin there is pale, and freckled, and he traces lines between the marks with his fingertips before running them down the length of Caleb’s spine with one smooth stroke.

Up and down, he moves his fingers through the hollow places of Caleb’s back lightly, not pressing yet. For now, his only aim is to warm the oil further, and to make sure Caleb is comfortable and relaxed. And that when he finally leans over and begins the massage in earnest, his heart will have calmed sufficiently that Caleb won’t be able to hear it beating through his skin.

It’s not as if they’ve never touched before. This is not their first kiss, nor even their first fumble in the dark. But it had been dark, those times. Here, in the dim glow of the lamps over each nightstand - here, in a hotel room only they share, with trays of food set aside and Caleb’s toothbrush by the bathroom sink - here, where he can’t pretend the depths of his feelings aren’t evident to anyone who would dare look - he can’t see Caleb’s face, but he can see his own hands, and what they’re doing, and how much he wants to keep doing it.

He wants this. He wants Caleb under his hands, breathing out slowly as Essek’s fingers find the hidden spots within him where pain festers, and begin to work in slow circles, drawing out gasps of discomfort as Essek presses deeper, and deeper, and deeper still. Caleb arches his back and he runs his other hand down his shoulder, comforting him in a way Essek wasn’t taught, but what he learned to do for himself, when his own agony became too great to bear. A muscle shudders beneath his knuckle, spasming involuntarily, and he watches chills run down the nape of Caleb’s neck: raised goosepimples of referred pain. He knows that sensation well. If one part aches, the whole of the body is affected. You might never be able to name the true source of the pain.

At last, the first knot loosens, and Essek eases off. Caleb visibly melts into the mattress as the pressure releases. “My apologies,” Essek whispers, and even so, his voice sounds too loud for the intimate space they’ve created in this room. “I’ll try to be gentler on the next one.”

“It’s alright,” mumbles Caleb. “I can take it.”

They’re not unaccustomed to pushing through pain, the two of them. One cannot be a figure skater and not learn how. One cannot have lived through what they have lived through, and not be an expert in the subject.

“Alright,” Essek says, “I’m starting again.”

He goes over each half of Caleb’s back in quadrants, feeling for the places where the muscles draw together and kneading the tension out. Each time, Caleb tenses, but as soon as the knot releases, his bones become looser, his body sinking deeper and deeper into the bed and his breath coming in slower intervals, and though at first every wince was followed by screwed-tight eyes and clenched fists, by the time Essek finds the last problem spot, his expression has slackened to something almost dreamlike.

“Caleb,” Essek murmurs. “Are you awake?”

“Mm,” Caleb hums. “Yes.” His voice is lower than Essek has ever heard it before.

“Shall I continue?”

Caleb hums again. “I wouldn’t complain.”

Essek smiles at that, adding a little more oil to his palms and returning to his earlier broad strokes. Caleb’s shoulder blades shift more freely under his hands now, the muscles relaxed and uninhibited. He raises the arm that lies closest to the bed’s edge experimentally, testing the range of motion and watching the way the shoulder glides easily in its socket. Encouraged by a tap on his side, Caleb shuffles a little more towards the bed’s edge, and Essek slides off it. He pulls Caleb’s wrist out until the ligaments are stretched to their fullest extent, then lays the arm back in place at his side. Ideally, he’d want to do the same for the other arm, but Caleb looks so peaceful now, half-asleep in the sheets, that Essek is reluctant to force him to reposition.

He’s not unaware of the scars exposed by their current situation, and no more so than in this moment, as he gazes down at the roughened brown and white patches in the space between wrist and elbow. He’s glimpsed them before, and he knows part of their story, can even guess at the rest. But not tonight. Not here. This isn’t the time for more questions. He doesn’t need to know more than that Caleb is with him, and that he trusts Essek enough to do this, despite his history.

Essek has caused his own share of hurt. He has done selfish things, with no other purpose than to advance his own career. He has been cruel, and uncaring, in order to achieve all he has in his life. But Caleb trusts him, and that is enough to make him desperate to live up to his expectations, unrealistic as they may be.

When he’s satisfied with the rest of the back, only the neck remains. Caleb’s hair is still pulled into the remnants of his elaborate show ponytail, but as usual, bits have begun to fall out. Essek sweeps aside what strands have caught in the oil, caught off guard by how soft it remains. Most skaters with hair as long as Caleb’s cake their hair in hairspray before competition, to prevent loose ends and flyaways. Even Essek’s hair, so carefully gelled at the beginning of the day, would likely crunch like fresh snow under another’s hands. But Caleb’s hair is loose, and just slightly curled at the ends, and for a moment, Essek’s mind flashes with a vision of pulling the tie fully free. Of running his fingernails against Caleb’s scalp, of feeling those auburn flames pour between his fingers, of leaning down and pressing his lips to the place below the ear where hair and skin meet and breathing deep of hotel soap and his own shampoo and Caleb-

He startles out of the daydream with a small hitch of breath. This is not what this is about, he reminds himself sternly. Essek panting after him like a schoolboy is not what Caleb needs. He may ache to try all things new and unexplored, all the things he never thought he would have the chance to experience, but he is, as always, in control of himself. He has to be, or it will all go wrong. In what way, he does not know; the things he fears are undefinable, but that does not make them less of a yoke around his neck.

Essek runs the pads of his thumbs along the spot where he’d just been imagining his own lips pressing, smoothing out a path to Caleb’s shoulders. He takes care not to let his other fingers encircle Caleb’s throat, and so they bat like moths around the empty air, without a place to land. Caleb arches up again, but this time the noise is pleased, rather than pained. Essek shifts his hips, reminding himself again that this is not the situation they’re in. That he cannot read too much into the sound. That he should never assume what Caleb has not explicitly agreed to.

There isn’t a part of the back before Essek left untouched by oil, though the lower parts are drying, leaving the skin tacky but still warm from friction. Essek does one last assessing stroke with the flat of his hands, and finds nothing remaining to fix. He sits back, and considers what to do next.

With Caleb on his stomach, there has been a safe screen of separation between the two until this point. Essek did not need to work hard to hide any reaction of his to the experience, other than in his voice. But there are still muscles on the front of Caleb’s shoulders to work, and an incomplete massage can be worse than no massage at all. He doesn’t want to leave anything tight enough to pull his back muscles out of alignment again.

But then Caleb may see him, and know.

Know what, again, he cannot say.

It takes a few taps on the shoulder to rouse Caleb from his comfortable state, and even then his words are slurred with pleasant doziness. “Do you need me to move?” he mumbles, before pressing his face back into the mattress.

“I’d like to finish your shoulders from the front, if that’s alright.” Caleb murmurs his assent, but makes no attempt to move from his current position. “You’ll… need to roll over. For me to continue.”

Caleb grumbles good-naturedly, but does manage to turn himself over, immediately flinging one hand over his eyes to block out the - thankfully, dim - light. Essek starts to reach for his wrist, meaning to maneuver it back down on the sheets, but after a moment of thinking, he instead reaches over and grabs a pillow from the other side of the bed. Essek tugs the pillowcase off and tosses the pillow itself to the floor, then folds the fabric neatly into a band, which he lays over Caleb’s eyes.

“Thank you,” Caleb murmurs, and another thrill goes through Essek’s body. He can see Caleb’s mouth moving now when he speaks, his lips that are slightly parted, soft and unconcerned as he breathes in and out, as his chest rises and falls with the same rhythm. Essek has never dared to look so long.

He chides himself again. Caleb is blind in his current state, and any unnecessary stares on Essek’s part are as good as leering in this context. This feeling, of towering over someone… it isn’t something to enjoy. He’s always relished the feeling of control, of being above the rest. But with Caleb, Essek is an equal, and so when he offers him control, Essek cannot take pride in having earned it. He can only fear betraying the trust he’s been given.

Essek starts again on the massage, letting the discomfort flow out of himself and into the motion of his hands. With every breath Caleb takes, his collarbone rises to meet Essek’s palms, and he bites the inside of his lip, and keeps his own breath steady, and his eyes focused on the task at hand. His body is a distraction, but one he is proficient at ignoring.

The front takes far less time than the back. Caleb is so loose by now that his muscles want to follow Essek’s lead, and do so without complaint. The only stir Caleb gives is when Essek’s hands stray too close to his windpipe, but even then it’s more a twitch than a flinch, and Caleb settles back down immediately into his previous boneless state once the fingers retreat.

Essek has kept his eyes in line until this point, but in a moment of weakness, he lets them wander down the expanse of Caleb’s chest - slim, but defined muscles, skin waxed smooth save for the trail of hair that runs past his navel, and there, yes - a bruise along his side, as ugly as Essek expected, but already beginning to yellow at the edges. He carefully avoids it as he runs his hands down Caleb’s sides, drawing trails of oil like paint strokes all the way to his hips, just shy of the band of his sweatpants. Caleb shivers, and that’s when Essek notices, though he tried so carefully not to put himself in the position to.

Caleb is hard. The bulge isn’t obscene, but noticeable, and impossible to ignore, once Essek makes the realization. His mouth goes dry, hands stuttering to a stop halfway back to Caleb’s shoulders.

Of course, he knew it was a possibility, that Caleb might be affected in the same way… touch is a powerful thing, even absent of desire, and he knows that Caleb does desire him, at least under some circumstances…

“Are we finished?” Caleb asks without moving his head, sounding regretful, but not displeased.

He must be aware of it. How could he not be, of his own state? But he hasn’t said anything. Hasn’t made any effort to hide it, or to call Essek’s attention to it, as though he’s simply unbothered whether Essek knows or not.

What courage that must be - to accept that others see you, without any shame.

He… he wants to find that courage as well.

Essek reaches up with one hand and removes the folded pillowcase from Caleb’s forehead. Bleary blue eyes squint up at him, half lidded against the light. The other hand, he moves to the sharp bone of Caleb’s hip, fingertips just skimming the edge of the bruise, and then the place where Caleb’s waistband pulls away from his skin. He waits until he’s sure Caleb is looking at him before he speaks.

“Do you want me to go lower?”

He brushes his fingertips again at Caleb’s waistband, so that his meaning is clear. And even still, he hesitates to do it, unsure he’ll be able to go through with the offer, regardless of Caleb’s reply.

He is still so uncertain, about so many things.

“...I wouldn’t complain,” Caleb says, echoing his previous words with a wry smile. It’s that smile, that humour, that utter expression of ease... he only realizes in hindsight, that that was the only thing that would have convinced him to move forward. The only way he would have been alright with it.

“A word, and I will stop.”

“I know.” Caleb’s eyes have already begun to drift closed again, but they open once more when Essek taps him on the shoulder.

“And still, I’ll say it again. A word.”

Caleb’s humoured smile shifts to something softer, almost fond, and he lifts one hand to cover Essek’s and pats it gently.

“I know my limits. You can trust me to say how much is too much. Right now, I am happy for more.”

“...Then I’m happy to give it.”

Moving to Caleb’s other side so he can recline on the bed as well rather than perch at the edge of it, Essek gathers what oil hasn’t yet dried on Caleb’s skin in one hand and reaches down past the waistband, fingers grazing through a thicket of coarse hair before settling on heated flesh. Essek draws Caleb out, grateful that his eyes are closed, so he can’t see the full extent of Essek’s embarrassment. His experiences prior to Caleb had been… limited - which is to say, non-existent - and even if this is not the first thing they’ve done together, he still finds himself impossibly shy, when it comes to it. For lack of anything else to concentrate on, he returns again to Caleb’s hair, leaning forward on one elbow to touch the tresses spooled across the pillow, as his other hand begins to move up and down.

Some of the curled tips are still damp with oil, but most of it is dry, and fans out in a beautiful array of red and copper highlights. He follows their path to the crown of Caleb’s head, where his bangs are swept to one side, not hanging over his eyes. Though his other hand is on Caleb, he’s still seized with the impossible, unfullfillable urge to touch. To be closer than they are, closer than they could ever possibly be. He threads his fingers into the hair around Caleb’s forehead, dragging his nails gently against the scalp, and Caleb tilts his head back into Essek’s hand.

Caleb’s lips part, but his breathing isn’t ragged or hurried. It’s still slow and relaxed, if a little heavier than before. His eyes are closed, but not held shut tight. His shoulders stay where they are, content to remain immovable after Essek’s ministrations, and his mouth still holds a little smile at the edges, and his face, a softness, like what Essek is doing is just another part of the massage.

The atmosphere isn’t even particularly erotic, Essek realizes, and realizes too that the lack of gravity in Caleb’s response is settling his own nerves. There are no shouts of ecstacy or scrambling hands, no open mouthed devouring kisses, or desperation, or even lust. Just… comfort. Just pleasure, without expectation of rapturous release. Just being together, in this way, because they want to be. Because it feels good to be.

Caleb’s shoulders only begin to tense near the end, and even then it’s easy to coax them back down, so that when the final moment comes it’s with a long, slow exhale, and a body more relaxed than before. Essek’s right hand stills, but his left keeps on stroking Caleb’s hair, until at last Caleb’s eyes open.

“I’m very tired,” is the first thing he says.

“I can tell,” Essek replies fondly, then lowers himself down to the mattress, so that they’re at eye level when Caleb turns his head to him.

“That was wonderful.” Caleb smirks. “You have been holding back your skills from me. What else are you hiding, I wonder.” Essek chuckles softly, and Caleb nudges forward and presses a tender kiss to his mouth. “I should treat you as well, hm?”

Caleb turns his body to Essek, reaching down between them to tease at the drawstring of Essek’s leggings before hooking his fingers into the waistband and beginning to slide them over-

Essek jerks to the side, catching Caleb’s hand before it can go any father.

The lights. The lights are still on, and Caleb will see-

“Essek?” Caleb asks, eyes confused.

“You should relax. You said you were tired,” Essek says, and Caleb shakes his head, and begins to move his hand again.

“I’m happy to-”

“Don’t.”

Caleb stops this time for good, and Essek sits up quickly, pulling at his waistband to make sure not a single inch of skin is showing.

“Essek-”

“I trusted you to know your limits. Trust me to know my own.”

There’s nothing but silence for as long as Essek can bear to look away, and when he finally turns to look at Caleb once more, he expects to find frustration in his eyes, or annoyance at Essek for having soured the mood.

Instead, Caleb’s expression is one of quiet understanding.

“Of course,” he says, and sits up too, so they’re at eye level again.

He wants to apologize, but can’t bring himself to, so he sits there, staring at the floor and saying nothing.

At last, Caleb gets off the bed.

“I should shower again, get cleaned off.”

Essek nods, eyes still on the carpet, until his vision fills with the sight of a kneeling Caleb, his face impossibly close.

“Thank you,” he says, “for telling me.” Caleb cups his chin and leans forward, kissing Essek gently on the cheek. The ice in his bloodstream begins to thaw, in slow waves. “Take some time for yourself. I’ll come to bed soon.”

Then he’s gone, and Essek stares off at the light from under the bathroom door for a good few minutes before folding over onto the mattress. The heat of Caleb’s body hasn’t yet faded, and Essek curls into the warm spot where he lay, and pulls the sheets over his shoulders.

He lets the tactile comforts that remain - the smell of oil, the warmth of the blankets, the sound of running water - seep into every part of him, and waits for Caleb to return.

[astangayurveda]

When should I be worried about lower back pain ?

Back pain could be a common reason for absence from work and for seeking medical treatment. It are often uncomfortable and enfeebling.

It may end up from injury, activity and a few medical conditions. Back pain will have an effect on folks of any age, for various reasons. As folks grow up, the prospect of developing lower back pain will increase, because of factors like previous occupation and chronic disk illness.

Lower back pain could also be coupled to the bony body part spine, discs between the vertebrae, ligaments round the spine and discs, medulla spinalis and nerves, lower back muscles, abdominal and girdle internal organs, and therefore the skin round the body part space.

Pain within the higher back could also be because of disorders of the arterial blood vessel, tumors within the chest, and spine inflammation.

Causes

Problems with the spine like pathology will cause back pain.

The human back consists of a fancy structure of muscles, ligaments, tendons, disks, and bones, that work along to support the body and modify U.S.A. to maneuver around.

The segments of the spine ar cushiony with cartilage-like pads known as disks.

Problems with any of those parts will cause back pain. In some cases of back pain, its cause remains unclear.

Damage may end up from strain, medical conditions, and poor posture, among others.

Strain

Back pain normally stems from strain, tension, or injury. Frequent causes of back pain are:

•           strained muscles or ligaments

•           a cramp

•           muscle tension

•           damaged disks

•           injuries, fractures, or falls

Activities which will cause strains or spasms include:

•           lifting one thing improperly

•           lifting one thing that's too significant

•           making Associate in Nursing abrupt and awkward movement

Structural issues

A number of structural issues may end in back pain.

•           Ruptured disks: every os within the spine is cushiony by disks. If the disk ruptures there'll be a lot of pressure on a nerve, leading to back pain.

•           Bulging disks: In abundant constant approach as busted disks, a bulging disk may end up in additional pressure on a nerve.

•           Sciatica: a pointy and shooting pain travels through the body part and down the rear of the leg, caused by a bulging or herniated diskpressing on a nerve.

•           Arthritis: degenerative joint disease will cause issues with the joints within the hips, lower back, and different places. In some cases, the area round the medulla spinalis narrows. this can be called spinal pathology.

•           Abnormal curvature of the spine: If the spine curves in Associate in Nursing uncommon approach, back pain may end up. Associate in Nursing example is spinal curvature, during which the spine curves to the facet.

•           Osteoporosis: Bones, as well as the vertebrae of the spine, become brittle and porous, creating compression fractures a lot of seemingly.

•           urinary organ problems: Kidney stones or urinary organ infection will cause back pain.

Movement and posture

Back pain can even result from some everyday activities or poor posture.

Examples include:

Adopting a awfully crooked sitting position once victimization computers may end up in multiplied back and shoulder issues over time.

•           twisting

•           coughing or instinctive reflex

•           muscle tension

•           over-stretching

•           bending awkwardly or for long periods

•           pushing, pulling, lifting, or carrying one thing

•           standing or sitting for long periods

•           straining the neck forward, like once driving or employing a laptop

•           long driving sessions while not an opening, even once not crooked

•           sleeping on a pad that doesn't support the body and keep the spine straight

Other causes

Some medical conditions will cause back pain.

•           Cauda equina syndrome: The bodily structure equine could be a bundle of nervus spinalis roots that arise from the lower finish of the medulla spinalis. Symptoms embrace a uninteresting pain within the lower back and higher buttocks, likewise as symptom within the buttocks, genitalia, and thighs. There are generally gut and bladder perform disturbances.

•           Cancer of the spine: A neoplasm on the spine might press against a nerve, leading to back pain.

•           Infection of the spine: A fever and a young, heat space on the rear can be because of Associate in Nursing infection of the spine.

•           Other infections: girdle disease, bladder, or urinary organ infections may cause back pain.

•           Sleep disorders: people with sleep disorders are a lot of seemingly to expertise back pain, compared with others.

•           Shingles: Associate in Nursing infection {that can|which will|that might} have an effect on the nerves may cause back pain. this relies on that nerves are affected.

Risk factors

The following factors are coupled to the next risk of developing low back pain:

•           occupational activities

•           pregnancy

•           a inactive life-style

•           poor fitness

•           older age

•           obesity and excess weight

•           smoking

•           strenuous work up or work, particularly if done incorrectly

•           genetic factors

•           medical conditions, like inflammatory disease and cancer

Lower back pain additionally tends to be a lot of common in ladies than in men, presumably because of secretion factors. Stress, anxiety, and mood disorders have additionally been coupled to back pain.

Symptoms

The main symptom of back pain is Associate in Nursing ache or pain anyplace within the back, and generally all the approach all the way down to the buttocks and legs.

Some back problems will cause pain in different components of the body, betting on the nerves affected.

The pain usually goes away while not treatment, however if it happens with any of the subsequent folks ought to see their doctor:

•           weight loss

•           fever

•           inflammation or swelling on the rear

•           persistent back pain, wherever lying down or resting doesn't facilitate

•           pain down the legs

•           pain that reaches below the knees

•           a recent injury, blow or trauma to the rear

•           urinary incontinence

•           difficulty urinating

•           fecal incontinence, or loss of management over gut movements

•           numbness round the genital organ

•           numbness round the arsehole

•           numbness round the buttocks

[mattressguideworld-blog]

HOW TO KNOW WHICH MATTRESS IS BEST FOR YOU.

Having a good night's sleep depends on a lot of different elements -- comfort, stress level, room temperature – but to get it right, you've got to start with the basics and your mattress is the first building block to a restful slumber.

If you're in the market for a new mattress and have recently taken a stroll down the aisle of a bedding store, you know that there is a dizzying array from which to choose.

 HOW TO KNOW WHICH MATTRESS IS BEST FOR YOU.

To start the mattress needs to support your body in a neutral position, one in which your spine has a nice curvature and your buttocks, heels, shoulders, and head are supported in proper alignment

If the mattress is too firm, it will push on those main pressure points and take you out of alignment, if it's too soft, those pressure points won't be properly supported, so your whole body flops back. Both of these scenarios can lead to an achy morning.

Generally speaking, one type or brand of bed isn't better than another, but a firmer bed seems to be better for people with lower back pain.

 WHEN TO GET A NEW MATTRESS.

Finding a mattress that suits your particular preferences is vital for getting a good night’s sleep. How often you should replace your mattress depends on many different things, such as the original quality, but you should typically replace your mattress every seven years or so. Another clue is to look at the warranty—once it’s up, it might be time for a newer model.

Lastly, if you wake up with stiffness and aches or your mattress shows obvious signs of wear, such as dipping in the middle, it’s time to go shopping.

 WHAT SIZE SHOULD YOU GET?

Regular mattresses come in several; it is always a good idea to pair your inflatable mattress with the specific room where you are going to use it since you are going to use it at home. You would be surprised how often people buy the wrong mattress for their space.

There are extra high mattresses that give you the feel of a regular bed. This will ensure optimal comfort and ease of use. When looking for the best mattress for everyday use, I recommend going for the higher models. After all, comfort is everything when considering a long-term mattress.

 BEST MATTRESS AND BUYING GUIDE

INNERSPRING MATTRESSES

Known as the traditional mattress, innerspring mattresses come in a variety of trims and offer an extensive list of comfort and support options. As the name suggests, innerspring mattress cores are manufactured of steel coils or springs. Different mattress companies will engineer springs differently to manipulate the sleep surface's firmness, comfort and support characteristics.

Innerspring technology has been around for centuries, allowing manufacturers to fine-tune mattress-building into a near science.

This allows consumers to choose from a wide range of options to find the best mattress to address their needs for support and comfort.

CONDITIONS:  For someone who is very overweight, spring mattresses may offer a firmer support, making them easier to get in and out of.  Firmer versions are good for people with back pain. But spring-based mattresses can be comfortable for almost anyone.

 MEMORY FOAM MATTRESSES

Memory foam mattresses have experienced a surge in popularity in recent years. These highly engineered mattresses are manufactured using synthetics, foams and chemicals. In their most basic form, a memory foam mattress will consist of a thick base foam layer that is not unlike many of the foams used in seats or packaging.

The top layer of the mattress is where you would find the actual memory foam. Made using technology developed by NASA (hence the name "space age memory foam" that is often used), this comfort layer is thinner than the base layer. It is designed to provide body contouring characteristics, heat retention and superior support.

Since memory foam material is highly flammable, mattresses are engineered with fire retardants and other chemicals for safety protection. However, those chemicals often leave an odor that is present when the packaging is removed on new mattresses. The smell usually disappears within a couple of days.

By design, memory foam retains body heat. As a result, some users complain about being hot during the night because of the mattress. Others find them to be the best mattress on which they've slept.

For the most part, memory foam mattresses are less expensive than luxury innerspring mattresses, contributing to their popularity.

PROS: Memory foam will contour your body, offering high quality comfort and support;

CONS:  Can get expensive on some brands; Memory foam does not last forever and lifespan is typically shorter than most innerspring mattresses; heat retention; odor; heavy weight

CONDITIONS:  If you have a hard time getting comfortable, if you have chronic fatigue, or some type of muscle pain, then a memory foam mattress would work well for you, assuming you don't have temperature issues.

 LATEX MATTRESSES

Manufactured from the sap extracted from the rubber tree, latex foam mattresses offer many of the same comfort and support qualities of memory foam mattresses but with two important distinctions: they are more natural (therefore less chemicals) and they do not retain as much body heat. As a result, latex foam mattresses are popular among buyers who suffer from scent hyper-sensitivities, as well as people who consider themselves "hot sleepers.”

There are two basic types of Latex Foam: Dunlop and Talalay. Both begin as the same sap from the same tree. Talalay latex adds two steps more to its processing life than Dunlop latex, and this is what makes Talalay more expensive.

In terms of overall quality, experts argue that neither makes the best mattress since the additional steps in Talalay latex simply add to its range of surface-firmness. Those extra steps, however, make it less dense and durable than Dunlop latex.

PROS: Exceptional support and comfort; better airflow than memory foam mattresses; more durable than memory foam; odorless

CONS: Expensive; heavy weight.

CONDITIONS: Either a latex mattress or latex mattress topper is great for relieving back pain because they offer the best combination of comfort and support.

 AIR MATTRESSES

We're not talking about the blow-up mattresses you put your holiday guests on for a few days. Higher-end air beds look like a standard innerspring mattress, but use air-filled chambers instead of coils, and are covered by a foam layer on top.

Air beds have long been used for patients with spinal cord injuries who are lying in bed for a long time. They can be adjusted so they don't continue to press on the same areas of the body, which helps to avoid skin breakdown in patients who can't move.

PROS: Couples who have dramatic differences in their individual preference for comfort and firmness levels might do very well with an air mattress. The reason is that the firmness of each side of the bed can be altered. If you like it firmer than your partner, these beds can be adjusted for that.

Like latex and memory foam, you can also find air toppers for your mattress.

CONS: People sometimes fail to make their air bed firm enough and wake up with back aches. Less sophisticated air mattresses also pop up on one side when you sit on the opposite end. For that reason, you want multiple chambers so that doesn't occur.

CONDITIONS: These beds are particularly useful when sleeping partners have different needs. If one of you has a bad back, one side can be made firmer than the other to provide greater support.

 AIRBEDS

Airbeds offer adjustable settings that allow users to customize the comfort and support of their mattress by pumping air into chambers for a firmer sleep experience or releasing air from those chambers to achieve a softer sleep surface. Best mattress

Some airbeds are designed with the capability to adjust the firmness of each side of the bed separately. This makes them among the best mattress options for couples who have different mattress preferences.

PROS: Will never sag permanently; fully customizable

CONS: Unable to provide "zoning" for specific support requirements; while "mattress core" will not sag, the materials do suffer from wear and tear; some users complain that the air leaks during the night.

 WATERBEDS

When most people think of waterbeds, they think of the 1980's when owners filled a mattress-sized “bladder” full of water and placed it inside a bed frame. Those old-school mattresses were trendy, but they provided poor support, little comfort and no motion-cancelling qualities.

Thankfully those days are part of the past. Today's waterbeds replace the traditional mattress core with water, allowing some degree of firmness control. As well as temperature control on some models. These "new" waterbed mattresses offer good structural support and can last a long time with proper care.

 PROS: Inexpensive alternative to traditional mattresses; Look, feel and install like regular mattresses (no special bed frame is needed)

CONS: Support and body motion transfer can be annoying

 FUTONS MATTRESS

One of the least expensive bedding options for shoppers is the futon. Extremely comfortable, many futons offer the same benefits as higher priced memory foam and latex mattresses by providing excellent back support. Today's futon mattresses are manufactured using a variety of "fill," including cotton, wool, foam and synthetics.

Since they are lightweight, futons make excellent beds for students or people who move frequently. Futons typically need to be replaced more frequently, as they are not made with the same structural support characteristics as other mattress options.

 PROS: Low cost; extremely supportive; lightweight

CONS: Poor durability; not hypoallergenic; can be awkward

 ADJUSTABLE BEDS

These beds are able to bend and elevate at varying angles. As a result, the mattress has to be flexible. Different types of mattresses can be used on an adjustable bed – memory foam, latex, or air, for example. Spring mattresses are more difficult to use, however, because the springs don't handle the bending well.

PROS: For people who have difficulty getting in and out of bed or who like to watch television in bed, adjustables can make life easier by moving you closer to where you need to be.

CONDITIONS: If you suffer from sleep apnea, sleeping flat can make the condition worse by cutting off airways and causing the tongue to fall into the back of the throat. People who experience reflux can also benefit by sleeping in a bed that elevates their upper body.

  WHEN TO PART WITH YOUR OLD MATTRESS

Today's mattresses are made to last a lifetime. But you probably shouldn't plan on keeping yours for that long. Our bodies change over time, so the mattress that was once a joy to sleep on may no longer feel comfortable a few years down the road.

In addition, mattresses collect dust mites, fungus, and other germs that can exacerbate allergies and impact your sleep patterns.  After 10 to 15 years, it's time to think about buying a new bed.

Ultimately, the experts say that the best bed for you is the one that feels most comfortable. And remember, "There's no mattress that's going to save your body when you get only five hours of sleep." In order to feel your best, you need to get enough rest… no matter what type of mattress you're sleeping on.

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