I broke my spine last February and had an operation to fuse three vertebrae. There is no sign of fusion though. No new bone growth. I am in chronic pain with arthritis in all my joints and crippling pain in my sacroiliac joint and hips. I’m over weight, lost a lot of head hair and 61 years old, but look younger surprisingly despite the pain. I would really appreciate some help in getting fitter. I’m so inactive because of my operation and continuing pain.

Sorry to hear of your horribly traumatic experiences.

Sometimes the soft tissues can remain painful for many months following the initial injury, followed by the subsequent surgery.

Compromised micro circulation to the tissues and nerves, scar tissue and the effects of the trauma on the production of pain-killing chemicals that should circulate our body can all contribute to the ongoing misery.

You haven't said so, but I assume you sleep poorly with the pain.

Ongoing sleep deprivation lowers the mood, reduces the opportunity to heal the body and reduces our pain tolerance threshold, making pain management very difficult.

If you do sleep badly, that is the first thing to address and can I recommend our Dormeasan^® liquid to try. While licensed for poor sleep, the ingredients have also been used for centuries for the relief of muscle tension, something that in itself can worsen pain.

The Sacroiliac joint supports the weight of the entire upper body, so is extremely difficult to rest except when lying down.

This may be the only time you experience relief.

However, there is a gentle exercise that might help the pain in this region of the hips.

  -  When lying on a firm surface and with your legs out straight, try to make your bottom 'walk on the spot' by tensing and alternatively lifting and tensing each buttock.

  -  Next, try rocking each hip back and forth along the plane of your legs, in other words, drop one side of the hips towards the feet and then the other side.

If you can do these without pain, try doing each for a minute at a time both morning and evening and see how things feel after a week of doing this each day.

If you need some extra help with the pain, please consider applying some Atrogel^® to the region after each set of exercises, before bed and upon waking.

I suspect you will find any further exercise difficult until you get some relief from the pain in your pelvic area, so please focus on the elements of sleep and Sacroiliac mobility first.

Please try to address these issues first and if they help we can try to move on from there.

Best wishes

Earle