Ashlie: (00:19)
Welcome back to another episode of Tactical Living by LEO Warriors. I'm your host, Ashlie Walton
Clint:
And I'm your co-host Clint Walton.
Ashlie:
In today's episode, we're going to talk about a lot of the back pain that police officers experience and some of the remedies that Clint has found throughout the years that have really helped him. So just sit back, relax and enjoy today's content. As an officer's wife, I can recall many times when Clint's come home and his back starts to hurt and it's never been like a one and done. It's usually the symptoms will start and then his back pain would last for upwards of like two weeks at a time. Clint nor myself are proponents of medication, narcotics in particular. So we've had to be a little crafty when it comes to investigating some of the ways that we can use home remedies or research online some home equipment to be able to really ease the back pain.
Ashlie: (01:32)
And I remember we've even tried things like inversion tables, which for some people work great. Clint hated that. The truth is that Clint's a pretty big guy. He's pretty tall and I don't think that those were well-constructed four relatively tall, bigger people in general. And I'm pretty sure that's why it just, it didn't work well for him. It seemed to cause pain in other places as opposed to just alleviating the back pain.
Clint: (02:05)
I know a lot of people say those things work wonders, but yeah, I felt like my head was going to explode every time I got on that thing.
Ashlie: (02:13)
Yeah, there's definitely a technique when it comes to like proper placement and, and how you align your body with your head and your positioning. And there are many components that go into that. I would say you gave it a good shot for about six months and we ended up selling it at a yard sale that we had before we moved.
Ashlie: (02:35)
Clint is going to go over a lot of the things that have really helped him throughout the years and some of the reasons why they've helped. But I want to point out that one of the biggest things that I believe has helped in alleviating his back pain has really been losing weight and increasing his physical fitness. And that comes from a place of me understanding how in the recent year or so when you've really taken your health into serious consideration, that you haven't complained about having back pain apart from maybe one time. And that was a pinched nerve that I think happened because of improperly lifting when we were working out one day.
Clint: (03:19)
Yeah. And it wasn't even my typical spot that I hurt in. You know, over the years, ne of the things is that I knew when I came home from work and my back was starting to hurt was Icy Hot patches. I would put that on my lower back and just lay there for hours and it would sooth the pain, but it didn't you know, it didn't fix anything. You know, wearing our belts on a daily basis. All the weight that we carry getting in and out of the units or just getting up and down. It's sometimes I feel like I'm a pregnant lady trying to just get out of a car because my back's hurting and I know of a lot of partners who have the same problem. I mean, it's a common thing for police officers. Another really good tool is I've always used the lumbar supports.
Clint: (04:15)
That's something that I found just alleviates the pressure on my spine when I'm driving. You know, I remember before I ever had back issues, I would try the lumbar support out and just see how it felt and it was so uncomfortable. But now, I can't drive without it. It's important. I pair that with a seat cushion that I bought off Amazon that I take everywhere with me. When we're taking long flights to one of the countries that we're traveling to or sitting at the kitchen table for any extended amount of time…I'm sitting on that pad and it completely takes all the pressure off of my tailbone and doesn't compress my spine. So that alleviates all that pressure that comes up with it. You know, the biggest factor is most definitely losing weight and getting more fit surrounding my body.
Clint: (05:13)
That I can't say enough how impactful that has been. You know, now that I've been working out a lot more, I started getting the tension or the upper back pain just from working out more and the things that really helped with that are the Shiatsu Russell roller balls. I don't know if you've ever seen those but there like a fish hook and it has a ball on the end. You just can reach around your back and really dig in on those knots. And that's always been a tool that I've absolutely loved to use. And it's funny, I think there was a story where I gave one of my partners a whole lot of shit over having of those, talking about it was a device not used for massaging but used for extra-curricular activities by females and…it is what it is. But he, he didn't think that and he loved it. And now that I use it, I love it too because it really can dig deep in through your tissue and muscles to get those knots out.
Ashlie: (06:27)
Where can I buy one of these?
Clint: (06:31)
Ouch. You know, the foam rollers. Where they're like yoga rollers. You lay that on the ground and really lay yourself out on top of it and let out your air as you roll back and forth on it all the way up and down your spine and it really cracks your back. But also it massages the muscles and shifts your spine to kind of push it up. It feels like, I don't know medically if it does that or not.
Ashlie: (07:00)
Yeah, doing it on a regular basis is definitely decompressing a lot of the tension that's building up. Very comparable to what happens when you get a massage. And if you've never laid on a foam roller before, especially doing it for the first time or even when you're doing it in one of your most dire elements of pain, it is not a comfortable experience. So that's why I would recommend incorporating it as more of a maintenance and doing it on a regular basis as opposed to just doing it in those times when you're starting to feel the discomfort. I think it helps regardless of whether you're a first responder or you're into physical fitness or your ass even starts to hurt. It's a simple tool. It's very inexpensive and it works great.
Clint: (07:48)
You know, my favorite remedy for my back pain is when I asked you to massage my back. You know, it's great. It really digs in deep and my lower back is something that, it's always been hard for me to get the areas that I really need to and you help with having someone get into those deep areas to help alleviate that pain. Now, there's been times where I felt like I've thrown out my back and all I could do is just rest. And there are those times. There will be those times. And that's kind of one of those things you have to know when not to over-do it because your back especially is something that affects your nerves. And your legs and I know in the past I've had mine go out and my legs felt weak afterwards.
Ashlie: (08:48)
And I really liked that you brought up the point of having your spouse just give you a massage. It reminds me of when we were dating and we put forth so much effort into the person that we're trying to attract by doing things like giving them massages and then over time, especially as you sit there, if you've been married long enough, some of those things can easily start to slip away and you're not very cognizant of putting forth the effort to do those things anymore. But whether you're having back pain or not, the amount of physical touch that is required, even just doing a massage, I mean taking the intimacy out of it, although a massage between spouses is very intimate, but without having any expectations and taking sex out of the equation and just having that physical contact with one another, it's just one more step and building the relationship.
Ashlie: (09:47)
And if you can sit on the couch and watch TV together, then I can guarantee you that you guys could take turns giving one another massages. But especially if one of you is seeking the help and you know really the aid because you're in pain. It's important to still have that in a relationship and if you haven't given your spouse a massage in a long time, I know how weird reintroducing those types of things can be, especially in a marriage when you've been together for so long. And I found with working with my clients, one of the easy ways to get over a hurdle like that is by simply saying like, 'this is going to be uncomfortable for me to talk to you about but we haven't given one another a massage in who knows how long. Although it's strange to talk about it, I was just thinking about how important it is to have that physical connection with one another.' And who wouldn't want a massage?
Ashlie: (10:48)
'So is it okay if maybe tonight when the kids go to sleep or when we have some time to ourselves' and even not…If your kids are laying on the floor watching TV and you guys are there as a family, like why can't you still give one another and massage. Like sit in front of the other one and take turns giving massages. Make it a family event. Everybody can make a train out of giving each other massages on their shoulders. I remember being younger. One pivotal bonding moment between my mom and I… She would pay me $5 to scratch her back for 20 minutes and she would lay on the floor. That was the only time in my entire life that my mom would ever lay on the floor. And that was her moment of just pampering and just enjoying having her back scratched.
Ashlie: (11:37)
And I didn't realize it at the time, but in retrospect, it was really such a sweet bonding moment between us because I mean, I did that for as long as I could remember. And then as I got older, we would by nature just walk up behind her and then just start scratching her back because that was us showing affection because we knew that she liked it. And I think that by having those moments and just knowing if you're a first responder, especially if you're suffering from back pain, so many officers become medically retired because of issues that are stemmed from back pain. And the earlier that you can start to incorporate simple things that you can do every day. Like go on Amazon, purchase a $15 roller ball and that will probably last you for 10 years. Those things are literally indestructible…and start using that as maintenance.
Ashlie: (12:35)
And if you're accustomed to hopping on the couch when you get home, put the roller ball right next to you so that you remember to incorporate it into your everyday. It's something so small and convenient that you could even take it to the station with you and put it in your locker to use before you start the day at all. Like, loosen things up and get ready, just like you would stretch before you work out. And I think that by having these simple tools incorporated into your life before you take the big step, which I believe is very big in seeking out narcotics as a way to remedy it and understanding that that's simply putting a Band-Aid on things. And of course we're not medical professionals and there are people that are far extended past the point of being able to just use simple remedies. But by having that maintenance and realizing that there's things that you can do before it gets to that point, then you're really able to enjoy your Tactical Living.
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