I have had chronic pain in my right hip since a month after I was paralyzed in 1981. It is from a heterotopic ossification—like a giant case of arthritis—around my right hip. Over the years, I have learned much about pain management using techniques ranging from non-steroidal ant-inflammatory drugs such as Celebrex to mindful meditation to physical positioning.
Positioning works best. The big problem is that getting out of my wheelchair into bed is far and away the least painful positioning. Being in wheelchair is already a sedentary lifestyle. Lying in bed is over the top in reducing physical activity leading to weight gain and even less physical fitness. I do have over a dozen pillows on my king size bed to help with positioning. Turning from one side to another is a small ordeal in pillow repositioning. I never sleep on my back. I usually sleep on my left side with my right leg propped up in a position of little or no pain.
Today I am going to see a physical therapist at the UW’s rehab/physical medicine department. It is the top rated public hospital in the US for rehab medicine. Hopefully, we will find a way to make some minor padding adjustments to reduce my pain while sitting in my wheelchair.
I am grateful for my medical insurance with 100% coverage of bills related to my SCI, easy access to a remarkably high quality of medical care, online patient files that enables my entire team of health care providers access to my medical records, and an optimistic perspective that leads me to believe I will soon have less pain while sitting in my wheelchair.
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