Back Pain

Ugh, it's hideous, I have suffered from back pain for quite a while now and it is only getting worse.

I have a lot of tension in my shoulders and neck which causes a lot of discomfort but in recent months the pain in my lower back has become unbearable.  Most of my pain is caused from stress tension but my posture is also quite bad contributed mostly by the fact I am quite well endowed up top!  Now, I can't stop the ageing process but I still feel far too young to be dealing with joint and muscular pain like this.

I go for the occasional massage but nothing gives me the sweet relief I am looking for and really the next option is to see a chiropractor.  While I research the best ones to visit however, I needed something to ease my poor muscles and it seems I have found a brilliant solution.

I happened to mention my back pain to the girls at Aromatherapy Associates who quickly recommended their De-Stress range, in particular the Muscle Bath & Shower Oil and the Muscle Gel.  The Gel contains essential oils with a mix of black pepper, ginger and rosemary.

RRP £37

RRP £20

In all honestly, I thought this would just be a case of having a nice, luxurious bath, relieving the ache for half an hour or so before going back to the same old moaning and whining and requiring a billion pillows to prop me up on the couch.  I was so wrong.  So wrong.

I had a lovely warm bath.  No, it was a hot bath, really hot in fact with the De-stress bath oil which smells divine by the way.   I felt no real difference in the bath, it was just relaxing and purifying for the soul to take half an hour out to float away all the stresses of the day.  After my bath, I resisted the temptation to talc up (anyone else still do this? ... I am obsessed with talc - such an 80's child!) ... and instead used the muscle gel on my problem areas - my lower and upper back.  You might need a bit of help doing this.  It's a smooth gel, a little cold to apply but doesn't feel sticky at all, it's really just like applying your moisturiser.

Off to bed I went in nice snuggly jammies and fresh bed linen (ah, what a feeling!) ... next day I got up and my achey back was barely noticeable.  My back is usually at its worst in the office around mid-day but again, I still felt comfortable - it was as if by magic.  I kept waiting for a tinge of heaviness to kick in around my lower back but it never came.

That has been over a week now and I have only used the oil once and the gel a couple of times since but it seems to be doing the trick.  I can't contribute the ease of pain to anything else other than the new products as this has been a constant problem for months now with no relief whatsoever.   I have used various bath salts and massage bars in the past but nothing has made a difference until now.

I plan on keeping this little ritual up on a weekly basis to hopefully keep the pain at bay although for a longer term solution I will still continue my search for a fabulous chiropractor.  I am not sure what it is in these products that have made them so effective, maybe it is just the natural wonders of essential oils like so many people keep telling me and I am forever a cynic?!  One thing's for sure, this is working out for me.

Does anyone else have back cures they swear by?  Any must have products that lifts the ache as if by magic?

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