Question
margot,
   i'm a 41 yr.old nurse's aide and though most of my 14 years doing this has been acute care, over the last 3 1/2 i've been working 60+ hrs. per week in a nursing home (evening into nights).
I am in so much pain that it's diminished my quality of life. Of course i find the strength to come to work everyday and endure grueling hours of hard work ,but, I can't do what i love which is working out at the gym and tae bo.My hip aches down to the side of my shin, my lower back hurts and i can barely roll out of bed in the afternoon. I was prescribed lortab but it didn't help. I'm afraid that if i throw myself back into working out i might worsen an existing problem ...can yoga help me work out the stiffness i feel?....since working nights , in 3.5 years i've gained 55 lbs. What can i do to get my body back to normal?  Thank you , julie

Answer
Hi Julie and thanks for writing,

I think you need to go have a complete physical and find out why you gained 55 lbs in 3 years, that is not normal - you need your GP to check all the common possibilities (Thyroid, Diabetes, etc). I also think you need him/her to assist you to relieve your back pain before you're permanently damaged for life, I'd say you need a back/hip x-ray at the very least, and a MRI if possible to assess the current level of inflammation and any possible existing damage; if they find any you may need to go off on Worker's Comp as you let it heal.

I think Yoga is a great idea, you need to watch your diet (eat properly) and exercise at least daily - but make sure you see your GP first to see if it's safe for you. Don't try to rely on drugs to cover-up the pain, you need to alleviate the cause of the pain (your extra weight and possibly some unsafe transfers at work), and get you muscles & back in shape.

Good luck, I hope you're feeling better soon,

Margot