Making Cancer Less of a Pain

When one of my dear friends, Maxine*, was diagnosed with cancer, I knew she was in for the fight of her life. What I didn’t know was how much physical pain her illness would cause her wonderful husband, Doug*. Specifically, he ended up with back pain.

This particular couple are still madly in love after more than two decades of marriage. So, you won’t be surprised to read that, of course, he’ll be right by her side, through it all.

Not long after her diagnosis, Maxine began marathon chemotherapy treatments that lasted all day, and a due to complications from her condition, the couple soon did some extended stints in the hospital together. 

All that sitting in those plastic hospital chairs really began to take a toll on Doug’s back.

One of the things I have noticed about people going through a major illness is they worry less about themselves and more about the pain their illness is causing the people they love. 

As a Restorative Exercise Specialist™, I couldn’t cure Maxine’s cancer or make the pain of it any easier to endure. But, I could do something to resolve Doug’s back pain, so I did. 

As a result, Doug feels better and Maxine can focus more on getting well and less on worrying about Doug.

Want to know how I did it? Read on...

If you have met me in person, you probably know that I’m not a big fan of sitting. But, if you must sit, you can make the simple alignment adjustment below and bring your poor aching back loads of relief.

This is the same alignment cue I gave Doug and it resolved his back pain. 

The cue? Sit with a neutral pelvis.

In other words, start sitting on your “sit or sitz bones” (ischial tuberosities), instead of tucking your pelvis and sitting on your sacrum. Need a visual? 

Watch this alignment cue in action in this video by The Restorative Exercise Institute.

Still have questions? Read more about neutral pelvis from my teacher, Katy Bowman.

Still need help? Schedule an alignment session with me and I’ll help you get it right.

I hope you’ll give this cue a try and share it with any of your loved ones who may be experiencing back pain as a result of sitting at the office, sitting in the car, sitting to nurse a baby, or even sitting while holding the hand of someone they love while they fight to recover from an illness.

Go hug someone you love, today!


With Love,

Danielle

P.S. Maxine and Doug are still fighting! Her treatments have been going well and I hope you will join me in wishing them many more happy years together.

*Names have been changed