I'm a firm believer that anything you can do self-help towards pain reduction must always be traced back to anxiety.  Have you ever noticed when you are calm and serene the pain seems to dissipate? But, our systems have rewired themselves allowing for consistent concern and worry throughout the day targeting situations that others may recognize as trivial, but to us they are monumental. 

Not only that, but we squash these feelings not allowing any identifiable traits because most of those traits seem ludicrous to begin with.  Top that off with the fact that we really don't want to know!  Let's just slip another component of this illness under the rug because that just makes it easier to deal with, and allows us the ability to keep sane.  

But my last two weeks of daily tapping has shifted my views on this a bit.  I'm noticing that if I accept and validate this anxiety, regardless of where it stems from, I am enabling my body to view it and let go.  It doesn't matter if it seems ridiculous to begin with, apparently my mind is giving it more worth than I've been these last seven years.  And maybe, just maybe it is subtly trying to tell me something.  That is one of the layers I haven't unfolded yet.  But that first layer tells me to understand and appreciate my symptoms.  It is prompting me to adjust and accept.  That hasn't been easy.  But, I am noticing a shift of acceptance for my general well-being.  More importantly the symptoms are not lasting as long.  Something is happening.  

Why are we so quick to pitch our connection with our own self every time it lets us down?  Rather than accept and move on, we have a tendency to sweep all the things we don't like about ourselves under the rug.  Overweight? Let's just look at the positive side of all that, "I'm being my own person.  I've accepted myself."  That personal view is hard to retain when you're smacked with a recent blood test that shows your acceptance of yourself is now a health hazard.  

Why have we disconnected so much from ourselves?  Are we too busy?  Have we become a society of enablers?  Tapping has a long history.  This history stems from non acceptance of our own innate mechanisms that keep us alive and healthy.  

Like many healing arts that draw upon ancient wisdom, Tapping has been met with a fair share of skepticism. Some doctors and psychologists have been quick to dismiss it as “woo woo,” despite the heaping anecdotal evidence from the results of clinical trials, practitioner reports, individual case studies, and those who have used EFT Tapping on their own. 

In recent years, however, there’s been a growing pool of undeniable research proving that Tapping produces real, lasting breakthroughs. It significantly improves, and can even even eliminate, conditions that hospital treatments, medications, and years of psychotherapy often fail to adequately resolve. 

Studies performed around the world, including the prestigious Harvard Medical School, continue to verify these assertions. We’ve collected a quite a few of these research studies for you to review yourself. 

The scientific basis for Tapping therapy revolves around the functions of a specific almond-shaped part of your brain called the amygdala. It is part of the body’s limbic system, the source of emotions and long-term memory. The amygdala is known as the brain’s fear center, from which the “flight or fight” response originates, alerting other parts of the brain that it senses danger. This, in turn, initiates the firing of other brain receptors and the release of specific hormones that allow the body to respond to the perceived danger. 

This process is highly useful when faced with a real survival situation or an actual threat, but can be detrimental when developed into an “irrational fear” such as public speaking or a fear of rejection. 

Tapping has been shown to literally “turn off” the amygdala, disrupting the stress response and allowing the brain synapses to be rewired for a more appropriate emotional response to a given situation.

Every day I think about how I can help more people by connecting them with the incredible power of EFT Tapping.

And now, harnessing the power of technology, we’ve created something that will bring Tapping into the palm everyone’s hand – literally.

It’s The Tapping Solution App! And it’s now available on all mobile devices.

This, in my mind, is the greatest thing The Tapping Solution has ever created and I’m SO excited to share it with you! - Nick Ortner

The Tapping Solution App Categories

Inside The Tapping Solution App, you’ll find guided Tapping Meditations for:
Stress Relief • Motivation • Confidence • Emotional Freedom • Sleep Support • Relationships• Healing Your Body • Weight Loss & Body Confidence • Releasing Fears • Wealth & Abundance • Productivity • Pregnancy & Early Motherhood • Active Military and Veteran Support • Teacher Support

The Tapping Solution App Features

Not only will The Tapping Solution App be filled with incredible content, but we’ve also packed in a ton of useful features as well. Such as:

• Your Personal Dashboard with Daily Inspirational, Motivational, and Insightful Quotes
• Personalized Progress Tracker for each Tapping Meditation you’ve listened to
• Mark Your Favorite Tapping Meditations to quickly return to later
• Built-In Intensity Rating Scale at the beginning and end of each Tapping Meditation
• Independent Voice and Background Music Volume Control
• Visual Tapping Point Graphics to keep you on track during each Tapping Meditation
• Download Option for when you’re not connected to WiFi or the Internet
• And more!

 
How to Get The Tapping Solution App
The Tapping Solution App is now available on the Apple App Store and the Google Play Store.

Download The Tapping Solution App here! 

The Tapping Solution App is FREE to download, with multiple upgrade options to unlock all of the available Tapping Meditations and Features.

This is a very exciting time for Tapping, and more importantly, for YOUR health, wealth, and well-being! Never before has it been this simple to learn and to make a daily habit of Tapping.

I’m so excited for you and for your future!

I came along something again to share quite by accident.  I was loading an app on my phone to upgrade when something caught my eye "Tapping Solution".  It was green icon which seemed to speak my colors lately of serenity and peace.  "What the heck?" I asked myself and downloaded it.  It couldn't hurt!

I don't know about you, but most days my nerves are haywire.  Oh, and it doesn't take much to turn on the switch.  From the moment my feet hit the floor upon rising from my bed that circuit is alive in 30 minutes, thoughts traveling the rate of the speed of light.  You'd think that highway would get jammed and bump a few off on the nearby exits.  Not a chance!  Every little thing that is viewed produces mounds of unwanted needs and expectations. 

So, I was well versed on how anxiety produces more pain.  And pain is a facet of life these days.  The trick is to reduce that steady amount of pain.  Doesn't it make sense if we can rewire, or coat those existing wires with a little more insulation, they don't get frazzled?  This is where my talents falter.  I have never been able to reduce that initial anxiety I feel that revs me up all day long.   

But this new technique promised a complete rewiring.  And all you had to do is tap away.  

I tried the tapping.  I felt relief.  So, of course, I needed more information!  Let me give you a bit of the story:

​Tapping, also known as EFT (Emotional Freedom Techniques), is a powerful holistic healing technique that has been proven to effectively resolve a range of issues, including stress, anxiety, phobias, emotional disorders, chronic pain, addiction, weight control, and limiting beliefs, just to name a few. 

Tapping therapy is based on the combined principles of ancient Chinese acupressure and modern psychology. Tapping with the fingertips on specific meridian endpoints of the body, while focusing on negative emotions or physical sensations, helps to calm the nervous system, rewire the brain to respond in healthier ways, and restore the body’s balance of energy.

Tapping makes full use of the mind-body connection, acknowledging and integrating the concepts that physical pain, disease, and mental well being are intricately connected to our emotional states. 

The body is equipped with an energy system that travels along pathways known as meridians. Tapping on these meridian endpoints helps to stimulate this system, and when verbally or mentally addressing the root causes of distress, the areas of blocked energy are able to release and flow naturally. 

The basic Tapping technique requires you to focus on the negative emotion at hand - a fear, a worry, a bad memory, an unresolved problem, or anything that’s bothering you. While maintaining your mental focus on this issue, you use your fingertips to tap 5-7 times on each of the 9 specific meridian points of the body. 

Tapping on these meridian points in sequence while concentrating on the negative emotions engages both the brain’s limbic system and the body’s energy system, encouraging a sense of safety and resolution. And as the scientific field of epigenetics is proving, when you change your internal environment - your emotions and beliefs - external changes in your mental & physical health will follow. 

In some ways, Tapping is similar to acupuncture. Like Tapping, acupuncture achieves healing through stimulating the body’s meridians and energy flow. However, unlike Tapping, acupuncture involves needles! “No needles” is definitely one of the advantages of Tapping! 

Tapping is simple and painless. It can be learned by anyone, and you can apply it to yourself whenever you want, wherever you are. It can be used with a specific emotional intent towards your own unique life challenges and experiences. Most importantly, Tapping gives you the power to heal yourself, putting control over your destiny back into your own hands.

​"Over 100 million Americans suffer from chronic pain. Lower back pain alone accounts for more than $50 billion of lost work time and worker's compensation claims annually. And let's consider the fact that there are 600,000 knee replacement surgeries performed each year in the United States, and sadly, 20 percent of those patients end up with chronic pain after surgery. The normal "solutions" we've been taught involve seeking out more doctors, surgeries, injections, and medications, all of which have a place in healing. But when it comes to chronic pain, conventional medicine isn't getting the job done. So what can we do? In The Tapping Solution for Pain Relief, which builds on the information contained in the New York Times bestseller The Tapping Solution, Nick Ortner presents a startling alternative. He lays out a step-by-step plan that teaches people how to use tapping, or EFT (emotional freedom techniques), to reduce or eliminate chronic pain. Looking at the scientific research surrounding pain, stress, and tapping, he opens readers eyes to just how powerful tapping can be, and then outlines tips and techniques to address pain in both the short and long term. Nick guides readers on a journey that begins on the surface--tapping to address the pain itself--and moves to the deeper issues that often affect pain. With easy-to-follow tapping scripts and exercises to guide readers into their pasts, Nick helps them heal the emotional pain and underlying beliefs that often keep people stuck. He also addresses topics that many people don't know are associated with chronic pain, such as: Releasing the past Creating personal boundaries Dealing with toxic relationships Clearing resistance to change Understanding the power of a diagnosis Working through anger There are many different ways the brain and body can create, increase, and prolong pain. In these pages, Nick helps readers understand what is causing their pain and provides them with the tools to achieve complete and lasting pain relief. But it's about more than just pain relief; it's about empowering readers to take back their bodies, so they can live the life they most desire."--

​Are you getting enough vitamin D? According to recent studies, there’s a good chance you aren’t. In 2009, researchers reported levels of vitamin D in the U.S. population had dropped between the years of 1988 and 1994, and then again between 2001 and 2004. Not only had average levels dropped, more than 75 percent of the people studied had inadequate levels of vitamin D in their blood.

Vitamin D deficiency is linked with an increased risk for serious diseases. Reduced levels of the vitamin are associated with cancer, cardiovascular disease, osteoarthritis, and autoimmune disorders. Deficiency is also linked with multiple sclerosis, type 1 diabetes, depression, fibromyalgia and more. That’s why it’s so import to get enough vitamin D. But identifying vitamin D deficiency can be tricky.
Our bodies don’t make vitamin D, so we have to get it from our environment. The primary source of vitamin D is the sun, but we can also get it from some foods. Lifestyle, race, age, and other factors can put you at risk for vitamin D deficiency

The truth is that it’s extremely difficult to tell whether you have a vitamin D deficiency. The only way to be absolutely sure is to take a blood test. Most people with a vitamin D deficiency won’t be aware of it. It doesn’t usually produce noticeable symptoms. However, symptoms are possible. If you are vitamin D deficient, you may experience:

• muscle/joint pain and weakness
• bone pain
• tiredness or fatigue
• depression

​Your body is designed to get the vitamin D it needs by producing it when your bare skin is exposed to sunlight. The part of the sun’s rays that is important is ultraviolet B (UVB). This is the most natural way to get vitamin D.

​Large amounts of vitamin D3 are made in your skin when you expose all of your body to summer sun. This happens very quickly; around half the time it takes for your skin to turn pink and begin to burn. This could be just 15 minutes for a very fair skinned person, yet a couple of hours or more for a dark skinned person.
You don’t need to tan or to burn your skin in order to get the vitamin D you need. Exposing your skin for a short time will make all the vitamin D your body can produce in one day. In fact, your body can produce 10,000 to 25,000 IU of vitamin D in just a little under the time it takes for your skin to turn pink. You make the most vitamin D when you expose a large area of your skin, such as your back, rather than a small area such as your face or arms.

The assumption that vitamin D supplements will protect you against diseases associated with low vitamin D levels is incorrect, according to Australian researchers. The report found that vitamin D supplements are immunosuppressive and may actually make diseases worse. 

Vitamin D Nuclear Receptor (VDR) influences the expression of over 1,000 genes, including those associated with diseases such as cancer and multiple sclerosis. According to the new study, supplemental vitamin D actually blocks VDR activation, which is the opposite effect to that of sunshine. Instead of positively impacting gene expression, vitamin D supplements appear to suppress your immune system.

Vitamin D has a remarkable role to play in your health, influencing nearly 3,000 of your 25,000 genes, and playing a critical role in your immune response. Vitamin D could rightly be described as a “miracle nutrient” for your immune system, as it enables your body to produce well over 200 antimicrobial peptides, which are indispensable in fighting off a wide range of infections.

​They say “the eyes are windows to the soul.” And while that may be true, way down at the opposite end of the body, our feet our offer a surprising number of clues about what’s going on inside us. And during these summer months, where insulated winter boots have made way for sandals, as a general rule, feet are exposed more than during any other season. Whether we’re lounging at the beach or walking barefoot through the grass, our feet tend to see the light of day more when the weather is warm. While we take deliberate action each day to care for our teeth, our hair, our skin, and more, we tend to take our feet for granted. As with many other parts of the body, we all but ignore our feet, expecting that they’ll always magically operate just as nature intended. Until, that is, something makes us take notice.

Many things about our feet can reveal issues going on at a deeper level inside us. The good news is, we don’t have to be podiatrists to recognize when something doesn’t look right. Also, when combined with other, seemingly “mild” or innocuous symptoms, out-of-the-ordinary issues with our feet can lend evidence as to what might be going on elsewhere in the body.

Cold feet aren’t just for weddings. When feet are uncomfortably cold on a regular basis, this may be indicative of hypothyroidism (particularly if experienced along with cold hands and other symptoms of low thyroid function). When toes become painfully cold, or possibly even numb, it may indicate Raynaud’s phenomenon. Another clue to Raynaud’s would be a color change: in Raynaud’s, blood vessels in the fingers and toes constrict and narrow, resulting in reduced blood flow to these extremities, giving them a white or even blueish appearance. (It tends to happen during cold weather and/or when affected individuals are under a lot of emotional stress.) Little is known about what causes Raynaud’s, but it is separated into two categories: Primary Raynaud’s, called Raynaud’s disease, “happens on its own” and is not associated with an underlying associated medical condition, while secondary Raynaud’s, or Raynaud’s phenomenon, is a condition that results when more serious diseases reduce blood flow to fingers and toes.

Other uncomfortable sensations in the feet and toes may be indicative of more dire health issues. Feelings of numbness, or feeling like one is wearing socks or stockings when they aren’t, may be symptoms of peripheral neuropathy or diabetic neuropathy. Coldness, tingling, and “pins and needles” sensations in the feet (and hands) could be symptoms of pernicious anemia, which stems primarily from a vitamin B12 deficiency.

Ridges and lines in the toenails not due to trauma/injury might be signs of nutrient deficiencies. Iron insufficiency may result in fingernail ridges, abnormally shaped nails, or even nails that are concave in spots (called koilonychias), and this may be mirrored in the toenails. Unsightly yellowish toenails may be a sign of fungal infection (the most common cause), but they could also be a sign of compromised liver function, with jaundice causing a yellowing of skin, nails, and whites of the eyes.

Another indication of an underlying issue our feet clue us in to is enlargement of the big toe, particularly when accompanied by redness, pain, and a sensation of heat. Taken together, these may be a sign of gout. Originally thought to be due mainly to a high intake of dietary purines (high purine foods include animal proteins and beer), more recent evidence suggests that excess fructose consumption contributes to gout. Some studies suggest that overconsuming even natural fruits and fruit juices that are relatively higher in fructose compared to other fruits may also contribute to gout, so it’s not just sodas sweetened with sugar or HFCS, as are often “blamed” in such situations.

While our feet do send us these clear messages, most of these issues would occur along with other signs and symptoms. For example, numbness and tingling in the feet and toes are unlikely to be the only signs of peripheral neuropathy or pernicious anemia. And cold feet would certainly not be the only symptom of hypothyroidism a patient would experience. But for those people—and there are plenty—who tend to ignore all “the little nagging things,” until they become very serious problems, paying more attention to their feet might help hammer home the possibility that something more sinister is going on elsewhere in the body.

Feet aren’t glamorous. Unlike the adrenal glands or the gut microbiome, there isn’t a lot of buzz about them in popular health and nutrition news. But we ignore the signals they send us at our peril. by Dr. David Brady

​Spark Joy is an in-depth, line illustrated, room-by-room guide to decluttering and organising your home, from bedrooms and kitchens to bathrooms and living rooms as well as a wide range of items in different categories, including clothes, photographs, paperwork, books, cutlery, cosmetics, shoes, bags, wallets and valuables. Charming line drawings explain how to properly organise drawers, wardrobes, cupboards and cabinets. The illustrations also show Ms Kondo’s unique folding method, clearly showing how to fold anything from shirts, trousers and jackets to skirts, socks and bras.

The secret to Marie Kondo’s unique and simple KonMari tidying method is to focus on what you want to keep, not what you want to get rid of. Ask yourself if something ‘sparks joy’ and suddenly it becomes so much easier to understand if you really need it in your home and your life. When you surround yourself with things you love you will find that your whole life begins to change.
​
Marie Kondo’s first book, The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying, presents her unique tidying philosophy and introduces readers to the basics of her KonMari method. It has already transformed the homes and lives of millions of people around the world. Spark Joy is Marie Kondo’s in-depth tidying masterclass, focusing on the detail of how to declutter and organise your home.

Harlem drug dealer Frank Lucas rises to power in corrupt 1970s New York, equalling and surpassing the notorious Mafia families with the reach of his empire. On the other side of the law, honest cop Richie Roberts dedicates himself to taking down `the most dangerous man walking the streets'. Lucas acts with impunity, smuggling heroin into the US in the coffins of American soldiers killed in Vietnam.

​"Only Mine". After dating a cop who turns into an obsessive stalker, a small-town girl must find a way to save herself from his violent retaliation.

​A young man living a sheltered life develops a crush on a stripper, and joins her Alcoholics Anonymous group just so he can be in the same room with her.

​When much-feared hermit Felix Bush (Robert Duvall) comes to town with a wad of cash and announces his intention to preside over his own funeral, fast-talking mortician Frank Quinn (Bill Murray) smells a big payday in the air. Frank sends his young apprentice, Buddy, to charm Felix and win Felix's business. As the day of the unusual event approaches, Buddy uncovers a long-held secret involving the hermit, a local widow (Sissy Spacek) and an Illinois preacher.

​The lives of three women have a commonality: adoption. Karen (Annette Bening) is a physical therapist who regrets that, as a teenager, she gave up her daughter for adoption. Elizabeth (Naomi Watts) was an adopted child and is now a successful lawyer, but her personal life lacks warmth. Lucy (Kerry Washington) and her husband have failed to conceive and now hope to adopt a baby to make their family complete.

​Hassan Kadam (Manish Dayal) is an extraordinarily talented and largely self-taught culinary novice. When he and his family are displaced from their native India and settle in a quaint French village, they decide to open an Indian eatery. However, Madame Mallory (Helen Mirren), the proprietress of an acclaimed restaurant just 100 feet away, strongly objects. War erupts between the two establishments, until Mallory recognizes Kadam's impressive epicurean gifts and takes him under her wing.

Chinese food is popular in America, and this series brings viewers information about a certain type of the ethnic food, Chaoshan cuisine. Each episode focuses on an ingredient that is often used in Chaoshan cooking, exploring where the ingredients come from and what they are used for, as well as bringing to light the stories of the people behind the cuisine's creation. The featured ingredients range from common foods like olives to more exotic fare like yusheng, a freshly sliced raw fish that is eaten with vegetables and dipping sauce.

​An Icelandic single mother struggling with poverty and a Guinea-Bissauan asylum seeker facing deportation find their lives intertwined in unexpected ways.

​Amber's ideal life is shattered when she loses her husband to the war in Afghanistan. Two years later, she finds herself in a struggle to save her home while providing for her 9-year-old daughter, Bree. When up-and-coming race car driver Cody Jackson rolls into town, Amber and Bree become wrapped up in his pedal to the metal way of life. With her faith hanging in the balance, Amber is forced to decide between the broken road she knows so well or trusting in a new path that God has provided

​A police detective investigates the truth behind his partner's death. The mysterious case reveals disturbing police corruption and a dangerous secret involving an unlikely young woman.

I am no stranger to back pain.  In fact, with my diagnosis of fibromyalgia, my lower back pain has steadily intensified periodically.  But, no where to the state I found myself recently, immobilized and bedridden for four days.  

We've all been there.  Those of us who share this elusive diagnosis.  Lying with our backs on the bed, staring at the ceiling fan wondering when this agonizing pain will subside.  Taking 'as needed' pain medication, breathing slowly deeply, trying to meditate on a far away planet until we regain sanity again.  But, usually we can attribute it to something.  We over did it, kept going the other day with no rest or reprieve.  Started lifting heavy objects while helping someone move.  Or, there was an all-day family affair, and we were feeling on top of the world and just stayed too late, feeling those effects slowly creeping on us as we're saying our goodbyes.  

But what if you're down flat on your back and can't move?  Your mind wanders aimlessly trying to latch onto a possibility so that it doesn't happen again?  And nothing comes up?  Pure panic I can attest.  To make things worse you can't get up to go to the bathroom?  To get a drink?  To make something to eat?  

Well, that's a whole 'nother animal I can tell  you.   It descends like a plague of fear that you can't get a grip on.

Recently, I walked out to my garage.  I was going to take my bike out and go for a leisurely spin.  There was a candy cane on a table and part of it was touching my handlebars.  It was light plastic and weighed all of 5 ounces.  I moved it to the left on a table about six inches to free my bike.  I didn't bend down, I didn't twist.  I just moved it.  All of a sudden I felt a "tinge". I've had these before.  I stretch, but usually I can do a little work and then just migrate to a heating pad for a few hours.  It wasn't too bad, really.  I went shopping that day, and even made it to the beach on Sunday.  I went to work on Monday with  a heating pad and just babied that lower area being careful not to move too much.  By Tuesday it felt better so I took the heating pad home.  On Wednesday morning I woke up nearly pain free and went into work again without the heating pad.  

For some reason by noon the right side of my back began spasming.  My co-worker had one of those lay over the chair seat pad massagers that provides heat.  I quickly slipped that on and laid back for a bi,t taking in deep breaths.  I had to go outside to retrieve the mail.  "Maybe this will loosen things up," I thought.  I barely made it 200 yards before there was definitely a feel of a hot knife jabbing into my lower vertebrates along with all those back spasms.  I stayed.  Not a bright idea, but I just had taken off four days for a virus-type sickness.  "Let me get through a couple of more hours," I prayed.  I held myself up in the chair, trying to straighten my back and pasted a smile on my face.

I got home around 5 pm.  I asked my youngest son to plug in the heating pad.  Something was wrong I explained as this pain was from another dimension.  I eased myself down, and that was it.  Thirty minutes later I could not move.  Not anywhere.  Not rolling from left to right, not even reaching for my drink on my nightstand.  My legs, though, I could prop up on a 90 degree angle to relieve some of the back spasms.  Then I waited.  I took medication to ease the agony, but it barely took the edge off.  

Three hours later into this intense pain I had to go to the bathroom.  My dear son looked up the best way to get out of bed with debilitating back pain on the Internet.  "Ok, Mom, let me get an ice block.  If we press on the nerve we can freeze it.  You just need to roll onto your stomach, slide/crab crawl down to the edge of the bed.  Then put one foot on the floor, and I will lift you up quickly but steadily," he said.

So the nightmare began.  Move a few inches, place the ice block firmly in the area, wait a minute and move again.  On and on we proceed for 10 minutes until my on foot is on the floor.  "Ok, you ok?" he asks.

"No," I answer, but I have to go.

"Ok, take a deep breath, I'm going to put my arms under you to help support your torso and I'm ready," he responds.  

Up I go, and I scream.  Scream so loud because the pain is excrutiating.  I can't seem to put any pressure on that disk in my back.  "What can I do?" he asks.

Put your two hands out, let me place my palms in them from behind I state.  And on I walk at a 120 degree angle like an old Popeye cartoon.  Gasping for breath and yelling.  Yes, yelling it was worse than childbirth.  

He lowers me, and I can't pee.  Well, pee a little I do, but how can you when you are in that much pain?  I've never experienced such intensity.  I quickly finish and make my way back to the bed.  This only intensifies the spasms, and I must endure more pain for another 30 minutes.

Another two hours I call him with my cell phone. He is sleeping in the next room.  "It's time for another round," I say.  This time the pain flares for over an hour when I get back into bed.

By 4 am I grab a towel to do my business.  I'm done.  I'm beaten. I can't do this any longer.  I feel like a broken doll.  I can't move, I'm alone, and I'm scared. Worst of all, the pain is still there immobilizing me.  

By the am I call my doctor and my son scours the local stores to find a bedpan with no luck.  He comes back with puppy pads.  "That will have to do," I say.   My doctor informs me of what medications to take.  No one seems concerned, they see this all the time apparently.  My friends are yelling to go to the ER.  "How?" I ask them.  "I can't even move!"

By the third day the spasms have subsided.  I try to sit up, still unable to put any pressure on my back.  It is still excruciating.  My primary instructs me to call my neurologist.  Five hours later his assistant calls back with instructions.  "Double your muscle relaxers," she says.

"It has been three days!" I yell.  "I can't go to the bathroom.  Should I go the the ER?" I ask.

"Do you have feeling in your legs?  Are you able to go to the bathroom?"

"Yes and yes," I reply.

"Most likely no," she says.  "I got an appointment for you in four days. Hang in there," and hangs up.

I take the muscle relaxers as instructed. Six hours later I can get up with the help of a cane.  By the following day I can move around a bit more and more.  It takes five days of bed rest before I can attempt work.  I call the assistant again, "Is this normal?" I ask.  "Should I go back to work?" 

"No, wait until your appointment.  He'll give you a work release to go back when he sees you tomorrow," she says.

I hang up and order a bed pain on Amazon just in case this happens again.  No more trying to make things worse the next time by moving I think.  

During my appointment he checks me.  Makes me stand.  Makes me bend over, tests my reflexes and orders an MRI and an EMG.  "We will have to wait and see," he says.

"Is this normal?  I mean pain to migrate like that? For over a week?" I demand.

"Yes," he says.

"Just peachy," I think.  "Just peachy."  

But apparently this does happen.  I probably could have saved myself some agony by just lying still.  I wanted to share this for all the other Avenger/Ninjas who will attempt and struggle to get out of bed. Don't, just lie there till it passes.  Get someone to wait on you.  You won't be able to move anyway.  

Here is some more points from the Illinois Back Institute:

​Often, the most debilitating lower back pain, for both men and women, is the type that comes on suddenly, leaving you in significant pain with limited mobility. The severity of the pain and the suddenness can be alarming—but it’s very common. In the vast majority of cases, this back pain is not related to a serious disease or severe back problem, but could be due to something simple like muscle spasm or another musculoskeletal cause. When the exact origin of back pain isn’t clear, it’s referred to as nonspecific low back pain. This “mechanical” back pain is generally eased by lying down flat and made worse when you move your back, sneeze or cough.

The next most likely cause of sudden onset back pain is irritation to the nerve root emanating from the spinal cord, called sciatica. What makes sciatica pain distinct is that you generally also feel pain down one or both buttocks and thighs, even into the calf or foot. You may also feel pins and needles and/or numbness/weakness through the buttock, leg and on down along the entire path of the sciatic nerve. Nearly 90 percent of the time, this pain is caused by a slipped disc, also called a bulging or prolapsed disc pressing on the nearby nerve.

Disc injuries can come to light suddenly with minimal trauma--and as much as one-third of the population at any given time are walking around with disc bulges. These previously painless, silent back problems can suddenly begin to put pressure on the spinal cord nerves--when you do something as minor as bending to pick up a pen from the floor. Then the pain begins.

​Less common conditions causing low back pain

Cauda equina syndrome is rare, but considered an emergency. Permanent nerve damage may result. Get medical attention immediately if you suspect cauda equina. This disorder causes pressure on nerves at the very bottom of the spinal cord with symptoms which may include:

• Lower back pain
• Bowel and bladder problems like inability to pass urine
• Numb sensation in the saddle region, below the tailbone
• Leg weakness

Osteoarthritis is a common form of arthritis causing spinal pain and joint inflammation in older people. Ankylosing spondylitis is a form of arthritis that may strike young adults, bringing on pain and lower back stiffness. Rheumatoid arthritis may affect the spine along with other joints throughout the body. Telltale signs of these arthritic conditions include:

• Pain that gets worse hours after going to bed or upon waking
• Stiffness, in addition to back pain, in the morning after rising, lasting over 30 minutes
• Pain eased (and not made worse) by activity

Rare bone disorders, tumors and infection cause less than 1 percent of sudden onset low back pain. Symptoms and signs may include:

• Onset of non-injury-related back pain in someone over 50 or under 20 years old
• History of cancer of any part of the body
• Depressed immune system
• Fever
• Unexplained weight loss

Abdominal aortic aneurysm (enlargement of the abdominal artery) occurs mostly in males over 60 who smoke, have high blood pressure or high cholesterol. Symptoms include:

• Pulsating feeling near the navel
• Constant pain in the abdomen/side of abdomen
• Back pain

The best way to distinguish between back pain’s many causes is to see your back specialist or health care professional. Seek natural, non-invasive treatment whenever possible, such as proven-effective Functional Disc Rehydration. This innovative treatment was developed at the Illinois Back Institute. It is offered along with other personalized treatments to help patients achieve a pain-free life. Contact us for a free consultation with a back specialist.  

So, if you don't fall into one of those above categories.  Don't freak out.  Call your doctor.  If I had to do it all over again, I would have went right to the the specialist, my neurologist.  I feel I would have hit the ground walking faster.  I was just so emotionally immobilized, too, with fear.  Which of course, doesn't help.  My hopes in you reading this, you will be aware and act rationally realizing that it will pass.  No, you will not be stuck in that bed forever.  God Bless, and hang in there.  

We are in the midst of a sleep deprivation crisis, writes Arianna Huffington, the co-founder and editor in chief of "The Huffington Post." And this has profound consequences on our health, our job performance, our relationships and our happiness. ​