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Sting therapy for low back pain

6K views 10 replies 11 participants last post by  Gregory and Susan Fariss 
#1 ·
After extracting 4 heavy mediums with a 2 frame hand crank yesterday my lower back was not happy this morning. From what ive been reading about with sting therapy I thought Id try and take some stings in the area of my lower back where the tightness is-I did 2 stings this am but 8 hrs later no immediate noticeable change really-I'd love to hear opinions from beekeepers on this as a possible alternative pain management tool for low back pain? I read somewhere that the venom is 100 times more powerful than cortisone but you need at least 12 stings in the area to benefit from the full effects? Id also like to know if anyone has seen a sting map-of the specific areas to sting?
 
#2 ·
If your low back pain is muscle soreness or stressed muscles, then beestings won't help. The do help arthritis and nerve pain from damaged discs. If it's muscle pain, then try doing sittups every other day to build up some strength in the lower abdomen, which will help strengthen your lower back.
 
#3 ·
In addition to doing stomach crunches (easier on the back than traditional situps) you need to look at back stretching exercises.
If you wait until those back muscles go into spasms you will likely end up with herniated disks....so don't ignore the warning signs.
 
#6 ·
Hey Nate,
You're a beekeeper now, for sure. Definition of a beekeeper? Someone who has or will have a bad back. I suspect that the injury or strain to your back came from taking that honey off of the hives. You may have lifted or turned incorrectly. Give it some time. You back will feel better.

In the mean time, if you want more practice taking off honey let me know. :)
 
#8 ·
I am subject to occasional boughts of back spasms. NO FUN! Get with a physical therapist to learn some low back specific streches. They will help alot. Unfortunatly I have been not nice to my back most of my life and am paying for it. When things get real bad I have a perscription for some muscle relaxers that I can take, but then I'm done for the rest of the day.
Exersize and streaching. best things for you!
 
#9 ·
With about fifty years of lower back problems, I find that years that I get a lot of stings I am less likely to need epidural cortizone injections. Unfortunately there are other variables that I can't seperate out. When my back goes out I tend to handle the hives differantly. I use a pickup crane and winch to lift the heavy supers, which the girls don't like very much and so I get stung a lot more. Years when my back is doing well I tend to get stupid and do a lot more lifting by hand, get a lot less stings, and end up with needles being stuck in my spine. It becomes hard to say how much relief is obtained by the bee venom and how much is because of the way I treat my back. It is probably a combination. The down side is that too many stings can put you in ICU. Been there and done that too.
 
#11 ·
We actually had a yoga instructor come in and teach "Yoga for Beekeepers" for one of our local monthly meetings. She is also a beginner beekeeper. It was great! The young, the old, the fit, the out of shape all trying to stretch into various positions. It definitely made us more aware of which muscles we had been using and which ones we should have been using to lift!
Susan
 
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