Spine on Shared Bits

Sleeping in a Hammock

Sun, 11 Apr 2021 00:00:00 +0000

Updated on 2026-09-14

I’m a side sleeper and I began suffering from pressure point issues in my shoulders and hips sometime during my fourth decade of life. I read somewhere that Tempurpedic mattresses were supposed to be good for relieving pressure point issues. Therefore in 2004 or 2005, I decided to purchase a Tempurpedic mattress with a 3-inch built in topper.

I absolutely loved my Tempurpedic mattress and still do, but the pressure point issues eventually returned again, well before the end of the warrantied 20-year life of a Tempurpedic mattress. Additionally, I disliked the weight of my mattress and foundation; 76 pounds for the foundation and 148 pounds for the mattress for a total of 224 pounds. I still remember the team of 3 delivery guys who huffed, puffed, and grunted to get the mattress up to the second level of my home. There’s no way I could move the mattress on my own, other than to lift the edges of the mattress just enough to tuck a fitted sheet.

Devices & Resources for Back Pain or Spine Issues

Sun, 07 Oct 2018 00:00:00 +0000

Updated 2026-08-30

Disclaimer: The following is not medical advice and is provided for informational purposes only.

I have suffered from back pain and spine issues since 2011. In my quest to learn as much as possible and my desire to alleviate my back pain, I’ve come across a number of devices and resources that might be helpful to others suffering from back pain and spine issues.

In 2015, I was diagnosed with a herniated L4 disc. The diagnosis resulted from an MRI that was ordered by my primary care doctor because I was experiencing sciatica in my lower left leg and foot, as well as foot drop in my left foot, due to the L4 herniation pressing against the L4 nerve root. I had heard about disc herniations but didn’t know much about them, so I decided to see what Amazon had in the way of books on the subject. I came across an excellent book that covers disc herniations and other spine issues, as well as a number of tips and recommendations to prevent provoking back pain. The book is titled, Herniated Disc: A Survival Guide , written by Dr. William E. Morgan . Unfortunately, the book is only available in Kindle format. I haven’t been able to find a printed version anywhere.

Onis 2.5 Free Edition Under Linux

Sat, 01 Sep 2018 00:00:00 +0000

Updated 2026-08-30

Introduction

Onis is a DICOM image viewer for the Windows OS. DICOM images are normally generated and provided on a CD when you have MRIs or CT scans performed and sometimes for X-rays. What makes Onis so special? Well, if you have an MRI of your spine, axial (horizontal) and sagittal (vertical) slices (images) will be taken. With Onis viewer, you can open a set of sagittal images in one window and a set of axial images in another window. When you do that, a slice line appears enabling you to know what you’re specifically looking at. Dr. Doug Gillard did a video about using Onis 2.5 Free Edition to read MRIs and explains it much better than can be explained in text.