My back HURTS!!!!!!

Arghh! I've had chronic lower back pain off and on for about ohhhh, ten years or so. Started even before I got into the nursing field, though it got much worse after that. Like I said though, it comes and goes. I'll go months at a time, or even a year, without much pain at all... but then it will come back and stay for a WHILE, usually.

I started having pain again after... guess what? After I started doing med/surge again, five months ago. Did psych for a year before that, and didn't have much back pain.

But here's the thing. I believe my back pain is due in large part NOT by tugging on and lifting patients. I believe it is because we have an Omnicell (Pyxis) at work in which ALL of our medications are kept for all of our patients.. not just narcotics. The Omnicell has many small drawers that pop out that contain the meds... and some of them are RIGHT on the floor!!! So I'm doing a ton of bending down just to get my patients medications!!

I believe this is SO unnecessary and I can't imagine why in the world anyone ever thought this was a good idea. We're doing ENOUGH in our jobs to damage our backs; why do we have to do this?

I know I need to complain and I'm sure I will, but I work in an environment in which the staff RNs' opinions aren't particularly valued or listened to.

And yes, I know I need to be bending at my knees, and I have been trying to do that more often. But this is all still killing my back, regardless. Plus, it's like... it's a choice between, bend at my knees and damage the heck out of my knees, which are still in fairly good shape... or keep damaging my back, which is already in cruddy shape.