Thursday, May 10, 2007

Ouch!

My back was pretty sore for a few days after Ingawanis. Sore to the point that I missed a couple of days of work, couldn't get out of bed or out of a chair with agonizing pain, and ending up with Christy wheeling me around the clinic in a wheelchair to see a doctor and get x-rays.

But not too worry. The doc gave me a bottle of happy pills, and my dad loaned me his TENS Unit, and now I'm feeling pretty darn good. I'm goona go ride my bike now and see how it feels. I'll let you know.

Depending on how my back feels, I may not race this weekend at Sockum Ridge. Time will tell.

3 comments:

mr. f. g. superman said...

Back shmack. Plenty of arthritic years ahead, drugs and fun now, pay later. Kidding.

Hope all heals and you can make it out, if not, there'll be plenty of time to ride. Get well.

BB said...

Get that back as well as you can quickly, Paul.

We tall guys fall prey to lower back issues. My father-in-law is a physical therapist and he taught me to lie down on the floor on my belly with legs together. From that position, keep your belly, pelvis, and legs on the ground and slowly get up on your elbows with your head looking up as far as you can. Hold for a few seconds while breathing, then lower back to the floor.

Do this a few times and progress to stretching your arms way out in front of you on the floor and kind of walk your hands back towards you with the palms on the floor while your head is looking up to the sky until you get into a push up position with your arms out in front of you and your belly, pelvis and legs remain on the floor. Great for the swollen discs which is what is pressing on your nerves and causing the pain.

Basically, you are trying to take the pressure off of the swollen disc(s) and alleviate the pain. The above exercise - if not the first round, by the 2nd round in the evening or next day - will get you up and going very quickly. I do it quite often to keep the back in shape and anticipate any problems. Gardening and yard work usually gets my back. I've even bounced back in 24 hours following the use of a jack hammer which had me on the floor in pain and motionless the next morning when I betn over to put my shoes on for the day. The above exercises got me up and going again.

Once you are up and going again, you need to stretch those legs to counteract all that seated bike time.

Ah, it's fun to be tall, but the back pain sometimes just doesn't seem worth the height advantage...

Paul Varnum said...

Ineb - Its funny. Every time I get an x-ray (and there have been a few lately), they tell me " . . . and the bad news is that you have some arthritis".

Bruce - Thanks for the exercise tips. My Doc also wants me to see a PT. I suppose I should take them up on it.