Well, I had Monday off as a holiday so I decided to take Friday off too – make it a nice long 4 day weekend. The weather was supposed to be in the 60s and 70s all but one day. It would be awesome. I would get in some great workouts, clean up the house, clean out my closet, relax, get a pedicure – all kinds of stuff.
Friday goes well. I get some errands done and hang out with my sister. I also get a nice solid 4 mile run in. Saturday morning I head out to my favorite KMA cycle class. At some point during the obstacle course portion I feel a slight twinge in my back. When we finish the obstacle course I head over to change my tennis shoes out for my cycling shoes and wait a minute – I can’t bend over – that really hurts. Uh oh, I think I hurt my back. I take some time to do a little light stretching and hop on the bike hoping that will help work things out. About 5 minutes in, I realize I’m done. I jump off, stretch and head home.
By the time I get home I can’t get out of the car. My back is out. It’s going to be a long weekend. To make a long story short, I injured my back 5 years ago and have never fully recovered (I think once you have a back injury you always have a back injury). I generally have a good idea of what I can and can’t do and I’m extremely careful. But all it takes is a second, one move the wrong way, and I’m back in bed again. In 2006 I herniated 2 disks in my low back and also damaged the ligaments that hold my sacroiliac (SI) joint (your butt bone) in place. It causes my SI joint to shift in and out and can cause extreme pain. It’s actually more common than you might think. It can be manually adjusted by a chiropractor which provides some immediate relief, but it’s Saturday and I can’t find anyone to get into. So I spend the rest of Saturday and Sunday in bed. Standing, walking, bending, you name it – it’s hard to do and painful. Monday I get in to see the Chiropractor and like I said – immediate relief, not complete relief, but definitely improvement. But for a few days I am even more susceptible than normal to reinjury. So I have to take it easy for several days.
So here it is Tuesday morning. I am feeling a lot better, but still not 100%. I spent 3 of my 4 weekend days in bed. What a bummer, but on a positive note I am feeling better and hope to be back to a more normal routine in a few days. I am bummed, because I missed my Monday run yesterday, and I’m missing my Tuesday cycle and swim today, but hopeful if I just give my body ample time to rest I will recover quickly and be back to running tomorrow. We’ll see.
Do you have any injuries that just sideline you? How do you deal with it mentally?
I am sorry to hear about your back injury. I have an herniated disc and it is no fun. I get adjusted every other week so that I can try and stay on top of things. I just seem to be prone to injury.
ReplyDeleteGood luck this week and take your time coming back!
I'm so sorry. I too have had back issues. My injury was a little over 3 years ago and I hurt my back so bad my husband had to "literally" carry me into the doctor where he pumped a bunch of muscle relaxer into my back. Months of physical therapy and chiropractor until "back to normal" but I'm like you, there are certain things I just don't do anymore because I'm not willing to take the chance of re-injury. How I deal with it mentally is just cry, watch lots of TV and eat food (maybe not the best strategy). Good luck with recovery.
ReplyDeleteThat is a bummer. I also had back issues, but never to the extent you have experienced. Hang in there, rest well and you will be back at it in no time.
ReplyDeleteI am injury prone, I have back issues, (knock on wood) but I havent had any serious ones lately. My issues are my achilles, I was going to say to train the other disciplines, but with a bad back, only thing you can do is rest and hope it goes away soon, I would say stay on top of your nutrition and study the sport to keep your hopes high
ReplyDeleteoh no!!! hope its better soon!!! i spent the weekend in bed also, what a coincidink!!! except my fun time was due to the stomach flu ughhhhhh!!! im upset that ive missed 4 going on 5 days of training, but i will get back at it tomorrow hopefully. i probably could have started back today, but i wanted one more day to rehydrate and recoup. aside from that, my knee sidelines me from running frequently. and thats frustrating. it has turned my best sport into my weakest. but i just try to do extra cardio on the bike or swim to make up for it.
ReplyDeleteSo so sorry to hear this! Hope all is better soon. I've been pretty lucky (know on wood) with injuries for the most part. Which is good becuase anything that side lined me for to long would make starting back up really hard for me.
ReplyDeleteTake care!! I trained for a marathon and two half IMs with injuries that I never let heal and then I was down for over 16 months (tears). I am trying so hard to take care of myself better this time around.
ReplyDeleteDo what you CAN do and do what you need to do to heal!!