I’m the type of person who dreams. But I also think, What good are dreams if you don’t live them? That’s my philosophy, but this one particular dream backfired.
At 6ft tall, I’m your fairly average guy. One of my dreams is to be able to dunk a basketball. At my height, that isn’t so trivial; so I decided to work hard and realize my dream. After some research and consultation I devised an exercise regimen that might get me there, slowly but surely.
All was going very well. I managed to add 5 inches to my vertical. Then one day, while racing my dog up our inclined drive way here in Costa Rica, something went wrong. I got a sudden pain in my lower back.
This blog is a story and timeline of my injury and my recovery process.
May 20ish
Injured my back racing Likea up the driveway
May 30
Been going to the gym, taking it easy on my back. Doing spinning and arm/calf exercises. Doesn’t seem to bother me.
June 4th
Back still hurts a bit, but nothing not manageable. Bit worried that it hasn’t gotten better yet though. Slight discomfort in right leg makes me look online, and possibly suspect a herniated disk? I look up online that McKenzie’s stretches, and some others, could help hurry the healing process.
July 2nd
Decide to completely stop going to the gym.
July 17th
My and Pati’s anniversary. We went to a restaurant with my parents. Pain down my leg is stronger and very uncomfortable.
August 5th
Still doing stretches. Pain is under control, but still hasn’t gone away. Specially uncomfortable after sitting a while. No pain down leg. I think the Mckenzie stretches have worked to keep my pain in my back and out of my legs.
August 17th
Purchase a resistence band to do some exercises at home.
August 18th
Do some exercises at home. Only doing arm exercises that don’t seem to involve my back at all.
August 19th
Back is far worse. Very hard to sit at work for long. Have to constantly get up and stretch. Drive home is very harsh and painful. The workouts might have done it?
August 20th
Pain just sitting or standing for more than 5 seconds. Call boss and let him know I won’t be going in to work. Only comfortable position is in a stiff bed, on my back, with a pillow under my knees.
August 21st
Still unbearable pain. Call Doctor to make an appointment for Friday.
August 22nd
Pain is finally a bit more bearable. Still, after standing for 5 minutes, back starts getting uncomfortable.
August 23rd
A little more improvement. Doctor gives me prescription for pain medicine, and an extra week off work (Not sure if I’ll take it, since I’m feeling a lot better).
August 24th
Mom gets back from visiting my brother in USA. She brought the stuff I had purchased from Amazon: a back brace, Triple Flex pills to help my healing process.
August 25th
Pain a lot better. Still resting a lot in bed to give back a chance to recover well. Go out to dinner with my wife. Use back brace during 30 minute drive, sit through dinner, walk around the mall, and drive back, with only mild discomfort.
December 17th
Ive been a bit bad about updating, but this whole time can be summed up in a quick description: mostly better. As long as i dont run or jump or carry anthing heavy, my back is perfectly fine. As soon as i put a bit more stress on it, I get some discomfort. I never returned to the doctor due to costs and my doubt of them being able to affectively improving my situation, but I am trusting and hoping that with time Ill continue to improve and eventually be able to exercise again. Been eating a bit healthier to counter my lower activity, and been trying to walk and take stairs when I can.
January 24th, 2014
Back is just about the same. We now live in New York City; the move was somewhat challenging, having 4 large suit cases, 2 medium ones, and 2 backpacks between my wife and myself. Luckily my back didn’t bother me that much. It never is 100% better though, and bothers me when I walk all day or sit on the couch to work from home. Looking for apartments still. Start work on Feb 3rd.
May 24th, 2015
It has been a long time since updating. At last, so many months after, I can report good news.
After moving to New York, and still not improving significantly after resting a few more months, I took advantage of my excellent health insurance to get an MRI of my back. Bad news: I had multiple hearniated discs. I decided to get some physical therapy. After going twice a week for a few months, I was frustrated that they would always run me through the same routing: have me walk on a treadmill, put me on a bed that would bend my back forward and backward, and connect me to a machine to send light shocks to my lower back with a heat pad on top. This lead me to start researching recovery from herniated discs, and eventually found lots of support to improving back pain by strengthening your core. I decided to join my local gym.
After several months of light back and stomach exercises, along with light cardio using an eleptical (since it is low impact), along with taking advantage of my standing desk at work, I slowly saw improvement. I eventually also purchased a quality memory foam bed; I immediately felt improvement in mornings when I woke up. All these improvements in my lifestyle lead to improvement with my back, to the point that I now rarely feel any effects from my herniated disc.
I always have to be careful and conscious of my back, since herniated discs never truly recover 100%. But I now am proof that the best approach to back pain (at least in my case, and probably in most cases) is to reduce stress on the spine by strengthening your core, reducing the time you sit, and reducing stress while laying down by getting a quality bed to properly support your weight.