A Spinal Final Straw

I had to go back to the osteopath this week.

You see, I'm the sort of moron that didn't do the stretches that they gave me back in February when I last saw them.

That makes me the sort of moron that couldn't move her neck or shoulders for most of the week until I rang them and virtually begged for an appointment.  Luckily they had one at lunch time that day and believe me it was the longest 4 hour wait I've ever had.

As usual with a trip to see them, I felt 90% better by the time I walked out of there because they really do amazing work.  It must be such a rewarding job, to have people come in who are in total agony and to know that 45 minutes later when they leave, they'll feel better.  Thee therapist I saw was amazing and pointed out when I asked for as many exercises as possible to stop this from happening again that "I can give you all the exercises in the world, if you don't do them they won't work."  Fair point.

Bearing that in mind, I had the rest of that day to rest and have now started myself on an exercise regime focussed on not wrecking my back when I'm older.  Wednesday I did some stretches from the Pilates Back Book and in the process realised how I'm completely, totally inflexible.  I'm not entirely sure how I manage to achieve anything physical on a day to day basis.  Then on Thursday I did a Pilates dvd I bought a few months ago.  This helped me remember that I also have no muscle tone anywhere on my body.

I had a day off from it yesterday and even today, if I sneeze the muscles in my stomach hurt.

How do people get into these healthy habits and not die trying?

Comments

[ruby]

While I'm not sure what's ailing you...my (non)professional suggestion is to find a hot tub/whirlpool and spend much time in it! Hope you're feeling better soon!

[Christine]

It's always so hard for me to have to do things that put me in ever more pain than I was before. I just have to remind myself that it'll eventually get better. Keep truckin', girl!

[Courtney]

Amen sister! I also inhabit the land of no muscle tone. Thanks for the reminder- wish we could just purchase some!
Good vibes attcha

[Karen]

Ouch. Back/neck pain is the worst. Mine is just my knee right now, but nothing compares to back/neck pain. Nothing.

Looks like we're both broken right now, girl. Isn't it grand?

"How do people get into these healthy habits and not die trying?" LOL! You tell me. I'll go for a run (more like a fast walk) from time to time, but the act is far from a habit.

That's toughest part for me -- raising exercise to the level of it becoming a habit instead of something I only do occasionally.

[Beth]

Ruby - Thanks for the tip. We've got a bubble mat that you can put into the bathtub that does a whirlpool sort of thing, I might go and find it.

Christine - Thats exactly what I'm doing, just trying to stick with it in the hopes that it'll get easier and that I'll feel better at some point rather than feeling worse!

Courtney - Oh my god, that would be amazing. I can't imagine it'd be cheap, but still an easier option than actually exercising.

Karen - Oooh...Knee pain isn't good at all, I hope it eases up for you soon! I think its possibly worse than back pain because it makes walking uncomfortable. I could fix my problem by making myself like an owl on a whirly chair at work - I just rotated the chair instead of my head! As for the fitness thing, I guess we just have to keep trying to do something. Its funny how the makeup habit is easier to cultivate than the fitness one huh? LOL

[Ing]

Ouch indeed. As someone who's 6'3"ft I sometimes get quite a bit of back pain. Several months ago I must have trapped a nerve somewhere in my back as I was in agnony for hours and could hardly move. NHS direct told me to hobble down to the chemist and ask for some over-the-counter Ibuprofen with Codeine. And boy was that the good shit...

[Beth]

Ing - I'll remember that one for next time. As over-cautious as it probably sounds, I tend not to take painkillers for something like this because I worry that if I can't feel the pain I can't feel if I'm making it worse. If it gets really bad though...ibuprofen and codeine.