I cannot think of many people who have not had back issues at least once in their life. My family, in various incantations, all have had bad backs or thrown their backs out, or lost their backs in unfortunate smelting accidents. My friends, dance to hard, hurt their back. Hug too hard, hurt their backs. You get the idea. Basically, most people nowaday's seem to have issues with their backs. I too, am one of the "lucky" who suffers from back pain. Have since I was a teenager and at one point I wore a back brace. It was an uncomfortable contraption that I had to cover up with bulky sweaters and wear with oversized pants to fit over the brace.
There was a period in my life when my back pain was more serious, making it difficult for me to endure long drives, long periods of sitting or standing without pain and discomfort. Then for the first time in my life my back went "out". I was sitting on my couch and reached forward to grab the remote, pop went my back and into agony I went.
I could barely walk, sit, lie down or stand. It was truly some of the worst pain I had ever been in and I couldn't for the life of me understand why it had happened. I felt panic at the idea that this kind of pain was going to last forever. I felt depressed and was having one of the best pity parties for myself that I had ever had.
Luckily, by the time this came about, I had a great chiropractor who I knew could help me. I just had to wait for Monday to get a treatment (the back went on a Sunday morning, typical). Once treated a couple times I was back to "normal" and my life went on.
Then, a few years later, it happened again. This time I was lifting a heavy box and quite honestly I lifted the dang thing the wrong way (lesson learned: alwayslift with your knees and not with your back!). Again, I hobbled in for a treatment and within days I was better. Flipping backflips and attempting squat thrusts once again!
Last week, it happened for the third time. Now I know that this is something that is going to happen to me periodically for no reason at all. This time I had stood up, sat down and stood backup again when I realized my back had gone all coco-NUTS and I was about to end up in a world of pain. By the end of the day I couldn't walk without tears springing from my eyes. I gasped each time I moved with the amount of pain that sprang up.
Of course, in my time of unforeseen crises, my chiropractor was away (the nerve of him to go sailing away in pirate lands!). Luckily I had other options. I called my friends Doctor who didn't see patients on Thursdays and when I finally got a call back, I couldn't see him until Monday. I spent the next 4 days in pain and discomfort. Alternating between tears and morose acceptance of what had happened.
A week later, I am on the mend. Still crooked, still feeling twinges of pain if I move too fast and knowing that one more adjustment should do the trick. Also knowing that this type of pain is going to happen to me on and off for the rest of my life. It's depressing and makes me feel old at 32. It also makes me want to jump (carefully of course) back into my yoga practice which has been on hiatus since I sprained my ankle almost 3 months ago now. But which has obviously kept me pain free for the year I have committed to it on a mostly daily basis.
Yoga isn't just so you can impress the men folk with how far your legs go up and over your head ladies, it saves lives! (insert chuckle here) I kid, I kid...more seriously, yoga really does keep you and your spine flexible and ready to handle whatever you throw at it (be it backflips, somersaults or knife wielding clowns bent on your destruction).
Typically it seems that my back goes out when I am times of high emotional or physical stress. Each time there has been something going on in my life that precipitates this joyous occasion. This time it was the deadly combo of my spraining my ankle and therefore being off balance for 3 months combined with quitting my job that I have held for six years without a replacement job in sight.
It continues to amaze me how the body and mind are connected so intimiately as to effect one another in such drastic (and annoying) ways. Maybe that makes me sound slow or stupid but when you are happy and healthy you tend to forget how quickly unhappiness manifests into disease and pain in the body.
Stay healthy and happy my friends. It is way more fun than the alternative*.
*The alternative being pain and/or disease (in case you missed my point).
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