Wednesday, October 1, 2014

Pain in my arse

Here's the thing... time just needs to slow the heck down! I'm serious. First of all, summer went by way too fast and as much as I love fall, I just wasn't ready to part with it. Secondly, my kids are growing by the millisecond and every day I'm thrown a new reminder of how my babies are now a toddler and a preschooler!


I can't believe it's been so long since I've shared anything in this space. I will say I stop here at least daily, stare at my blank screen then swiftly close out because I feel lost on what to write about. I have so many stories, ideas, tips, challenges, etc. to share but I just can't seem to get the words out. I haven't been able to pinpoint why I'm struggling so I thought the best way to get over it would be to get something out. Rip the band-aid so to speak.

The latest, and not so greatest, news with me is that I'm currently dealing with a back injury from my attempts at getting healthy and losing weight. I started running while I was unemployed and was steadily improving since that time. My workout program consists of alternating days between walking, cardio on the eliptical or stationary bike, strength training and running. I've been feeling good for the most part but I started to experience some lower back and sciatic pain from time to time.

Then one day I really pushed myself because I had been dying to break a 10 minute mile. I finally hit my goal and was beyond proud of myself!

It truly was a sense of accomplishment because running has been hard for me, but I kept at it knowing it would help progress my weight loss goals. The day after I boasted about my achievement on Instagram, I could barely move without serious pain attacking my back and sciatic.

I went slightly over two weeks waiting for the pain to subside with no luck. I threw my arms up and hobbled my way into the doctor's office. The first thing she told me was to stop running. And the second, go see a physical therapist.

This is going to be a very slow recovery process which has me very frustrated. Here I am doing something good for myself, trying really hard to finally be in the shape I want and this is what I get. I can't hold my baby girl for more than a nanosecond, I can't do normal everyday tasks around the house and I definitely can't run.

Oh, and part of my treatment involves trigger point dry needling (TDN). Every heard of that? Basically the physical therapist shoves an acupuncture-type needle deep into the muscle that is troubling you in order to make it contract and then fully release. Since my pain is coming from my backside, on Tuesday I had a needle shoved directly into my buttocks and let me just tell you, it was the oddest sensation I've ever felt!

I'm encouraged to continue my workouts limited only to walking, eliptical, stationary bike and mild strength training. I'm also stretching like crazy and not pushing myself too hard when I do exercise. It is going to take me some time to heal the aggravated muscles and then to strengthen them back up to provide me the support I need to be active. I've had back issues since I was a cheerleader in high school with symptoms flaring up at random times over the years. Throw in a painful second pregnancy as well as this most recent flare-up and I am so done dealing with it and ready to move on. I just wish I had addressed the issue before it got to this point. Oh, well! Live and learn.

I look forward to feeling better soon and in the mean time I'm trying hard to stay active at a level I can tolerate and still determined to hit my goals. It just may take me longer than I had originally thought. No big deal, right?

Have you had to overcome an injury in order to stay on track with your health goals? Have you ever done dry needling?

2 comments:

  1. OUCH! I've only had back pain one time, when I was prego w/ Charlie and it is awful! So all my positive thoughts are headed your way! Can you do yoga? Would that help? xo

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    1. Yes, YOGA!!! I need it in my life badly! I was addicted for so long but after C was born I slowed way down. I really need to get back into it!

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