For the first time ever, I’m writing this blog as I lay almost fully reclined on the floor. It isn’t comfortable, but it will do for the next few paragraphs.
On Thursday night, I lifted the lid to our recycling bin with my left hand, and I felt a twinge in my lower back. It didn’t hurt or really even feel all that weird, so I proceeded to dump two light bags of recycling into the bin.
By the time I got to the stairs, I had to crawl up them. An hour later, I couldn’t walk. Two hours later I couldn’t roll over in bed without intense pain. Four hours later I crawled to the bathroom and then had to call for Megan to help when I couldn’t get off the toilet.
When morning finally came, I texted a physical therapist friend to get her advice. In a stroke of good luck, she had the day off, and she stopped by an hour later to diagnose that I had a slipped disc. She explained that a slipped disc is actually a leakage of spinal fluid, not a disc actually slipping out of place. It’s painful, often unexpected, and takes a while to heal, but it can happen to anyone. I’m healthy, at my target weight, and I do a core workout nearly every day. I had no reason to think I couldn’t lift the lid of a recycling bin, even from a slighty odd angle.
So for the last four days I’ve been confined to the bedroom to spend 99% of my time either laying on my back or laying on my front. There’s a specific routine on the front that involves curving the spine backwards to essentially create scar tissue to seal the leak.
The good news is that the routine is working. I was able to get from the floor to the bathroom and back using a walker on day 2. By day 3 I could technically walk short distances, but I’m really not supposed to walk much yet, and I’m especially not supposed to sit upright unless I’m eating. Today I went downstairs for the first time since Thursday.
Other than the lack of mobility and the pain (which fortunately only flares up now instead of being constant like the first night), the worst part is that there’s very little you can do on your back and on your front. I wanted to be working, but there isn’t much I can do from my phone.
A small silver lining is that Walter spent the entire time with me in the bedroom–he’s a sweet cat when he wants to be. Megan–who happened to be dog-sitting this weekend–was also very nice to stop by once a day to bring me a meal (and make sure I had plenty of non-perishables for the other meals).
It’s amazing that such a tiny, forgettable moment had such huge consequences. I’m focused on going through the routine to heal in the moment, but I’m also worried about the future, as my two main sports (soccer and disc golf) involve twisting. I’ll need to add a whole new array of exercises to decrease the chances this happens again.
One small thing I’m grateful for is that I regularly do push-ups. For the belly recovery routine, you really need to be able to do push ups.
I genuinely hope this hasn’t and won’t happen to you, but if it has, do you have any advice?
I’m sorry to hear about your back. I have just spent the last week+ in bed due to my back which is in the thoracic area. I often thought how nice it would be to just lie around all day until I couldn’t do anything but lie in bed. I’m older and have had this issue on and off for years. It particularly gets triggered when I do something like sort game components! Which is what triggered this flare. Tomorrow I am getting a special type of injection in hopes that it will dampen the pain. Physical Therapy does help and it is a good thing to continue even after you are better. A few tools for pain that are good are a Tens Unit which can be used while you are sitting or walking and then an acupressure mat which is great while lying down. I hope you feel better soon!
I’m so sorry you’re going through back issues too, Kelly–I have so much empathy for you, especially after what I’m going through. Thanks for the advice, and I hope the injection helps soon.
I’m really sorry to hear you’re going through this. Something similar happened to me, though not as severe. I was doing a light warm‑up set of barbell squats at the gym, felt a sudden pain in my lower back, and for the first two days I could barely move. Fortunately, I was back to normal within about two weeks.
However, a few months later it flared up again, this time just from sitting down on a chair. This time it wasn’t as intense, but the lower back pain was back. I decided to get an X‑ray and an MRI, and that really helped me understand what was going on. Luckily, it turned out to be only a mild herniated disc with no nerve compression, so it could have been much worse. Have you considered getting an MRI?
Yesterday I had my first physio session and it really helped, so I’m feeling optimistic. I hope you feel better soon too!
I’m so sorry this happened to you too! My physical therapist said that once it happens, it’s more likely to happen again. I’m glad the first session helped!
Oh my goodness, this sounds awful! I hope you recover well, and quickly!
Thank you!
Jamey,
My apologies for the delayed response. I hope you are back to 100% These types of stories frighten me, as like you, I try to exercise and maintain a decent weight…despite one’s best efforts, you can still find yourself in pain and misery. Again, I do hope you’re fully healed and back to doing what you love to do.
Cheers,
Joe
Thanks, Joe!