Perpetual Ruminations

A Real Pain in The Back

Still out of work with this back problem and it's starting to be a real pain. I know, bad pun. Even so, it's really messing up my plans. I don't mind getting out of work for a while, but when my payday comes it's going to be another pain. Besides, if I am going to get time off, I'd prefer to have it enjoyable and  productive. Between the discomfort and the medications, I'm anything but productive and enjoying myself.

Typically, if I do put my back out, it's short lived misery; a few days and I'm feeling a lot better, off the muscle relaxers, and able to do a few things. By the end of a week, the pain is all behind me. I know, another bad pun. This time, however, it just continues to ache, I continue to have spasms, and I don't feel I'm getting much better.

The only thing I can think of that's making it so much worse this time, is at the first signs of it going out, I ignored it and thought a bit of activity may prevent it form getting worse. Normally, if it acts up, I try and take it easy to keep it from getting worse, but that never seems to help, either. So, this time around, I had a few light spasms and some moderate pain, but thought I would work it out by working the muscles a bit. I headed out with my dog, threw a stick a few times for her, then filled the bird feeders.

At this point, it hadn't gotten any better, but it hadn't gotten any worse, either. I filled the first feeder that hangs at about shoulder level with no problems and little discomfort. But, when I went back into the porch for another container of feed for the second feeder, I felt a lot of tightness in my lower back. Still ignoring the discomfort, I went back out with the feed and bent down to fill the feeder that hangs just inches above the ground.

That's when the sharp pain began and I knew I was in trouble. There was nothing around to hold on to or to assist me in straightening back up, so I drew a deep breath knowing that it was going to hurt like hell to straighten up. I was right. I was now standing kind of straight, but the muscles were shooting pain and the spasms about drove me back to the ground. I was a good ten feet from the house, I was having severe muscle spasms in my lower back, and my right leg was tingling like it was asleep. I knew if I went down out there, I would be there until someone came along and noticed me.

So, with no other choice, I did my best to force mind and will over pain and non-cooperating muscles and forced each step until I could collapse against the side of the porch. I now had something to hold me up as I leaned against the wall, but I still had another ten feet to go to even get to the door. I managed to keep myself moving, dong my best to block out the pain, and soon was in the doorway, With a narrow porch, I had more support and things to hold onto until I got to the kitchen and collapsed into a chair.

In the process of stretching the muscles and walking off the pain, I accomplished just the opposite, I tightened them even more and was now almost completely immobilized. I now believe that I did much more damage than good, and on top of my normal back problems, I went and severely strained the muscles; this is why it's taking so much longer to recuperate.