My wake-up call (& utter humiliation)

[sidneydiver]

I've been meaning to get into a better fitness regime and eat better for quite a while but as usual have been procrastinating; busy at work, need to relax...
I had a bit of a rude awakening as to how unfit I am a couple of days ago. I bent over slightly and felt a searing sharp pain in my lower back which made me fall to the floor. I was stuck flat on my face on the floor unable to get up and even worse, I had just got out of the shower and was completely butt naked! I lay there for a while hoping that it would go away but every time I tried to get up it was so painful that it made me cry out with pain. Finally I realised that I was going to have to call for assistance. Luckily my cell phone was within reach and 2 of my dive buddies came to my rescue. I wanted to salvage what little of my pride I had left (I'm a girl and both my buddies are guys) and I managed to reach the bottom of my robe which was hanging on a hook and I pulled it until the hook broke. My buddies turned up and proceded to try to break into my house to rescue me. Fortunately I managed to crawl commando style to the front door to let them in. They got me some pain killers and ice and picked me up and put me on the sofa and we consulted a Physio that we work with. A little later I got to work and had some acupuncture and tests to rule out anything too serious. It seems that it was a strain of some sort but it has really made me think about my fitness levels and my diving. I live to dive and I've started diving doubles and I am obviously out of shape and could stand to lose some weight.
I think that this is the wake-up call that I needed to eat better and work out to get a stronger back and core that would prevent this sort of thing happening in the future. I guess I'll be able to laugh about this soon! I'm still too busy trying to find my pride which I left on the floor somewhere. I think the cat may have eaten it.

[Moxie]

Ouch! I feel your pain... well almost. My SO has the same problem. Doc told him 6 months to get better. Hope it doesn't take that long for you. Remember, don't over do it.

[fire diver]

Dont' worry, I see that all the time. I think if nobody ever took their clothes off, there would be no injuries like this. We always get called to pick up naked people out of thier bathrooms.

I would suggest alternating OTC meds. Take the full strength of aspirin, 2 hours later take the full strength of tylenol, 2 hours later take the full strength of motrin, then repeat back with aspirin again. This is assuming that you are not alergic to any of these pain relievers. Now, that your pain is held back a bit, stay active. walk around alot. When you feel up to it, start walking every day, and doing situps. When you strengthen the stomach, you reinforce the pelvic girdle which in turn supports the back.

Good Luck!

Oh, only do the alternating meds for a few days, 5 at most.

[cummings66]

I while not that out of shape hurt my back pretty bad so I understand the pain. It took me nearly a month to get to the point where I could do things unaided, I couldn't even lift a loaf of bread by myself. I took a lot of pain killers to get me by.

I hope you get off easy, but just in case do what the doctors say and don't push yourself.

[Illini_Fan]

I too feel your pain (but fortunately not the whole naked situation ). Until you have had back pain / problems I don't think you can truly appreciate just how difficult daily movement can be.

And I was lucky, my problem was a lower muscle strain and not permanent. It hurt, and there were some days where once I laid down, I wasn't sure how I was getting back up. I took about 6 weeks to fully heal the strain -- but I learned my lesson regarding stretching before exercise. I'm no longer a teenager, who's body can recover from unlimited abuse.

Get well soon

[Zenagirl]

Ouch! I've thrown my back out like that before and the pain is unimaginable unless you've been there.

Just make sure you let yourself completely heal before you lift your gear. Just when you think you're 100%, give yourself another 2-4 weeks of healing. There's just nothing worse than a chronic back condition.

[Queen]

Been there too, I used to have a "bad back", I don't anymore.

When you're feeling better give this book a look, it made a HUGE difference in my quality of life: Healing Back Pain

[WaterRat]

I had a similar muscle strain picking up a sock of all things. Doc said i just happen to bend the wrong way and my back was already tired from a new job that required lots of lifting.

Ron

[BSea]

I had something similar happen years ago when I was in shape. I was playing softball when I twisted the wrong way. It wasn't too bad at first, but the next day I could hardly move. I left work early & went home. I took a hot bath hoping it would help.

The real problem came when I tried to get out of the bathtub. I was single at the time, so there would be nobody coming home to help me. It took almost an hour to get out of that tub, and it was the most painful thing I've ever done.

To this day I only take showers.

[TxHockeyGuy]

I injured my back pretty good when I first started to play hockey and was on the ice 5-6 times a week learning to skate better. I went from no exercise to way too much and paid for it. It took about an hour to get out of bed in the morning and getting in and out of my car was a major ordeal. I won't even begin to talk about living on the third floor. Unfortunately ever since that day I've had on and off back problems, fortunately mostly off. It's a real pain in the butt. I need to go back to the chiropractor but I never do. I know some hate chiropractors but the one I went to really helped me, although I think I set a new record for how high he had seen someone turn up the tens unit. I distinctly remember him having me do the lean over test to see how far I could bend before my back hurt, I made it about 2 inches.