my back is back.
warning: this is going to be a very whiny post.
i had back surgery a couple of years ago. and after some recuperation and physical therapy, i didn’t pay much attention to it.
i am now.
for years, i had intermittent back pain. and then one day a couple of years ago, i was brushing my teeth in the bathroom and my whole leg went numb. suddenly, as i bent over to spit out the toothpaste.
when physical therapy didn’t help, they did an mri which showed that i had separated disc crud that was blocking my nerves. if i didn’t get it fixed, i could end up being one of those people that has a metal strap brace thingy around the bottom of their foot because they can’t lift their foot, they told me.
among other unpleasant below-the-belt complications that i won’t go into, but that you can well imagine.
so i had the surgery, and it was not without its complications, but after the aforementioned physical therapy and a couple of semi-harrowing epidurals, i was fine.
until this past monday. i don’t know if it was a long weekend of inactivity on the couch, or just bad karma, or what, but my back seized up again, slightly, on monday. just a twinge. but that twinge is very, very familiar to me. it’s the twinge that sent me down that road last time.
no numbness or anything yet, but my back is stiff as hell. it seems to be muscular rather than disc-oriented, and i’m icing it down at night, and stretching a little, and doing light versions of my back exercises. i’m trying not to take advil and whatnot, because i like to try to avoid taking pills, but i might take a couple this evening.
don’t take this for granted, jamie. i’d forgotten i even had back problems.
i’m going to think positively about this. i’m sure it’s nothing.
transitory.
right?