Excel With Mel

I have been absent because it has hurt to sit, and even get out of bed.

• Last Sunday I did some light yoga, stretching mostly on my rest day
• Monday my lower back hurt, so I skipped my Pump & Shred workout
• Tuesday it was worse so even skipped my Combat 60 workout
• Wednesday I felt okay at first, was downtown mid-day for meetings, but by night time I could barely get on the floor to stretch
• Thursday I went to the dr. as I had paid shooting down my right butt cheek and leg.  I  could barely get out of bed, or after I was sitting, it took me 5 minutes just to get up
• I had PT scheduled for Friday, so I suffered through a painful Friday, then went to PT.  I could barely get off the table
• I had my husband pick me up (I usually walk to/from PT) and I couldn’t get out of the car…so we went to the Emergency Room (I’ve never admitted myself to the emergency room, ever…in 40+ years)
• I basically had pulled something in my lower back so bad I could barely stand, so they hooked me up with a pain patch on my back, a muscle relaxer shot in the arm, and an oral pain reliever.  I went home and rested without pain (as long as I wasn’t moving), but I could still barely get out of bed.
• Saturday was better, but still tough.  Sometimes I could shuffle to the fridge or to the bathroom, sometimes I was forced to stay on the couch or in my bed.  I continued to take my medicine, and rest, and sleep, and rest some more.

FINALLY, this morning I got out of bed with SOME difficulty, but not as bad, and can at least take 1/2 size steps.  I will take it easy again today, and hope in the next few days I will be back to normal.  There was not one thing that triggered it, but:

1. I felt a pull in my back in December moving the coffee table to set up the Christmas tree
2. There was a lot of snow so I was constantly shoveling in January and February
3. My job has become more home based so I am sitting virtually all day long, only leaving the house to go to the store, to the dr. or out with friends occasionally
4. I have been doing my workouts, and stretching almost nightly, but I really need to work on my abdominal strength and make sure I don’t use my back to pick up things
5. Having a strong core is probably the best thing you can do to avoid back strain.  I’m sure David Beckham doesn’t have this problem.

I learned a hard lesson here, and I hope to NEVER have this kind of pain again.  I plan to be back to some easy workouts in the next few days and will be very careful from now on.  Don’t let this happen to you.  I don’t recommend it.

Sitting has hurt so I haven’t posted in awhile. I expect to be back to it regularly going forward.  Take care of yourself Friends!