Whine!

I’ve struggled with intermittent low back pain for more than 10 years.  It was kept in control with chiropractic adjustments, massage therapy and yoga.  I can go a couple of years with no pain, but the threat is always there.

This year has been bad.  The pain has had a variable intensity but a constant presence since February.  It started with a seized IT band during a training trail run for the Dirty Duo.  The tightness and holding traveled into my glutes and low back.  Massage therapy and low level pain that I could push through.   I had to wear a back brace for a week of shuffling 70-80 lb drill core boxes in March.  Back in Vancouver, I got a referral to a great MD who does chiropractic adjustment and a physiotherapist who does inter-muscular stimulation.   A month of twice weekly appointments with the MD and twice weekly appointments with the physio were so beneficial that I spent a week on a women’s mountain bike trip in CO and UT riding 6 hours a day and sleeping on the ground with no pain.

By the time my flight from Denver landed in Seattle and I took the 5 hour shuttle to Vancouver, I was in tears with pain again.  Back to physio. Back to the Dr.

Until this past Monday, cycling always provided relief.  The pain would abate and I could ride and smile. 

Then, this past Monday, there was pain on the commute.  A new pain.  Nerve pain.  Pain like putting my glute, hamstring, and calf in a vise grip.  I almost fainted on the bus to work Friday from the pain.   I ended up recording Friday as a sick day on my time sheet since most of the day was spent flat on my back in my office.

Desperate for movement, as Scott was barely racing the NIBMY50, I reached into the way distant past. Swimming!  Swimming is good.  Flip turns are not good.    Staring at the tile bottom and counting laps from an indoor pool on a sunny day was not good.  I haven’t swam since I quit the CSM swim team my last year of college to focus on my degree and mountain biking; a decision I have never regretted even though it meant giving up scholarship money.

Today, I didn’t even try to commute to work.  The nerve pain is so different from the physical pain of injury or a hard workout or a weekend spent pushing your physical boundaries.  It takes priority.  It demands constant attention.  It refuses to release my brain.  It keeps my mind from focusing on anything but the pain.  I had the first bit of pain relief today at the acupuncturist.  I am counting down the hours until the next appointment.  I miss riding and we have really good plans for this summer!  I want to smile again!

TAGS:  not riding