Not a very pleasant prospect.
I’d hurt my back before, but nothing like this. That time it was only painful during the acts of rising from or settling into a chair, once that was accomplished I was fine. My current situation was vastly different as sitting merely exacerbated the pain and I only got relief with two things. One was lying down sideways on the floor with this as my view. Please excuse the mess. I was in no position to orchestrate the perfect domestic photo, thank you very much.
The other source of relief was walking. I spent that first night watching Netflix and circling the main floor of our house, around and around and around. As Poppy, our beloved border collie cross retreated to her bed, highly confused at my decidedly odd behavior, I was consumed with worry. What was that disconcerting numbness that fanned out from my right knee up to my hip about? Involvement of my sciatic nerve wasn’t a consideration because all the folks I knew who had sciatic issues had been impacted for weeks. Our family reunion of three, the first one since Christmas, was taking place in just eight days in Germany at a long anticipated wedding. I couldn’t imagine not being there, so endless sciatic nerve issues were off the table.
Let’s cut to the chase. What the heck had I done to my back?
A Diagnosis
My first courses of action were to get meds to handle the pain and a diagnosis.
After several fruitless phone calls at dawn the next morning, I finally managed to snag a physiotherapist appointment. With driving being a physical impossibility (the repetitive pedal action would be murder on my right leg) I knew it was time to share my news with other family members. That was difficult, sharing made it real. I was also worried about my 94 year-old mother’s reaction. A nurse in “a previous life” and a one-time sciatica sufferer, I thought she’d overreact and insist that I delay my trip. However, she rose to the occasion splendidly, stirring my MD into action and then purchasing those much-needed drugs. My sister swept in and arranged for not only the miracle meds of T3s, muscle relaxants and anti-inflammatory cream to be delivered but also for me to be driven to my physio appointment. As for my kids, I’d avoid alerting them to my injury until I had concrete information, as there was no sense in needlessly worrying them.
As I exited the elevator and walked down the long hallway to meet my new physiotherapist for the first time, my heart pounded. Please don’t let him tell me I couldn’t make the flight. Please just let him prep me enough so that I could fly. I was prepared to do anything as long as I could fly on the appointed date.
The small examining room with its marvelous view of the mountains was somewhat refreshing. The walls were strewn with several framed and signed athletic jerseys, hinting that this guy was obviously a sporting fan. His response to my query as to their lineage was somewhat startling.
“I’m the physio for a German soccer team. I just got back from there actually.”
Things moved swiftly after that. I was subjected to a series of contortionist pretzel-like movements, one or two chiropractic moves and then hooked up to the soothing delight of the EMS machine, which you can read about here, if you’re so inclined.
An hour later, after being instructed in a series of exercises and being sent on a looping walk throughout their gym, I summoned the courage to ask him for a diagnosis. He smiled, innately aware of my concern and carefully replied,
“You’ve pinched a nerve.”
He had one other pertinent tidbit.
“You’re NOT to sit until your flight. You can lie down or walk on level surfaces. But you cannot sit.”
I chose to view this as a glimmer of hope and vowed to walk as much as possible in between the multiple appointments. But there were two problems. One, I live on an impossibly steep hill and two, my sister is a 45 minute drive away. Fiercely independent and loathe to lean on others, I knew it was time to broaden my circle of informants. Someone would have to drive me to flatter areas and “walk me” and chauffeur me to my appointments.
But who could I ask for help with such huge impositions?
Stay tuned and thanks for reading. I have missed you.
14 Responses
Wow, how horrible! I hope you’re feeling relief by now! Back pain & toothaches are the very worst.
Yes, ugh, to the pain of backs and toothaches. They are the very worst. I’m 85% percent better now, Rena, thank you. Celebrated 6 weeks just yesterday and am hoping by the next 6 I’ll be fit as a fiddle.
Oh, my goodness, I can’t wait to hear the “rest of the story.” Back pain is the absolute worst! Hope you are doing well now!
Thank you so much, Lea! The worst part was that I had SO much to do before I left and standing was painful. You should have seen me walking around and around the house talking to different folks on the phone, trying to arrange things and pay bills. It was quite something.
I see hope on the horizon! I have a chiropractor ready to take me in at a moment’s notice if I have any back pain, so I’m glad you were able to get that treatment and the PT. What a stressful time this must have been!
Chiropractors are miracle workers, are they not? I know! Mine has moved so I reached out for physio. The stress I felt when every physio office kept telling me they were “impossibly booked” and couldn’t take me added to the fun. Oh man.
Sitting is the enemy, that’s for sure! My brother-in-law got a herniated disk two weeks before our cruise. He had some shots in his back, used a cane, and brought a wheelchair for the airport. I hope you were able to improvise and alleviate some of your pain.
Nooooooo. Oh, I am sorry to hear about your brother, Dana. What timing as well. I do hope he’s on the mend now.
Good night. How awful! But I must admit to a small laugh at the sideways-laying-on-the-floor photo. Poor you. I have spats of sciatica running down my right leg from back so I know how much that affects driving. 🙁 Hope you wear a step-counter. You must be killing it. Hope you made the trip!
Jamie! You’ve had this delight as well? Ouch. Did you have numbness and if so, how long did that last? I’m 7 weeks tomorrow and still having some. Not nearly as bad as before but it’s hovering!
Oh no! Sounds like it was the worst.
Anxiously awaiting the next installment…
Thanks, Katy. It’s comin’!
Kelly, I’m so relieved to see from reading the comments that you are on the mend. So sorry you had to go through this, though! I can totally see you overdoing it with the yard work and ending up in this state as a result; it’s exactly the sort of thing I would do! But after some minor exertions to cut back our bushes and shrubs last Fall that left me in pain–no real injuries, just discomfort–I decided to call someone to handle that this year. Of course, the first people I called misunderstood what I wanted and removed 3 branches from my neighbor’s trees (!!) as well as several from our one tree instead of trimming back our bushes. (When my husband said to them, “We talked about this, and I told you exactly what to do,” the gentleman who was doing the work said, “Yes, but I had a better idea.” ? Anyway, now that we’ve got that all sorted out with the neighbor, who was fortunately very gracious about it (perhaps partially because I was a sobbing mess while while trying to apologize), I found someone who understood what I wanted and took care of the bushes last week. I’m pleased to say that they look great, and the neighbors’ yards were left alone! Sending healing thoughts to you for the last bit of your recovery!
Hi Donna! Oh man, that must have been awful to when you discovered that the work was NOT what you asked for and that it impinged on the neighbors. Heavens that’s the last thing you need. “Yes, but I had a better idea.” Seriously? Ouch, that must have been SO hard to hear, especially when instructions were laid out clearly. I’m so glad you got a second person in and they did a proper job.