killer pains

Eiko says...

People who know me even just for a week will confirm that I whine about having a back ache and that I need a massage. I had comments thrown at me that I'm such a whiner about it, or that I just like massages, but don't really have a back problem, or that I'm spoiled and don't really know what a back ache really is. Well, what I had then is peanuts and raisins in comparison to the huge amounts of pain that I'm being subjected to right now! It feels like a knife is slicing through my back and touching some very sensitive nerves in a very un-gentle way.

The pain started up 2 weeks ago, and at first I thought it would leave me alone if I ignored it long enough, but after 4 days, I had enough. I started doing some research on the internet concerning the problems with my lower back, and I started freaking myself out. After two hours of browsing symptoms and solutions, I decided, despite my unexplainable hatred for hospitals and their kind, to visit an orthopedic clinic to check out what's wrong with my back.

The clinic that I went to wasn't anything big, and the doctor that was running the place was nice and animated. What really made me relax and feel comfortable was the instrumental soundtrack of Tottoro playing softly as backdrop music. There's no way things could go wrong.

I waited 5 minutes before he called me in from the waiting room and asked me to sit down on an adjacent bed. He brought a stool in for me to rest my feet on, and as soon as I thanked him and my feet touched the stool, he right away pointed at my feet and said, "Ah hah! That's why!!" I jumped, and quickly glanced down to see what he was freaking out about. From the tone of his voice and facial expressions, I thought I had an extra toe or worse!

I may not have an extra toe, but according to him, the bone structure of my feet is horrible. Due to the bad bone structure in my feet, I have bad balance which affects the way I hold my self, and consequently, my lower back takes a hit. This easily explained my chronic back pains. Obviously, there's nothing much I can do about my bone structure. But he did advise me though, while giving me a quick massage, to build more leg and core muscles for better posture. I knew I had bad posture from before, but he said my posture being bad was an under statement by far! That drove things home. I was determined to start strength training as soon as my back pains and my foot heal up.

Unfortunately, it doesn't seem to happen any time soon, and this is no apple pie for me. I'm an active individual, and having to stay in a sitting position for long periods of time is not my favorite things to do. My daily schedule used to consist of me waking up and starting the day off with a Insanity work out, than take a shower, clean and organize the room, head out for a long bike ride, come home for a short break before work at Gusto, and maybe go out again to chill with friends until something past midnight. Now, I can't even do half of that. For one, walking is still difficult due to my strained left foot. Secondly, my lower back can't handle any physical exercise. I thought I'd give a light pilates a shot, but the moment I got into the '100' position, my entire back almost froze up with pain! I barely make my way around my work place. It's not so cool.

But speaking of Gusto and work, (and since talking about problems that don't have any immediate solutions is stupid) my new boss is as easy going as he is fat. What surprises me the most about my fat boss is how he can move so fast carrying all that excess weight! I'm delighted that he doesn't shout every word that he voices, and that he doesn't look constipated or annal. I think me and him will get along just fine, so long as he puts me in more shifts like I requested. We really shouldn't be having much for problems.

And that's it for now, because to be completely honest, my back is yelling out bloody murder, and my brain is fried from translating all day. I'll blog more in the next few days so keep in touch. Peace, ladies.