The good news--I don't need surgery.
The bad news--I won't ever have any permanent improvement.
The good news--I probably won't get any worse.
The bad news--I definitely won't get any pain relief without medication or thoracic epidural injections. OUCH.
The confusing news--I have had a sedentary lifestyle way too long. I walk about a mile a day but don't do anything else. Before this blasted back pain, I went to the Y 3 times a week. Since the back pain, I have gained weight. The orthopedist recommends that I improve my core strength without doing situps, lunges, squats or crunches. Anyone, anywhere, have any ideas on how to do this? Someone has suggested Pilates. Does anyone do this or like it?
5 comments:
There's no better exercise--none--than swimming. Your core will be grateful. Can you do that?
(BTW--Sex isn't an exercise. Not if your doing it right.)
I was a competitive swimmer for a long time, and I can't tell you how good it is for your core.
Good luck!
P. S. -- By "your", I meant "you're". That's one of my biggest grammatical pet peeves, and so I'm very peeved at me right now. ; )
Great idea--I can swim. There is a pretty nice indoor pool at the YMCA here. Someone else suggested walking in (not on) water. I wil get started with both of those.
Thanks for the tip.
Pamela--I'm so glad you don't need surgery. A friend of mine just had a spinal fusion. She'll be on light duty for months.
I'm sorry though that you'll need epidurals.
This site discusses Pilates and the back:
http://www.spine-health.com/topics/conserv/pilates/pilates01.html
I just noticed you're from Kentucky. Are you familiar with the poetry of T. Crunk? He's from Western Kentucky, and won the Yale Younger in 95 for his book Living in the Resurrection
Patty--yes, I am familiar with T. Crunk's book and liked it very much. He is from western Kentucky, but not so western as I am. My town is close to Missouri/Tennesse/Illinois, near the Mississippi and Ohio Rivers. That's "extreme" western Kentucky.
If the exercise works (and I am going to take up AJPL's swimming suggestion), I may not need epidurals for very long. I'm not phobic about needles, but then I was never a claustrophobe before the MRI. While I was in the scanner, I was given a little buzzer that rang a bell in case I freaked out--just like one of those Victorian devices to alert that you were buried alive...
Thanks again. I am going to the Pilates site to check it out.
Post a Comment