I’ve been writing about the persistence of change, both good changes, and bad changes. I thought I’d dip into that well one more time for today’s posture post.
Why?
Because this week I’ve encountered a little of both.
Casa Andrew backs up onto a park. This comes with some nice benefits; the kids are 2 minutes away from a big open field and a jungle gym. We’ve got green space behind, and no neighbours back there, so it’s quiet after sunset.
The problem is that the city very kindly decided to prune the trees. Which now have no branches below 6’, and people in the park can look right into our kitchen.
Well, the Mrs. and I don’t want people looking into our kitchen, so what to do? Well, obviously you plant a row of Canna Lilies along the back fence. These broad leafed bad boys grow 6’ tall and will provide a nice privacy screen for our back yard…
But, and there’s always a “but.” But our back yard is just lawn, which means digging a flower bed, which means stressing my poor messed up lower back.
I’ve regaled you, a time or two, with gardening stories that ended with, “and my back was just fine.” This isn’t one of them. This is a story of. “and the changes persist.”
I spent 4 decades messing up my back, and 5 years fixing it. The bad news is that the problems of those 4 decades persist. After I had the grass removed and the flower bed dug, as I went to get my tub of lily bulbs, I felt my lower back and said, “Uh, oh, Imma pay for that.”
Sure enough, I did. I have a spot in my lumbar spine that 7 years ago went, “click,” and I paid for it with a week of debilitating back pain. That little click occurs once in a while when I overdo it, and the persistent problems of my back make me pay.
But at the same time this is a story of the bad persisting, it’s also a story of the good persisting. The first few times I pinched that lumbar nerve, I was out for several days; pain killers, muscle relaxants, bed rest, anti-inflammatories. The last couple of times, including this week, it was uncomfortable, but I was still functional.
When I felt the problem, I rolled out my yoga mat and did my back maintenance routine. And I did it twice more that day. But you know what else I did? I took my kayak out for my Sunday paddle, got in a good workout, and suffered no increased aggravation for my back.
Where once was debilitating pain now there was discomfort. Discomfort alleviated and controlled by healthy movement. And for the last few days, as the pressure on the nerves eased off, I’ve been able to live my normal life because I’ve gained the tools to improve my posture, and to sit, stand and move in a spine healthy way.
In short, I’ve learned to “Overcome Pain, Regain Mobility, and Learned to StandUpRight.
The changes persist.
