Fun With Physical Therapy

Monday morning I got up early, showered, dressed and headed to physical therapy at Mercy Riverside Rehab. The only problem: my appointment was on Tuesday. 

Wait, what day is it?

Tuesday I got up early, showered, dressed and headed to physical therapy at Mercy Riverside Rehab, and it was great. I "warmed up" on a "recumbent elliptical," then did some stretches on a table and a ball. Then, I got a bit of a massage, then some electro-shock-therapy--which sort of feels something between getting a tattoo and getting a massage. 

On Monday and Tuesday both I visited my chiropractor, who, may I quote, said I was "all kinds of messed up." 

And, lo and behold, I am feeling a bit better.  It still hurts to drive, even with the recommended hand-towel-lumbar-hack. And, it still takes me about 3 minutes to extricate myself from said car. It is unfortunate that my work requires driving 45 minutes twice a day. 

New rule: my hypothetical future car must have good lumbar support.

It still hurts to stand after sitting in most chairs. It especially hurts to sit in my office chair. And, standing for a long time starts to hurt. It is like my right leg is longer than my left. 

But, I am feeling better. Part of me feeling better has been the "stretch-homework" I get at physical therapy.  Two or three times a day, I get on the floor or on the bed and stretch. Those stretches help me feel better and move forward with my day.

Just like this, but imagine curly hair.

That, in turn, has sort of inspired me. Last week, I felt completely helpless, because, being unable to move for the most part, I was completely helpless. 

Depths of despair email.

I even emailed Sara and cancelled my appointment with her. I didn't save her response to this email, but she wrote back that even though "survival mode" feels like all we can do is eat crap, all those sugars and processed foods can make us feel worse. Sugar makes us feel more inflammation, blah blah blah. She encouraged me to keep eating positively. 

At the time, I thought, "yeah right." I could barely make it to the kitchen, let alone massage some raw kale so that it is easier to eat. (Another suggestion.)

But, I feel different this week. This week, I have learned that there are some things that I can do to help myself--stretching helps.  

While I can't do everything I'd like, I can do some stuff: 

• I can control what I eat and I can eat better.
• I can do some exercising, like walking the dog, and maybe swimming. 
• I can keep stretching. 
• I can hack my life for less back-pain, i.e. keep rattling cages for my standing desk, investing in a yoga ball for sitting, and standing up when I need to stand up--like right now.

I don't usually read Steve-Oh in a Speedo, mostly because his amazing feats of athleticism make me feel like a slug in comparison, but I when I saw his title, I wandered over there. 

I am not alone!

Reading about someone else who is injured really helped. While he was frustrated and hurting, he still had a positive outlook that included some adorable instagramming of the things he still can do. 

I can look at my current predicament in a negative light: I only have 300 days to lose weight, get in climbing shape, and I am in lots of pain, and I can't sit, and driving sucks, and it is going to take forever to feel better. 

Or I can look at it in a positive light: I still have 300+ days to get ready for the CT, and riding my bike is fun, and I can be a positive influence on my pain, and sitting is the new smoking anyway, so painful sitting is keeping me moving, and I will eventually get better, and I get twice weekly massages at P.T., and I am sleeping great with my painkiller+muscle relaxant pain killers. 

It doesn't take any more effort to be positive than it does to be negative, but it sure is a lot more fun.