In mid-March, I injured my spine in an unexpected movement where my legs twisted and my torso did not. Ouch! I hoped it would heal itself, but after eight weeks had passed, it seemed to be getting worse rather than better.
So I went to the doctor at the beginning of May. The orthopedist’s exam was annoyingly cursory though I suppose it made sense. A lot of people my age have back pain. Treat the obvious first. Even though I explained the pain as an injury, he called it “regular back pain” and gave me muscle relaxants and painkillers. But he also ordered an MRI, which I had six weeks later just before traveling to the US.
In the meantime, the symptoms worsened. My legs started to get weak after prolonged standing. Extended walking (especially on uneven surfaces) required a recovery period. This was certainly not just muscle pain.
MRI results came in this week and sure enough, I have protrusions at L4 & L5. I didn’t get a photo of the scan to share here, but the injury was obvious. My conversation with the doctor lasted 7 minutes – just long enough to get a basic explanation of the problem. He prescribed medicine three times a day for the next two months to help reduce symptoms and repair the damage: Limaprost Alfadex, Methylcobal, and acetaminophen. I have a follow up in late August.
Protrusion-type hernias have a 40% chance of healing. I’m not content to rely on medicine exclusively, so I looked up what I could do as physical therapy. It was mainly restrictions:
- avoid prolonged sitting;
- don’t bend forward deeply or round the spine;
- don’t lift heavy things;
- avoid weight-bearing twists like shoveling;
- use lumbar support when sitting;
- strengthen core muscles to improve posture.
It is a short list, but it indicates some major changes:
- Adapting my yoga practice. Movement is good, so I am not giving up yoga. But with no forward bending, my classes are going to shift focus to backbends, stability, and core training. Not impossible, but it will be time-intensive to review my existing sequences and modify them. I’ll manage it a day at a time.
- Avoiding yard work and gardening. Tending my plants involves bending, twisting and lifting. Swinging the gas powered cutter side to side is a weight-bearing twisting motion. So my chaotic garden is going to be even more of a jungle.
When I walked over to Oyama Senmaida yesterday to drop off some souvenirs from America, I mentioned my MRI results. Everyone there commiserated. I seem to be the last to join the Herniated Disc Club.
