Sunday, October 23, 2005
Pain In The Back
The title pretty much says it all. Ever since I returned from Vegas (and no, I wasn't lifting any boulders or paying strippers to dance on my spine), my back's been hurting. I've written before how I don't like getting old, and I'm starting to show more symptoms of actually being mortal, but this is definitely the most annoying it's been. At first, I thought it was just a crick in my neck from sleeping funny (and I've definitely started having that happen more often as I grow ancient and brittle), but this was different. The first couple of days, I was sore in the morning, and then the pain slowly subsided. However, at the beginning of last week, my soreness was persisting longer and longer into the day. Also, strangely enough, it was spreading to my back. On Wednesday, it lasted the whole day, and then on Thursday, when I got up it was as bad as its been. It's rarely excruciating, except if I turn in a "wrong" direction. And I define "wrong" as anything that hurts.
So, Thursday, I decided I needed to actually call a doctor. Those who know me realize that something usually has to be seriously wrong for me to call a doctor. I also decided to stay home from work, reasoning that sitting all day hunched over a keyboard was probably not a good idea. I figured if I spent the whole day lying down, I'd get better. So, I ended up sleeping until 1:30, and then laid on the couch for the rest of the day, with a heating pad on my back. I made a doctor's appointment, but the next time they had free was this coming Thursday, so I took it. I thought I'd be ok as long as things didn't get any worse.
So far, they haven't gotten worse, but they haven't gotten better. I went to work on Friday, and just basically took frequent breaks between typing. I also brought my heating pad to work. Because I've never had back problems (or, really, any serious pain-related problems), I have no idea what could be wrong. I've looked on the internet, and it doesn't really seem like I have something horrible. But at the same time, the discomfort (I hesitate to see pain) is pretty constant, and doesn't get much better. I've been taking Tylenol and Advil, but they don't do much. Sometimes it goes away for a bit, but it always seems to come back. Not having had anything like this before, and not being able to feel anyone else's pain, I can't really tell if I'm just being a big baby, or if I've really screwed something up. Also, the pain seems to jump around - it's pretty constant in the middle of the back, sometimes towards the right side, and often near the top, but them sometimes it's in the neck, and sometimes in the lower back. Maybe I'm compensating for one type of back pain without knowing it, and causing other back pain?
The other mystifying thing is that I can't put my finger on what touched this off. I hadn't played softball in two weeks, so it wasn't that. I really didn't lift anything or sleep really weirdly (that I could tell). I've stopped lifting weights for the time being, and I haven't been running either, for fear of exacerbating the situation. I suppose it could be years of hunching over a keyboard is finally catching up to me, but I kind of assumed that would come on gradually and get worse and worse and worse, and not go away. But, what the hell do I know? All I know is, it's pretty annoying. And the fact that I spent long enough over a keyboard to write this should leave you in awe of my dedication to this blog. Let it not be said that I didn't suffer for my craft!
So, Thursday, I decided I needed to actually call a doctor. Those who know me realize that something usually has to be seriously wrong for me to call a doctor. I also decided to stay home from work, reasoning that sitting all day hunched over a keyboard was probably not a good idea. I figured if I spent the whole day lying down, I'd get better. So, I ended up sleeping until 1:30, and then laid on the couch for the rest of the day, with a heating pad on my back. I made a doctor's appointment, but the next time they had free was this coming Thursday, so I took it. I thought I'd be ok as long as things didn't get any worse.
So far, they haven't gotten worse, but they haven't gotten better. I went to work on Friday, and just basically took frequent breaks between typing. I also brought my heating pad to work. Because I've never had back problems (or, really, any serious pain-related problems), I have no idea what could be wrong. I've looked on the internet, and it doesn't really seem like I have something horrible. But at the same time, the discomfort (I hesitate to see pain) is pretty constant, and doesn't get much better. I've been taking Tylenol and Advil, but they don't do much. Sometimes it goes away for a bit, but it always seems to come back. Not having had anything like this before, and not being able to feel anyone else's pain, I can't really tell if I'm just being a big baby, or if I've really screwed something up. Also, the pain seems to jump around - it's pretty constant in the middle of the back, sometimes towards the right side, and often near the top, but them sometimes it's in the neck, and sometimes in the lower back. Maybe I'm compensating for one type of back pain without knowing it, and causing other back pain?
The other mystifying thing is that I can't put my finger on what touched this off. I hadn't played softball in two weeks, so it wasn't that. I really didn't lift anything or sleep really weirdly (that I could tell). I've stopped lifting weights for the time being, and I haven't been running either, for fear of exacerbating the situation. I suppose it could be years of hunching over a keyboard is finally catching up to me, but I kind of assumed that would come on gradually and get worse and worse and worse, and not go away. But, what the hell do I know? All I know is, it's pretty annoying. And the fact that I spent long enough over a keyboard to write this should leave you in awe of my dedication to this blog. Let it not be said that I didn't suffer for my craft!
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