Cause and Effect
When Boo was around a year old, I was diagnosed with arthritis on the left side of my lower back. My doctor told me it's not uncommon for new mommies to develop back problems, because we spend a lot of time picking up and carrying twenty-pound babies, and tend to do it consistently on one arm/hip. I took an anti-inflammatory for a couple of months and changed how I lifted and picked up things and how I sat, focusing on making non-spine-twisting moves and on balancing my baby-lifting. That took care of the pain, and I hadn't had any problems for the last five years.
(You can probably guess where this is going.)
Since I hadn't been bothered with the arthritis for so long, it never occurred to me that, for the last seven months, I've been doing almost everything with my left arm. Lifting, carrying, pulling, etc. And a couple of weeks ago, I suddenly began to feel that familiar "hey, it feels like a knife is stuck in my back" sensation.
This time, though, I was a bit smarter. Instead of waiting for weeks until the pain was nearly unbearable, I made an appointment with my doctor the moment I got back from the beach. The pain was also accompanied by a knotted muscle in my back, so in addition to the usual NSAID regimen, I'm also taking a muscle relaxant. If that hasn't un-knotted the muscle at the end of two weeks, I get to return to physical therapy.
The pain is already a lot better, mostly because I know, now, what kinds of movements and actions make it worse. The muscle relaxant has also helped, I think, if for no other reason than giving me some amazingly good naps. One of the biggest problems with arthritis is that even if the pain doesn't keep you actively awake, you don't get a good sleep cycle when you do sleep. I've been sleeping a lot more, but also feeling really good and well-rested when I wake up. And, frankly, after the pre-surgery pain in my wrist, this is totally bearable. I have every reason to believe that I'll be better in a few weeks, and that the intervening weeks won't be that bad.
I'm just hoping this is the last side-effect of my fall. :)
(You can probably guess where this is going.)
Since I hadn't been bothered with the arthritis for so long, it never occurred to me that, for the last seven months, I've been doing almost everything with my left arm. Lifting, carrying, pulling, etc. And a couple of weeks ago, I suddenly began to feel that familiar "hey, it feels like a knife is stuck in my back" sensation.
This time, though, I was a bit smarter. Instead of waiting for weeks until the pain was nearly unbearable, I made an appointment with my doctor the moment I got back from the beach. The pain was also accompanied by a knotted muscle in my back, so in addition to the usual NSAID regimen, I'm also taking a muscle relaxant. If that hasn't un-knotted the muscle at the end of two weeks, I get to return to physical therapy.
The pain is already a lot better, mostly because I know, now, what kinds of movements and actions make it worse. The muscle relaxant has also helped, I think, if for no other reason than giving me some amazingly good naps. One of the biggest problems with arthritis is that even if the pain doesn't keep you actively awake, you don't get a good sleep cycle when you do sleep. I've been sleeping a lot more, but also feeling really good and well-rested when I wake up. And, frankly, after the pre-surgery pain in my wrist, this is totally bearable. I have every reason to believe that I'll be better in a few weeks, and that the intervening weeks won't be that bad.
I'm just hoping this is the last side-effect of my fall. :)