[Date Prev][Date Next][Thread Prev][Thread Next][Date Index][Thread Index]
[pct-l] Back injury exercises?
Hi Mike and All on the list. Mike, if you don't know about my back pain,
where have you been for the last few years? July 1989 Laminectamy L-4-5 S-1.
January 1990 Fusion L-4-5 S-1!! Every thing I have ever done brought it
on. It all started with the USMC then 13years with Procter and Gamble in
their warehouse, then 10 years with water Departments and the Barns I have
built and all the work for the eight different homes we have owned over the
years, Oh yes and Horse back riding, not good. I was out of commission for
one and a half years. Yes you do cry like a baby and nothing can be done
about it until the "Percadan" kicks in, 1 every two hours for a week before
I could get into the hospital. I was in the hospital for a week for each of
the surgeries. I thought I would never get out of bed again. Yes you do need
to keep the stomach down and flat and I still am trying to do that with no
success yet. I eat to much. I never thought I would be able to carry a 55lb
pack,(what's ultralite?) I carry muscle relaxers and pain killers while
hiking. There has been times when I thought I was going to have to call for
a chopper to get me out but I slept the night with the "Drugs" and woke up
to continue hiking. This coming October I will go from the I-15 to Tehachapi
Pass, the longest stretch since the Marine Corps. Its worth every bit of
pain. There are exercises that I am suppose to do but I sure get LAZY but
with every one talking about it maybe this is what I have needed to get the
50lbs off my body so it will be easier to carry the 55lb pack. How do you
lighten the load? But Remember
"Be Prepared" Ground Pounder Bill "Semper Fi" and happy hiking
PS I can show you my scars at next years Kick Off LOL
and sorry this was so long
----- Original Message -----
From: "Mike Saenz" <msaenz@mve-architects.com>
To: "Stephanie" <taurodea@gmail.com>; <pct-l@mailman.backcountry.net>
Sent: Wednesday, August 03, 2005 10:55 AM
Subject: [pct-l] Back injury exercises?
I also managed to "throw out my back" last week. First time this has
ever happened to me... I now have an increased level of sympathy for
those who live with chronic back pain. The pain was excruciating. It
took me to my knees several times. And I have to drive a manual
transmission through a winding mountain road (Hwy 74, "The Ortega
Highway", into Orange County) every day.
Friday I was in Urgent Care to find out if I was permanently damaged.
Doc said: "Just threw your back out. Got back spasms. Could've been
anything. No way to really avoid it in the future..." and, "Here's a
prescription for Flexeril, 800mg Ibuprophen and 1200mg of Vicodin..."
Quite a cocktail. Spent last weekend flat on my back drifting in and out
of consciousness. (Damn good thing I didn't hike the Divide, Erik!)
It's still sore, but I can now rise from a sitting position without
yelping out in pain. I can shift gears now without making really scary
faces.
A lot of people I've talked to say that conditioning your "core" is the
best way to protect your back from slipping out of alignment. Those
"bicycle" exercises that Strider mentioned sound like a good way to do
this. Others mentioned those big exercise balls (stretches as well as
conditions, or so they say).
Getting old sucks. And the pain I experienced last Friday makes the old
saying that "it beats the alternative" debatable.
For what it's worth,
Michael Saenz, Associate Partner
McLarand Vasquez Emsiek & Partners, Inc.
A r c h i t e c t u r e | P l a n n i n g | I n t e r i o r s
MVE MVE Institutional MVP International
w w w . m v e - a r c h i t e c t s . c o m
-----Original Message-----
From: pct-l-bounces@mailman.backcountry.net
[mailto:pct-l-bounces@mailman.backcountry.net] On Behalf Of Stephanie
Sent: Wednesday, August 03, 2005 6:57 AM
To: pct-l@mailman.backcountry.net
Subject: [BULK] - [pct-l] Back injury exercises?
As luck would have it, I've sprained my back a month and a half away
from local hiking season. Seems the extreme physical exertion of walking
into my office yesterday morning was far too much for even a seasoned
cubicle warrior such as myself. One false move had me down for the
count.
I'm wondering if anyone can suggest, once I recover well enough to walk
and stand (much less sit up without crying like a little girl), simple
exercises I can do to stretch and strengthen my stomach and back.
My doctor has suggested a few small exercises, but I wanted to hear from
my backpacker community to see if there was any special insight given
the things we demand of our backs. I had hoped to go out and take my
very first solo backpacking trips this season, training for my
'07 thru. Now, I hope simply for a few scaled-down day-hikes hopefully
by Halloween...
This makes me wonder how a back injury is handled out on the trail.
Any suggestions would be most wonderful. Thanks!!
Steph
_______________________________________________
pct-l mailing list
pct-l@mailman.backcountry.net
unsubscribe or change options:
http://mailman.hack.net/mailman/listinfo/pct-l
_______________________________________________
pct-l mailing list
pct-l@mailman.backcountry.net
unsubscribe or change options:
http://mailman.hack.net/mailman/listinfo/pct-l