[pct-l] Back injury exercises?

[tahoe.cat at verizon.net (Bill & Cathy)]

That's true.  Hey Mike do you miss summer camp? I sure do. I can't wait to
hit the trail with my Eagle Scout, he is doing dishes at camp. $300 a week.
That's why he was so good at the Kick Off with the hamburgers and the clean
up.  9 years of Boy Scout summer camp, this is His last year and the first
time He has ever been paid. I guess I'll go to bed and cry now.    GPBill
----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Mike Saenz" <msaenz@mve-architects.com>
To: "Bill & Cathy" <tahoe.cat@verizon.net>
Sent: Wednesday, August 03, 2005 12:11 PM
Subject: RE: [pct-l] Back injury exercises?


Hey, but old jar-heads learned to handle the pain. The LIVE for it!
Us pencil-necked rear-echelon paper pushers don't know the meaning of
pain...


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: Bill & Cathy [mailto:tahoe.cat@verizon.net]
Sent: Wednesday, August 03, 2005 12:15 PM
To: Mike Saenz
Cc: pct-l@mailman.backcountry.net
Subject: Re: [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
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