10.16.08
Back injury
On Monday, I was reminded of what poor condition my body is in. After doing a workout that included some crunches (no twisting), round kicks from a standing position (no movement), shadow boxing, and dumbbell lifting, my back almost completely “went out”. After the workout, which was not very strenuous by any means, I was on the computer for an hour, and after that, my back out. I couldn’t straighten up while standing without a lot of pain from my S-I joint near my lowest disc on the right side. I have to remember to warm up properly and cool down properly with ample stretching. I had to limp around, bent over like an old man, using a kali stick as a cane.
The last time this happened was when I was doing my Rituxan treatments in early 2006 following my high-dose chemo treatment (December 2005). The night before I went to JHH for my infusion, I jumped down from the kitchen counter after retreiving something from one of the upper cabinets (I don’t use step stools like I should) and I felt that “weak feeling” in my lower back. The feeling is something like when the lower half of my body doesn’t feel quite connected to my upper half.
Only today did I feel like testing my back to see how it fare on a bike. I had planned to ride the Bucks County Covered Bridges metric century ride on Sunday with Steve and I didn’t do much of anything since Monday, except for walking slowly to Shop-Rite yesterday. I took the fixie out for 16 miles and didn’t push myself, but my back felt surprisingly fine, although I didn’t encounter any real hills. I think I should be fine for Sunday if I gently stretch my back every day and don’t injure it again.