More Life - Back Recovery
Intro
As I’m writing this blog, I’m nearing the end of the time I gave myself to recover from my back injury. I set aside about 6 weeks to recover and to take it easy. I don’t believe I’ve ever given myself that much time to heal…ever. It has not been an easy ride by any means, but it has been worth it. I feel mostly back to normal. If I had to put a number on it, I’ll say that' it’s north of 90% and I can’t express how happy that has made me.
Back It Up
The difficulty in recovering from an injury like this, for me was that I never knew if I was doing too much or too little to recover. Some days I wouldn’t do anything, and get back pain. Other days, I would do a lot, and get no pain. It was tricky. One of adjustments I had to make was decreasing my workouts.
My usual workout schedule is 3 days of lifting, and 2 days of HIIT (high intensity interval training). After the accident, I removed the HIIT. I might be crazy, but I love HIIT, so not being able to do my sprints or jump rope has made me a bit sad. In its place I just walk. I walked before, but now I walk more.
The rest is important, but I lament my old age.
A new addition that has helped recovery was getting some adjustable dumbbells. These were a gifts from my lovely family and they might be some of the best I’ve ever gotten. There’s far less risk in hurting myself, and the weights are built really well. To help my strength training, I also invested in a bench and I’ve been enjoying using it.
Stretching was something that I did before. Every morning I would stretch for about 5ish minutes without fail. I’ve noticed big changes since I’ve started stretching, but now I also stretch more through the day. Specifically after sitting for a long period or before I sleep. I also try to do a very short stretch right when I wake up to get the blood flowing. It doesn’t seem as if stretching would have a big effect, but it does.
Lastly, I’ve done a lot to reduce being sedentary. I’ve written a blog on this, and I’m putting my money where my mouth is. As mentioned a few times, I invested in a standing desk, and I’ve noticed a big difference in my energy levels, and how my body feels. I don’t know what I would say to describe the change… perhaps I’m more limber? I don’t know but if this is how I feel at the start of these changes, I’m excited to see the long term implications. As I work, I try to do 30-45 minutes of standing, and 30 minutes of sitting, and alternate between the 2. I’ll walk around between sessions as well. As this activity has increased, I’ve also become more mindful of how I move my body around. I try not to move too quick while bending or getting up. I’m old. It is what it is.
Outro
Recovery is tricky and there are times where you think you’re progressing, and then suddenly you get a flareup because you didn’t know that you pushed too hard. While it hasn’t been an easy process, there has been a lot of progress. Over the next few weeks I’ll be slowly re-integrating my HIIT routines and cardio. Followed by a bigger focus on strength training.
This accident has been a turning point for me and forced me to invest in better equipment to protect myself and prevent injury. While it has been an expensive recovery process, I do think it will prove to be a wise decision in the long run.
Overall, I’m very happy to have recovered to the point of feeling like my normal self. It does make me optimistic that whatever happens in your life, you can always pick yourself back up. Here’s hoping that not only do I fully recover, but that I can get even stronger!
-Until next time-