As I mentioned in my last post, I've been having trouble with my back the past few months. I can't say I'm surprised: back pain and inflexibility run in my family. All six of us were going to the same chiropractor when I lived at home. (Not constantly, just as needed. He was a good one.)
So I call wonderful University Health Center to see my doctor, who agreed to be my primary care physician after I'd been playing Health Care Professional Roulette for two years. "Didn't you know?" the appointment nurse asked. "She's gone for the whole summer." Argh. Strangely enough I wound up with the NP I usually see in the women's clinic who knows me pretty well.
Her advice:
1) Better shoes. No more flat-sole Converse and certainly no more flip-flops, no matter how cute and fabulous. Get a good pair of running/walking shoes.
2) Take 600mg Ibuprofen every 6 hours as necessary.
3) Keep going to the gym. Losing weight will help.
4) Find a Yoga class to try and work on the inflexibility.
5) Physical therapy, which thankfully we have on campus.
I also found out from her that I've already lost some weight. 10-13ish pounds since April. Sadly I really haven't noticed the difference, though I haven't been wearing my "cold" weather pants lately. This may explain why the weight hasn't budged despite the gym routine: the "easy" weight already came off.
I went to the physical therapist yesterday, who ironically also has lower back pain. He gave me some stretches to do, recommended icing for 15 minutes a day, and then tortured me for an hour. Nice guy, but holy crap did that hurt. No pain no gain? He also said to keep working out and concurred with the NP that it was strange the eliptical was hurting my back.
After reading Seeking Solace's last post I have a little more hope and encouragement for working out even with pain. I think I may have to tone down my intensity or the consecutive time I put in on the eliptical. Going to the gym 3x a week has been do-able lately; I can't seem to get there that fourth time. I skipped out yesterday because I felt crappy, but I'm determined to go today and try it.
So, this week:
-Get new shoes
-Stretches every day
-Gym 3x
Tags: Obstacles, Goals
Trying to balance academic life with a healthy lifestyle.
2 comments:
I have back issues, too, and I heartily recommend doing those exercises every day. I have a little set I do in the evening (usually while I'm watching The Daily Show) and it's made a world of difference. Good luck!
I am so glad that you are back to working out. Cheers to you for your weight loss!!!!
Shoes do make a difference. Make sure that you find someone who knows how to properly fit you. As we age, our shoe size changes. Plus, not a running and walking shoes are created equal.
It may hurt a little when you first get back into gear, so just take it slow!
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