Yard Work
I spent the afternoon with a chainsaw cutting out a tree trunk. It was a lot of fun and a lot of work. The clean up took quite a lot of energy and time as well. I have had back injuries from falls in the past and was glad that I was able to do this physical work thanks to regular chiropractic care and good habits. I even felt great that night. However, the next morning when I reached down for the remote my back hurt and I had trouble standing back up! I knew right then that I had overdone it the day before. I often hear from chiropractic patients that they hurt their backs doing something simple. Often the problem will build up over time, or from a strenuous day of challenging postures for your back before the final straw of bending hurts the back.
My first action step after getting my feet underneath me was to:
- breathe deeply and calmly
- put ice on my back
- gently move my back
- get to my Chiropractor before I started work that morning
My original fear was that I had reinjured my back from a previous fall years before. The previous injury took a month to heal and a full year to regain my confidence again. Luckily I had a great team of Chiropractors helping to keep my spine aligned and healing through the process. Unfortunately, I challenge my back often and gravity isn’t letting up, which is why good habits are a must.
Before work started I got adjusted and then had ice on my back throughout the day. My L4 and L5 vertebrae had subluxated due to the excess workload from the day before. The back bone had shifted as it was exhausted from the effort, swelled up to protect and heal the joint which created the back pain. When my back is subluxated I have trouble driving, walking, bending, sitting, and doing almost everything. The back is a very important part of the body and inside the spine is the spinal cord which allows the brain to coordinate and control every aspect of the body. The back is not a good thing to injure!
With my back aligned and beginning to heal I felt great the next day! My movement was great and there was less back pain. Now I have to remember that even though I feel good, my back is still healing from the excess yard work from two days before. If I do forgot, my body will most likely remind me through uncomfortable or painful feelings. With good habits into the future and chiropractic adjustments to keep my spine aligned I will be able to keep up with the yard work in the future, with more breaks to rest in the process.
Here to help,
Dr. Callum Peever