Tuesday 26 July 2011

One Step Forward, Two Steps Back!

You think you are going one way, but you're on another track!

Wiser words were not spoken. Or should I say, sung? There used to be this song I heard all the time on the radio in the late nineties, that I can't seem to track down.
Anyway, that's the song for today, I think.

After elaborate nerve testing (which, believe me you, is not pleasant), the doctor announced her verdict: carpel tunnel (mild) + some serious nerve pinching on C6 -- the base of the neck. Possibly because of an accident, she said. The nerve testing person said that the only reason I am not in hollering pain continuously is because of my "size". "If you were, erm, a little larger, then you would have been", he nodded and smiled at my husband for emphasis, "in a whole lot of pain". Then, "stay this way", he added, for good measure! I did not notice the hint at eternity in that last sentence. Only when I spoke to the doctor did I realize that now that I have a slipped disc like situation in the neck, the pain and stiffness could show up periodically for the rest of my life.

On a completely different note, apparently I am now officially allergic to practically everything under the Sun! My allergy profile has expanded to include grass, feathers and dogs. Yes, dogs! No, I am not going to give up mine. It just means that I will have to do laundry more often! Sigh! The doctor said,"just make sure they don't come into your bedroom." I agreed readily. Too quickly, perhaps. She looked up sharply and said, "they don't sleep with you on the bed do they?"

Dang! How did she know?
"Only one of them and only when he misses us a lot",  I tell her. Omitting that he misses us a lot most of the time. Like when we come home late by an hour or so. Or if it rains. Or if we go out to do groceries. Or, if it seems to him, that I am spending more time with the cats than him. Or if I have deadline and I can't take my eyes away from the computer all day. Or... You get the idea....

But what's the one step forward you ask? Ah! Well, that refers to the resolution I had made for summer, that I would work doubly hard at the gym in order to compensate for a really bad Spring semester and make some headway towards my fitness goals. I actually managed to do that in May. And the two steps back? That refers to June and July, when I completely quit working out. Also the fact that I am sentenced to less intense work out for another month at least.


The good news: I can go back to working out in August.
The bad news: I still can't do much with my upper body, since I am still in pain if I bend down and extend my arms. 

The good news: I can still work out my lower body.
The bad news: I am guessing that kick-boxing will have to be shelved. Pity. Because I was really getting to like it a lot.


Oh well. May be I'll just swim instead. Just requires more planning because of the time overhead that a swim demands.

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5 comments:

varsha said...

Agnija I had severe upper neck pain (at the base of neck ) after my second child.It used to throb and burn.
Three things helped me : Posture correction -i was hunching over all the time to feed the baby and to pick him up.
Soft Tissue Release: Take a tennis ball -stand against a wall and put the tennis ball between you and the wall -at the point where it hurts. Slide up and down.It is a blessed feeling.
Strengthening - a whole body of exercises which correct imbalances without hurting.
http://www.sportsrehabexpert.com/public/96.cfm?sd=2
Hope you get well fast . Love.

Agnija said...

Hey thanks Varsha, I tend to hunch over the computer all the time. Besides, I developed a rounded shoulder and a slight slouch early in my childhood because people were constantly making fun of my height. I guess, it's all coming back to haunt me now. I just went for an MRI, so hopefully, I will know exactly where the problem is. The problem with the tennis ball method right now, is that most of the pain is nerve related. It shoots out from some where near my traps and goes to my biceps and then forearm and then the index and next finger. The stiffness is totally all in the neck. I am reading through the link now.

Agnija said...

Loving that link, Varsha! At least I am on the right track with some of the exercises. I am right now, only doing the wall push-ups.. once I can bear to take my weight on my feet and hands I will get back to push ups!

varsha said...

*with a prayer on my lips*
why don't you install DISQS ?grate

Agnija said...

Thanks for the tip. I registered myself at DISQUS, but apparently I don't have a standard template, so will have to do the linking manually. Will try that sometime over the weekend.