There's been lots of firsts for me lately...the most recent being a trip to the chiropractor! The last few days, my lower back has been absolutely screaming with pain, extending through to behind my knees. It's quite crippling, and I don't know how people with prolonged back issues can handle it...you have my total respect.
Today at work, I couldn't even function properly, struggling to even open my eyes, it was that painful. Something had to be done. I hobbled up to the chemist to see if they could help, and the pharmacist recommended an anti-inflammatory. On the way back, I bumped into a lady who works in the same building as me, and she recommended a chiropractor. I've never been to a chiro before, and my only reference for one is Dr Homer and his spine-o-cylinder (patent pending...lol).
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Appointment made, and off I went. The chiro's office was up two flights of stairs! What the? Who does that to a person in pain? No one goes to the chiro when they're feeling well!! I then had to go through everything that I have been doing lately. I'm very impressed that he was interested in my well-being. Unfortunately my opinion of health professionals is jaded by the dodgy doctors at the medical centre who are all too quick to shove you out the door.
The pain behind my knees has been happening since I started exercising. I have also been experiencing numbness in my feet when I'm walking, and I thought both might have been related to wearing inappropriate footwear. New shoes haven't improved it. I exacerbated it while walking around Melbourne last week, dragging 28 tonne of luggage (this might be an exaggeration).
Turns out, I've been overdoing it. My hips are twisted, resulting in severe pain across my lower back, through to my hamstrings and further down. Great! He massaged out the knots in my bum cheeks...talk about painful!! He cracked a few vertebrae, and started to realign my hips. Then he moved up to my neck, which as most people who spend time hunched over a computer can appreciate, was very very tight. I've had some temporary relief from the pain today, but it's going to take a few sessions.
As for the exercise...I need to scale it back a bit until I lose a little more weight. I can still do some gentle walking, use the cross trainer, and integrate some water aerobics into my routine, but nothing that is too impactful. I guess I thought pushing myself was the way to go. I totally underestimated the stress it was putting on my body. Given that I haven't exercised consistently for quite a number of years, I need to ease my way into it. Bugger.
Damn those Biggest Loser contestants for making me think I can do more than I can!
