Ow Ow Ow

So last week I was completely thrilled to be able to run again, along with the cool weather that made running enjoyable.

And then I screwed up my back and all of that came to a grinding halt.

I wish I knew what I did. I remember leaning over to dry my hair after my last run, and feeling my back ache a little. Not a big deal, and it didn’t really bother me that much.

Then the next night, as my back was feeling better, I reached over to turn on the water in my bathtub, and suddenly white hot pain shot through my back. This wasn’t even a long, unusual stretch – I was barely bending over, and barely reaching for the handle.

That night my back was very sore, and the night after that I was in agony. I couldn’t twist, and I could only bend at the hip and knee – my back had to remain in one position. I was in far too much pain to even contemplate going to work, so I took the night off and focused on taking care of myself with medication and ice. Overnight, I woke up and had somehow irritated my back enough that I wanted to scream, but couldn’t because it hurt too much to even take a deep breath.

On Friday I went to visit a friend who is a massage therapist with the hope that he could work some magic and get my spine to lay off the pain. An hour and a half later, every muscle was happily relaxed, but the pain was still there in that one spot. Which means it’s a nerve pain, not a muscle pain.

I tried to take it easy over the weekend, and my back is starting to feel a little better. But I think at this point I might need to look into visiting a chiropractor to get my spine to shape up, or at least hold the proper shape.

What’s really frustrating is that I missed some ideal running time last week when the weather was beautiful and cool. This week, the forecast is in the 90’s every single day, and beyond that I’m not even sure I’m in any shape to attempt running right now.

I’m planning to be extra careful with my calories this week since I may not be exercising. And as soon as my back feels better, I think I’ll start incorporating some yoga into my workout routine to help strengthen my core and hopefully prevent these kinds of random injuries again.

Any recommendations for a good gentle yoga video for beginners?