In the middle of April I injured my back. Encouraged by the spring weather, I decided to switch out my snow tires for the all-season tires that are stored in a shed in our backyard. There were 8 tires in a stack, already on their metal rims, and I carried them one at a time through to the garage. I’ve done it many times before, twice a year, without incident. Unfortunately, I wasn’t paying attention when I went to get the 7th tire, as it was lower to the ground and I should have been more careful with my posture to lift. I wasn’t, and I felt my back tweak as I lifted the tire. I’m a chiropractor, I should know better. But it only takes a second to significantly change your health status!
I was able to work the next day, but only barely. I was in a lot of pain. I had to lean on tables, and walk my hands up my thighs in order to straighten up. Jane had to put my socks on for me that morning.
I thought I could use this article to share with you some lessons I learned from my injury over the following weeks. What did I learn, other than not to change your snow tires too early? (My apologies for the snow storm after Easter, that was my fault.)
Healing takes time. As frustrating as it is to be injured (I still can’t sit for any length of time), it is important to give your body time to heal. I felt the urge to look for shortcuts. I hear it all the time from my patients. “Isn’t there a pill I can take, an exercise I can do or a special adjustment you can do to make me better NOW?” I see another network chiropractor regularly for my own care, and I’m having extra visits now which are helping, but they aren’t fixing me! There is a temptation to look for a magic cure, a special adjustment that will make it like it never happened. Perhaps if there wasn’t inflammation in my back, or my muscles weren’t tight I would be better. My body has wisely created some inflammation around a damaged area and has created a “splint” with tight muscles to make me stop moving that area so it can heal. Who am I to tell my body that this is wrong? That’s not to say I am not using the occasional ice pack. It is good to flush out the inflammation, but if my body needs to return that inflammation to the area after I ice it, I think I should let it. I will gently stretch the muscles as they are able, but I won’t artificially release the delicate balance of tension that they have created.
Listen to your body. I have not taken pain killers. I need to listen to my body and respond to its’ needs. I can’t do that if I can’t feel what is going on. You have to feel it to heal it. I need to change my body position regularly. I can’t sit for any length of time. WIthout body awareness, I can prolong the injury by pushing my body in ways that are delaying healing.
Move what you can. I have to say, I felt a huge temptation to lie on the couch, feeling sorry for myself, and never get up. This was not going to help my healing! Movement is essential. Some normal movements are putting extra strain on other areas that were not injured, as I favour my back. If I don’t stretch these other muscles, I will end up with secondary problems in my legs, hips and upper back! Fortunately I am currently participating in a 10 week movement challenge. This has motivated me to do 30 minutes of yoga each day, focusing on stretching the muscles that are picking up the slack and strengthening my core to be able to relieve the pressure on my lower back. It is vital to listen to one’s body as you do this, as you don’t want to push too hard and aggravate the injury.
Be kind to yourself. With an injury, there is a temptation to get mad at yourself (I should have known better!) or at the injured area. I had a new patient that came in complaining of her right leg. It was a chronic problem, and she described her leg in very negative terms- saying the left leg was perfect but the right one was “useless”. Her attitude toward her injured leg affected how she treated it, not exercising it gently to help it to heal but ignoring it and almost abusing it. She would scowl whenever the subject of her leg came up. I could relate, as I had a chronic shoulder injury that took over a year to heal, despite many different efforts at treatment. For a long time, I would bemoan “this stupid shoulder” whenever I would get a jab of pain with a particular movement. It wasn’t until I approached the injury with more patience, gentleness and grace that I saw the healing begin to occur.
Stay positive. It is important to stay positive as you deal with an injury or illness. Our attitude will impact our body’s ability to heal. It can help to remind yourself of past victories. I came across a wrist brace that I wore with a chronic injury and realized that I had completely forgotten I’d ever suffered with that injury, though it had plagued me for years. The aforementioned shoulder injury also encourages me, as it felt like it would never heal and now it is virtually good as new. Our body has the capacity to heal and to grow through incredible challenges.
Outward focus. When dealing with an injury, it is easy to become inward focused. While it is important to listen to your body and get the appropriate amount of rest needed for healing, it is also good to focus on others. When I look outside myself, it can put my injury into perspective. When I just focus on myself and my injury, my world can become very small. I am blessed to have a job that I was able to continue to do with my back injury as it doesn’t involve sitting for any length of time. It was good for me to focus on helping others and not dwell on my sore back.
Despite our best intentions, injuries will happen. I would like to think I will never pick up something improperly again, but I probably will. We cannot bubble wrap our lives. Of course we should try and use good posture for lifting and in life. Network care will help us to minimize the effects of stress upon our body, which is why regular care is so important. As I’ve been reminded this spring in my interaction with my snow tire, my attitude toward my injury is a key element to my healing, and the impact it will have on my life.