Lumbar spine injuries and extreme sports don't go together.

Hi all, this is Selen again...

check out my new blog layout! http://selenyildiz808.blogspot.com/2010/06/lumbar-spine-injuries-and-extreme.html

I havent blogged for a while; partly i was very busy and partly because the past month got a bit too complicated to stick to my schedule. the 2nd oweek of May, i had to cease working out because of a possible tear on my leg. I should probably go to the doctor about it. I can feel a knot on the lower and inner part of my right leg and I remember that heat was coming up my leg for a few days, plus the pain. I started worrying about deep vein thrombosis. Who knows. the 3rd week of May, I hiked Stairway to Heaven and I was soooo sore for about a week. I still tried to exercise and even played tennis despite a painful wrist after having held on the stairs' bars for hours. For a few days I ws walking like a monkey in the mornings and it took me a few minutes of stretching every morning to be able to walk like a human being who has completed her evolution.

So I finally found out WHY I have been having lower back all this time. It turned out after an X-ray examniation that my lumbar spine had slightly straightened out and my doctor said I had sciatica, which is most likely due to a disc injury. Awesome. Whats more awesome is that he doesnt want me to do any "impact" sports which of course includes my favorite sports ever, windsurfing and kitesurfing. Surfing is ok as long as I dont "go crazy out there", quoting my doctor, and of course as long as it doesnt hurt too much. I still will go kitesurfing as it is way easier on lower back but maybe not as often as I was planning to do. I will have to stop sprinting on sand like Jeff and I had been doing, and do easy swims. I am also required to do more intense core work to strengthen all those muscles that support the back and do exercises that will help my spine get its curve back. I guess I will have to leave the real fun stuff for later, to the waters of the Mediterranean.

The doctor said Pilates will help a lot, as well. I'm glad Im working with Bryan Jordan my former massage therapist, and a Pilates instructor. Since I sadly cannot afford physical therapy, as I dont have health insurance, I will have to resort to exercise for now. And maybe get therapy when I go back home to Turkey in August.

So it wasnt until Bryan and I did some Pilates and Bryan massaged my calves that I was able to get back to my activities. He showed me how I can massage my calves. I will upload the video next time. Until then, play hard but take good care of your bodies! Ciao!