Dreamer

Well, hello once again for this week!

Fortunately, I found time to sit down and open about one of the things that keep me down, or up… literally!

Once upon a time, I was a little impressionable college student in her second year at college! And because I was young and impressionable, I was also thinking that my 45 kg were too much, and I had a belly! This is why, I went to the park and tried calisthenics! Believe it or not, while working out, I realized that I was working out more on one side of the body! Time passed, and I started to have severe back pain!

Maybe it was calisthenics, maybe it was the dorm bed, maybe the work I’ve done as a child! However, I ended up with endless nights of incapacity of sleep, painkillers, lots of midnight stretching, and frustration!

All the doctors that have seen me told me that it Is because of my scoliosis, and some told me lordosis, however I have never done an MRI to be honest as I am claustrophobic! This means an exact diagnostic can’t be put!

Is severe the back pain? It is! I ended up telling people my pain is at a normal amount, around 2-3 on a 1-10 scale! Do painkillers help? Yes, they do, however, I try to keep them away as much as possible?

What does it help?

• Being active more than a few hours a day! The sweet point is between 8-10 hours of standing/ walking or other activities, preferably including large arm movements!
• Stretching is not as miracle as people make it sound, but it does make a difference.
• Good posture! I think this is the trickiest one, as good posture at first creates more discomfort than bad posture, but with time, it helps.
• Being hydrated also helps a lot, but starting from early morning!
• Also, a low sugar intake is a good idea, however, I don’t take my coffee without it, but I stay away from sweets!
• The ginger shot is a good helper: Well, I don’t know if it’s a placebo or it is indeed a helper, but for me, it works! It should really work as it’s anti-inflammatory!
• Massage, is another gem that works wonders, even when little, and makes things better!
• Some physiotherapy helped me from time to time!

Living with such kind of back pain is not easy as it has secondary effects on the day to day basis beside the discomfort! I for instance cannot sleep on my back, and lazy days are back pain nights! As winter and cold days approach, there is so much more pain than usual, and it affects the knees also!

So, if you are in my situation, know that you are not alone!

If you have more advice and things that work for you, feel free to share!

Until next time, I wish you have #adreamerlife!

Cristiana Apreutese