And furthermore

I don’t think I’ve done a very good job of taking care of my back.  I have tried to continue with my exercises, but I know I have lifted things when I shouldn’t have; I do it without thinking.  I need to adjust my thinking.  Old habits are hard to break.

Back to Square X?

Based on input from several people who have my well-being in their hearts, I have started the ball rolling to try and get additional treatment for my back.  It’s getting worse and it’s not getting better.  I have struggled with this, because I know it’s going to take time.  I don’t know if the pain I’m experiencing is normal or abnormal for the healing process. 

It’s obvious though that I need to do something: at the very least get validation that I am on the road to recovery and to hang in there.  I do not want surgery unless that is my only option.  PT, MRI, Orthopaedics, Chiropractics, Massage Therapy, Acupuncture, Alexander Technique… I am open to all of these right now.

People I care about and respect have given me very good advice.  I’m just trying to figure out how to proceed now.  The first step is, as I mentioned before, to see if what I’m feeling is normal or abnormal for my condition.  My PT that I saw back in Jan/Feb said that my back pain would increase before it got better, but I had hoped I was past that point as I did feel like I was getting better for a while.  I left her a voice mail and hopefully will get her feedback later today.

The upshot is my legs aren’t too bad.  I’m getting occasional twinges of pain in each leg, but they usually go away in short order.  The other day it took a while to get the pain cleared up.

Paying very close attention to posture today and continuing my exercises.  I’ve reverted to the most basic exercises I was taught because the more advanced ones are causing me too much pain right now.