This time or year can be rather exciting. Take a look around you. Whether you previously planted seeds for the future, or are simply letting nature take its course, the signs of new growth are beginning to take form.
It’s a beautiful thing.
Archives for January 2013
Lollygagging Lunches
This week, I’ve been getting out during my lunch break for a walk. The sky is sunny and the air is brisk. As long as I keep moving, I am able to keep warm without so much as a light sweater. However, there is so much to take in and I find myself stopping to smell the roses or take a picture all too often – even when I vow to just keep moving.
Flying Squirrel
Out on today’s walk, squirrels seemed to be flying from tree to tree.
Lucky for me, the lens is quicker than the squirrel. Ha ha!
a stronger foundation: rebuilding from the ground up
The several areas of vertebral disc degeneration and/or bulging, such seen on MRI, were pretty benign. My scoliosis-related curvatures are also pretty minimal. Thankfully. Yet, no matter what I have been doing over the past year and a half has not seemed to have the positive effect on my back issues I have been searching for. I have been acutely aware that the chronicity of my ailments is a sign that I am continuing to do something WRONG. It has nothing to do with yoga, cycling, backpacking, or running for when I stop these activities there is no improvement. Although stress does not help the matter, the etiology is not stress-related either.
But, what? If not any of these things, what can it be?
I have been tirelessly searching for the answer to this question for I know that even though anti-inflammatory agents such as ibuprofen and cortisone are not a cure. They have a limited and temporary effect. The key must lie in what I am doing wrong on a day-to-day basis. I have sifted through my old blog posts, as well as my BTT log, to no avail. I have returned to my scoliosis study to better understand (once again) the curvatures of my spine and applied the knowledge to information I found on yoga-for-scoliosis. Stretching and lengthening where appropriate to bring my practice into alignment. I have focused on abdominal strength as much as my back would allow (which has been limited). I have been diligent and patient. Yet, I was not seeing any improvement.
The previously-mentioned cortisone injection into my arthritic sacro-iliac (SI) joint missed the mark. Last week, I had another injection: this one, into the epidural space between L4 and L5. It seemed to help but again I know the effect will not be long-lasting. I have been told that someone with chronic pain such as mine will generally need 2-3 injections to really get to the inflammation. Of course, this treats the inflammation and presumably pain is the result. But what about what causes the inflammation?
When I noted to my chiropractor that my stiffness and pain is worse in the morning, with onset within a few steps of leaving my bed, he asked a few questions about my sleeping. Then he advised me to avoid any curling under of my tailbone that often occurs with hip flexion. This advise most definitely applied to my side-sleeping. No curling up into fetal position allowed. Additionally, he instructed me to reverse movement hourly by performing spinal extensions which consisted of leaning backwards into the support of my hands (standing mini backbends). I was to adhere to this regimen for 1 full week.
Well…
CANCELED: Solvang Century
For those of you planning on riding the Solvang Century this year, fear not; it’s still scheduled as planned. Just not for me.
You could say, I’m a bit disappointed. I had hoped to complete the ride as my 2nd century. But gven that the ride is 6 weeks from now, and I have but a few spinning classes and rides logged this winter, the plan seem grandiose at best. I do not have the needed TITS (time in the saddle) to make it happen. Nor do I have time to increase my TITS to a point where I can reasonably entertain the idea – at least not this year.
I am saddened yet open minded. The year is young and there are many other rides. What’s more, the doctor did give me the go ahead to roll out.
So I gave my bike a once over (pumped up my tires, checked my breaks, seat screw, etc.). Then I donned my best cold-weather cycling apparel — which isn’t the best but it’s adequate for California cold. And rolled out for a pretty 20 mile ride…
And it was REALLY NICE.