Reason # 13280394820934 your back is important

So, I’ve been having some back pain this week. Grrr.
Sadly, I am not a stranger to back pain. 7 years ago (I can’t believe it’s been 7 years), I was hit by a drunk driver while I was driving home from a concert with some friends. I had pretty severe whiplash from this accident. My physical ability went from 100 to 10 in a matter of minutes. I couldn’t lift anything that weighed more than 3 pounds, I couldn’t run, and walking over uneven train was pretty much impossible.
Through Chiropractic care and Pilates, my back go back to as normal as it will ever be, about an 80. I still can’t lift super heavy things (it makes moving day terribly frustrating for me) and my back gets fatigued easier than it used to.

So…while I was under going this chiropractic care, it came to light that one of my legs is 12mm shorter than the other. This is an anatomical thing, and can’t be changed with any amount of therapy or surgery. Obviously, since I was born that way, or grew that way, my body has been used to having a shorter leg for years. After my accident the DC gave me a heel lift to wear in my shoe to help my spine be straight and to help with pressure on my low back.
Well….lets just say that at 19 I wasn’t exactly perfectly diligent about using my heel lift. I always used it when I exercised, but often times my thoughts were on the cuteness of my footwear, not their function or importance. I’ve recently been better about wearing my heel lift, but I’ve never been 100 percent consistent. Sunday morning was a day when I wore it to walk the dog, but then didn’t transfer it to my gardening shoes. So my spine went from being aligned to misaligned, and then I bent over to pick up a rock, and that was the end of that.

My pain has been getting better and I was able to go for my run this morning. I also had an appointment with the chiropractor, just in case. I almost didn’t go, because my back has been feeling so much better for the past 24 hours. Let me just say, I am so glad I went.

While the doctor was examining me, he started applying pressure to the area on either side of my spine. My upper back was fine, but when he got to my lower back it felt like he was stabbing me. Seriously. I cried.

Oops. Guess I should be a little better about my heel lift right? I hate feeling “less than” and like I am defective (I know, I’m not, it’s just in my head) so I kind of ignore the ramifications of not wearing my heel lift, and then I end up in the doctor’s office crying.

Moral of the story? Listen to your spine, have good posture and for petes sake…take care of your self! You only get one shot at a spine…..