I’m Twisted… Literally

Ok, I’m screwed… or maybe not. I dunno. I came back from my chiro, and after looking at my x-rays, I have to say my spine looks all f* up. Let’s just say that my spine, starting from the pelvis, is tilted to the left, my right shoulder is over an inch below my left one, and there are herniations in my L1, L2 and L3.

Yay me!! Oh wait… crap!

I started feeling something weird on my lower back, around my L3 on March, 15th while doing squats. I scratched that one out thinking that it was due to regained mobility on my hips. I had re-started BJJ training a week and a half before that, and the training had been stretching my hip flexors like silly putty.

Same pain was experienced on the 22nd, and again I scratched that one out. Then came jits class on Monday night (the 24th.)  During training I got stacked, and for a moment, I felt a slight pull on my sacral region. I, like a tard, scratched that one out again.

Then, the pain manifested itself on Tuesday, the 23rd. The pain was bad enough that I couldn’t train, had a hard time getting out of bed or standing off a chair. Finally, I got a chance to see my chiro last Friday. And here I am, on Monday, wondering what my next move is.

Apparently my back was all banged up for a very long time – I did injure myself many times at work and doing sports for the last 20 years. And working in the IT sector, sitting on my ass all day didn’t help much either. Working out has been an important part of my life, and thanks to it, it has kept my back problems at bay.

But the same forces were the one that were banging the living shit out of my spine, which bring us to where we are today. My right shoulder was always a bit low, but now the deviation is really bad.

Also, there are herniation (Schmorl’s nodes) between my L1, L2 and L3 vertebra. In the X-rays, they look like little gel pads pouring into the vertebrae, causing all kind of pinch nerving shit.

It was just muscle keeping things in place, but it’s now that finally symptoms are beginning to creep in. I’ll have to take it easy for the time being while I see my chiro – I’ll be seeing him for 14 sessions within this month.

I guess it was just a matter of time until the spine would start to bitch and the last couple of weeks with lifting and jits were the proverbial needle that broke the camel’s back. My chiro reassured me that I should be able to continue training, but I have to take it easy.

I was planning to aim for a new deadlift PR (410lbs), no straps, on the 13th. I guess those plans are out. I’m not sure I’ll be able to spar at the BJJ school for at least a month. Plus, my insurance doesn’t cover chiro work, so that’s going to come out of my pocket.  That’s fine with me, but I, like a tard, wasn’t planning for that expense.

People have come out of worse back problems than that,  and I know I can do it. The problem now will be the mental one, the fact that I have to suck it up, be patient, and wait.