Saturday, February 23, 2008

Bad Mood

It's been 4 days since I've done anything active.  The past 3 days have been spent at an offsite company kick-off event (10 hours of Powerpoint for 3 days straight).  And as soon as I got home, I sprained my back.  I haven't been able to do anything but lay around with a bag of ice on my back.

It seems like it takes months to get into shape and less than a week to lose it all.  

I'm about to crack.  If someone has a gun and wants to come put a cap in my head, please do.  




11 comments:

KanyonKris said...

What does this "job" pay? ;-)

Bummer, man. I hope your back feels better soon. I pulled my back once a few years ago and it took 3 months to go away. Hopefully your back problem is more minor. You don't realize how key your back is until it has a problem.

3 10-hour days of presentations?!?! Wasn't that outlawed in the Geneva Convention? I'd rather be water boarded - at least it's over quicker. ;-)

Anonymous said...

Peace be with you my son ... Soon you will be in paradise. For your sufferings, you will be rewarded with 4 days of mtn. bike rides, 75-80 degree weather, no kids, and conjugal vists at night.

Emily said...

I would sooo be blaming the tweaked back on the three days of powerpoint. But that's just me.

Anonymous said...

Its un-clinically proven that 4 days off = 8 days back on to get back to where you were. Not so bad.

Anonymous said...

did you say "cap"?

dude, you gonna step to the house of pain?

Rick Sunderlage said...

KK- 3 months???? Please tell me you meant 3 days.

TP- I just shipped my bike today. I am so pumped for this. I plan to ride with a bullet in my mouth if needed.

Emily- your are right. I just engaged a lawyer to represent my against the company.

BK- at this rate I might be looking at 30 days to get back

Dug- I'm younger than you. I can use that term and get away with it.

KanyonKris said...

I hate to darken your skies, but yes, 3 months. And I wasn't even doing something obviously bad, like lifting a piano over my head. I just twisted weird and it tore some muscle in my back. From what I understand, the muscles around an injury contract in an effort to immobilize the area so the injury can heal and it's these clenched muscles that give you most of the discomfort. Most likely you just have a minor thing that will go away in a day or two - I've had plenty of those.

When I had that 3 month back ordeal, I asked people what I should do. Some said just do stretches and let it heal naturally, others said go to a doc and get some drugs to relax the back muscles. I did the stretching. If it happens again I'm getting the drugs.

Desk jobs don't help - sitting was painful.

Try stretching each morning before you get out of bed. Pull one knee to your chest and hold it 30 sec or more. Then the other knee. Then both together. Do these stretches anytime when your back feels tight or the pain increases. If you feel any sharp pains, go to the doc. Note: I am not a medical professional - just someone who had a back problem once.

Rick Sunderlage said...

KK- Do you know what I was doing? I was lifting my 5 year old and putting him into the car and BAM! All of a sudden, my legs buckled.

You would think will all the biking/skiing I do, I could have at least had a cool story to tell. No such luck.

Glad you eventually got better.

Anyone know how many Advil I can take without ODing?

KanyonKris said...

From a pharmacist friend: most average sized adults can take 800mg of ibuprofen every 6 hours. I find 600mg takes care of most joint and muscle aches, but you may want to max out at 800mg with your back.

Rick, consider going to a doctor. A prescription of muscle relaxants may be what you need.

Anonymous said...

Dude, 3 weeks and you're really lucky, 3 months and you're doing well, but it could be up to 6 months. I've had two back injuries that sound like what you describe.

First was playing football in high school. 17 years old, and it still took a month before I could do anything.

Second one was a car accident a few years ago. The muscles would tighten up as KK describes, and I had to get a massage every 1-2 weeks or I was doubled over in pain (advil and muscle relaxers did not help much).

That one took six months for full recovery, four months before I could ride a bike. Fortunately, the injury occurred in October, so it didn't really mess up my riding season. I was still able to ski OK (from a chairlift--did not earn my turns back then). But it still sucked.

BTW, you and Dug live in the same neighborhood, right? That way I can cap you and then cap Dug for giving you a hard time about using the word "cap."

Anonymous said...

hey, something was wrong with my computer 'cause since 31-October, it kept showing your "franken bike" post.

After (I thought) you hadn't posted for a month or so, I assumed you were dead and tried to find new friends.

Welcome back.

BotchedExperiment