Baby steps back to riding
slowlanejane
Posts: 312
Hurt my back very, very badly in the 2nd week of january. A degree off hospitalisation & morphine, Ive had 2 weeks on opiates, completely incapacitated, 1 week D's & T's getting off the opiates and must be 2 or 3 weeks now getting back on my feet. Can walk and some sensation returning to my foot at last, which has been totally numb, as in, can't tell if a shoe is on or not, cant tell hot / cold, cant tell if I've stepped on glass, etc and returning nerve function means my lower leg function is returning too, slowly.
Been having physio throughout, totally excellent. My injury was facet joint compression from lying on my belly in a sphinx shape for a long time, then hopping up a bit quick. Simple as that. But impinged my sciatic nerve for a few hrs, hence the degree of incapacitation and damage.
I have a lordose back, meaning slightly exaggerated curvature at the base of my spine, so exercise in extension to be encouraged. Physio said I could ride my road bike - not the hybrid - on the turbo, gently. Yay!
Got it set up today in the spare room and had a little spin.
In a light gear, turbo setting at #1, for about 3-4 minutes so I can judge tomorrow any ill effect without getting back into pain territory, spinning at - oooh, must be 50rpm, hard to co-ordinate as my right leg doesn't have much propulsive function yet, but my goodness, felt good to be in the saddle. Cheered me no end to just fiddle with the bike a bit. Bike had dust on it and almost flat tyres. Dust!
In retrospect, there were lots of warning signals that I ignored and I could have avoided this if I'd looked after myself a bit more proactively. I've been managing a bad back really successfully for years but in the last 2 years I've done less & less of the stretching & mobilising & core conditioning - the really boring stuff, instead doing the doing stuff. There's been tweaks and twinges and near misses. Lots of them in the runup to xmas.
Shoulda, coulda avoided it - but didn't.
If youre reading this and youre a tweaky, twingy back back-y person - go see your physio and do you exercises like a good boy / girl, or maybe like me you'll end up taking months off riding.
But at least I'm making baby steps back into the saddle now.
Been having physio throughout, totally excellent. My injury was facet joint compression from lying on my belly in a sphinx shape for a long time, then hopping up a bit quick. Simple as that. But impinged my sciatic nerve for a few hrs, hence the degree of incapacitation and damage.
I have a lordose back, meaning slightly exaggerated curvature at the base of my spine, so exercise in extension to be encouraged. Physio said I could ride my road bike - not the hybrid - on the turbo, gently. Yay!
Got it set up today in the spare room and had a little spin.
In a light gear, turbo setting at #1, for about 3-4 minutes so I can judge tomorrow any ill effect without getting back into pain territory, spinning at - oooh, must be 50rpm, hard to co-ordinate as my right leg doesn't have much propulsive function yet, but my goodness, felt good to be in the saddle. Cheered me no end to just fiddle with the bike a bit. Bike had dust on it and almost flat tyres. Dust!
In retrospect, there were lots of warning signals that I ignored and I could have avoided this if I'd looked after myself a bit more proactively. I've been managing a bad back really successfully for years but in the last 2 years I've done less & less of the stretching & mobilising & core conditioning - the really boring stuff, instead doing the doing stuff. There's been tweaks and twinges and near misses. Lots of them in the runup to xmas.
Shoulda, coulda avoided it - but didn't.
If youre reading this and youre a tweaky, twingy back back-y person - go see your physio and do you exercises like a good boy / girl, or maybe like me you'll end up taking months off riding.
But at least I'm making baby steps back into the saddle now.
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Comments
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Amazing what small things can suddenly cause such harm. Hope you continue to get better. At least the weathers crap outside
Death or Glory- Just another Story0 -
I hope you feel better soon and get back to riding comfortably quickly, but I have to ask, why were you lying on your belly in a sphinx shape for a long time?
What were you doing? Could this be the start of a new thread, "Girls in uncomfortable positions"?FCN 3: Raleigh Record Ace fixie-to be resurrected sometime in the future
FCN 4: Planet X Schmaffenschmack 2- workhorse
FCN 9: B Twin Vitamin - winter commuter/loan bike for trainees
I'm hungry. I'm always hungry!0 -
I was pretty much doing this (thats not me, BTW). I was re-writing my CV. Its a damn fine CV now. Just waiting for the job market to realise that ...0
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... I expect there are lots of rude versions of that pic online but I felt you lot didn't need any further encouragement. In fact, I shall start a new thread, the "Mary Whitehouse Girls With ALL Their Clothes On" thread.0
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... and I seem to have suffered no ill effects from my trial spin yesterday, so today I'll aim for 5 minutes in the saddle.0
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Pleased for you. Sounds like its been a mite uncomfortable to say the least! Guess I should learn from you and do regular stretching.
And how do we know the image isn't of you? :?0 -
Well, you don't. But it isn't. I look more like them girls in lycra - the fully clothed ones wot actually ride bicycles, that is - only once they've aged 20 yrs and gained a few lbs!0
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Cool0
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Ive started doing a bit of yoga to try and improve my stretching and core. Have to say i am completely useless at it, huge balance and flexibility issues- even tho ive stretched my legs pretty much every day for the last year or so. Now the sphinx i can do
as it involves lying down.
Hope you continue to improve.Death or Glory- Just another Story0 -
I can't see the picture?...slowlanejane wrote:I was pretty much doing this (thats not me, BTW). I was re-writing my CV. Its a damn fine CV now. Just waiting for the job market to realise that ...FCN 3: Raleigh Record Ace fixie-to be resurrected sometime in the future
FCN 4: Planet X Schmaffenschmack 2- workhorse
FCN 9: B Twin Vitamin - winter commuter/loan bike for trainees
I'm hungry. I'm always hungry!0 -
... it was there, try again..... does this work?
[img][/img][img][/img]
Its still not me0
