My Back Is Starting to Get Better, Kind Of

One night early in June, I woke up in the middle of the night and could not move my left leg. I ended up going to the hospital and spending 36 hours in there until finally being released after being diagnosed with a herniated and ruptured disc in my lower back.

I finally started physical therapy three weeks ago and I think it's helping. I still have discomfort in my back and sometimes there's pain,  but it doesn't seem to be as bad as it was. I even got to go golfing this past Monday. It was the first time on a golf course in almost two months. I felt fine while I was playing, but I started to stiffen up the minute I sat in my car for the ride home.

The physical therapists have me doing a bunch of different exercises to strengthen my back. They have me doing 'clams'. That's where they tie an elastic band around my knees and then have you lay on your side and lift one knee up. They also wrap an elastic around my feet and legs and have me do scissor walks back and forth across the floor. They have me do an average of 10 different exercises at each visit including one that I really dislike, and that's 'planks'. I don't mind the planks that start with me laying on my stomach and pushing up, but when they have me do them on my side with one arm, my one shoulder starts to hurt. Maybe I will have to go to physical therapy for my shoulder as well.

I'm not sure how much longer I will be going for therapy, but for the time being, I'm going twice a week. Back issues suck!