Back to Body

Most guys my age feel invincible. Two weeks ago, I was brought down to my knees. Both my physical and mental activity were challenged and life was a struggle.

After having spent the morning with my boys on the soccer field, I returned home to do some outdoor work. Starting up my chainsaw, I “tweaked” my back, but continued to work, until I realized that the left side of my lower back had seized and had me hunched over.

I have had brief bouts of lower back pain, but since I began practicing Yoga 5 years ago, back issues have been a distant memory. But this was bad; I could not stand up straight. It was clear that I was going to have some physical challenges, but for how long?

I spent the week having to slow down, taking longer to get dressed in the morning, spending longer in the shower (because the hot water was good therapy), taking Advil, using Icy Hot, and sleeping with a heating pad. More than the pain, being careful to do everything at a slower pace was tough. I felt like I was ancient, a statue, limited in movement and helpless.

Looking back on this week, I am reminded how quickly our physical state can change. Most of us take all that we have for granted until something like this happens, and we are quickly reminded how taking care of ourselves is so important and how feeling good is such a great gift.

In this case, I did not seek medical help and chose to apply the “Rest, Recharge, Recover” principle. What I now need to do is enter my “back event” in Microsoft HealthVault. Because Zweena only allows records collected from a providers practice, I can enter my own personal data into HealthVault and it will be joined to my existing Zweena health record. One day, this may come in handy should I have another “back event”. This ability to be interoperable with HealthVault is one of the reasons I like Zweena.

Knowing I have my records is a good feeling because you never know when your body decides to throw you a curve. Life offers plenty of challenges. Having your medical records and the current status of your medical history should not be one of them.