This morning, around 11:00, I was (stupidly) lifting Caden into my car, not using my legs at all, and twisting while holding Caden out in front of me. (Caden is perfectly capable of climbing into my car and into his carseat, but he was busy eating his sucker after getting his haircut, which is adorable BTW! I’ll post pics soon!) You can probably guess what happened next. Yup, a stabbing sensation in my back, on the right side, right in the middle of my ribcage. I stood there for a minute or two, trying not to swear in front of my 2-year-old, and trying to figure out what to do. My immediate thought was, “I hope someone at work has an opening, because I need to get some e-stim or ultrasound or something on this back!” This isn’t the first time I’ve taken advantage of my position as a PT! But this was the first time that I’ve been a victim of the very thing I’ve taught to many patients of mine-not protecting my back!
It was very difficult to drive. I called my mom to put her on alert since I was supposed to go pick Noah up at noon from school. I had a trunk full of groceries, and seeing as it actually got up to 50 degrees today (Yippee!), I couldn’t leave my frozen veggies and yogurt to rot in the car. I managed to get home, carry in the perishables and get them put away, moaning and groaning every time I had to lift any amount of weight or bend over. It was like someone was stabbing me in the back, repeatedly. I also managed to pop 600 mg of ibuprofen, too!
I got back in the car (I never took Caden out), and called work. The scheduler told me someone had an opening at 4:45. Um, no! I need something, like, 15 minutes ago, not 5 hours from now! She put Laura, one of my coworkers, on the phone, who said she could squeeze me in at 11:25 to set me up on some IFC (interferential current) with ice. Thank God!
After dropping Caden off at my mom’s, and thanking her repeatedly for agreeing to pick Noah up, I rushed over to the clinic to be set up for a 30 minute IFC treatment with a nice ice pack. I even had my book with me! I felt instantly better with that tingly electricity attacking my spasming back.
Noah was very sweet when I returned to my parents’ house, asking how my back was feeling. When we got back to our house, he got out of his seat and proceeded to unbuckle Caden from his seat-without even being asked! He is very thoughtful much of the time.
My back is still very painful. It’s hard to take a deep breath. That knife is still in there! I’m in love with my ice pack. And I’m looking forward to tomorrow afternoon, so I can get to work early for another IFC treatment! I don’t often look forward to getting to work any earlier than necessary. I do sometimes like the perks of my job, though!