|

|

When Life Is Put On Hold

Yesterday I wound up with a nasty muscle spasm in my back.  I could hardly move.  I couldn’t drive.  I had to call my husband to come home early and pick up my daughter at preschool.  I’m so thankful that he has a job that allows him to help me out when I’m in a bind.

I spent the afternoon on the couch, drugged up with Ibuprofen, nursing my injury with a heat pack, watching recorded TV shows and mulling over the many things I could and should have been doing.

I hate that feeling.  I never sit down and watch TV during the day.  EVER.  I’m always doing something.  I wanted to be working or baking or… anything but sitting on the couch watching TV.  That’s what I do after the kids go to bed at night when I need to unwind.

While I was laid up, a friend happened to call; she asked how I was so I told her the truth.  I admitted I was sitting on the couch feeling guilty about accomplishing nothing, and she said with incredulity, “Jo-Lynne.  This is your chance.  Go take A NAP!”

So I did.  And it was awesome.

This morning I’m not much better, but I can’t stand doing nothing so here I sit, with a heat pack weighting down my shoulders, thankful I have no where to go today and nothing pressing to do.

I wonder, maybe this is all part of The Plan.  Maybe I need to be forced to slow down.  We all know I won’t slow down unless I’m forced to.

Anyone got a good book recommendation?  I’ve got a feeling I’m going to need it.

Join The Conversation

17 Responses

  1. Ugh, I feel for you. I had the same thing happen early this summer. I went to the chiropractor after it got worse over a few days, and apparently it was a pinched nerve.
    I’m not too terribly keen on chiropractors when they say they can fix things like digestion or acne, but when it is obviously muscle or skeletal, I’m willing to give them a shot. I felt better after the first, extremely gentle adjustment and back to my old self after a few of the regular ones. The muscles in my neck and shoulder were spasming too badly the first visit to get much done.
    Six months at a keyboard kicked my butt. I’ve been better about stretching more frequently and I’ve been working on strengthening my upper back, chest, shoulders, and abs to help encourage better posture overall. Hang in there and feel better.

  2. Hope you feel better. When my shoulder and muscles were causing problems my chiropractor told me to use cold on it. Something about heat aggravating it in the end even though it makes it feel better while using it.

  3. My husband has a long history of back problems, so I know a little something about how to treat them. And, yes, Stacey V is right–you need to use cold for the initial injury and then once it’s better you can switch to heat. Or switch back and forth–that works too.

    I’m so sorry you’re laid up, but God definitely has a thing or two to teach us when we’re on our backs. Not even close, but I have a bad cold right now that is just zapping any energy from me. Ugh. I hate lying around too, and I never watch t.v. during the day either. Unless it’s the news. 😉

    Books . . . hmmm. The one I’ve been recommending lately is “Little Bee.” What an amazing novel. I’m also reading Don Miller’s “Million Miles in a Thousand Years” right now–I’m really enjoying it.

  4. I hope you are better soon! Back spasms are miserable. About 11 years ago I was FORCED to slow down after a serious illness affected my heart soon after delivering my daughter. It is amazing what you learn and it is a wonderful lesson to our kids today that you do not have to be constantly flitting about in order to look busy and be happy!

  5. I’d recommend “Run Like a Mother” since you’ve recently taken up running…and you’re a mother! It’s an easy, inspirational read and really just mindless fluff. And I mean that in a good way! Hope you get to felling better soon!

  6. I saw your post on Facebook yesterday about your back. My husband has had two issues with his back. Both times he got a steroid shot and physical therapy. He saw a doctor at Temple University who works with athletes. I can find the name for you if you need it.

    I highly recommend Martha Grimes if you like mysteries. The stories are great, but the characters are even better. I also like Rhys Bowen, another mystery writer. Again, good stories, and great characters.

  7. For the first 24 hours you should use ice — no more than 20 minutes every hour. That help reduce the inflammation. Then you should use heat, which draws blood to the area and will help with healing. Using heat initially, while it feels good, just exacerbates the inflammation. So, if you’re not much better today, try ice. A bag of frozen peas works great and you can refreeze and reuse as needed. Hope you feel better soon!!

  8. My husband is a chiropractor of over 20 years. Many, many times I’ve heard him tell patients to take a hot shower and allow the water to hit the painful area, then after getting out, put an ice pack on it for 20 to 30 minutes, take it off for 30 minutes and reapply another 30 minutes. The longer you can do the ice packs the better. This should help ease the pain until getting into the office for an adjustment. Even after getting an adjustment he encourages ice packs. NOT a heating pad as dry heat isn’t good.

    You might just give this a try first (before prescriptions or injections)to see if you get relief and I also would suggest seeing a chiro even if it goes away b/c more than likely you have something going on and it could happen again

    Ask around for a reference to a chiropractor b/c just like everything else they are all different and some are more effective than others. My husband really believes in basic adjustments being the best treatment rather than lots of the, well I would call them “new tools” that some offices use. (Not that those are “bad” but he likes the old fashioned way best…his personal opinion that I have the freedom to say when he may not, if you know what I mean.)

    Please remember I’m just the wife repeating what I’ve seen and heard…I’m certainly not the doctor or an expert…ha. I can tell you this, it’s not unusual that when we are out somewhere and we run into patients they will begin to tell me stories of how he’s made such a difference in their lives. And I mean patients of all ages, children through the elderly. It’s very gratifying to see people get relief from pain. Oh, I could go on and on but you get the picture.

    Hope this was helpful and that you are better soon!

  9. So sorry to hear of your back pain, but you may be right that this is a sign you may need a few days to slow down and kick back. I haven’t been able to enjoy reading as much since having kids, but my book club is reading “A Lineage of Grace” by Francine Rivers and it’s a wonderful compilation of 5 shorter stories. Feel better soon!

  10. I hope it is an easy problem to fix. I have no good suggestions for books, I’m on the hunt for some good reads myself. I just took a book back to the library after reading about ten pages. Ugh. I checked out three more and am hopeful at least one will be worth reading.

  11. I hate when life throws you a slow ball and makes you stop. As far as good books, I just finished Run by Ann Patchett. She’s an amzaing author with a way with words that I envy. I suggest any of hers although The St. of Patron Liars and Bel Canto are my favorite.

  12. I hope your back feels better soon!

    I’m currently reading “The Hole in Our Gospel” by Richard Stearns.

    The next two books on my list? “Radical” by David Platt and “Healthy at 100” by John Robbins.

    P.S. Do you do most of your reading on your Kindle now?

    1. Those all sound great. I’ll try to remember to check them out. I’m currently reading silly fluff fiction. I’d like to get back to reading real stories or helpful information.

      I do a lot of reading on my Kindle, but buying books gets pricey, so I’ve actually ordered a few from the library lately. I do love having the ability to download a book instantly on the Kindle, but when it’s something I know I’ll never reference again, and I can wait for it, the library makes so much more sense.

  13. If you haven’t read it yet – Captivating, by John and Stasi Eldredge (I think I have that last name right!) If you have – read it again. It’s better the second time!

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *