Personal Experience With a Back Injury
Did you know that physical therapists get back pain too?
I’d really love for the world to see physical therapists as their movement superheroes. We know how to help you when you’re hurting, keep you active when you are injured and rehabbing, empower you to take care of yourself longterm, and we are invincible. Wait… aren’t we…?
In May of last year I hurt my back doing a deadlift in the middle of a workout. I had just started to pull when I felt a sharp pain that dropped me to the floor. I never even got the weight off the ground. It took me 5 minutes to stand up. Walking was quite a challenge. My coach had to help me get into my car. I drove home, hobbled up the stairs, gingerly crawled onto my bed, and then cried. I was feeling SO MANY emotions.
I was embarrassed because the gym PT, who prides herself on good form, injured herself during a deadlift. Not a particularly heavy one either.
I was mad because I was in pain and I needed to get ready for my daughter’s 6th birthday party that was happening in 3 days. Mad at the thought of not being able to work out, as that is my love and emotional outlet. And mad because Murph was right around the corner and I really wanted to participate!
I was scared because I didn’t know exactly what happened and if I was going to be OK. I had never felt that kind of pain before. Maybe during labor and delivery, but the end result of that was super cute and totally worth it - and let’s be honest, a fuzzy memory now.
I was worried I wouldn’t be able to go to work and do my job the next day - to help other people who are in pain.
So I had a good cry and then gave myself a little pep talk. It went something like this: “OK, you know that your back is inherently strong and you just need to give it some time to heal. You are going to be fine. Get up and get moving.” I started doing some stretching and range of motion exercises several times a day. I kept moving. Partly because it felt better when I was moving, but also because I had that birthday party to prep for, a job to go to, and a life to live!
I took about a week off from the gym, but went for walks. When I went back to CrossFit I modified the workouts as needed and didn’t let my pride get in the way. The more I moved, the better I felt, and eventually I realized that I was back in that state of thoughtless, fearless movement. Mind you, this wasn’t fast. It took about 6 weeks of patience and dedication to the necessary exercises.
Back pain is very common and I’m sure you’ve experienced it too. It can be incredibly humbling. I guess none of us are invincible. But hear this: YOUR back is inherently strong too. It’s meant to carry all kinds of loads in all kinds of positions. A back injury does not mean you are relegated to a lifetime of back pain. I knew what to do to get myself back to the things I love doing, but you might not.
About 6 months after my injury I was doing a team workout on a Saturday morning. I realized part way through that I was deadlifting the same weight that I had on the bar when I hurt myself. It felt great. It reinforced that knowledge that movement is medicine. That stronger is better.
If you are experiencing back pain and want to know what you can do and how to remain active during your recovery, I would love to help you with that. To contact me with any questions or to schedule a physical therapy evaluation go to https://www.daraphysio.com/contact.