The Injury

Life before December 2008:

12+ years of:

5x a week of:

Teaching cardio box+ 5 am boot camp= Spondylolysis (Pars Fracture of the Spine) 

I was the girl that could workout for hours at a time and never face an injury and that all changed in 2008. My first broken bone was a spine fracture. I really would have been alright with a broken arm, but in true Super Sana Fashion, I had to be dramatic.

 

[Source]

The hardest part about being injured for me was the fact that I ignored the pain for about a full year, and when I finally did something about it I was misdiagnosed.

What I hope people gain from reading my story, is to never stop until YOU get the results you want.

Dec. 2008- I was sick for a week with “mono” ( quotes because I had the symptoms but the test was negative)

- I felt some pain in my lower back, but I was laying down for a week I figured it was nothing.

-I was busy with finals week oh did I mention I also had bronchitis?

We were good friends with the Dr. at this point and we realized that we did not like her. Due to insurance conditions we could not switch doctors if we had seen them within a month. Because I kept getting sick I had to stay with her.

Finally when it hurt to bend down and brush my teeth I went to my doctor- after pounding my lower back she sent me home with a prescription for 800mg of Ibuprofen 3X a day. And muscle relaxants….

- I don’t like taking drugs for anything but cramps- I had a bad reaction to a cough medicine and I am now terrified of any sort of medication.

I decided to take one pill a day and I felt a bit better until the effects wore off.

At this time I was also seeing an infectious disease specialist and a surgeon. For my larger than life lymph nodes in my neck- They were literally sticking out and my classmates enjoyed touching my “lumps”. I promise it was not as weird as this sounds. ( No one knew what my lumps were- they kinda went away after 9 months- medical mystery?) I can still feel them, but they are much much smaller.

So for a few months my problem was put on the back burner (literally)- I had other medical problems to deal with, along with a full semester of classes I was pretty busy.

 

At this point, I had stopped doing my own workout- but I was still teaching cardio box…. ( Mistake)

I would feel my back in pain when I did jumping jacks- or anything that required impact. So I would demonstrate for one or two reps and then cue my classes to continue on. This worked out pretty well, I was able to keep teaching and not “hurt”

-Not sure if this was a good idea but, it worked.

I went back to the doctor and she sent me to a spine surgeon, after more poking and pounding my spine I was “diagnosed” with a bulging disc  and sent to physical therapy.

At this point I was having trouble lifting my legs to put pants on, sitting and using my laptop hurt. I would have nerve pain down my legs. It was not a burning or tingling- it was an uncomfortable sensation.

It honestly felt like I had broken my butt or something…

My general doctor also wanted me to have an MRI- but the insurance denied this because I was not in any sort of car accident or other trauma.

 

Summer 2009- So while taking two summer classes ( Physics and Organic Lab) as well as teaching boot camp.

I started physical therapy for my ” disc” problem- I was going 2X a week. Along with back extensions to move the disc back in place I was getting ice and electrode therapy.

I was disappointed that nothing was helping, but I decided to stick with it because it might work out in the end.

Meanwhile my symptoms were getting worse, I could not sit or walk for long. Sitting for long like driving caused a tingling nerve pain down my legs. And bending down to tie my shoes was out of the question

I went back to my spine surgeon at the end of the summer for some more options.

Option #1 MRI

Option#2 Steroid Pack ( to reduce nerve inflammation)

I went with the open MRI.

Yeah- it looks totally harmless- but I had a panic attack in the middle and I wanted to stop. I did not have my contacts on so I could not see that I was not as trapped as I felt. However, there was no way to stop the test and have me come back another day. So my mom came in and sat next to me and I was able to finish it.

The results of the MRI showed that I had Spondylolysis (Pars Fracture of the Spine). This is not the same thing as the disc problem I went to PT for. In fact all the exercises I was doing- worsen the condition that I do have.

Well my doctor called me over the phone and told me to exercise by walking up hill and that I should be better in 6-8weeks.

6-8 weeks later- I was NOT better and still miserable and so I went back to the doctor.

Here were my options:

Option #2 Steroid Pack ( to reduce nerve inflammation)

Option #3 Back brace

I went with the back brace.

 

Meet turtle!

 

  I wore the back brace and took the steroid pack for 6-8 weeks. And honestly that improved my back pain by 90%

The other 10% is what I deal with today. Some day’s are good while others are bad. Standing up for long periods of time are not fun and my back stiffens up pretty quickly. However, this is nothing compared to the pain I felt when I was not treated by the back brace.

Our bodies are special and should be taken care of, we are our biggest advocates and have to step it up if we want the care that we deserve and need.

Moral of the story: Keep going back to the doctor until you get the RIGHT solution. Being injury and pain free is worth it.