And now a message from your body

I NEED A BREAK!

My body screamed that at me Monday morning and forced me to listen.

I woke up on my left side.  I hadn't even opened my eyes yet when I went to roll onto my back and - KRINK!- totally threw my back out.  It seized up in between my shoulder blades.  I couldn't move and I could barely breathe.  Thankfully, I had my cell right on my night stand so I called Dallin downstairs to come up and help me.  We got me onto my back but I couldn't lift my own head, I couldn't work out the kink and still could not breathe deep.  I was scared.  I had never had anything like that happen before and I seriously thought that I might end up paralyzed.  It felt like my spinal cord had been kinked up like a garden hose.  It was horrible. 

Dallin gave me a blessing then went down to be with the boys til Jenna got here and I called my chiropractor.  She figured I had thrown out a thurasic and possibly a rib.  She said to ice it, hot shower, ice again and come in.  So I did.  My spine was a mess where I felt the most pain.  She adjusted me, then we did traction then she adjusted me again but the muscles in my shoulders and neck were so tight that she figured they would pull everything out of place again if I didn't get them to relax.  And I did have a rib out.  She had to adjust it from the front which was an awkward feelng but felt so much better.

We got home and the only relief I felt was laying flat on the floor on the heating pad with my feet up.  Which I could only do for a few minutes a couple times during the afternoon.  Other than that, I just wandered around the house all day because there was no position I could get into that relieved any of the pain.  It was horrible.  Worse than post-Csection.

My saving grace was a friend from church who is a massage therapist.  She came to my rescue and worked on my back for an hour and a half.  My whole right side was in spasm and she said that most of the muscles were so tight and knotted they felt like bone.  Talk about a wake up call!  My chiro had listed off all the ways a mother twists and lifts all day long without really noticing and after thinking about it, I realized that i haven't gone for more than a couple hours without lifiting something for over 2 months.  Lifiting babies in and out of cribs, car seats, change tables, lifting them to nurse, holding them to nurse.  No wonder my shoulders and neck were such a mess AND I was blown away at how far reaching the damage went.  That kink went all the way down to my lower back, wrapped around to my chest to where I have been having nursing pains.  All these little problems were connected to one big muscular knot that I have felt for weeks and had neglected. 

So a wake up call it was for me that I have got to take time out and take care of myself.  It's strange because just the night before I was making a mental list of the aches and pains and bangs and bashes that I feel throughout my body and now I realize that I have been pushing it too far.  Our bodies, these machines that we have that run 24 hours a day, really need a tune up from time to time and I haven't done anything for months. 

I have resolved to be more attentive to relaxing my body and giving it a break when I can.  Laying down for a 5 minute nap here and there isn't cutting it.  It needs massage and hot baths and yoga and stretches and more vitamins, water and nutrients and of course more sleep. This was definitely an unforgettable learning experience and I have gained a new found empathy for people who deal with back pain.

I am feeling so much better today.  Able to breathe and move about 90% normally.  Still need some heat and stretching but at least I could function today.  The twins went back to bed at 9am this morning.  I was tired but felt like I should get showered and do laundry but then I thought, No.  My body is tired, Jenna is here so I can sleep.  I am going back to bed.  So I did.  It was wonderful.  From now on, I am going to listen to those little messages from my body.  Because if this one breaks down, there is no spare in the trunk.