Two years, today.

[leam hall]

They let me out of the hospital and I started the road to recovery from back surgery. After a while I was able to walk around again and not be hunched over in pain. Woo-Hoo! I knew I needed a physical activity to help but I wanted something besides grunting in the gym. Along came ARMA and the perfect mix of what I needed and what I love!

In the US it's Thanksgiving Day, and I think it's good for us to say "Thanks!" to those who write the articles, make the video clips, admin the web site, and spend time on the message board helping us newbies learn Western Martial Arts. It is both tradition and natural interrelatedness that we junior students learn from and give thanks to the senior students for your efforts. It is one of our responsibilities.

Thanks!

[Randall Pleasant]

Leam

Great to hear. <img src="/forum/images/icons/laugh.gif" alt="" /> Do you still have any pain? I know what you must have been going through as I did a very long tour of spinial awareness. Mine just stop one day, been pain free for four years now. Of course, now that the wall of pain is gone a lot of small pains that use to not even register in the brain now seem significant. <img src="/forum/images/icons/frown.gif" alt="" /> <img src="/forum/images/icons/mad.gif" alt="" /> Like you, I too found ARMA and swordsmenship to be just what the doctor didn't know to order. <img src="/forum/images/icons/wink.gif" alt="" /> <img src="/forum/images/icons/cool.gif" alt="" /> Looking forward to training with you and maybe sharing a few long tales of the darker days of the past.

[leam hall]

Well, other than being a stiff-necked pain in the rear, I'm fairly happy. No more meds and the doctor said I'm as likly to have an injury as anyone else.

Somethings I picked up, which may help those of us going into our mature, well-rounded years, include not sitting for more than 30 minutes straight, doing simple stretches like laying in bed and bringing your knees up, one at a time. I also advocate moderate weight lifting for general infrastructure support.

Much back pain is based on our entire upper frame being supported by just a few spinal disks in the lower back. If you sit for extended periods your abdomen relaxes and lets more weight rest on those disks. If you increase your basal muscle tone your abdomen doesn't tend to relax quite so much, thus giving support to the disks. Many back problems are transitory; 6 months or less. A muscle near a nerve gets inflamed and the pressure causes pain. Your back stiffens to minimize the motion and the rubbing of the muscle. Since we want to twist and turn the problem is aggravated.

I had a herniated disk that required surgery, time only made it worse. Cold packs (20 minutes on, 20 off) helped, heat made it worse. It felt like someone was sticking a knife in the back of my leg. Recovery started with just walking. The more I could do, the better. A large elastic band to gently stretch the back of the leg since the constant nerve activation had literally kept the muslces contracted for months. I still need to loosen them up!

Hope that helps. I'm not a doctor, but anyone is free to PM me if you have a question.