Hiking with back pain...

Sunday, July 29, 2012

My back continued to ache throughout the day.  I tried icing, stretching, and heat with only the heat offering any relief.  By late afternoon, I’d had enough and decided to head for the park and try walking.  I parked and slowly climbed from the Honda.  My first steps were painful and walked in an exaggerated, upright position, which is all I could do.  I must have looked like I felt…old, stiff and sore.  When I reached one steep incline, I felt my first relief, which probably resulted from the forward lean I was forced to do on the incline.  I was thinking of adding in some push-ups and lifts, but the pain was so constant and uncomfortable, that I made a walk only.  I managed to get in an hour and when I slumped back into the Honda at the conclusion, my sense was that I’d accomplished some good.

Kim stopped over for a visit and we watched more of the Olympics, discussing our favorite moments.  She reinforced just how old I am when I would mention names like Mary Lou Retton and got nothing but a blank stare.  I suppose the fact that she donned the front of a Wheaties box and been the star of numerous TV commercials and endorsements in the 80’s would have little impact on someone born in 1988.  She really made me feel ancient when I started sharing Olympic memories from as far back as 1964, but I explained these by saying I was like an Olympic child prodigy.

I resigned myself to calling the doctor’s office in the morning if I continued to have lower back pain.  I’m getting a little discouraged as I watch my summer slip away and my conditioning along with it.  I hope to return to the Adirondacks this September to do some climbing, but with these nagging injuries and the necessary time to heal may put a bite in that annual happening.   I suppose if nothing else, I can go there and hike into the back country without climbing.  Time in the back country offers serenity even if I can’t climb a peak, and beats the hell out of working.

Hike Duration:  60 minutes.
Training Heart Rate: 75 bpm.
Calories burned during workout: 300.