A few
years ago, I woke up with an excruciating pain in my lower back. Although it
was a very limiting pain, I was sure that as soon as I started moving around it
would disappear. My denial was based on the scientific fact that movement
dissipates tension, although why would I have tension after several hours of
deep sleep? I told myself that I had probably slept in a forced posture.
However, the day turned into night with no relief.
In the
past 17 years I have chosen not to take medication of any kind, except for a
few vitamins and supplements, whenever I've felt my body needed them. So, I
ruled out using analgesics from the beginning.
The
following day not only the pain was still there, it had worsened and it
irradiated to my right thigh. I could hardly bend down to put my socks on and
when I tried to go for a walk each step felt like a hammer hitting my lower
back. My pelvis felt the pulsating squeezing of giving birth, but of course, it
was not the case. My medical mind told me I had herniated a disk in my lumbar
spine. But what would I do with the diagnosis?
Breathing
deeply made the pain grow, sneezing made me agonize. I knew that a doctor would
order X-rays or an MRI, which would confirm the diagnosis and localize the
lesion with accuracy. After the tests, the doctor would prescribe muscle
relaxers and a painkiller, and recommend a hard bed, but taking any kind of
medication was out of the question. I had long ago decided not to ingest any
chemicals that could disturb the communication between my organs.
I
played my relaxation cassettes, administered Reiki to myself and made an online
healing request through the Distant Healing Network (the-dhn.com).
I could
hardly sit in a chair, so I straddled my kneeling chair, the one I use on my
computer workstation most of the day, making frequent pauses to give rest to
the muscles in charge of maintaining that posture. I also modified my nutrition
to add extra anti-inflammatory foods like tart cherries and natural analgesics
like green peppers. I used vitamin C and Complex B to reinforce my connective
tissue and support the inner healer in the process of repairing any injured
nervous tissue. I took magnesium pills to keep cartilages flexible and muscles
relaxed and bought ripe pineapples that are rich in the anti-inflammatory
enzyme bromeline.
Although
the pain and the muscle spasm were limiting, I knew they served the purpose of
protecting my tissues from further damage. That's why I decided to respect the
pain. I knew that Reiki and relaxation techniques would keep it within a
bearable range and pain would guide my recovery. I knew the pain was a body
alert that I needed to listen to. My cousin, for example, after having
herniated a disk was prescribed with a strong dose of cortisone and analgesics.
His pain was gone in hours and after a few days he felt so well that he decided
to play soccer with his vigorous 8-year-old son. Because the body didn't have
enough time to heal, he caused himself an even more serious lesion that
rendered him in a wheelchair for a while.
In my
case, after a few days, the pain was almost completely gone but the spasm
continued to protect the spine for several weeks. I avoided driving, running
and bearing weight. Rolling on the floor, Tai-Chi-like exercises and mindful
moving helped my body take care of the problem while keeping my muscles
flexible and relaxed. Still, the body continues to remind me with pain in the
same area that I should not bear more weight than necessary, that I should
change posture frequently and that pauses are desirable.
Pain Has a Purpose
If the
purpose of pain is to protect the body from further damage, we need to listen.
Usually, only when the pain is acute and limiting we are forced to pay
attention. In most cases, we just ignore the pain as when we have been sitting
for hours in front of a computer and the overloaded muscles are asking for a
change in posture. Because we ignore pain, our muscles tense and develop
spasms, which contribute to deform our posture causing misalignments. If we
stop using groups of muscles they will shorten and weaken and in time,
unattended areas become vulnerable to injuries.Most of us run looking for
medication to alleviate a symptom. But is it really necessary or desirable to
counteract a normal defensive bodily response? I believe it is preferable to
listen to our body. Forcefully silencing the body cuts our relationship with
it.
If
necessary, natural therapies such as Reiki, Trager, relaxation techniques and
acupuncture will help reduce pain without the undesirable secondary effects of
medication. Only in extreme cases should we go for painkillers, and always
under a physician's advice.
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