Posture Nazis - Microdiscectomy +46 (6 weeks ish)

The end of the beginning
So it's been a fortnight since I last blogged. In that time there has been more physio (more on that later), steady progress with my recovery, and last week just 2 days short of 6 weeks since the op my Doctor said I could return to work on a phased basis.

This means that I will be working mostly from home to start with, and a couple of days a week in the office. They will be short days to start with as I can't sit for too long and I need to keep exercising. The commute to the office will be off-peak to avoid being crushed or having to stand on my journey to and from work.

I have to say at this point, that work has been very supportive both before and since my operation.

So how did I feel about going back to work? Well it was a milestone for sure. I didn't know if I was physically ready but I was sure mentally ready to return.

I am 6 weeks into a 6 month recovery. Churchill put it very well when he said:

"Now this is not the end. It is not even the beginning of the end. But it is, perhaps, the end of the beginning"

Of course, the operation he was talking about was a military one. But a turning point is a turning point.

Physio has been good. Nice and structured. A couple of new exercises have been added:

Hamstring stretch

Sit on the edge of the bed or sofa. One foot on the floor. The other leg lying flat on the bed or sofa. Then lean forward and try to grab the ankle. Feel the hamstring stretch and hold.

Then reverse and do the other leg.

Spinal loosening

Take a bath towel and roll it into a sausage. Then lie down with it across your spine. Start midway up your back. Relax. Feel your spine bend around it. Then move the towel up and repeat until it passes your shoulders

At one point it will feel like your spine must snap. But relax. Allow the vertebrae to articulate. Popping/cracking sounds are ok.

Refinement of glute bridging and core activation exercises

It sounds odd, but I now have to flap my arms up and down with these. I can't remember why this is a good thing, but apparently it is.

Sitting exercises.

I asked for some exercises I could do in long meetings. So I was told I could:

- rock my hips back and forward

- cross my legs in the figure 4 and it will provide a gentle stretch.

- clenching my buttocks

- Doing the core activation exercise but in a sitting position

Posture Nazis

So I went to the office for the first time since the op today. I had asked the train company if I could sit in 1st class where the seats are better for my first few trips. Despite them having had 6 weeks of income from me for nothing, they claimed I was trying to ask for something for nothing. They said I would have to buy an entirely new ticket for each trip, despite already having a season ticket. I couldn't even upgrade. So thank you First Capital Connect for your total lack of understanding that your overcrowded standard class coaches are not good for people with recently sliced open backs.

Getting off the train I reflected that before the op I had needed to hold the hand rails on the stairs at Farringdon station. Now I didn't. This is progress. This shows the op making a tangible difference. I like such things.

When I got to work at 11am I was shattered. The train journey plus around 30 minutes of walking had taken it out of me. But it felt good to be back. My beard caused a stir in some quarters but was generally approved of. I brought the back support from my car and attached it to my chair. That made sitting down relatively comfortable and promoted a good posture at my pc.

I met each of my staff for a catch-up and I compared how I felt talking to them before the op and now. My mind felt so much more alert. I have catching up to do, but not being drugged up on painkillers makes a difference.

I asked my team to tell me if I was stooping as I stood/walked. I need to make sure my posture is good. Dave said "So you want Posture Nazis?", and then in the way that he does, he took a slightly surreal leap "That sounds like something you see advertised on daytime tv. Is poor posture getting you down? then buy Posture Nazi from JML. 'It changed my life' "

You know, that's not such a crazy idea though. Some sort of motion sensitive device should be able to alert you to poor posture. Anyway I digress...

When I left work I could feel soreness in my lower back, particularly to the right. It got worse as I walked. I walked less fluidly. Shorter steps. Slower. Then I realised that I could feel a tightness in my groin/inner thigh. What the hell? This had to be the result of walking oddly. By the time I got to Farringdon I was in a lot of discomfort. I got a seat on the train and whipped out my back support. It did the trick. By the time I got to my home station my back was more relaxed. But the 8 minute walk home took 15 minutes, and as I came in the door I was shattered.

Thankfully salvation was at hand in the form of a lovely hot herbal bath and a very good book. After the bath I felt relaxed. The pain and soreness had largely melted away. 

mmm bubbles

My first day back was not an unqualified success. I probably stayed in the office longer than I should. 

The first is the worst said a friend on facebook. I hope he is right. I have 2 days at home now, but I'm back into London on Friday for a conference and then a friend's birthday in the evening. I hope the second is better than the first.

Onwards and upwards!