Signing Off - Microdiscectomy +96

I apologise. How neglectful of me not to update you for the past 7 and a bit weeks. But I must confess that it gets worse.... barring unforeseen circumstances this will be my last Microdiscectomy blog. For today dear reader, I saw my surgeon. He pronounced himself happy and discharged me from his care.

So that's that. It's now up to me. I have to listen to his sage advice. Get myself fit, lose some weight and make sure I warm up before doing anything more energetic than tying my shoe laces.

But I get ahead of myself....


Whistle while you work
In my last update I had just completed my first day back in the office and it was both traumatic and painful. It got better. The more I got used to walking the easier it got. Just walking to and from work now totals 50 minutes. 

Work have been very good. They booked a workstation assessment for me who recommended adjustments including a new custom made chair. They have facilitated me working from home two days a week, and travelling off peak on the others. Furthermore, just at the point at which I was  ready to increase my number of days in the office I was sent to a Doctor for an Occupational Health assessment. It was an odd situation for the Doctor, as he found himself telling me that I should come into the office less than I was planning to. I got the impression that he usually tells Work that their staff are fit for work against the wishes of the employees.


Let's get physio-cal
I saw my physio last week. He is very happy with my progress and he intimated that my appointment next week might be my last. I will be sad to end those sessions. He has been really helpful and gives the best massages.

He has been building up my core strengthening exercises. I now have the following added into the mix.

Forearm lift
Lying on my front, my arms tucked together underneath me in line with my body. Raising myself on my forearms and holding for 10 seconds.

this was later replaced by...

Back arch
Lying on my front, elbows pointing out to the sides and my hands flat together under my chin. Raising my upper body up (not too high) using my lower back. Holding for 10 seconds.


Superman
On all fours, stretching one arm out in front of me. Hold for 10 seconds. The removal of one arm propping me up just makes the back work to maintain stability. Repeat with the other arm.

this was later supplemented with..

Reverse Superman
On all fours, stretch one leg out horizontally behind you and hold for 10 seconds. This works on the same principle as the Superman. It also strengthens the glutes, and stronger glutes make for better walking. Repeat with the other leg.


Taking the field
Quite how far I have come was brought home to me at the weekend when I umpired my first cricket match of the year. Last season was a real struggle. Ambitions to umpire at a higher level had been put on hold due to sciatica. Little did I know that the sciatica was caused by a herniated disc. 

Some weeks I was ok. Other weeks I needed tramadol to get through the games. Bending to pick up bails was a problem as was my general mobility. 

On Saturday I was helped by having two understanding teams (Eaton Bray and Newport Pagnell), the captains of whom were happy to allow me to do what I needed to do to get through the game. I was on my feet for 6 hours. I ached a little and by the end I was a bit stiff, but I felt elated. I had come through the match with minimal discomfort, and the discomfort I suffered was from muscles being worked hard and not the pain of an injured back.

Going forward
And so there we are. Life is returning to normal. I will continue to strengthen my core. I will try to help my back out by giving it less to carry. 

Am I glad I had the surgery? Even if I never progress beyond how I feel now it will have been worth it. I hope that I will get stronger and stronger. The numbness is now unlikely to go from my leg and foot but I can live with that.

The surgeon was very positive today. When he told me I needed the operation he told me it would be 6 months before I could consider playing golf. Now he says that with a good warm up I could consider playing it again. In fact apart from heavy lifting or sudden movements with cold muscles, the surgeon says I can pretty much do what I want now. I plan to still take things carefully until my back feels strong again. It feels like a lifetime since I had the op, and I now have a better lifetime to look forward to thanks to the op.

Thanks for reading my blog, and thanks for your company when I was stuck at home earlier in my recovery. Any blogs from now on will be your common or garden variety ramblings. You have been warned ;)