Friday, February 25, 2011

Peace of Mind

"No fracture or other acute focal bony abnormality is identified within the visualized portion of the thoracic spine. Visualized portions of the thorax and upper abdomen appear unremarkable."

So at the urging of all of you (and especially a childhood friend of mine who is a physician -- the words, "YOU MAY NEVER RUN AGAIN!" surely inspired me to get checked out) I went in to see a doctor today. All clear.

The first thing I asked was, "So can I run again before the pain goes away?" The doctor asked how far I was going to run. I was almost afraid to answer this question. "Well, I was supposed to run 20 miles today..." He said running can exacerbate back pain and while I didn't have to wait to be 100% pain free, I could definitely run when it, "improved a bit." You know I take this to mean I can run on Sunday.

As far as the horse thing goes, I am heavily leaning towards giving up riding. I mean, I got my spine x-rayed. The radiology tech got two shots and after reviewing the second one on the computer, he told me to take a seat on the x-ray table while he went to talk to the radiologist. I didn't like the sound of that. He came back and said that the radiologist wanted a closer shot of an area. I really didn't like the sound of that. And in the 40 minutes between that moment and the "All Clear" moment I knew what was important to me.

I don't want to just stop cold turkey and let that be my last ride. I also don't want to leave Wings' owner hanging so suddenly. So I'll probably continue on through March, though that isn't for certain yet, either.

Much thanks to everyone for your concern and advice. I needed to hear some voices of reason.

12 comments:

Ann (bunnygirl) said...

I'm glad you got checked out and are good to go. You might want to put some Kinesio Tape on your back for the next few weeks, to aid with stability. I know it's a little late for a Sunday 20-miler, but Amazon sells Kinesio Tape and taping manuals.

c_vandoorn said...

You just have to do what is best for you. Riding horses is risky and there are so many ways to get hurt. Some days I wonder why I play polo when I and have seen people end up bloody and in hospitals because their horse tripped/had a heart attack mid-gallop/got tangled up with another horse.

Horses will always be there. Running...you never know. Take advantage of it while you still can!

Crafty Green Poet said...

Sl golad you're okay, hope the pain clears up quickly!

cliff said...

glad you're ok. see? that wasn't so bad, was it?

are you gonna send wings to the glue factory?

d. moll, l.ac. said...

That's a nice looking spine you got there. So glad you are all clear. Come on down here and I'll tape you and show you how to do it. Another cool thing you can do with kinesio tape is put a little Tiger balm on top of it, works good.

Nicole said...

Im so glad your okay!!! :) I hope the pain fully goes away! Your spine is no joke. Nothing is worth your life! :)

Marlene said...

PHEWF! Awesome that you have the green light to run when you feel up to it. Wishing you a quick recovery!

RG said...

Hope it all works out well. Great that the checkup came out such good news!

EndorphinBuzz said...

I'm really glad you are all right. I hope today's run was good with no new pain...

Mica said...

Your fall sounded really terrifying. I totally agree that you are making the right decision for what makes YOU happy.

Erin said...

Glad to hear you're not hurt!

Alisa said...

I know I'm way behind here but I'm so glad you're okay. Riding horses scares me.