So, I finally received a copy of my digital x-rays, and I must admit they look pretty cool. Haha. Things are slightly wobbly, but the Chiropractor seems to think that the arch in my low back is probably what's causing most of my problems. He measured it and said it's at a 60 degree curve, and they like to see it at a 30-40 degree curve at most. I will talk with him more about the possibilities of bulging discs the reason for my nerve pain and damage. But as far as the x-rays appear, things look ok. The last disc between my sacrum and L5 is a little thinner than the rest, but that is about all he noticed. In the meantime, I will continue my therapy, exercises and work on straightening out that lower back with yoga and stretching. Since all this has started, I have probably noticed about a 15% decrease in pain and my lower back is not as stiff in the morning when I fold forward. I will keep you posted on any further updates. Until then, take care and remember to listen to your body.
So here is a small diagram of some exercises that you can do for your low back pain. These are actually some of the exercises that they are having me do in my Physical Therapy/ Rehabilitation clinic. We do other things with weight balls and balance balls, but for the most part it is pretty similar to these. The pelvic tilt is actually the most easy exercise, but also the one where I feel a smidge of discomfort. I have decent range of motion, but backbends just hurt. That's all there is to it. So if you want some exercises to help build up strength and flexibility in the low back, feel free to try these out. My PT's are having me do each exercise for 3 reps of 10. Today I get xrays after my Physical therapy, so whenever I find out the results I will share them with you. Until next time! Rehabilitation! This week I became a patient at a local Spine & Rehab facility for my lower back pain. As some of you might know, I injured my lower playing soccer in high school. I did not see a specialist or really get it treated, but the pain was really intense for a couple months. It would even keep me up at night sometimes because it was so intense. It felt like my leg and right hip flexor were on fire basically. Finally, nerves started dying off from the injury, and I have not had feeling in my right outer quadricep since I was 17. My leg doesn't bother me, but the sacrum and lower vertebrae have been painful ever since. It has never been debilitating, but the pain is 24 hrs a day and gets worse with backbends, running, carrying heavy weight, sitting in one position for more than an hour, and after drinking alcohol it hurts more. For the past 10 years, I have learned what helps it and what makes it worse. YOGA has helped with my flexibility and some strength in my hips and low back, but has not helped decrease the pain. And if I'm not careful, sometimes too much yoga can even aggravate it. When I stumbled upon a flyer for this rehabilitation place I had to give it a shot. So far, I have been there 2 times for rehabilitation and I am already noticing slight differences. At that facility they have a physician, chiropractor, massage therapists, and physical therapists all under the same roof. It's really wonderful! They decided to start me off with a physical therapy regiment 4 times a week for 4 weeks. Then I will be re-evaluated and have xray results and all that good stuff to further assess my treatment plan. My visits consist of electric muscle stimulation, trigger point muscle release therapy, heat treatment, cardio, and 30 mins of low-back specific exercises, and today they even applied Kinesio Tape. I will report back in a couple weeks and let you know how my progress and treatment are going. My only goal for this experience is to feel less pain, so I hope that it works. Please cross your fingers for me! I am excited and hopeful that it works out ok!
Much love. Namaste. -Lorel It's that time of year again! We are all rushing around buying presents, making gifts, and thinking about ways to make others smile during the Christmas season. There are many ways to make a difference in someone's life. You can help someone in need directly, or through a great non-profit organization specializing in helping those in need. When I was a child, there was a short period in our lives when we were a family that was in need. We had the pleasure of experiencing a wonderful Christmas morning because of the charity from other people. Our local church knew we were having tough times, and they came by and brought presents over for me and my sister. I will always remember that random act of kindness from people who barely knew us, and that has made an impact on me as an individual today. When you are in a position to give or help someone in need, then we should always step forward and give with an open heart. So if you are looking for a way to help a family or group of people in need, then please check out whatever local things might be going on in your neighborhood. Churches are a great place to start, or a soup kitchen, and even the Salvation Army. If you want some ideas for helping those in need via online donation, then here are some organizations to consider: Hopefully this post inspires you to give to those in need. A financial donation can go a long way, and volunteering your time and energy can warm your heart and impact someone's life in more ways than you might realize. Spread the gift of love this season.
Aloha Friday! Today I ordered some lovely business cards and I am excited to receive them in the mail soon. Hopefully the print quality is nice because I used photographs as the design for the background. We are kicking off this Aloha Friday by eating at our favorite Zpizza!! I always order the gluten-free vegan pizza, and it is absolutely amazing!!! It is literally an explosion of goodness in my mouth! I look forward to Friday's for this exact reason. I hope that you had a great Friday, and hopefully an awesome week! Aloha! This morning I recorded some yoga videos on the beach! It was really nice weather and the waves were steadily rolling in the background. I recorded short little yoga basic clips to add to my VIDEO section to my website. Once the videos get edited, they will be up in the site probably by the end of the week. Eventually I will get a 30 minute sequence recorded for you to practice with, but in the meantime... theses little snippets will have to do.
We visited Hawaii Pacific Sport & Spine for my husband's chiropractic appointment. We like to regularly get adjusted, since we are both pretty active people. Sometimes a trip to the chiropractor can transform your entire alignment! Anyway, while we there I was talking with the doctor and I realized that my website still has some unfinished business. I started another tab a few weeks ago and never fully published it to go live on my site. So, this week you will be getting new yoga videos and new content!! Hooray!! Until then... keep on smiling! Today I drove up to the North Shore of Oahu to be a spectator for the Reef Hawaiian Pro Surf Competition. I don't know how to surf, but I do enjoy paddle boarding. I am actually way too scared to try out surfing, and I admire those that have the courage to practice regularly. When it comes to surfing competitions my knowledge of the scoring system and everything is pretty slim, but that doesn't mean that it isn't still enjoyable to watch. So, today I decided to pack up the ol' camera and take a few pix. To my surprise, the 10 to 12 foot swells were taking place pretty far off from the shore. I do not have a great zoom lens yet, so this was actually quite the challenge for me to capture today... |
AuthorLorel Lee Archives
February 2015
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