Noi was not well pleased earlier today when I announced my intention to make my return to the gym after a lay-off of some ten days, and I can understand why. Taking into account the extreme discomfort I was in on Thursday morning, it was quite a surprise that I might consider working out - but this kind of seeming contradiction is part and parcel of dealing with the kind of lower back pain I sometimes experience. By Thursday afternoon the pain had eased to some degree and I was able to make it to Friday Prayers, though not exactly fully bending during the prayer itself. By Saturday things had further eased and I was actively considering getting some exercise done, but decided to err on the side of caution. And then today was the day I decided to get on with it.
The thing is that one's basic instinct is to try and protect oneself from doing any damage to one's extremities by doing as little as possible after a bout of pain. But over time I've come to realise that this is not the way forward. It's strangely counter-intuitive but working out generally seems to ease aches and pains in the lower back and thighs and, so far as I can remember, I've never felt that a session in the gym has resulted in further damage.
But I did worry as I got on the elliptical trainer this afternoon. My left leg was still feeling the after-effects of whatever had gone awry earlier in the week - a trapped nerve, I suspect, though how exactly such a 'trap' might work I have no real idea. Anyway, I survived the session and am now feeling pretty darned good. Just hoping this keeps up tomorrow.
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