It was about a year ago that something went wrong with my back. I'm still not sure what it was, but the result was an intensely painful lower-back spasm that left me feeling hobbled and weak.
I put up with it for a long while, thinking that all the pain and discomfort would gradually disappear, and one day I'd wake up and life would be back to normal.
But it didn't.
After about three weeks of constant pain, it became obvious that something more was needed.
So I went to the doctor. And he looked me over, made a few observations, and then referred me to a Clinic where they do physical therapy.
This therapy consisted of three or four sessions of strengthening exercises: side-to-side rolls, wall lifts, sit-ups. The kinds of exercises that are supposed to stretch all the muscles which support the back. And make up for all those years of sitting at a computer desk with bad posture.
It helped a bit. But it was difficult to tell whether everything felt better due to the passage of time, or because the exercises were really helping.
They were probably helping in the general sense, as any kind of physical therapy which includes exercise is probably good for getting one back into shape. But when the physical therapy sessions were done, although the major symptoms were gone, I was still experiencing other minor symptoms.
My hip-bones were still arguing with my leg-bones, which was painful enough, and it was practically impossible to find a comfortable position in which to sit for extended periods of time, especially when driving; but now, in addition, my right arm began, at times, to tingle like it was going to sleep, and it became quite uncomfortable to work on the computer, or, worse, to play guitar.
This was very disappointing. Especially after all that physical therapy.
Over the years, I've become quite cynical about doctors in general. It seems like a waste of time, mostly, because the doctor has never been able to fix any of my complaints. Nearly every time I've gone to see him, he has said, effectively, "I don't know what causes that. Here, try this. Or try that. See if it works."
This is not my kind of answer. That's guessing in the dark. I'm an engineer. I want to know exactly what is going on, and exactly what to do in order to fix it. I want to look through the official manual and figure out which steps to take in order to restore operation to its as-manufactured, as-designed state.
But that's never been my experience with doctors. Or specialists. Or physical therapists. Or gastroenterologists. Or allergists. They're all just guessing. And I've never come away from a visit to a doctor or clinic without feeling like I'm wasting my time.
But, again, it was obvious that something had to be done. And that meant another visit to the doctor. Because you always have to visit your Primary Care Physician in order to get referrals to a Specialist.
So I went. And he listened as I outlined all the symptoms: the pain in my upper thighs, the tingling/numbness in my arm, the inability to sit for long periods of time. And he checked a few things here and there: heart, lungs, reflexes. I've got great blood pressure. My weight is good. My reflexes seemed OK.
It was obvious, though, that a more detailed inspection was required. So he made a series of referrals to some specialists in order to investigate my complaints. And ordered a round of X-rays, which were easily dispatched upstairs in the lab after my appointment.
Now it's just the waiting game. Waiting to go to all those other appointments, waiting to see if they're going to find anything this time, waiting for the inevitable suggestions of drugs or physical therapy or other inane suggestions that will result in absolutely no resolution.
As you can probably tell, I'm not very hopeful about it.
I put up with it for a long while, thinking that all the pain and discomfort would gradually disappear, and one day I'd wake up and life would be back to normal.
But it didn't.
After about three weeks of constant pain, it became obvious that something more was needed.
So I went to the doctor. And he looked me over, made a few observations, and then referred me to a Clinic where they do physical therapy.
This therapy consisted of three or four sessions of strengthening exercises: side-to-side rolls, wall lifts, sit-ups. The kinds of exercises that are supposed to stretch all the muscles which support the back. And make up for all those years of sitting at a computer desk with bad posture.
It helped a bit. But it was difficult to tell whether everything felt better due to the passage of time, or because the exercises were really helping.
They were probably helping in the general sense, as any kind of physical therapy which includes exercise is probably good for getting one back into shape. But when the physical therapy sessions were done, although the major symptoms were gone, I was still experiencing other minor symptoms.
My hip-bones were still arguing with my leg-bones, which was painful enough, and it was practically impossible to find a comfortable position in which to sit for extended periods of time, especially when driving; but now, in addition, my right arm began, at times, to tingle like it was going to sleep, and it became quite uncomfortable to work on the computer, or, worse, to play guitar.
This was very disappointing. Especially after all that physical therapy.
Over the years, I've become quite cynical about doctors in general. It seems like a waste of time, mostly, because the doctor has never been able to fix any of my complaints. Nearly every time I've gone to see him, he has said, effectively, "I don't know what causes that. Here, try this. Or try that. See if it works."
This is not my kind of answer. That's guessing in the dark. I'm an engineer. I want to know exactly what is going on, and exactly what to do in order to fix it. I want to look through the official manual and figure out which steps to take in order to restore operation to its as-manufactured, as-designed state.
But that's never been my experience with doctors. Or specialists. Or physical therapists. Or gastroenterologists. Or allergists. They're all just guessing. And I've never come away from a visit to a doctor or clinic without feeling like I'm wasting my time.
But, again, it was obvious that something had to be done. And that meant another visit to the doctor. Because you always have to visit your Primary Care Physician in order to get referrals to a Specialist.
So I went. And he listened as I outlined all the symptoms: the pain in my upper thighs, the tingling/numbness in my arm, the inability to sit for long periods of time. And he checked a few things here and there: heart, lungs, reflexes. I've got great blood pressure. My weight is good. My reflexes seemed OK.
It was obvious, though, that a more detailed inspection was required. So he made a series of referrals to some specialists in order to investigate my complaints. And ordered a round of X-rays, which were easily dispatched upstairs in the lab after my appointment.
Now it's just the waiting game. Waiting to go to all those other appointments, waiting to see if they're going to find anything this time, waiting for the inevitable suggestions of drugs or physical therapy or other inane suggestions that will result in absolutely no resolution.
As you can probably tell, I'm not very hopeful about it.
No comments:
Post a Comment