Well so much for my grand plan for orienteering between now and July.
I was on my way to work on Monday morning when something distinctly snapped in my lower back, and I’ve essentially spend the intervening time in bed, in agony. Acute Low Back Pain (ALBP) is a very common ailment amongst people of my age, apparently – in my case I seem to suffer from it every half a year or so – and for me it is extremely painful – I have been unable to get to sleep for the last 24 hours*. However it has generally cleared up in 2-3 days, and I don’t notice anything after that (until the next time around…) However it puts paid to tonight’s event and possibly Sunday’s too. Reading around, the best cure for ALBP is surprisingly to be active as possible and in fact it’s only by walking that I’m not in any pain. “Keeping your normal routine” is advice I’ve frequently seen and while that was not possible today (without a lot of screaming, I would imagine) I’m going to try my best for the coming days.
Factor in the pectoral muscle strain I had in December, and my runner’s knee recurring in both February and April, and it really hasn’t been the best of seasons for me. However my most recent ailment was probably compounded by the lack of exercise, rather that too much of it – and my sitting desk job can’t be helping. So I’m hoping to bounce back and at least get something out of this season: warm weather training if nothing else (it’s currently 25C in London!)
* I’m really trying to keep to a policy of not taking painkillers unless I absolutely have to, last night was the closest I’ve ever come to giving in.