I am writing this while sitting in a very straight chair with a towel rolled up behind my back and very perfect posture. With my feet on a book (I'm too short to have my bum all the way back in the chair and still have my feet touch the floor). This is what the dumb physical therapist said I have to do.

He isn't really dumb. He's probably really smart.

I've seen other PT's and had the same back pain (lower right side) for 2 years! Since I did penalties in kids v. adult soccer (which should not be a thing because at a certain age F was waaaaaay better at soccer than I am).

But the pain stayed.

I casually mentioned at my annual physical that my back was still messed up but not super painful and I could teach weightlifting and run and all sorts of things. It felt stiff, like I had to bend over and stretch it out a lot.

She sent me for an xray right after my physical, and my spine is like a weird curvy S. She also gave me a paper to go to PT (again, but this time a different place). My friend who is an orthopedist said they are really good there.

So after 2 years of this, the new PT does some physical "tests" and I can't remember his diagnosis but I think it was a bulgy disk (or maybe it was a slipped disk). I can't remember because I was in shock: he was telling me to sit in a straight chair and not a mushy sofa or my comfy bed with this hard towel for two weeks. And the towel in the car. And these back exercises every two hours. And I can't jump rope or jump at all or run or teach my weightlifting class for two weeks. I work out pretty much every day.

Two weeks isn't a long time; I know that. But I was in denial. I was negotiating. Can I do situps? No. Can I jog? No.

I can walk. My friends are so awesome. They have all offered to walk me (like a dog!) so I don't go crazy.

I also can't bend over. Bending over (which I was doing a lot to "stretch it out") is exactly the wrong thing. My back doesn't move at all in the other direction, so my every-two-hours exercises are supposed to get things moving the other way. Like cobra pose which I've never been able to do (that should have been a clue!).

I was depressed and cranky for the rest of the day, and part of this morning. And then I noticed that I can actually get a little higher up on the cobra and my back hurts less, so now I've decided that this is an athletic pursuit in itself. I am going to be the best PT patient ever!!! (And the most compulsive).

The dumb PT says 6 to 8 weeks to heal. He put it into perspective by saying that it's either that or I keep the disk bulgy and slippy and get to the point where I can't exercise at all.