As a quick review, I am a physical therapist who happens to be a bike nut/geek/dweeb/nerd. As a PT, my specialty is treating orthopaedic conditions, i.e. back pain, knee pain, neck pain, shoulder pain and so forth. Not to toot my own horn too much, but I'm pretty good.
Very recently my low back has been bothering me. Not terribly, but noticeably. It might be directly related to some time on the bike in the last few weeks. I don't know that I can make a direct connection, but the two might just be correlated.
For the sake of understanding, my back has a generalized soreness/stiffness at the lowest part of the lumbar spine, just as the spine meets the sacrum/pelvis. It is equal on the right and left. This is quite different to what I have experienced in the past.
About 11 years ago, I herniated the L5-S1 disc and had what is referred to as radicular pain into the right leg with myotomal weakness in the calf and hamstring along with sensory changes in the little toe of the my right foot (a little bit of numbness and weakness still persists, even now).
The symptoms I am currently experiencing are quite different. What I am feeling is more of a muscle and/or joint strain. Nothing too drastic or alarming. The symptoms are certainly what a PT would call "mechanical" in nature. By mechanical, we mean that forces from within or outside of the body are placing extra strain on neuromusculoskeletal structures and leading to the perception of pain. Those same mechanical forces can be used to alleviate the pain, as well.
By nature, I tend to be quite objective. I seem to have that ability to separate emotions from facts, even when the subject of my thoughts is myself. I immediately start analyzing the situation and looking for solutions. There were times when the herniated disc was causing considerable pain and I could still step back and look at my situation in an inquisitive matter ("Hmmm...well that is interesting, isn't it?).
With that said, I cannot help but to immediately start to analyze what is going on, what might be the cause and how can the problem be solved. Have I overdone things with stretching recently? Have I been spending too much time sitting? I raised the handlebars recently. Is that to blame? What is my symptom generator? Muscle? Ligaments? Facet joint? How should I deal with this? Stretching? If so, what stretch? How long should I stretch for? The list of questions goes on and on. This is all processing very quickly, I should add.
My point, which I realize is a long time in coming, is that I always think like a PT. I see just about everything through "PT glasses". Not a day goes by that I don't think, multiple times BTW, how my current situation relates to physical therapy (Wow, I'm such a dork).
Is this a good thing? I think so. It is safe to say I enjoy what I do. It is also safe to say I was meant to be a PT. If I couldn't be a PT anymore, I have know idea what I would do. No one seems to want to pay me to ride my bike and that is just about the only other thing I am really passionate about.
Yes, yes, I am passionate about my family and passionate about Christ but it is hard to make a steady living at those things. Me a preacher? Not really. Stay at home dad? I could do it, but I wouldn't be pretty. The kids might never fully recover.
I would like to think that I was designed to be a PT. I was given the right kind of mind and temperament to be a PT. What else would I do?
Lest you think of me as a work-a-holic, I never mind leaving early. Forty hours is fine with me. In fact, if I could work 30 hours and get paid for 40, that would be great. I love what I do but I don't want to do it too much. The rest of life is just too much fun.
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