Tuesday, January 30, 2007

The Pain, The Pain!

My apologies my dear lovely readers for not posting yesterday. The reason I did not, is actually quite good fodder for today's post I think.

I'm 26. The reason I am sharing with you this extraordinary information is that at 26 you wouldn't expect my body to be misbehaving quite as much as it currently is.

You see, my back is in incredible pain and I place the blame squarely on myself. I don't sit properly, I don't get up and stretch every 20 minutes or so. No, I sit in front of this computer, hours on end, and last Thursday my back just decided to tell me, "Enough is enough."

Now don't be frightened my readers! Nothing untoward happened. I could still walk and things, but when I sat at the computer, after around half an hour my back would just hurt so much that I had to get up.

And I am telling you all this, not for the sympathy (though a few "poor little Adrienne"s wouldn't hurt), but as a tale of warning. I had already invested in an ergonomic keyboard when my wrists started hurting. Now I have bought a new chair with lumbar support and raised the screen of my laptop so that my neck isn't being stretched.

But I would advise you do this BEFORE the pain sets in. Not to think you are somehow the exception to the rule (unless you are one of my invertebrate friends, shout out to my invertebrate friends!). So do get up every twenty minutes or so and stretch. And do make sure the chair you are sitting in has good support, or if you are sitting on a large ball (this sounds funny but I am serious, so many people are sitting on those big exercise balls now), to keep your back straight. It might feel uncomfortable at first, but it will help so much in the long run.

Otherwise you could be like me yesterday, being chauffeured around the city to purchase a good chair, as well as visit the chiropractor.

It isn't being a wuss or anything, it's just good common sense!
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Just wanted to let everyone know I am hosting Lisa Clark on my blog this Thursday, author of the non-fiction books "Think Pink" and her latest "Think Pink - Beauty' licious". She's answering some questions posted by some writers from various forums. Please check out her website in the meantime - Pink World


Last Friday's quote was from the Woody Allen film, "Bullets Over Broadway".

Today's: "I shall call him squishy, and he will be mine and he shall be my squishy!"

5 comments:

Leah J. Utas said...

Oh, I'm so sorry to hear about your miserable back pain. You poor thing.

Yes for the love of all that hops and purrs, get up and walk around every 20 minutes or so. And not just for the back, either. Go look out a window so your eye muscles remember how to change focus from short to long distance. Trust me, it happens.

Holly Kennedy said...

I hope you're better soon, Adrienne. I've been in your position, then, two years ago, I got fed up and bought myself a GOOD chair -- $900 good, that is.

I went pale when they gave me the price and I cringed paying for it, but it's made an incredible difference to my back!

Heidi the Hick said...

Poor Adrienne! This is such an important thing to write about! I had a nasty bout of tendinitis years ago, and i also have scoliosis. I have to exercise to build up my back muscles or I'm in severe spinal pain.

Hunching over a keyboard doesn't help.

We have to take care of our bodies or our brains will be too preoccupied with pain!

Adrienne said...

Aw thanks guys!

And leah yeah you are totally right about the whole looking at something else thing too. I now have reading glasses where before all this book stuff I didn't.

J m mcdermott said...

three words: high contrast black.

Microsoft Word was designed by people who own stock in laser eye-surgery companies. All that white light shooting at you.

fortunately my back is invincible thanks to three years of contrabass bugle, and a tendency to sleep on floors instead of beds.