Back Woes and Pro Tips.

I realised I had yet to blog about this.

A few days back on Sunday, I strained my back while buying food for Babe for dinner back home. It was quite bad, felt like that time when I slipped my disc. I stood still for some time under a HDB block before inching a little to move again. Once I got home, I frantically searched for my back brace and put it on. Ironically, a few days back my dad had asked if I still needed it and I told him no and to pack it away. Yikes.

I later found out that it was my coughing which was the result of my flu which had subsided that was the possible culprit. The constant coughing tensed the back which resulted in overworking the muscles, ultimately causing it to give way.

I had since been trying to sort it out by doing stretched and planks, later learnt from Colin that planking probably wasn't the brightest thing to do (whoops!). Guess I'll wait till the back gets better before I do anything strenuous. Also learnt from him that with my slip disc, my back wasn't already in a favourable condition, hence when sick, it would likely act up faster than the average person. Was previously advised by Colin and Al to stretch regularly given the intensity and regularity of our exercises but did not realise how important it would affect the back, some things you never learn until it happens, guess I should have started sooner eh?

Also got advice from Nick who's a sports medic for the Singapore Olympic Team on whether it was advisable to run over the weekend. Was suggested to stay away from fast pace or attacking the slopes and to monitor my hamstring and hip flexor, apparently I shouldn't have run below 5 minutes pace earlier today, if the hip flexor and hamstring suddenly were to tighten and provide no dampening from the impact of my strides, it could have resulted in a snapped back. Guess I was itchy from skipping out on Wednesday's run.

Was then passed this ball not just for the lower back, but to stretch the assisting surrounding muscles (hip flexor, hamstring, butt area, thighs etc) so as to ensure they stayed flexible. It's not as good as the stuff Colin and Al have but it'll have to do. I'm not looking forward to it...*ack!*

Also finally stocked up on tablets. I noted my previous purchase in December of last year lasted till June this year...6 months! Guess 2 is enough, I'll save it for the longer runs. Might pick another from Calvin if Jasmine doesn't get it in the end.