Sciatica-lifragilisticexpialidocious

Article 029.

Let's go medical for a change, shall we? The year is 2022. Pick-up basketball game, just going thru the notions. After getting a rebound from an opponent miss, I threw a quick long pass to the other end of the court for a possible fast break easy-two for my cherry-picking teammate. The pass required an extensive twist of my torso to get enough leverage in completing the perfect long throw. When that moment happened, I heard a tweak sound from my back. I actually heard the sound more than I felt it. But I felt fine afterwards and was able to play for a few more minutes. Time expired, I head to the bench and rested to wait for my next turn. When it was time to get back into the court again, as I try to get up from sitting, there shoots an excruciating pain from my back. So painful I could not move an inch vertically and for a moment, I thought I permanently lost my lower spine. So instead of forcing myself up, I laid down against my back and prayed that it ain't anything serious. Took me at least 30mins to finally be mobile enough to get back up. What a scare!

The next day, my sore body was a given. But there was this tingling feeling in my back that was radiating through my right leg. Not really as painful but definitely annoying. So like any smart person would do (right?), you Google what it is. Found out the condition was called Sciatica, an injury or irritation to the longest and thickest nerve in your body called the Sciatic Nerve. My X-ray results shows one of my lower lumbar bone slightly pressing into another and in between is a pinched nerve, which would explain the root cause. It is not a condition by itself but rather a symptom of a medical problem. This is suppose to heal itself through time and self-care treatments but because I never stopped playing hoops or sporadically going to the gym, I gave it no substantial time to heal. And what are the top two things you shouldn’t do when you have this symptom? Avoid exercises that stretch your hamstring and lifting heavy weights, the two things I’ve never stopped doing. Plus stubborn me also never took the physical therapy sessions quite seriously. Fast forward to today and my relationship with Sciatica is still on. Yeah it's on and off for the most part but it looks like it is here to stay. And if I don't slow down on the physical activities, I would seriously require surgery and that I am not ready for. And I’m being outspoken about this for what reason again? It’s like saying that I’ll change but never actually do.

I’ve met a few people who is experiencing this same Sciatica situation and I wonder if it’s an OPP— an Old Person Problem! The demographic sure would indicate so since we are all in our late 40s and early 50s. But I never Googled enough to know if there is some truth to it. What I do know is that it’s a very common symptom with over 3 million US cases annually. I also know that once a part of your body breaks at this age, it’s the start of your calvary for the rest of your life. Back pain starts, GERD starts, Arthritis starts. Cholesterol, hypertension, high liver count. Could be a combination of either one of those, and some. A few nights ago I was having some discomfort in my chest and strong pain on my left shoulder (I’ve had right shoulder pain for awhile so the left is new). All my nurse friends think it could be a case of a mild heart attack and was adamant I go to ED immediately. But not sure if it’s just a combination of my GERD acting up and wear-and-tear on my left shoulder due to my cellphone and computer mouse usage (I’m right-handed but you can say imma bit ambidextrous). Thank God I was cleared and the diagnosis was pretty much muscular and not cardiovascular. But I was nervously concerned. Now I'm thinking is there another nerve that was pinched that's causing the pain in my left shoulder blade? Either way, the deterioration is real. Gotta start doin’ the healthy life and do it seriously and consistently this time.

I'm putting most of the weight on my left buttock as I'm sitting down and finishing this article. My Sciatica is flaring up again plus my left shoulder is still tender— ahh you gotta love the age of discomfort! It's Thursday and I should give basketball a rest for tonight but I simply can't resist the urge. My stubbornness is what's gonna accelerate my death lol... But as they say, ball is life so lezz go!!!

I'm not grabbing my butt for no reason!