Hubby's Back Injury...Oouch!

I am back, finally!

Haven't been updating P-latte regularly, as I was struggling badly with work and completing my Masters. FINALLY it's done! no more stress over it! I felt so mentally exhausted after completing the writing and it made me unable to look at the computer screen or focus on my thoughts for more than 2 minutes. Luckily, I am slowly recovering from this mental constipation. But really thanks to all those who wrote to me urging me to put up new post, it is really encouraging :)

Anyway, there is something I REALLY need to share since Chinese New Year.

During Chinese New Year (CNY), my parents in-law went to KL to visit my sister in-law, so me and hubby had a super rare opportunity to have solid 4 days all alone in the house. We were excited & determined to take the opportunity to execute our baby-making plan.

On the first morning of CNY, while we watched DVD and chilled in the living room, my hubby jumped up abruptly to pick up a phone call. Suddenly he screamed out of pain. I turned to him only to find him fronzen beside the phone with the handset stuck between his right ear and right shoulders. He literally couldn't move because he was in immense pain.

Hubby was rather frightened (he deserved to be as it was VERY painful for him even to breathe or talk!), and thought he had a slipped disc. I did various physical tests on him and was quite sure that he had sprained his back muscles rather than slipped any disc. He couldn't walk on his own, and there was no way I could carry him to the doctor without calling for an ambulance, the only thing he could do was to rest and take pain killers to manage the pain.

So for the whole CNY holiday, hubby could only lie on the sofa to watch tv, and he was in my total mercy. He couldn't even shift his butt on the sofa without my help! I had to "wheel" him around the house on a chair and even had to help him to the toilet. And yeah, you guessed it right, baby plan over the holiday was completely blown (before it was even started).

What exactly happened, how could an otherwise healthy & active young man sprain his back just by answering a phone call?

Well, NOooooo, unlike what all my dirty-minded friends thought, it wasn't the baby-making. Hubby's posture, lifestyle and past injury were the culprit.

• Lifestyle: too much sitting, driving and little walking give him weak core. Hamstrings, buttocks & hip flexors became super tight. It made things worst that hubby is the typical guy who run and train but NEVER bother to stretch. So muscles get shortened by exercises but were never lengthened after that.

• De-conditioning: Due to his study, Hubby no longer exercises as regularly. So his muscles weakened due to dis-use, and tightened too
  

• Poor posture: He always slouched when he sits (creating posterior tilt in the pelvis), thus further weaken core, shorten hip flexors & psoas.
  

• Previous injury: Hubby pulled his priformis during a ball-game years ago, so he has been unconsciously leaning more on the good hip when he walks or runs. This compensatory movement strategy caused imbalance in his pelvis, legs and even his back.
  

• Last Straw: As hubby felt the tightness all over his body in the fateful morning, he tried to "stretch it out" while he tilted his neck to hold the phone handset. Fryette's Law states that when the slack of a spinal segment is taken up in one direction the movement availability in other planes will be decreased. So this sudden stretch (spinal flexion & rotation) cum the neck tilt (lateral cervical spinal flexion) greatly challenged the spine flexibility.
  

Summing these up, all unfortunate factors occurred at the same time sprained his back. Since then Hubby is much more receptive to stretching and I have not stopped nagging him to sit properly, stretch and do Pilates whenever possible, we both want to prevent this kind of "disruptive" accident from happening EVER AGAIN.

Recommendations for Pilates Starters

I had been really busy in the past few weeks trying to complete my thesis, so shamefully i didn't have time to update P-Latte. :[

April posted some enquiry on my message board but I think I need more space to answer them:

8 Apr 08, 09:50
April: Hi Teresa, I was wondering if u would recommend machines or mat to start? What are the advantages of each?

P-latte: Mat classes tend to be more accessible and affordable than machine classes. But given equal convenience of access to machines and mat, I would recommend to start learning Pilates on machine (either Reformer or Allergro). This is because while exercising on the machine, you can sense your body posture so that you can learn the proper movement with ease. Moreover the springs and straps of the machine can provide some assistance during the exercise, this is good for Pilates newbies as they may not have the sufficient body control & strength to perform the exercises. Nonetheless, I think convenience and access to the classes are more important, as learning Pilates should be a lifestyle and it really need to fit well into your schedule.


7 Apr 08, 18:00
April: Also, which exercise videos do you recommend? and do you know where i can get them from? i have a problem where i think i always use the wrong muscles when exercising thus straining my lower back

P-latte: I seriously do not recommend exercise videos for starters. You will need a good instructor's guidance to perform exercises safely and effectively, especially if you tend to use wrong muscle while exercising. During a class, you can feedback to the instructor if you feel that you are straining your lower back and he/she will point out what went wrong and they will be able to modify the exercise for you to avoid straining. Try to attend classes with small class size (below 12 pax in the class) so that you can get adequate attention from the instructor. Videos are only useful to seasoned Pilates lovers to learn more about the exercises.


7 Apr 08, 17:28
April: Hi there, i would really like to have some recommendations on pilates. Which would you recommend? work in the west but live in the east, so anywhere i can get through the mrt will be great

P-latte: Focus Pilates, Pilates Bodyworks is located few minutes walk from raffles place MRT. VF studio is at Amoy street near Tanjong Pagar MRT. Sky Pilates is near wheelock Place so it is walkable from Orchard MRT :) (updated on 6 May, Options Studio is in walking distance from Dhoby Ghaut MRT) check out their websites and better still, go visit them at the studio to see if you like them! see my post on Choosing a Studio to find out more on what you should pay attention to while visiting the studios. Have fun =)