It’s been three weeks of physical therapy. Minor successes have occurred but not enough to get me back in a full exercise routine. Three vertebrae refuse to behave. The muscles are loosening up and my ability to rotate side to side has increased. But I’m still “broken”.

What is good is that I am doing specific exercises to work through the back issues. This means that no less than three times a week, I’m exercising my body. That’s a step in the right direction. I thought exercise was hard enough for me but trying to do it when your body is not functioning at 100% is much more difficult. I have great physical therapists who give me great care. What I need is a body that is willing to heal faster.

One week, I actually felt a disc move in a way felt good and relieved pain. So I’m all on board with doing what the physical therapists tell me what to do. Having that immediate physical response to their treatment has made me a believer. What is more important is that they are looking at a long-term solution to keep me from hurting myself again.

To have others look at you and care about what you are going through is healing in its own way. After ever session, I come away feeling a bit better, even if only mentally. Even if it’s only my impressions, I feel that the therapists have “healing hands”. They work carefully and deliberately trying to make the things not working to respond. I think that kind of therapy has multiple ways of healing.

I’s important for me to remind myself that I will be on my own in a few weeks to keep up the momentum. I can’t fall back into my old ways. That’s what go me here. If I don’t commit now, I never will.

Three more weeks of physical therapy will tell the tale if this body can heal and get stronger.

The MRI revealed a band of muscle holding three vertebrae in place. That means they are not moving independently so I have pain when I try to move that area. So I started physical therapy. This will be the beginning of conditioning my body to get back on track. Once I conquer that stubborn back muscle and force it to release the hostage vertebrae, I would be foolish not to continue exercising.

That’s what got me into this predicament in the first place. My priorities were out-of-place. I put work first instead of me. If I had considered that exercising was more important than that time I spent working off-site, I wouldn’t be in pain. Standing in one place for hours at a time without giving my body recovery from the strain on my back has taken its toll.

I have done my physical therapy exercises, at the therapist’s insistence, every other day. My muscles need time to relax after being worked out very specifically. The exercises aren’t hard but they are difficult because I’ve let my body get to the lowest point of inactivity. How did I let such a great idea as trying to lose weight go to waste? I’m working my way back and once I get there, I’m going to keep moving forward.

That’s a lot of talk until I actually do it. But feeling the way I do – struggling to cross my legs and lean forward on a chair – made me realize that I am not doing myself any favors. I’m going to work at this as hard as I can for as long as I can. Sitting in front of a computer for eight hours a day and then coming home and sitting for more hours have not served my health and well-being.

I’m off to do my “bridges” and “leg crosses” to strengthen my back muscles. More to come.