I was wrapped like a burrito in this orange tarp as six men carried me down the stairs…
Yup, that is true.
Picture that for a minute a I back up.
Over the weekend I was hucking 100lb tree chunks into the back of my truck after we had cut a leaning tree down from the gym.
As I loaded the 9th one I walked around the side of my truck, almost ready to pull away, and noticed there was room for one more.
As I grabbed the 10th tree chunk and lugged it over the side of my truck, I felt it.
A crippling pull down my entire spine.
I froze, I couldn’t walk.
Being a big guy, a tall guy, I’ve had my fair share of back strains, but this was like none other.
I called Megan, she came to pick me up, and I got some pain medicine at the walk in clinic.
Still unable to walk, I was hoping some rest and pain meds would do the trick.
After being home for a couple of hours getting some rest, I went to move, and I felt like my spine was in a vice grip.
I dropped, started screaming, shivering, and was in complete shock.
I couldn’t move.
I literally could not move.
Megan called 911 and six hefty guys (one of which is a client at the gym) wrapped me up in a tarp and got me downstairs and into the ambulance.
After six or eight hours in the hospital, some hefty cocktails of pain medicine, I was finally able to walk with a walker.
I sit here 48 hours later with a pain level about 6/10.
Certainly not comfortable, but functional.
Now, I tell all of that to of course to share a couple of lessons.
It helps to know people :) The paramedic was a client, the ER doc was a client, and I’m grateful for their special care.
Injuries happen and they suck. You go through denial, anger that it happened, what you could have done to avoid it, all the emotions.
But here’s what I really want to focus on….
After that passes, the anger, the frustration, the feeling bad for yourself, all of that needs to happen…
But after it happens, we have to do something about it.
I made a standing desk and was able to do 99% of my planned work day on Monday.
I stayed upright, went for some light walks, did some light stretching, because like most injuries, doing nothing is the worst thing you can do for yourself.
You see, I’m not a doctor, but there are very few injuries where we have to go to completely zero and shut everything down.
In my case I’ll try to keep up with walking and stretching this week.
It not only keeps my back from stiffening up and helps me physically, but more importantly, it’s the mental benefit.
It keeps me moving, it keeps me in a positive mindset instead of just sitting around and sulking.
We get calls or e-mails from clients that get an injury like a knee injury, or maybe they hurt their shoulder playing tennis.
The doc might tell them not to exercise for 2-3 weeks, but hopefully you can see where I’m going with this…we hate that!
Of course, there are a few scenarios where you need to stop moving 100%, but for 99% of cases, staying moving has a plethora of benefits.
If you hurt your shoulder, we still have your lower body and core that we can work on.
If you hurt your knee, we still have your upper body and your core we can work on.
And you see, it’s less about the physical benefit.
Sure it will keep you moving, keep you strong, but it’s not about burning 1,000 calories or losing weight during this time.
It’s about keeping the momentum going.
Momentum is not something we just stumble upon.
Momentum comes from small actions that keep us going.
Doing something, anything, during an injury just keeps the momentum going, keeps the spirits high.
It’s like when we say we don’t have energy to workout.
Remember, it’s the workouts that gives us energy.
A tough concept to grasp, but once we understand it we can really change our life.
This injury stuff was on my mind, and I’m sure at one point or another you’ve been through it, so hopefully something resonated with you to make it a little better next time.
1% Better.
Dedicated To Your Success,
Doug Spurling