Pain in the back

Ouch! My back hurts! I am so tired of it. It started during my pregnancy with R: intense hip and pelvic pain. After his birth, I went to a chiropractor and a physical therapist and sometimes felt a bit better but the pain always returned.

It is concentrated in my left lower back and is like an achey spasm. Sometimes a nerve-y feeling shoots down my left leg. But the weirdest thing is that my hips and pelvis are often crooked, especially after I run or when I wake up in the morning. I was told I needed to strengthen my core muscles, and I needed to stretch my hip flexors.

Finally, my new primary care doctor had another doctor look at me and he said my ligaments in my hips were weakened and loose from the stress of pregnancy and childbirth. He recommended prolotherapy in which a doctor injects sugar water or some other irritant into your ligaments in the hopes they will rebuild themselves. The problem is, if I have more children my ligaments will get all loosy-goosy again.

So I have been holding off. But this morning, I woke up with my hips crooked to the right and my left lower back screaming. I very gingerly lean over to tie my shoes or pick up toys. I wince when I lift R out of his crib or hoist Q over the baby gate. It's an unfortunate condition when you teach fitness classes and have two toddlers.

Fed up, I called my doctor again. I am now scheduled to go in for a manipulation, similar to what a chiropractor does. As in the past, this will only be a temporary fix, but I am desperate for anything.

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T and I and two couples from my mom's group are going out for dinner tonight without the kids. Ahhhhh. I am off to shower and make myself presentable.

--MM