My Stand Up Desk

Stand Up Desk

Those who know me often ask about my back.

The answer is, my back is much better but it's an ongoing battle to manage and care for it.

One part of this is that I am careful not to sit for more than an hour at a time. If I'm working, I just stand-up and keep working with my nifty stand-up desk.

This year, my back is sore but no problems. Of course, it's only March.  I've skied and biked and swam a lot.  I'm hoping to go do tri sprints again this summer but this means that I need to start running again. I've run about a mile and a half three times this year and each one took a lot more than I expected and left me pretty sore for most of a week.

My last real back spasm was in Sept 2015 when, feeling pretty good in the morning, I did some squats but for some reason, I did it while holding my little dog over and in front of my head. This turns out to be really stressful on the back and it triggered a pretty bad spasm. That spasm was the day of the SOFL Edcamp which I managed to get thru by using the back brace and some drugs.

A bigger spasm was in March 2015 when Carmen was in Cuba. I triggered it by playing way too much tennis on a Sunday and then, when I tried to do situps  on Tuesday am,  my back when into a full spasm making it almost impossible to get off the floor or move. This one took about two weeks in the back brace before I could move again.

So that's the status, I'm writing this both to promote the standing desk and also, I'm trying to keep better records about my back status. So, to help me keep track, I'm listing the previous posts on this topic.

Previous posts related to ergonomics and desks and back problems:

BB at 57 - Status Report  - May 2015

Staying Fit Over Fifty, Recent Challenges - Nov 2013

Breaking the Cycle of Chronic Back Problems March 2013

By Back Strategy - Sept 2011

BBat50 is on the comeback trail! April 2011

Resolving Nagging Back Problems - March 2011

Training for training - Jan 2009

More Back Problems - Nov 2008

My desk ergonomics - The details - Nov 2008

Breaking the Cycle of Chronic Back Problems

A New and Improved...Me!
Over the last four years, I've had a a frustrating recurrent cycle of back spasms, hip problems, and muscle pulls making it difficult to train and causing a steady downhill slide in fitness.  I've been going regularly to a chiropractor and following his suggestions of applying heat and moderating exercise. I did check out whether the orthopedists felt any surgery was in order (they didn't).

Much time in Jacuzzi and heat

Last week, I marched into a physical therapist, plonked down my credit card, showed them my MRIs, and told them my story.  The story simply is that I'm 55 but I don't just feel 5 years older than when I was 50, I'm losing my fitness and health at an alarming rate.

Chiropractic treatment included electrical stimulation,
ultrasound, roller table, and  adjustments.

They conducted a few basic tests as in push this way, pull that way, and bend thisaway.  Their verdict: it's easily fixed in 8 weeks.  I'm thrilled.  They found some dramatic deficits in some core areas and some areas that badly need a lot of stretching.   I wish I had tried it sooner.

What's odd is that I have had two previous experiences with PT and both were very very positive.  And there's a friend of mine who's a trainer who  had told me that I could, with a little focus and work, be put back together but somehow, I didn't step up to it. Frankly, I got too wrapped up in my day-to-day busyness and missed the forest for  the trees.

What finally got me into it was that I had to take my son to PT weekly and as long as I was there for an hour, I started asking about what they could do for me.  This is pretty much exactly, BTW, how I first got involved in the martial arts. Stay tuned!

Here's my list of exercises (so far). They add new ones at each session:
- warm up on bike 10 minutes (at studio)
- lay on back, on knee bent, the other leg mostly straight.  Stretch it vertical with a band around it for 30 seconds x 3 for each leg.
- lay on back. Arch. Hold for 2 seconds.  Three sets of 15.
- lay on belly. Arch up onto elbows. Press down with abs.  Hold for 2 seconds.  Three sets of 15.
- lay on back. 15 leg lifts with 5 lb weight. Three sets on each leg.
- lay on side. 15 leg lifts with 5 weight. Three sets on each leg.
- lay on belly. 15 leg lifts with 5 weight. Three sets on each leg.
- Get on all fours like a dog.  Arch back so butt is up. Raise hand to horizontal. 15 times, 3 sets each arm.  Try hard to maintain posture.
- Get on all fours like a dog.  Arch back so butt is up. Raise leg to horizontal. 15 times, 3 sets each arm.  Have no idea how to keep position while doing this.
- Get on all fours like a dog.  Arch back so butt is up. Raise leg and opposite leg simultaneously to horizontal. 15 times, 3 sets each side.  Have no idea how to maintain position while doing this.
- ice afterwards

In PT studio, squat leaning back against big ball against wall.  How many?
In PT studio, lay on back, hold ball between knees, push heavy weight with legs. How many?