lundi 5 juillet 2010

That's torn it!

My back has been slowly getting better and this morning I set to clearing the latest and last new field. This one is at Le Sarrach close to Paul's field and barn. It too has a barn which I can use. I'll post a map of all the fields later as even I'm getting confused as to which one is which as I now have 10 fields totalling 3,3 hectares (7.5 acres).

The new field is full of metre high dense bracken so a few days ago I scythed it down to 6 inches or so, and today with the topper on the tractor I got it all down to a few centimetres high. There are some fallen trees to clear (surprise, surprise) so I went down with the chainsaw. Bad mistake - within a few minutes I put my back out again - badly. It took 30 minutes to stagger back to the house. Some pain killers and muscle relaxants that Justin gave me (but I had been reluctant to use) were downed and after a hot shower I laid down on the hard floor. 30 minutes later I could hardly get up...so decided it was better to keep the back moving. A very slow and delicate stroll down to the barn and I found a lovely grisette mushroom which will go well with the cep and chanterelles I got yesterday.
I'm DEFINITELY taking it easy for a few days and the chainsaw is out of bounds!

Mon dos a été lentement s'améliorer et ce matin je me mis à dégager le dernier nouveau domaine. Celui-ci est à proximité de Le Sarrach (la grange de Paul). Il a aussi une grange que je peux utiliser. Je vais envoyer une carte de tous les domaines, même plus tard, j'ai maintenant 10 domaines totalisant 3,3 hectares.

Le nouveau Pré est pleine de fougères denses et un mètre de haut alors il y a quelques jours je l'ai fauchée à 15cm, et aujourd'hui avec le girobroyeur sur le tracteur, je l'ai obtenu tout jusqu'à quelques centimètres de haut. Il y a des arbres tombés pour déblayer (quelle surprise) alors je suis allé avec la tronçonneuse. Grave erreur - dans quelques minutes, je blesse mon dos à nouveau - mal. Il a fallu 30 minutes pour décaler vers la maison. Certains analgésiques et de relaxants musculaires que Justin m'a donné (mais j'avais été réticents à utiliser) ont pris et après une douche chaude j'ai posé sur le sol dur. 30 minutes plus tard je pouvais à peine me lever ... alors décidé qu'il était préférable de garder le dos en mouvement. Une très lent et délicat promener le long de la grange et j'ai trouvé un champignon grisette belle qui ira bien avec les cèpes et les girolles j'ai eu hier.

4 commentaires :

Anne a dit…

Aïe! T'a vu un docteur ?

Lee Sharp a dit…

Une Osteopathe cette l'apres-midi. Lire mon dernier post. Aie, aie, aie!

gabriele gray a dit…

A few suggestions from someone who has a good (bad?) idea of what you're going through.
First--rather than lieing flat on the floor, lie down but put your legs up (against a wall is good) so the legs are at a 30 degree angle or so. This will rest the upper back while stretching the lower part. Your legs will also appreciate this.
Second--find someplace where you can put a bar that you can suspend yourself (hanging from your hands) from--it will stretch the entire back. An old teacher was told by his doctor to do it until he got strong enough to do pull ups--and doing so, didn't have any more problems with his lower back--of course his main problem before had been with playing golf, not working in the woods.
Three--there are various devices on the market usually called 'back stretchers'. I have two, one for home (more padding) and one for travel (it comes apart to lie flat for packing). It has helped out many times. Lying on it I do various other stretching exercises which I might not otherwise do. (cheaper the better, as low tech as possible)
Calcium & magnesium (dolomite) taken together will not only help with the pain but act to relax the muscles as well.
I found out walking on all the beautiful cobblestone streets in Ghent that it's the uneven surface that torques my lower back--so walk a block, find a spot, sit and stretch, then walk another block. The friend I was with said his father had same problem, no back trouble, just older spine and uneven surfaces.
Advice from a former cobbler (me) with orthopedic training: wear shoes/boots with less flexibility and more ankle support. It will keep you from using your lower back as much and your legs more.
Out in the woods? Quick exercise to keep the lower back flexible--do a high stepping march for a couple minutes. Also great for long road trips--even if the people watching in the aire think you're crazy...
Last but not least: Get some used tennis balls and either use them individually for sore spots or put two in a stocking so you can position it on both sides of the spine. They're also nice to roll around with your feet--mini-massage. Really sore feet? Use golf balls instead. Ouch at first...then aaaahhhh...
Hope you feel better. I love following the story of your meadows and fields and such..

Lee Sharp a dit…

Wow thanks Grabriele for all the advice! Some I of it I knew and already do, but some of it is new and I'll definitely try it out. Nearly all my general footwear is 3/4 stiff walking boots.

The back stretcher looks like an instrument of torture! I usually do stretches from Bob Anderson's excellent book "Stretching", until things got hectic this spring and I stopped - which is probably why I got the back problems!