I’m 37 years old now and I’ve been dealing with back issues since I was around 32. It’s not all the time but whenever I am feeling pain it usually takes me weeks to recover. I found out from an MRI a couple of years ago that I have a few bulging discs in my back and one of them was pressing on a nerve which is the cause of my pain.
I’ve been to physical therapy multiple times over the years and it usually does help. The mistake I always make is I stop doing the exercises daily that I go through in physical therapy once I feel better. Eventually, something happens and my back pain comes back. I can’t say this for sure but if I just kept doing the daily exercises the pain may not come back.
In my mind, I’m still a 20-something-year-old who whenever I get hurt recovers and the injury never comes back. Unfortunately at this point in my life, I’m closer to 40 than my 20s and that is no longer the case. My brain just hasn’t internalized this yet. I think this is something a lot of people deal with and not just with injuries.
It’s easy to still think of yourself as the person you were in the past whether this is a good thing or a bad thing. It’s a pretty cliche comedy act for people to make fun of the kids who were popular in high school and are now adults living in their parent’s basement still trying to coast off their high school accomplishments.
I don’t think most people are that bad but I do think it’s common for people to think they can still do things they no longer can, especially physical things. Some of it can be mental too especially as people age into their 70s and older.
The whole purpose of this post was a reminder to myself that I need to start doing my physical therapy exercises for my back daily and never stop. Also, think about other areas of my life where I may be making a similar mistake thinking I still “got it” when I don’t anymore.
If you are reading this and going through something similar you are not alone. I think the best thing to do is just accept the reality of the situation and focus on what you can control.