Good News is Better than Bad News

...and I've had both this week.

My spine doctor has an uncanny talent for freaking me out. Oh sure, he's a nice enough guy, but this week's visit resulted in him telling me that my pharmaceutical options for pain relief were pretty limited and the next step would be epidurals twice or thrice (love that word) a year. Not a good outlook for someone who just discovered this little medical ailment a few months ago. I was really expecting a good four or five years of good meds before the shots got introduced. So, class this is as the bad news.


The good news is that my physical therapist is way more optimistic. She's confident that not only can she relieve the majority of the pain, but that if I so desire, she can have me running (occasionally) within three or four months. And how is she going to work this little miracle? Well, stretch my spine at physical therapy and then follow that up with exercises that will strengthen the deep core muscles which will keep my spine stretched. So, in theory, and with a little time and work, I could be back to a reasonably normal life.

It seems my doctor and my physical therapist sit at opposite ends of the spectrum regarding spinal injuries. She says he freaks out all of his patients because he tends to be ultra conservative about the abilities of the human body. This makes me feel a little better, but there is also the thought that she might also be very liberal with the abilities of the human body. Me? Well, I'm going to take the more middle of the road approach. I'd already come to terms with a life without running, and to be honest, ye olde knees were starting to feel the impact anyway. But it would be nice to occasionally play soccer again, or racquetball,...or any of the other things that I like to do.

But the best news of all, my physical therapist says that cycling is great exercise, and she doesn't think I could have picked a better substitute for running. Yaaaaay!

Oh yeah, and electroshock therapy FTW! :D