Pain in the... back

When I was in middle school, I was diagnosed with scoliosis, which is the S-curvature of the back. I did lots of physical therapy then, and had to relearn how to sleep (not on my front.) A few years later, I was diagnosed with kyphosis, which is the hump in the upper back. I wish so badly that I could go back to my growing years and learn to sit up straight. I wish I could have learned to stand up well, and have good posture. I deal with back pain each and every day.

When I was in college, getting less sleep than I probably should have, and studying a lot, I began to have pain in my shoulders. I was given a few exercises, and they did help some. I learned then that exercise and good sleep helps my pains be lessened.

I do not enjoy my back pain, needless to say. I feel like I am constantly stretching. I do get exercise in the winter by using our wii. I feel better when I can get some stress out by walking. I know I have lazy tendencies, and I know I tend to be sedentary. I love to sit and read a good book or play a word game! I try to sit up, I really do. But old habits die hard. I try to have good posture. It always cracks me up when the wii tells me that I have good posture. It can't see me in reality!

I'm not writing this to complain, just to share. My pain comes and goes, it's not always in the same place for too long. I'll have a spot on my low back hurt for a few days, then the kink works out and it feels fine. When my shoulders or back hurt too bad, I take ibuprofen and use the heating pad or ice. Those measures usually seem to help over a few days. I know that if it were in the same place for too long, I'd need to contact my doctor and have my back looked at for real problems. I'm thankful that my hubby gives a great back rub too!

My dad has had back surgery and so has one of my brothers. I wonder if someday I'll have surgery too. I hope to avoid it as long as I can. My dad suffers from kyphosis and so did his mother. I know I'm in good company in my family, as there are others who understand what I am going through!

I wonder if this is the "thorn in my flesh" that the Lord has given me to bring me closer to Him. Paul discusses this in the book of 2 Corinthians chapter 12. I too have pleaded that this pain would be taken away from me. I consider it a weakness so that in God I can be strong. I am still coming to the point where I am delighting in my back pain. God isn't finished with me yet. I am still being molded into His image...

2 Corinthians 12:7-10

⁷ To keep me from becoming conceited because of these surpassingly great revelations, there was given me a thorn in my flesh, a messenger of Satan, to torment me. ⁸ Three times I pleaded with the Lord to take it away from me. ⁹ But he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ’s power may rest on me. ¹⁰ That is why, for Christ’s sake, I delight in weaknesses, in insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties. For when I am weak, then I am strong.

So if you have a child beginning puberty, please for my sake encourage them to stand up straight, and not slouch in their chairs. Help them to have good posture, and maybe avoid some back pain that I deal with.