Picture the scene...
A couple of months after banging my head on the car while putting my daughter's child seat in the back and hearing a very audible 'crrruuunch' in my neck, I am sat in front of my Doctor with an irritating, at times uncomfortable, clicky neck.
After a cursory examination (lift your head up, now down, to the left and now the right...mmm, aha) my doctor waived away my concerns as follows;
"You're what..er, 42 now. Well, you know, you're getting older. Joints are allowed to click..knees, elbows, necks. I don't think you need worry..it's just age. But come back in a month if it is not any better.
Reassuring. You're old, get over it and stop whinging.
A put my nagging doubts to the back of my mind and started thinking about resuming fitness and stamina training...cycling, running etc. I then came down with the first of two bouts of the common cold (the second of which I am still recovering from). The common diagnosis for this is;
MAN FLU
Cough, chills, sore throat, viral laryngitis and loss of voice, headaches and general lethargy.
Anyway, I recovered enough to decide to venture out for a run. Big Mistake!
I ran, well plodded, my way around a 4 mile circuit and then went off for a 45 minute cycle ride. Lots of exercise, calories burnt and a happy glow of satisfaction. The 'happy chemicals' - endorphins - whizzed around my body and all was good with the world. Until I woke up the following day.
I woke with a stiff neck, not just your usual 'I must have slept funny' stiffness, but a constant throbbing ache and an inability to turn my head to the left or to raise or lower it without a searing, sharp shooting pain - as if I was being held in a slowly tightening vice.
The day went on, the pain worsened. I was doing a fine impression of Frankenstein's monster, minus bolts.
I took myself off to the doctor for an appointment Monday morning, still stiff and in a lot of pain. A word to the wise....it isn't a good idea to cycle or drive when you can't look over your shoulder.
After a more thorough examination, my doctor (a different one this time) informed me that he was referring me for 'URGENT physio' and would value the opinion of the physiotherapist as to whether I may have a prolapsed / slipped disc in my neck.
I did a very stiff double take..."Er, so it could be a slipped disc in my neck?" Great.
Luckily, I was able to see the physio after only a couple of days and the diagnosis was more favourable. It wasn't a slipped disc, but I had 'instability' in my neck. Instability? You mean my head is about to wobble all over the place and could fall off like a Lego person?
What it means is that , because of the blow to my head, I have put the muscle into misalignment. Therefore the muscles in my neck are not working efficiently, or as they should, causing inflammation and consequent stiffness and pain.
It's almost 2 weeks since the pain and stiff neck occurred. Thankfully, I have more movement now and slightly less pain - but the nagging pain is never far away. It still hurts a lot to turn my head to the left. Two sessions of physio have helped and I have some exercises to do to try and stretch and strengthen my neck muscle., They hurt too. Honestly, being a physio is a job for a sadist. Their instructions are usually along the lines of;
"OK then, put your head over to the side, now try to turn it as I push against your head with the power of Hercules and The Hulk combined...and relax...oh, sorry, did it hurt?"
So, I am currently suffering a little. The man flu is annoying, but I'm over the worst now. My neck hurts and movement is restricted, but it should be right in a few weeks.
In the meantime, as the wind and rain, cold and fog envelope the UK and we plunge headlong into Winter, I am a week away from dragging my slightly out of condition backside off the sofa and setting off on a 6 hour biathlon. 25 miles cycling and 9 miles walk / hike / jog along the length of the Malvern Hills
.
It's going to hurt...it already hurts. But.....there's no buts. I can, and 'inshallah', I will,
Wish me luck.
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