Portrait of the Artist Straining Their Lower Back in Surprising Circumstances

[cimorene]

The day before yesterday I was bending slightly at the hips to set a tray of little potted plants on a table and strained my lower back. It made two very palpable sort of twinges, twinges that I practically heard as cartoonish sound effects.



I HAVE had strains in my back before, but never with such a THWOP! feeling. Also possibly they didn't hurt quite as much, I don't really remember. And also they were never for no comprehensible reason. Like, I always knew why my back was pissed before. After I got home I googled it and found out it's actually not uncommon for people's backs to do this in response to common everyday movements as they get older, so... yay. I'm only 39! And I guess I should do warm-ups and cool downs in the future (before work, I mean, not before putting things on tables, or walking, or bending slightly... and that might still help even though, in this case, all I was doing was bending slightly to put something on a table...).

Also I found out after I got home that I missed the critical right-after window when I should have put ice on it, but it's cold - it was like -12° at the time. I didn't want to put ice on me; I'm already cold enough! I never like icing things anyway.

Comments

[cathexys]

That sucks! I'm so sorry!!!

I miss a good term for this one second to the next crazy pain. In German it's called HEXENSCHUSS, literally witch's shot. I think that describes this crazy pain coming literally out of nowhere quite well :)

Feel better!!!

[waxjism]

Oh, ha, Cim asked me what this kind of ~acute lumbago was called in Swedish or Finnish and I couldn't remember due to a sudden brain fart. But of course in Finnish it's called noidannuoli, which literally means witch's arrow. And in Swedish it's ryggskott (back shot, or shot in the back) - but an old-fashioned word is trollskott (troll's shot).

[cathexys]

I was almost betting that there was some equivalently vivid version of it in Finnish. Troll's shot and witch's arrow are both perfect as well! (And all clearly coming from the same basic idea!)

I've been thinking about both of you, because we've been watching Bordertown, which I think is the first Finnish show we've ever watched. I was showing off my (very limited) knowledge about Finnland, like how much bigger the country was than my husband assumed... [We've watched pretty much every Danish, Swedish, and Norwegian show available here, so this was an interesting expansion for us :)

Those funny English speakers. Every thing has strange Latin medical names when there are such great folk terms you could have. Germans don't have an appendix (well they have that too) but most folks call it the blind intestine. They're not sinuses but side cavities. Not hepatitis but yellow disease :)

[waxjism]

I never watched Bordertown although I'm aware of it. Did you see White Wall - that's a Swedish/Finnish coproduction. Also there's Ivalo if you want snow and, uh, actually it's about a pandemic nevermind.

I think the Swedish words are pretty much the same as the German. Blindtarm, bihålor, gulfeber.

[cimorene]

You're right, that is perfect! 😂

[cathexys]

I just read your update. So sorry you're still dealing with that.

And yeah, lumbago really sounds like an old people thing. (Though I've had to face the fact that I *am* old people now. LOL) I think that's the secret no one tells you. You'll be 90 and still to yourself feel like you're 25. Everyone around you is just weird!!! :D

[viggorlijah]

there is ABSOLUTELY no way you are 39. You are a fresh-faced teenager!! I refuse to accept this reality.

Also back braces for lifting stuff look dumb but feel so good. Anti-witch armour!

[cimorene]

Tbh I still look 20 in my mind too. Only when I look at photos from then I'm like "Why is my face so babyfat?"

[lobelia321]

Hope it gets better soon!

[cimorene]

It seems to be improving on schedule now, although I've sat on the couch today which is probably a bad move...