anyway, just a note on back pain. the pain some of your are experiencing are more likely than not a pulled back muscle. worst case scenario is slipped disc, but if you can still walk i don't think its anything serious. a lot of daily activities can bring about this pain, but i think in our case is highly probable that its due to climbing.
in any case, there are some things you can do to avoid worsening your injury. for eg, when you bend down to pick something up, never never bend from your waist, bend your knees and squat down to pick it up no matter how light. yes we've heard that a million times before but its always times like these that we take our backs for granted! haha yep, and when you're sleeping, try to put some pillows underneath your knees to rest your back, because even when you're lying down flat, your back isnt' totally at rest. when you want to fully rest your back, try resting your calves on a chair, such that your legs form a 90 degree angle to the floor.
there are some stretches you can do as well. lie flat on the floor, bring on knee up to your chest and pull it in. repeat for other leg, and then do both legs at the same time. There's also some rocking motion you can do to loosen back muscles but i'll have to show you that one haha
anyway, yeap some of you might know that i've taken up pilates to strengthen my core to avoid back injury again and i think it helps because it teaches you how to lengthen yourself and your spine. of course i haven't been climbing enough to find out if it helps my climbing as well :(
one last thing. for us girls who swim a lot, always remember that when you're swimming and your head is underwater, how you should look like to a person who is observing you from the side is:
(legs) ---------- (head)
and not (legs) ---------/ (head)
because when you lift your head up like a turtle what you're really doing is tightening your entire back. that's why eli always gets shoulder aches after swimming!
ok that's all! i hope this helps~
~mei~
