Injury? Really?

I realize it's been a long time since I've written, and for most of today, I've been thinking about this great piece I was going to write about changing priorities and such. My plan has lately been to start incorporating all my favorite activities back into my routine - activities I've had to let go because of my back injury. So earlier this week, I went out slowly for about four miles, alternately walking and jogging, to see how it felt. It felt good, but I realized it maybe was a little too long a distance.

I practiced yoga on Monday and Wednesday, and today I went out for a shorter distance (somewhere between two or three miles, I estimate) and incorporated several of my physical therapy exercises into the run - stopping to do squats, one-legged golf squats with a bench, step-up knee drives, etc. The whole work out lasted 35 minutes, and I stretched afterwards.

I wanted to write a post about how I was going to try, slowly, to start incorporating running and other activities back into my routine. However, this afternoon, I started to feel my throat glands swelling and my throat got sore. A headache came next. I went home from work early, ready to take a nap, but decided to join the work party in my back yard of pulling weeds. I changed into my work clothes and as I was bending over to put on my tennis shoes, I felt my low left back twinge. The same twinge that I felt last June and has put me out for so long.

I thought it was okay at first, but when I came back inside and tried to sit in a chair, it wasn't. It's the same nauseating pain that radiates into my waist. I'm so frustrated that as we speak, I'm laying on my back with a computer on my lap. Tears have been shed. I'm not sure why my back pulled again; I really thought that with all the physical therapy and mindful yoga, I was past this. I wonder now if my attempt at jogging weakened something and made me more prone to injury.

I'm not sure what tomorrow will bring. I've subbed out my classes due to my throat, but I'm glad I have since I'm not sure if I'd be able to teach tomorrow with my back like this. I'm desperately hoping and intending that this little twinge heal itself quickly, with the help of my rest and positive thinking, as well as my knowledge of rehabilitation exercises. I desperately want to avoid the six month-plus healing time again. I want to be healthy and enjoy the activities I love. Why is this so hard for my body to do?