I absolutely love contact sports, the more contact the better. After years of boxing, martial arts, and football my body is in constant pain. My wrists, elbows, shoulders, back, hips, knees and ankles hurt daily. I’ve had 3 back surgeries at L4-L5 level, knee surgery, broken multiple bones in my hands and feet, fractured my collar bone, severed ligaments in my left ankle, dislocated my shoulder, just to name a few of the things I’ve done to my body. Needless to say some of these injuries have resulted in lingering pain and lack of mobility.
Out of all of my injuries, the ruptured disc and back surgeries have had the most impact on my life. Back pain can be completely debilitating, but I’m determined to overcome this. My 3rd back surgery was performed in August of 2012 and I’ve been recuperating since. I have decent days and really bad days, but overall the pain is always there. I do my back exercises and stretch every day, sometimes multiple times throughout the day with limited improvement. I’ve tried to go back to the gym to lift weights but that causes more pain in my back. Given the fact that the things that I would consider traditional forms of exercise have not worked for me, I’ve started a journey to find something that works for me.
I’ve been researching the benefits of low impact exercises like Tai Chi and Yoga. I’ve attempted a few modified yoga poses which have provided improved mobility and temporary pain relief. I’ve watched some beginning yoga videos and I’m not even ready for the beginner’s videos. No matter what I do I’ll have to modify any exercise program to meet my needs at this point.
About 4 months ago I came across a news article about wrestler Diamond Dallas Page and how he rehabbed a back injury with yoga. Now he has developed a video called DDP Yoga (formerly Yoga for Regular Guys). After reading many independent reviews I’ve order the program and will begin this week. This blog is intended to document my journey to overcome my back injuries. I pray this program helps me and this blog encourages others.
Just Being Trace 