
An Episode of Back Pain
– Musings of Dr. Jamie C. Hsu, 5.27.2018
I just experienced an episode of lower back pain and had to cancel my trip to Asia. My injury was not serious, maybe just sprained joints and strained muscles. But the pain and stiffness severely limited my mobility. Sitting down, getting up, getting into bed, and going to the bathroom all required major effort. Any wrong moves would trigger the pain and cramp the back muscles.
This experience is just like what we talked about in the last blog. In order to improve, we must go through the 4 stages of “awareness, understanding, learning, and practicing.”
覺 I first felt the snap of my back joint and the acute pain when I bent down to pick up something.
悟 Then I realized what had happened to me was due to a severe muscle spasm and sprained ligament. After consulting with doctors and reading some medical articles, I found various treatments to minimize the pain, which included cold and hot treatment, painkillers, muscle relaxants, a back brace, and steroid injection.
修 In order to avoid further aggravation of the injury, I had to learn how to move without hurting my back. After a few days’ practice, I learned how to roll off the bed and get up from a chair without using the waist or back muscles.
行 Ultimately, I need to find the root cause of the injury and begin a regiment of exercise and therapy to rebuild and strengthen the back ligaments and muscles.
In a nutshell, to fully recover from this pain episode and avoid future recurrences, I need to go through the 4 stages of the improvement cycle.
The human body is amazing. It can be marvelous and strong, letting us jump, run, dance, and do daily chores. When healthy, we take our body’s ability for granted, until something happens to it. The slightest injury, infection, or illness can make us weak and immobile. We are strong, yet vulnerable. Let us appreciate and cherish our health.


背痛的四部曲
-作者 許俊宸博士
-中譯 薛乃綺
我剛剛經歷了一場腰背痛,還因此不得不取消原本的亞洲行程。我的傷勢不嚴重,可能只是扭傷關節及肌肉緊繃。但所造成的疼痛及僵硬,嚴重限制了我的移動能力。坐下、起床、上床睡覺、甚至連去廁所都要花很大的力氣。稍微一個不良的姿勢,都會引發腰背疼痛及痙攣。
這種體驗就像前一篇Blog提到的那樣;為了自我改善,我們必須經歷認識、理解、學習、實踐,這四個階段。
覺:我開始感受到當我彎下腰去撿東西時,我背部的關節會有急性局部疼痛。
悟:然後我意識到自己發生肌肉嚴重痙攣以及關節有僵硬的情形。在諮詢了醫生及閱讀了一些醫療文章後,我發現了各種減緩疼痛的方式,包括冷熱敷、止痛藥、肌肉鬆弛劑、背部支撐及類固醇注射。
修:為了避免背痛進一步惡化,我必須學會如何移動而不傷害背部。經過幾天的練習,我學會如何滾下床、從椅子上站起來,而不用到腰部或背部的肌肉。
行:最終,我需要找出受傷的根本原因,並且開始治療並鍛鍊,來重建及加強背韌帶及周邊的肌肉。
簡而言之,為了從這個痛苦事件中完全恢復並避免未來再次發生,我需要經歷整個改善的4個階段週期。
人類的身體是很神奇的,它能夠讓我們如此奇妙且強大到去跳躍、跑步、跳舞、做所有日常的家務事。當它健康時,我們將自己身體的能力視為理所當然。直到它出了狀況,我們才發現,身體雖強大、但卻也很脆弱。輕微的傷害、感染或疾病,會使得它變得虛弱。
我們該感謝並珍惜自己的健康!