In 1997 when I was a student at the University of New Haven in CT I got into a bad car accident. I was merging onto I-95 behind a carting truck that was driving with its rear platform raised. These truckers do this for a living every day so I honestly didn\’t think anything of it.
A short distance from the I-95 entrance ramp there was an overpass. Apparently the truck\’s platform was too high and struck the overpass (this all happened within seconds of entering the interstate). Not being able to change lanes due to traffic, the trucks hydraulics snapped and the platform came flying and landed on top of my Honda Accord.
Long story short, the firemen and EMT crew couldn\’t believe I was the driver because externally I didn\’t even have a scratch on me. Unfortunately internally I ended up with several herniated discs. It was a long few months of not being able to lay in bed, sit, or stand for more than a minutes at a time without being able to find a comfortable position because of the pain.
My lower back is what took the bulk of the damage. Pain meds, epidural injections, chiropractic adjustments all just offered minor and very short lived relief. Luckily I had an awesome physical therapist and the exercises and stretches he taught me made a world of a difference. It didn\’t happen overnight, and at first it was very difficult and painful, but little by little my movement started coming back and my pain started diminishing (something that meds and other treatments was not able to accomplish).
Over 20 years later and I still do this set of back stretches every day! If you have any lower back issues, I can\’t recommend these enough. Even if you don’t have any back issues, I recommend these to everyone!
