Understanding the MindBody Connection - Spinal Fracture
I sustained a fracture on T12 in my back.
How did I do that?
I lifted a small bookshelf with books. In that moment I felt a pop in my back and fell to my knees on the floor. I crawled to the couch in my rumpus room. I was determined to just continue with what I was doing and that was a LinkedIn post. I completed that task and called my husband to bring ice. I then needed his support to climb the stairs and lay down on my bed. The pain took my breath away.
Using the word “small” bookshelf is a way of justifying my choice to show that really it couldn’t be that heavy. However, this “small” bookshelf contained several books and note pads. Paper is very heavy. This is the physical entity that brought me to a place of becoming acutely aware of the part of my back that I was neglecting. I was not listening or paying attention to the emotions that were stuck there.
So, began the process of healing:
I iced it, got horizontal and walked around my kitchen a few times a day. I heard that walking increases blood circulation to the back and that it helps heal. I looked outside myself, massage that would help. The massage did help to release some of the muscle spasms and move the congestion into my lymph nodes so my body could release it. Of course, an x-ray confirmed what I had done.
I was determined to heal FAST and just couldn’t understand why I had to wait six weeks before I could do physiotherapy or swim. What I learned from my physiotherapist; anyone who has a broken or fractured bone must wear a cast for at least six weeks to allow physical healing to occur. Got it – that makes sense. Casts are not something one does for a fractured vertebra.
I continue to do self-care, physiotherapy and found the patience to allow my body to physically heal from the injury.
Essentials oils include Peppermint oil. Perhaps best-known for its menthol undertones, peppermint oil is one of nature's most potent analgesics, Wintergreen, Lemongrass, Ginger, Lavender, Eucalyptus, Roman, German chamomile, and Rosemary.
Once healed I also participated in a restorative yoga class. Five weeks in I was doing a plank, immediately I felt pain and spasms in my back where the T12 injury occurred.
Believing it was too early to do that type of pose I got angry and chose to not do that pose again. After speaking to my life coach, (coaches need coaches, coaching oneself does not work) she connected me to the emotions I had been holding there. It was my inner child of 16 years old. My 16-year inner child wanted to be heard and seen. I ignored her for so long and the only way for her to get my attention was to create severe pain and injury.
The process of truly connecting within me was to pause, stop, listen, journal, and acknowledge what I had ignored for years.
I wrote down my discoveries and my article Dear Inner Child was published in the new book, Heart Notes.
