When Life Throws a Curve Ball: Managing Diabetes with an Injury
It may sound strange for me to connect a pulled back muscle with blood sugar regulation, but let me explain.
About two weeks ago, I began to experience this sharp pain in my lower back every time I turned in a certain direction. Whether I sat or stood, after about five minutes it would be there. I couldn't sleep and it became almost unbearable. This lasted for two days until I decided that it was time for me to seek medical attention.
I visited an urgent care center down the street from where I live to find out what was going on. My first idea about the pain was that it could be my kidneys, so I checked my blood sugar levels to see if they were elevated and they were not. Also, the pain was more in the middle of my lower back on the right, and I know that my kidneys are not located there.
While at the care center, the doctor asked me to move in certain positions by stretching, and we discovered that I must have pulled a muscle in my back. I wasn't sure how this happened, because I work out daily for about 30 minutes. I didn't think I was doing anything too strenuous that would result in pulling a muscle, but here we are.
The doctor told me that I had to postpone both weight and HIIT workouts. This startled me, because I know that the exercise has been helping my blood sugar levels to stay in range. At this point, I was trying to think about what type of physical activity I could do that would help me to maintain a fitness level at which my body could still benefit from blood sugar regulation.
I asked the doctor what exercises I could do to maintain my fitness and blood sugar levels. The doctor told me not to do too much movement and to allow my back to heal, but that I could do light walking and some moving around in a swimming pool. The water will support my joints and keep me from putting any strain on my back muscles.
To make a long story short, he said that it may take anywhere from 2 to 8 weeks for me to heal. I knew exactly what I needed to do. Since I wasn't doing any high-intensity workouts, I needed to take in fewer carbohydrates so that I can maintain a decent blood sugar level in the coming weeks.
So over the past two weeks I have been eating fewer carbohydrates. I'm taking my prescribed muscle relaxers and an anti-inflammatory medication. I've actually done some marching in place inside my apartment and have even visited the pool to exercise once. I am proud to report that two weeks later, my back is feeling much better and I haven't had to deal with any hyperglycemia even though I'm doing less exercise.
The moral of this story is that life can throw curveballs, but it doesn't mean that you can't get around them. Diabetes self management is a marathon and never a sprint, so you just have to take one day at a time because anything can happen. Learning how to deal with tough circumstances can help you learn how to adapt in any situation.
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