A right old pain in the ... back

The thing about back pain is that it's so damn unpredictable. For example, I can manhandle heavy furniture packs at IKEA, lift weights at the gym, and generally schlep around my laptop, and nothing -- not a twinge. I roll over in bed this morning to get the cup of tea that PJ so thoughtfully made for me and -- BAM! Searing pain down my left shoulder muscle. A warm shower, some stretches, and a liberal (and stinky) application of IcyHot did little to relieve the pain, but a day in the office and several lovely pink ibuprofen tablets took the edge off it. I decided to go to yoga, a little worried and promising to take it easy, and again, all went well. In fact, it helped me get to grips with the concept we've been studying for the past few weeks -- using the support of the organs, rather than the muscles, in the different postures. This is a somewhat abstract, nay esoteric, concept and was difficult to grasp, but being unable to use the big back muscles on my left side this evening forced me to look elsewhere for support. And it worked! No doubt, though, merely sleeping will cause the pain to return. Woe, indeed, is me.