Korea is slippery... and I'm a klutz.

So, I managed to injure myself once again. Just one week ago, I woke up with a funny feeling in my lower back. I didn't think too much of it because I tend to have some back pain if I sleep in a weird position. I headed to soccer practice thinking a good run around would help make it feel better. Wrong. I headed to practice as usual at Yongsan base. We scrimmaged right away for about 30 minutes because we weren't sure how long we had the field reserved for. Since it was about 85 degrees and about 99% humidity, a water break was well needed after running for a half hour. I decided to take a rest and sit during the break. Once our break was up, I stood up, only to feel nothing but PAIN. Sharp pains in my lower back. Argh. It felt as if my body was stuck in that sitting position. I ran out to the field to continue the scrimmage but it was only when I took my second goal kick that I decided it was time to sit out. Each time I took a kick, a sharp pain seemed to run up my leg and into my lower back region.

I thought (hoped) that after a day of rest, I would feel better. Nope. I went to work as usual on Monday, simply taking ibuprofen for my pain. It hardly worked and I spent my day in pain. I feel really bad for my students in my last couple of classes. I was an irritated teacher that day.

I woke up a little early on Tuesday and went to the doctor to get it all checked out. I was sent to an orthopedic doctor, had an x-ray taken, and he, through broken Konglish, told me he thought I had a herniated disc in my lower spine. Great. He also sent me to the "physical therapy" area of the clinic. I was put into some crazy contraptions! I wish I had my camera for one machine. I had to lay on a bed, get strapped in (rather tightly) by a nurse, and was squeezed and released over and over. I also was put on a heating pad and given some electric stimulation too. It did make me feel pretty funky and nice though.

On Thursday, I woke up to a rainy morning. I decided to go get a CT scan on my back (doctor's orders). The office was on the other side of the huge roundabout in Sinchon, so I had to go underground where the subway is, to get to my destination. The stairs were wet, I was wearing sandals, next thing you know, I've fallen down half a flight of stairs directly on my back. My umbrella went flying and a couple strangers helped me gather my things. I ended up landing mainly on my upper back, leaving myself in a great amount of pain for the rest of the day. I was put through a huge, MRI-like machine to get my CT scan. It confirmed that two discs in my back are herniated, affecting my sciatic nerve, hence the pain in my legs too. Looks like a lot of electro-shock therapy and acupuncture is in my future. At least my pain killers work pretty well.