Have you ever
experienced a moment that totally transforms your perspective on something? I
did recently – and whilst I’m mostly writing this just to get my thoughts down
on paper (as it were), I thought I’d still share it!
As I’ve mentioned, I
have dyspraxia, which is described as a “neurological disorder, beginning in
childhood, that can affect planning of movements and coordination as a result
of brain messages not being accurately transmitted to the body.” Fancy
description, huh? To be fair, I borrowed it from this website - http://alifewithdyspraxia.webs.com/whatisdyspraxia.htm
- and it’s as good a description as any. It certainly describes my awkward
gait!
However, there was more
to it than that; I wrote some months ago about the on-going pain I’ve got in my
lower back, hips, knees and feet. I’ve had pains there since I was a child;
being born with inward-turning feet, a consultant at the hospital when I was a
few months old said that I had awkwardly-placed hips, which would straighten
with time and my walking would improve.
This was the early 80’s,
and dyspraxia wasn’t well-known back then – at least, not in my corner of the
world, and physiotherapy wasn’t an option. So, I’ve grown up with an awkward
gait and painful hips and knees; please don’t misunderstand me, however, I’m not
saying this to whinge. That’s just the way it’s been – and certainly, the
positive in my life has far outweighed any of these negatives.
However, I recently did
a marathon (a walking marathon, I
should say – I’m not silly enough to run it!), and it made me aware that I was
31 years old, but immediately after I’d finished, was walking around like a man
triple my age. “Something’s not quite right,” I told myself.
I was sent up the
hospital for a x-ray – which is never the most elegant of procedures, let’s be
honest. When I’m being sent for scans of my hips, and they’re worried my
trouser zip and belt buckle is going to interfere with the scan … well, my
trousers weren’t going to protect my dignity for very long. So
there I was, laying on a bed and being scanned by a bloody great big machine.
Events like that ensure that I will never develop a huge ego.
So, back to the GP I
went … and there I found out something that threw me. It turns out that what I
thought was a problem with my hips – thus causing my feet to turn inwards – was
actually a problem with my back. Vertebrae L4 and L3, in case you particularly
wanted to know.
It doesn’t mean anything to me – except that
it’s in my lower back. Essentially, these two vertebrae “knock” against each
other, when they should be a reasonable distance apart, and that impact causes
knock-on effects in my hips and knees. It turns out that the problems with my
feet are pretty much coincidental. Go figure.
So, what’s the next
step? Physiotherapy. I’m more prone to arthritis and other lower-limb problems,
so if I can postpone any issues through physio, then my philosophy is “Let’s do
it.” The next few months will
certainly be … interesting.
