Tuesday, June 16, 2009

Doctor's Orders

I just got home from the most emotionally and physically painful shoe shopping experience of my life. A pair of pewter not-quite-cute flat shoes now sits on the table in front of me, between my muscle relaxers and heating pad, and I'm eyeing them all with no small amount of bitterness. I've never worn flat shoes to work. I have very long, very narrow feet that become clown-like in flat, closed-toe shoes, the added height and angle of a high heel just flatters my feet so much better. And I love wearing them- love being even taller, love the clicking of the heels on the stairs, love how the extra 2-3" looks with my pants and skirts. I am just not a flat shoe kind of girl. Sure I have my flip flops and sandals for weekends and playing with Landon, but my lawyer costume requires heels.

But yesterday I woke up with a sharp twinge of pain my back. I ignored it, figuring I'd slept funny, and then suddenly in the middle of a 10:30 meeting something inside my back popped out of place and I couldn't move- couldn't finish pouring sugar in my tea, couldn't pull my chair in to the table- I just froze in my seat for several minutes until the partner leading the meeting stopped mid-sentence and asked if I was okay. I took some Ibuprofen and hoped it would get better on its own, but after spending an evening unable to bend or twist (man was Landon pissed about that) and a rough night not sleeping, I made a doctor appointment first thing this morning.

Dr. Flat Shoes told me that I'd strained some muscles in my back and that I'd need to rest, take muscle relaxers, and NOT wear high heels for a while. She also lectured me on my extreme lack of flexibility- when laying on my back I couldn't even hold my leg straight up in the air. She said that is going to lead to more back trouble as your hamstrings and other leg muscles help support the back, so now I am also the proud owner of a booklet on back stretches. I hate stretching. I have always been so inflexible. JP stretches every night and I usually just sit on the couch and observe but I suppose now I'll have to join in the painful fun.

This whole experience has made me grumpy, though I did have one enjoyable moment today- reading your comments on yesterday's post out loud to JP and watching him blush and get all flustered. He's shy and has no idea how to flirt with anyone but me (I was his first girlfriend and had to ask him to kiss me at the end of our first date), so he's not used to flattery. I considered the comments an early Father's Day present. And now I must get back to work. I'm logging in from home so I can test out the effects of the muscle relaxers, but tomorrow I will stand up straight and face the legal world from my natural height. I wish I could have found a cuter pair of shoes.

14 comments:

  1. Try looking for a pair of flat slingbacks. I also hate the way flats make my feet look, and I've found that a slingback cuts down on the "heaviness" factor. (I have long feet, too, that are narrow at the heel but wide at the toe, so I am familiar with the clown foot effect.)

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  2. Ohhhh noooooo, you have my deepest sympathy ;) I don't know what I would do if I were told I had to wear flats--all of my pants are tailored for 3-4" heels and would be dragging the floor.

    Seriously, I hope that you feel better very soon.

    Oh, and DH asked me for a kiss on our first real date, too (and I told him "no"). I guess those shy guys are the keepers.

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  3. I agree that pants look better with heels. But there are some cute flats out there because the last few years, flats have been in. Good luck!

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  4. Oh no! Sounds like you're stuck in flats until the pain goes away, but once that's done, think about wedge heels. My doctor banned me from regular heels after foot surgery, but I can still wear wedges since they're more supportive. A girl just can't wear flats all the time.

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  5. You should try yoga. It's more fun and more relaxing than "regular" stretching.

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  6. From the few pictures you've posted, you seem to be built similar to me (tall with long limbs?). I've always been incredibly inflexible. And am BITTER about it still, as it ALWAYS kept me from getting the Presendential Physical Fitness award in Elementary School. My brother has always been very fit, but is 6'4" with the same build as me, and, despite his amazing fitness level, has also been incredibly inflexible (and also has back trouble). I'm so not sure where I'm going with this rambly comment - I guess just wondering if there's some corelation between our builds and back problems.

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  7. The the last Anon: I actually typed out a whole diatribe about my congenital inflexibleness (is that a word? probably not.) and how it cost me the Presidential Physical Fitness award in Elementary school in all but the last year when I nearly snapped some tendons forcing myself to touch my toes and hold it. I'm still a little bitter about it as well.

    And to Hanah: I have actually tried yoga twice and both were the worst experiences with exercise I've ever had. I think it's because I'm so inflexible and so self-conscious about it and I just sucked and it hurt so bad I was shaking (and it was a very beginner 101 type class). It's one of those things I should do but don't... maybe after a few weeks of my stretches I can try it again.

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  8. I actually love flats, especially with above the knee skirts and dresses or cropped pants. I agree that heels look best with pants, but there are plenty of adorable flats with things like open toes and slingbacks - check out piperlime.

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  9. Poor thing! I feel your pain. "Flat" is not a word in my shoe vocabular, and I was forbidden to wear heels at 18 weeks pregnant. Hopefully you won't have to be in ugly flats too long!

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  10. I'm the bitter Pres PFA Anon, and am so very happy that there's someone else out there who feels my pain! I actually ran track in HS, and I remember my track coach finally declaring (after spending weeks pushing my shoulders down in an attempt to get me to touch my toes) that she finally believed that I was incapable of becoming flexible. It was very validating. Similarly, I HATE yoga for all of the same reasons. I can tolerate the Inhale program on Oxygen - you can do it by yourself in the comfort of your own home, and it's a little faster paced. But, overall, I've found Pilates to be much better for me and for my back.

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  11. I HATE stretching too. I hate it with a passion. That is why I always had back problems when I was running hard core. But I actually like flat shoes sometimes as long as they are pointy. I hope you feel better soon and I hope you have good luck finding cute flats. Oh and I can't put my leg straight in the air either...

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  12. You know, one stretch you might try that will help both the hamstrings and the lower back without being too painful (or without requiring hunching over) is to put your legs up the wall. Just get your hips as close to the wall as possible, keep your legs as straight as possible, and your feet parallel. I have super tight legs and hips and when I stretch sitting on the floor, I end up hunching my back, which doesn't do me any good, so I do this one instead.

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  13. What you described sounds a lot like what Matt said when he discovered he had a torn lumbar disc in his back ... first, the doctor told him it was a muscle thing too. Then days later, Matt could hardly walk, and I was literally carrying him (yes, me) into the ER. I don't want to freak you out, but I also don't want you to keep going on if you're still in pain after the prescription!

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  14. I'm completely inflexible, too, and I had a stretch in grad school when I kept throwing my back out. Deep-tissue massage TOTALLY cured me. It's so worth trying - much nicer than having to take muscle relaxants!

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