Those of you who know me know that I have suffered lower back pain for many years. I'm sure it developed over the years from getting in and out of a police car with a 20 lb. leather belt around my waist.

During one visit to my chiropractor years ago, he weighed my Sam Brown (gun belt) which held my handgun, extra bullets, radio, two pair of handcuffs, and pepper spray, and it weighed 21 lbs.!!! Add to that the twisting and turning it takes to complete the simple maneuver of getting out of a car, and multiply it by 15-20 times a day and viola!! You have lower back injuries and lower back pain.

My back pain would usually manifest itself during long periods of standing. Crime scenes, which usually lasted at least 8 hours, were the worst. It didn't help that I had ballooned up to 245 lbs near the end of my career. After retirement I was able to get down to 233 lbs, but seemed to plateau at that point.

In recent months I have been trying to loose weight, and have lost 15 lbs. I have been riding my mountain bike and a stationary bike at the gym. At one point I started running again and was up to two mile runs at least three times a week. My chiropractor told me running was bad for my back, but I wanted to lose the weight and always enjoyed running. I tried swimming laps at the gym, but it's a lot harder than it looks.

As the pain in my lower back started to get worse, I stopped running again but continued to ride lots of miles on a bicycle. I found that it didn't hurt to ride the bike as I was in a bent over position that apparently took the pressure of my spine. I kept telling my chiropractor about the increased pain in my leg.

Two weeks ago I convinced the chiropractor that I needed extra sessions on my lower back. So he started seeing me two days a week to adjust me and do electrical treatments. This last Thursday I limped into his office and told him I couldn't stand up long enough to brush my teeth or shower without terrible pain.

The chiropractor told me I am suffering an acute episode of inflammation of a disk which is irritating the sciatic nerve. My pain runs down the entire length of my left leg and at times causes numbness in my foot. Along with adjusting me, my chiropractor has added some sonogram work.


So for the time being, I will not be doing much bike riding or even much walking. I'm sure it will clear up in a few days.