Exercises does help pain!

My last post was quite dark, so I want to reassure all my readers that I am OK. Writing has become one of my coping mechanisms which is why I do so much of it. However, even I have days when I can sit at a computer for hours and only write half a page just because I want what I am doing (e.g. for my new book) to be perfect. I am also very easily distracted and need absolute quiet to work well, especially when I am in pain. The higher my pain, the more stressed I become, the more "aroused" I become -e.g. by noise, things that startle me, the less I am able to do. I work in a glass office and find this incredibly difficult, alarming and impossible to concentrate well. I get interrupted all the time and if I am in pain this just increases my pain and makes it feel like I am working with 100 road-diggers. At home I have much more chance of success because it is usually very quiet here and I am much more comfortable in peace and quiet and therefore in less pain. It is all logical really.
 
Exercise does help pain. I ran yesterday and then did an hour's swimming - 30 minutes of constant widths followed by ballet and other water-resistant exercises. I was so tired by 9.30pm, but went to bed soon after 10pm and was too tired to sleep. I woke several times and then the pain increased a lot so I took some Dihydrocodeine and then had a bad codeine trip!

My lumbar spine is better than it has been in the last few days, but there is pain and I have had referred pain in my right calf (for a change - it is usually left) which is isolated, but is referred from my back. Additionally I am having trouble with plie on my right leg because something is "stuck" at the back of my right heel. This is only occasional but will need a more permanent fix. I had taped my back, but that has gone now and I will go for a walk in the park (it is a lovely day out) and run today. The exercise does help my mood as well as my pain. It is really perverse contemplating exercising when in pain, but it is essential. I also did some rescue exercises yesterday and used hotwater bottles. I did Bowen as I went to bed. I am about to do more book writing!