Yesterday, I threw my back out, so I'm laying here on the couch, taking ibuprofen and finding some comfort with ice packs. Meanwhile, I have neighborhood kids looking through trash to try to find the stupid thing.
I have no idea where that phrase came from, but I've heard it all of my life. Perhaps throwing your back out of alignment is a more accurate phrase, but you still have the throw part. Maybe it's sports slang, adopted by the general population, much like, "I blew my knee out or burned my arm out".
In any event, the terms are confusing. I threw my back out can include anything from getting out of the car wrong. Sleeping in a strange position, digging a hole, working in the garden, turning your head too fast, almost anything. Hitting a golf ball wrong.
My point is that the back is delicate and complex. In most cases, it would be strange to tell someone what is really wrong. "Well, I turned around to say something to John, and when I did, the disc in vertebrae number 5 slipped out of place, putting pressure on the nerves there, which is causing tremendous pain when I try to turn my head to the left."
"Well, the rotator cuff was completed separated from the bone and the bicep tendon was torn, there was another piece torn, which limited the motion of the arm and there was nothing to hold the arm socket in place. In addition, there were bone spurs and arthritis."
Each of these events actually happened to me, but not only did it take far too long to provide the details, no one wants to hear the gory details. Therefore, I blew out my shoulder and threw out my back.
Man, I hope those kids find my back soon. This ice is almost gone.
See you tomorrow.
