What a relief!

Since the accident, I've had pain in my back and lower spine. I had X-rays and an MRI scan in the hospital in Marseille, but that was just to see if anything was fractured. After that I saw my GP, he looked on the bruise on my back, and signed me off work for two weeks, and told me to buy pain killers if I was still in pain. So I've been at home wondering what was wrong? Whether I would get better? If I would have this back pain for the rest of my life? All the uncertainty and fear of what might be wrong, has been with me since the incident. But today I got a diagnosis.

I went to see Kirstie, an osteopath, who conveniently just lives and practises around the corner. A short, if slightly painful, walk away. After taking down my details, looking suitably shocked at why I happened to be sitting in front of her, and a thorough examination, there followed a time of being gently stretched and realigned. After which she was able to tell me that she thinks my sacroiliac joint has become locked, and the muscles around it and my lower back have gone into spasm. I know what your thinking, where is the sacroiliac joint?

Let me educate you. The pelvis isn't one bone, as I'd always thought, it has two joints on either side, these are the sacroiliac joints. They attach the bit of bone that our back is attached to, to the bits of pelvic bone our hip joints sit in. They are like shock absorbers for our back to stop the shock from our legs going into our spine. They aren't designed to stop boats or bits of boats, or even protect the back in the event of a fall, but this is what my left SI joint seems to have done.

The good news is it will get better, I might not be fully mobile for quite a few weeks yet, but I know I will improve, and hopefully there will be no lasting damage to my back. Today has been a good day.