blergh

[floatingleaf]

The back pain is back. Not as bad as last weekend, but definitely making itself impossible to ignore.:/ Could I have arthritis? My chiropractor once said that no one is ever too young for arthritis.:( She also said my tendency to develop muscle soreness was bad, but not bad enough to be diagnosed with fibromyalgia. But that was some time ago. Right now, my entire upper back, including neck & shoulders, feels sore & swollen (it's just a feeling, everything looks normal on the outside). Despite the long, hot shower, heating pad, pain relieving ointment and what not. I tried to do some stretches anyway, but I only went as far as I could without making the pain worse. Which wasn't very far. And I keep thinking there must be a reason for this. The one thing I haven't considered before is the fact that I always do my weekly grocery shopping on Saturdays, and I usually carry all that food upstairs in one go. Two large canvas bags, often filled to the brim. The heavier one is usually slung over my right shoulder, the other held in my left hand while I also try to somehow juggle the purse and the keys. And I struggle like that, heaving and cursing, all the way to the third floor - all because I am too lazy to make a second trip. Stupid, I know. But... could it have possibly fucked up my back as badly as this? O_O It's not like I do it every day. And the pain never comes right after the shopping trip, so it never occurred to me this might be the cause. But I guess I could try to split up the groceries into a few smaller bags and make however many upstairs trips it takes without putting any strain on the shoulders - for whatever it's worth. I have a feeling this would be too easy, though - the "normal" muscle soreness I often experience after a workout, or after carrying something heavy, feels different than this. This is more like the type of pulsating pain I used to have in my legs after I forgot to wear tights under my pants when I went outside during the winter as a kid. Or like the tingling of fingers/toes when it's really, really cold. Except it's not cold, and there is no conceivable reason for me to feel tired to the bone, either. Ack. I am beginning to sound like an ailing granny to my own ears. *shudder*

I'd better just shut up and go to bed.:(