At seven weeks, it's been the longest period that I have gone with a bad back. Six weeks of physiotherapy, two massage-therapy sessions, and one bad experience with acupuncture. Overall, I know I'm getting better, but there are some days where I feel a setback.
It's usually my fault, something that I did to aggravate my back: I lift something too heavy; I attend a spin class before my body is ready; I sit funny; I walk far too long, usually with my camera bag strapped on my back.
That's the hardest one. I take my camera bag almost everywhere. I've participated in a photo walk through an icy mine; I've walked on the Rideau Canal; I wandered all over Québec City, for Carnaval, have ridden a rickety toboggan run and bounced down a snow slide in an inflated tube.
All with my camera equipment slung over my shoulder, pushing against my lower back.
I need to be smarter, need to be more selective of the equipment I carry. I don't always need to carry both flashes—sometimes, not even one. I need to think about where I'm going, what I plan to shoot. At Carnaval, I didn't need my telephoto lens, didn't need my micro lens. I only used my 50mm prime and my 10-20mm wide-angle lenses.
I could have cut the weight of my camera bag in half.
I need to be smarter. When I head to New York City, in a couple of weeks, I need to think about what I need and leave everything else behind.
Because as much as electrotherapy vacuum units feel good, as the current penetrates deeply into my muscles, as much as I like how I feel when I walk out of the physiotherapy clinic, wet sponges and suction cups are not what turn me on.
I want my pain-free back... back.
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