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My Back History
Sitting is inevitable for me as a person who works in front of a computer. Even though I could stand up but it didn't last long. I could sit down for at least 8-10 hours a day with an exercise break every 1 hour. In high school, I got HNP(hernia nucleus pulposus) or Kecetit in my lower back/spine just because of sneezing😂. The pain forces me to stand like an old man who has serious back pain, which is what I am. When I only sit down, it feels hot and like there is something wedged between my bone. I came to my uncle twice to get a traditional massage. Then, it's gone for good. It was 2021 when I was in the 6th semester of my undergraduate study, my amazing friends and I got an opportunity to study in an incubation program from the Ministry of Education x Google, Gojek, Tokopedia, and Traveloka. 5 months of intensive learning and I am very excited, it was like 12 hours a day in the front of my laptop like crazy. I often feel pain in my upper back and a bit in my lower back but, my mind won't let me stop. "C'mon, it is very close, let's get it done and sleep", and continue with another bug. After that crazy time, the pain in my back became more extreme, it pulled my memory back to the day when I got HNP, I said to myself, I don't want to go through that time again, and I got to do something. Back in 2020, my friends and I made an IoT project for a national competition, my lecturer which not supposed to go to campus because of HNP pain, he help us to finish the project, and after that, we chatted about HNP treatment with swimming and that inspire me to swim for at least once in 1 month, I don't want to get a massage again cause it hurt.
Swimming = Flying
According to International Spine Institute, swimming can help back pain by relaxing the nervous system, relieving the pressure on joints, and building muscle support for the spine[2]. Pocovi et al., conclude that swimming is more effective than other exercises like walking and cycling in fighting back pain[1]. Although the other exercise is still good, but I personally prefer to choose swimming, sensing zero earth gravity(not really that zero though but at least less than on the land) in water is the ultimate value for me, you can't get it anywhere else and the weather in my country is like hell, then it is good for me to keep exercising while skipping the sweaty part. People who want to burn calories, just come visit Indonesia, walking 2 kilometres is equal to 4 kilometres burning calories, it is really saving your time. Despite the infrastructure problem, the hot weather is another reason South-East Asian people tend to use motorcycles to avoid sunburn, but we gonna talk about that later.
Back to swimming, another reason for swimming is the simulation of flying or what people call it floating. Basically, we are sinking into the air or what scientists call it atmosphere if we are able to maintain our body between the earth and the edge of the kármán line(the edge of the atmosphere, roughly around 100 kilometres above sea level[3]) and not touching the ground, I consider it as floating or equal to flying if move through the air😄. The same concept of floating applies to swimming, if we can maintain our body between the top water and the ground at the bottom of the water, then we are floating in the water. Swimming is also part of astronaut training, so if maybe someday I got to go to space at least the swimming test is not that odd for me.
Thank you for visiting, if you have some thoughts just comment down below, cheers✨
References: [1] Pocovi, N. C., de Campos, T. F., Lin, C. W. C., Merom, D., Tiedemann, A., & Hancock, M. J. (2022). Walking, Cycling, and Swimming for Nonspecific Low Back Pain: A Systematic Review With Meta-analysis. Journal of Orthopaedic and Sports Physical Therapy, 52(2), 85–99. https://doi.org/10.2519/JOSPT.2022.10612/ASSET/IMAGES/LARGE/JOSPT-85-FIG008.JPEG [2] Rodriguez, M. A. (2018). Does Swimming Help Lower Back Pain? - International Spine Institute. https://www.ispinei.com/2018/12/24/back-pain-relief-swimming/ [3] DRAKE, N. (2018). What is the Kármán line, and where is the edge of space? National Geographic. https://www.nationalgeographic.com/science/article/where-is-the-edge-of-space-and-what-is-the-karman-line
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