Page 23 - October 2017

Soaring Like an Eagle
By Avery Gibney

Myths Regarding Back Pain

1. “Once you have experienced or have back pain,
you should not lift heavy objects.”
I had no idea I would be going up before I got in the
FALSE! Lifting heavy may be just the thing you plane, I had seen the Pipistrel Virus beforehand, but
need (with approval of a physiotherapist)! I never knew I would be going up in it. I was
Strengthening the back will help make your back brought over to the plane, and I was introduced to
stronger, which will allow you to tolerate more Stefan Trischuk, the pilot. I got in the plane and saw
lifting load. You may also need to have your the joystick, and the pedals he used to steer while
lifting techniques adjusted. on the ground. Stefan showed me the features of
the plane and we headed to the runway. We went
2. “Medical imaging is a good indicator of my back
to one end, turned around and we took off!
pain.”

FALSE! A combination of imaging and a physical I had a really good view because there were
assessment can give you the best answer as to windows on either side of me. He told me we were
what’s going on in your back. For example your going to do a few tricks, so we rolled a couple
recent x-ray may read that you have times, which felt pretty weird, but I was fine. Then,
degeneration or disc space narrowing, but this we did a loop, but the second loop, we did the loop,
may not be causing your back pain at all! It may but on the way down, we rolled over. It was really
be because of tight hips or something else an x- cool. After that we started heading back, but we
ray may not show. ended up flying up in the whips of the clouds first!

3. “Bed rest is the best thing for your back.” Then we landed and parked the plane, but I will
FALSE! There may be some points in your rehab never forget the experience!
that may require rest, but generally backs need
movement and sometimes repeated movement.
4. “Pain is equal to the degree of injury.”

FALSE! Pain is not a good representation of
what’s occurring in your back. The worse the
back pain does not necessarily mean the worse
the problem. A physiotherapist can help
decipher what the pain means.

What you need to know: Reducing or getting rid of
your back pain can be a slow process, especially when Do you have a child that has a great aviation story
it’s chronic. they would like to share. Have them send us their
Time and consistency are the key factors on changing picture and story and we will get it into the next
back pain permanently. issue, with parental approval of course.

Contact me at:
tim@prairieplane.ca