Sore back

I'm off work sick at the moment.

I was ok when I got up yesterday morning, but after my shower I felt a twinge in my neck. By the time I left for work I had a pain between the shoulder blades that just got worse as the morning went on. By ten thirty I'd decided it was just too uncomfortable, so I came home. I wasn't looking forward to the one hour bus ride home with a sore back, but it wasn't as bad as I expected, considering those low floor buses have really uncomfortable seats.

I can still feel it now, but at least I can turn my head without my eyes watering. I'll be back at work tomorrow.

I've never had time off because of back pain before. It's not that I've never had a sore back before, it's just that usually it's caused by spending the weekend digging in the garden, and it's usually lower down. I have no idea what caused this.

Back pain is also one of those things that make people think you're a bit of a slacker if you have time off as a result of it. If you've got a cold, people see you coughing and sniffing, and they keep telling you to go home. If you have a sore back, you don't generally show the symptoms, at least not outwardly. You might wince a bit every now and then, but you could be putting that on. In fact, if you can get yourself in a comfortable position (like I am now in an armchair at home), then there isn't much pain and you can still laugh and joke with your colleagues.

"Where's Steve?"

"He's gone home sick."

"He was laughing and joking five minutes ago, What's wrong with him?"

"Bad back."

"Yeah, right."

As much as I hate the runny nose, the coughing, and all the other stuff that comes with a cold, I'd rather be off sick with that than a dodgy back.

Oh, by the way, this is my one hundredth blog posting. When I first started I wasn't sure how long I'd be able to keep it up, but I'm not having any trouble coming up with things to write, and people are still reading it.