Young and healthy - for how long?

My problems with lumbar spine roughly date back to mid-2016. Around that time I had an episode of serious aches which I managed to overcome within a few weeks with a solid dose of exercising. After that I could boast of being in very good physical health (except for one knee injury in 2017) until late 2018…

The time when I overstrained my lumbar spine were the first weeks of the remont during which I did a lot to get rid of all stuff left in the flat by the previous owner with my bare hands (why paying somebody for a work I could do myself?). In the post-purchase euphoria I carried heavy loads and actually experienced little pain in my spine (though feeling I was risking an ache, but on the next day, not one which would keep me company incessantly).

The remont has actually accelerated the inevitable, since I had been ignoring temporary incidences of pain since more than five years. While doing several things which cricked my spine (carrying watering can, vacuum cleaning, bending while cleaning up, sweeping, doing gardening) I experienced the pain which would go away quickly after finishing a pernicious task. On top, factors to blame are sedentary lifestyle (I cannot avoid sitting in the office) and bad habits I am fighting.

While struggling the pains for recent two months, I have learnt I am not an outlier among healthy population. Horrifyingly, the percentage of people in their 30s or 40s having serious problems with their spines is enormous. Several of my workmates have advised me who (doctors, physiotherapists) to consult, taught exercises to strengthen and stretch several muscles, shared their methods of coping with pain and how to function (without giving up on essential activities) not to overreach the spine.

A decade ago I poked fun at my grandma, in her 80s then, who used to sat around with her neighbours on a bench outside their block of flats and went on about their illnesses for hours. These days I do the same while being 50 year younger!!!

I believe soon the life expectancy in developed countries begins to decline. Despite progress in medicine and technology, societies have to fight the battle against bad nutrition habits and lack of exercise. My generation was the last to spend their childhood playing about in the open air, not taking leaves off sport classes on mass scale and not spending hours staring at their computers and smartphones. My parents are frailer than my grandparents and I must claim to be less resilient to civilisation diseases than them. And so my peers do. Three of my four grandparents passed away at the age of 87, 89 and 92 and except for the very few months before the decease, all enjoyed good health. My parents, both 69 now, can gripe much more about their health than my grandparents who at such age were as fit as a fiddle. After the remont is over and the nagging pains are relieved, a pursuit of a recovery plan for my health is due/. I have already booked a fortnight stay at a sanatory where spine afflictions are cured, which is just a part of the plan, yet its crucial element.

Oddly enough, the my overall fitness has generally improved in recent months, meaning my body can tolerate more intensive effort before I get tired or lose my breath. Sadly, my bones, joints and muscles do not catch up.