THE EV’ITOR’S COLUMN
In the last month, I’ve been to the Victorian High Country for over a week, Queenstown NZ for a product launch and the Gawler Ranges in South Australia for a vehicle launch. That’s just the obligations I’ve found myself under, I still have to put a magazine out at the end of the day. Essentially, this is my life as the Editor of Unsealed 4X4, and you aren’t going to hear me complain about it. Except for one thing: me. My bloody back keeps letting me down. I won’t get into the medical side of things, but essentially my spine looks like a snake, and it isn’t getting any better quickly. It’s amazing how hard simple tasks, such as chopping fire wood, changing a spare tyre or just driving/sitting can be when your L5 disk wants to pop out to the side like a bullet out of a rifle. It has changed the way I do things, even getting out of bed in the morning requires an arm-rolling technique that looks more like an amateur wrestling manoeuvre. The frustration of having a part of your body call it quits, it’s like trying to make it up that impossible track, only for a CV joint to let go at the last moment. A mixture of anger and sadness. So what it is the point of my ramblings? Help me! I refuse to give up on my lifestyle; I want to work on old 4X4s, I want to go four-wheel driving and camping. I want to be able to chop wood, for goodness sake I’m only 32 years old. From what I’ve learnt, knee and lower back pain are the two most common injuries with Australian males. So what I want to know, is what have you done to manage back pain while camping and four-wheel driving? Any tricks or tips would be greatly appreciated – I’m not ready to buy a Camry and join the bowls club. Not just yet…
