Our bodies take a lot of hardship. A lot of us don’t eat as well as we should, we don’t exercise as much as we should and we can get hurt from the activities that we engage in, particularly in a farm setting where lifting is par for the course. We can also feel bad as there are huge pressures to look a certain way, bolstered by social media, and this can feed into mental health problems.

Two weeks ago, the now-voted-off Dancing with the Stars celebrity dancer Clelia Murphy indicated that the costumes that she was wearing on the show were a real step out of her comfort zone. I really liked her response to this challenge: “It’s not about being body conscious, it’s about being body confident.” This week I am inadvertently very conscious of my own body as I have spent much of the last week on the flat of my back. I am in pain and awaiting another MRI to see if I have damaged a new disc or if this pain is the reappearance of the bulge on my L5 S1.

I am a big fan of exercise and the benefits mentally and physically that it can bring. The benefits for farmers of even a short programme of exercise were demonstrated a few weeks back in our ‘fit farmers’ feature. However it’s important to sustain this and build on it over time. Exercise and I have had a difficult path over the last few years. Now I am not blaming exercise, I am blaming my rather haphazard relationship with it for leaving me where I am now.

For this reason I can fully relate to this week’s health feature as I am a victim of exactly what Margaret Hawkins is speaking about. After the birth of our second child, I was in flying form, planning a trip to Australia to see my sisters before my return to work and generally feeling great. I remember it like it was yesterday, lifting weights, doing squats, thinking I was strengthening my core whereas I was absolutely not ready for that type of activity and my body let me know pretty quickly.

It was only after carrying one child in a sling and one child on my back practically all the way to Australia that my back fully gave in

Initially convinced that I had pulled a muscle in my backside, I kept going. It was only after carrying one child in a sling and one child on my back practically all the way to Australia that my back fully gave in and I spent a considerable portion of time thereafter recovering.

The six-week check post-birth in this country generally amounts to a ‘How are you keeping?’ conversation without any real recognition of the trauma that the body has been through. There is so much preparation before the birth that we can sometimes forget that the bending and feeding and lifting of carrycots are not exactly the best activities when you have a weakened core from carrying a child for nine months. Children aside, research has shown that lower back pain is the most prevalent physical complaint amongst farmers, occurring in 28%, while the level for the general population is 16%.

Although I hate moaning, it’s generally hard to give the normal ‘grand’ when your face is contorted in pain, when asked the usual pleasantries. I did have a laugh the other day after my pained explanation as to why I was not grand when my friend acknowledged my problem, sympathetically informing me that Animal Health Ireland has included a lifting guide for the health and safety of ones back when handling calves in the calf care booklet this year. I duly looked it up and it’s worth reading. Look after your back.

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