The dark side of 30 and school: how to save your back.

The second week of spring quarter was stressful. I was still overwhelmed with my classes and the drowning feeling that just seems hang inches above my face at every moment.

Tuesday night, after an afternoon at the computer in my publishing class and a couple hours at a table copy-editing the Easterner, I was stiff and sore. I brought my backpack into the bedroom and sat indian-style on the bed while doing homework. When I was finished, I put my laptop back in my backpack and turned out the light.

The next morning, I grabbed my backpack to carry it into the living room but set it down immediately. It was too heavy? I pulled the backpack out and left it in the bedroom.

After my 8:00 a.m. class, I stood up, barely. My back had seized up. Many of you know this experience, and I'm sorry for it. I waddled out of class among a population of mostly older teens and early twenties. I had almost made it out of the Computer Engineering Building but sat and pulled my lunch box out of my backpack. Anything to lighten my load.

It was an ugly day with some exceptions. The psychology department secretary set me up with a chair that seemed to help my back a little. She had an intern carry it upstairs and place it in my critical writing classroom. Every time I stood up, I was stiff and had difficulty moving. By the time my husband picked me up from school that night, I was in trouble, baby stepping out of the PUB.

The next morning, I needed to support myself to walk. I needed help.

Here's some tips that'll help your back while you're getting an education.

• Pay attention to your body. If you spend any amount of time at a computer, you may be distracted to the point of being out of touch with how your body is feeling. If your back hurts, even a little, while you sit, do something about it before it gets bad.
• Take breaks from sitting. Stand up and stretch occasionally. Standing? Sit occasionally. Crouch. Stretch out those back muscles. This is true for home as well as school or work.
• When sitting in a computer chair, lower it down as far as it will go. You want your knees bent a little. Find a chair with a firm back, or adjust your chair so the back doesn't give.
• At the PUB computer lab, look for the checkered chairs, says Carl Combs tech-eze guy. Stand, stretch and walk around every so often.
• Talk to your instructors about any issue you're having. Many of them don't mind rearranging the furniture for an extra, different chair or will understand your need to stand up in the middle of a lecture.
• Speaking of standing in the middle of a lecture, set yourself up so that you're not sitting in the middle of class. If you're unable to sit through a class without getting up, you want to be positioned so as to not distract your fellow classmates.
• When standing for extended periods at work or elsewhere, find something to put one foot up on that is three to five inches off the floor. This will help your lower back quite a bit.
• Do go to the doctor at the least sign of trouble. Head things off at the pass; you don't want to wait until it's so bad you can't sleep (like I did).
• If the doc prescribes anything, follow all directions. Double check your instructions. If you're in a lot of pain, you may not remember the exact dosage at the exact time. This is why it's also particularly helpful to take a friend with you for an extra set of ears. (This advice is true for anything traumatic doctor's visit. Have someone there to take notes.)
• Give yourself a break. Don't drive if you can't. Arrange a ride. Carpool.

Please, please post related advice in the comment section below. I love these sort of tips, don't you?