08/25/2026
FYI- this thread contains post-surgery images of my incision and scar. Don’t scroll if you get grossed out easily! Do scroll if you wanna see. 😝
So about five-ish years ago, I injured my back, most likely from incorrectly messing with my kettlebell. 🙄
It. Was. Agonizing. Devastating. Torturous.
I assumed that I herniated a disk, from the shooting sciatica pain down my right leg. But the pain was worse than that. There was an excruciating pinching sensation on my lower spine which took my breath away, and it could happen with just about any movement:
-standing -sitting -walking -dancing -stretching -breathing.
I could not escape it. Sometimes it would flare up so badly, I could barely move. It shifted from my R side to my L, then back to the R, then both. The pain and tenderness would force me to stop burlesquercising for months at a time sometimes, hoping it would heal up on its own. It never did.
I told my doctors and with no external checks, no X-ray, they sent me to physical therapy. At PT, I was told I just needed to “strengthen my core,” and shown a bunch of exercises that not only hurt, they didn’t seem to actually help. Again- not one hand laid on my back to check the tenderness, no X-rays, just “strengthen your core.”
So that’s how I lived for over four years. Dealing with it, sucking it up, not realizing how negatively it was affecting my daily life. What else could I do but keep going?
I still danced, walked, did yoga, played at the playground, but always, always in pain. Burlesquercise movements are pelvis and hip heavy, and I thought all of that swiveling HAD to be helping to strengthen my core.
But I was very wrong! 😬
Continued in comments….
08/23/2026
Finished off Leo season with a bang! ♌️ 💥
Three parties in one day. Celebrating this whimsical Leo Queen. Sharing paintings of my v***a with strangers. Hotdog catching at a sausages and peaches party. 🌭 🍑
Today was fun and I am tired. 🥰
08/21/2026
Physical therapy has given me the green light to start trying out whatever exercises I want to. Nerves aren’t all the way on board yet, but I can tell my muscles are starting to wake back up! I’m still working on strengthening core, flexibility, and balance, honestly, but for the first time in a long time, I feel excitement for what else is possible. 💖
