A lot of people get home from work, sit down on the couch in front of a screen, and say that this is what they need to recover.

Add in a nicely packed bong with some fresh NY-grown cannabis and I'm good to go. This is almost exactly how I unwind after a long day of teaching. And yes, it is avoidance of activity. It is turning off effort and settling for passivity and numbness.

What I need to do is get in a better routine about working out to keep me energized and in shape. My partner and I even got a gym membership recently to be able to work out together. But just a few sessions into this routine, I went a little overboard on a deadlift and reinjured my back in a spot that has consistently given me trouble for the past 15 years. I've been hobbled ever since, greatly impacting my mobility over the past few weeks, which sadly was during our 10 day holiday in Italy.

I tried my best not to make excuses and suffer through the discomfort as we toured places like the Toman Forum, Coliseum, and Vatican Museum. It was especially discomforting on the boat and at the beach, where there was precious little back support even if I was sitting down. At least floating around in the water offered some relief from the forces of gravity that weigh on my aching joint and/or strained muscle.

The most frustrating part of this recovery is that it is in a recurring place in my back, a spot that's been injured since roughly 2010 when I first hurt it playing basketball and riding my bike. Finally I've got the proper medical insurance to try and figure out my best road to recovery. Is it a disc issue? Is it a muscle issue? I will need some Xrays, maybe even an MRI, to find out.

But the medical business here in the US is so shady because it is a for-profit system. Is this doctor going to give me the best advice for my most simple recovery, or will they give me a diagnosis for a treatment that lines their pockets or a regimen that keeps me coming back week after week for therapy. I don't even know who to trust to help my recovery and that is surely the most frustrating part, because this is an ongoing situation.

Not only do I need to get better, but I need to strengthen the area so I don't do this again the next time I try to lift heavy. I tried to reshape my routine, but all it lead to was a much longer rehab and recovery.