I have always been a very active person, walking, swimming and cycling. I eventually started running in 1995 and competed up to marathon distance. In April 2009 I sustained a very bad hamstring injury while running the Redcar half marathon and was unable to run for months, as I was 62 at that time I worried my running days were over.

I tried physio and rest for a couple of months but my leg was getting no better so I was referred to a consultant for help with that. After an MRI scan it was found I had torn my hamstring off my pelvic bone. Throughout all these months I was unable to sit pain free and so was sitting on one cheek and eventually started to have back pain. I had treatment for my hamstring which improved but was now left with back pain.

After another MRI scan in April 2010 confirmed I had problems with my lower spine, I was referred to Mr Krishna who told me I had degeneration in my 2 lower disks. Mr Krishna suggested I could have some injections in my lower spine to help the problem which I readily agreed too.

While I was awaiting my appointment, I was E mailed a back exercise programme that I started doing to strengthen my back, I found them quite difficult to begin with but eventually I could manage nearly all of them.

I was surprised to realise I had become quite depressed about my problem and being able to do something to help myself really picked me up.

On June the 28th 2010 I went into the Nuffield at Norton to have Lumbar Facet Joint injections as a day patient. I arrived feeling a little nervous but I need not have worried as I had the procedure explained to me.

I had the injections under sedation and remember very little of it, only being given the sedative and being wheeled into theatre and then waking up in recovery. The procedure was pain free and I recovered very quickly on the ward and after some food, I went home with my back already feeling better.

Two weeks later I went back to the Nuffield to have an epidural injection, again as a day patient. As last time, after the sedative I remember very little until I woke up in recovery with no pain.

This time it took me a little longer to feel well enough to eat, drink and walk about. I was not allowed home until I had passed urine which took quite a while as I had no feeling in that area. I did get home that evening and felt fine.

Next morning when I got up I still felt very numb and as I was concerned I rang the ward for advice, it now being 15 hours since the injection. The nurse assured me that it was quite normal and can take up to 48 hours, I was back to normal in 24 hours.

I was totally pain free after the treatment and decided to continue with the exercises to try and secure my long term back health.

At the time of writing this I have been doing the exercises for 5 months (at least 5 days a week for about 20 mins) and my back is still pain free.

At 64 I am very aware that I need to take great care with my back, but I am now back running and hoping to run a half marathon at the beginning of 2011.