24 Hours and Counting

I have been brace-free for more than 24 hours, for the first time since October 2007. I have even played outside, driven the car, gone on errands, and dropped the kids off at school. All without that darned, old back brace. And I feel pretty good. Of course, I'm thinking about it a lot so that I move and sit correctly. But nothing hurts. I had been working up to it for months now--loosening the brace, removing its metal stays, not wearing it a few hours off and on when I was home alone. And there were aches and pains, especially when I first started going long stretches without it, as my body adjusted again, but that was to be expected. I'm glad to be almost rid of the crutch that has been physically unnecessary for awhile (my diastasis recti has shrunk as far as it can and my core is so much stronger). But as my PT said when I told her last week that I was really making progress with weaning myself from it, fear of pain, not just pain, can be very difficult to overcome. I still worry about hurting my back again, which is a constant motivation for going to my workout. But I don't want the fear made real in the form of that backbrace anymore.