Today

I feel like all my posts start with the word "ouch" or "OMG, I'm dying".

But guess what? I am dying from the ouch. Yesterday we did a BUNCH of dead lifts and lower back stuff. Y'all know my lower back is the most effed up part of my effed up body. I honestly shouldn't have done them all, b/c I don't want my back muscles any tighter. I want my abs stronger to balance (and to show off my banging 6 pack.) Now I can barely walk b/c even stabilizing my body hurts. I can't bend at the waist.

In good news, that is the only part of me that is sore so I guess my arms are getting used to non-stop pushups and legs are ok with jumping lunges. Victory is mine!

It's always the knees

I went to PT today! I was supposed to go yesterday, but wrote down my appt time for 30 mins later. Oops.

I'm going to go ahead and share my results and exercises in case anyone else has these problems. Plus, the therapist said these are great exercises for anyone who runs.

So like the internet told me, it is my hip flexor and ab-ductor muscles. I did kind of expect b/c I know I use my hip to lift my leg more than my knees (b/c they are weak and painful. My knees were the first part of my body to start failing. In fourth grade. I started regularly dislocating my knee caps at that age. I luckily haven't had this happen in 11 years. It is indescribably painful and more than a little gross.) So imagine me running with my foot turned about 30 degrees out. I'm sure I look totally crazy.

She said she could see the weakness in my knees and that hip flexor pain is often tied to weak knees and hips. She recommended I focus on making sure my knee is pointing forward at all times, and lengthening my stride. Apparently this kind of pain is relatively common in runners. To be honest, I laughed every time she called me a runner. I don't think my like 12-15 miles per week every single day at a super slow pace really qualifies me as a runner.

She had me stand on one foot than the other and just checked my balance. Then she had me squat on one foot. And by "squat" I mean bend my knee about 10 degrees.

Here is what she saw in me (besides my squishy white legs):

The weak side. See how far my knee goes towards median and how my hip kind of has to pop out wide to balance? Apparently that is bad. Also, in taking these pictures it became very obvious how much weaker this side was. I would turn on the auto timer and then wobble and flop trying to hold myself up for the camera. Most of the first tries showed my hands all out to the side trying to balance.

"Good" side. Ok, so it looks like my knee is pointing out.  Bad self photography. But I can get several inches lower and then don't wobble.






Please ignore the towel in my hallway. My dogs had a crazy time in the wet yard today.

Also, I love these shorts b/c they have full tight shorts underneath instead of the built in underoos. They are just the generic bcg from Academy ($13!) and good for PT so the entire gym doesn't have to see my downstairs.

My exercises
1) Standing side leg lifts with a resistance bands
2) Standing back leg lifts with lifted foot rotated out to perpendicular and standing foot straight ahead
3) Clamshell: lie on your side with resistance band around knees. Keep feet together but lift knee, rotating at   the hip.
4. Bridges: lie on your back, knees bent and up, and just lift your butt. I usually do these on a ball. 

Plus hip flexor and ITB stetches. Good times.

Fix it

I'm hoping for a miraculous and curative session of physical therapy tomorrow. Now, I've never had one go that way. So it would be a fun surprise. This hip thing is not going away and it hurts to walk, every single step. I had a ridiculous dr appointment on Friday which took, no lie, THREE FRICKING HOURS. In crazy tornado weather. The worst part is the appt wasn't even for anything but a PT referral (in AL you have to have a physician referral monthly to go to PT.) I got to wait 3 hrs to tell him he can't fix what is wrong with me, could he please send me to someone who can.

Also, WHY DO THE PAIN DOCTORS ALWAYS MAKE YOU WAIT THE LONGEST IN THE MOST UNCOMFORTABLE CHAIRS???? My back was flared up for 2 days after waiting so long in those God awful chairs.

It is full on beautiful Spring here...well, summer almost. Temps in the 80s. I want to go outside and at least walk around, but I can't. Why couldn't I get injured in February? I would've happily not run in February.

So I'm going to the PT tomorrow and they will hopefully teach me how to run like less of a gimp. Fingers crossed!

Just like running, but with slightly more tequila

So my hip seems to be pretty committed to the whole pain every time I move thing. Hopefully I will get a PT referral soon and they can magic up a solution. Doubtful, but maybe.

It is supposed to be warm and sunny this weekend. I was going to go outside and run around. Now I think margaritas on a patio might be more beneficial. I'm pretty sure margaritas in the sunshine heal any and all problems.





Good reahab plan? Yes?

Why am I so dumb?

I've been hobbling along, trying to get back into running after my wonky hip flexor started bothering me. I did ok on my first run-a little sore, but that is pretty much my baseline. So I went a bit further the next day. Felt tired and like I had no cardiovascular fitness, but my hip wasn't feeling too bad.

Until yesterday. I am such an idiot. I knew I shouldn't run and that I was likely asking too much of my janky body. But, I thought I would at least try to do a super short run. I couldn't really tell if I was trying to use hip pain as an excuse not to run or if I was right and it would legit hurt. Guess what: IT HURT. All the way around the top of my thigh. wtf? It hurt even when I was just landing on it, like the muscles and ligaments were trying too hard to just keep my thigh from, I don't know, exploding. What is that even about?

 I did McGyver this sweet ice pack thing. I wanted it tight and to wrap round my leg, but it wasn't staying put. So I used my super sexy SI belt to cinch it. Just cinch it!

My dog decided this was weird and she should sit on my chest instead of my lap-that is her furry head, not mine. My hair is way sweatier and greasier.









That is a Smart Temp Hot and Cold pad and they are awesome. I use them all the time. They are squishy and stay cold for quite awhile. I usually have 5 on hand at all times, no joke. They do eventually break and the gel stuff squishes out. I think I am single handedly keeping this company in business.

Dear Smart Temp: Call me! Send me your products. I love you!
 
It is so frustrating. Randomly, my leg felt better when I was full on running (versus the slow ass trot I usually do) but I can't maintain full running at all  for very long. I guess I'm back to working on my core and hip strength. I do exercises for my back every day but more for maintenance than to get stronger. Busting out my stability ball!

Tomorrow is supposed to be beautiful and almost 80 degrees which is my heaven. I love warm weather! I will probably just walk outside so I don't continue to hurt myself. I do love being outside though : ) Currently trying to talk M into an anniversary trip next month to the beach. 

YAY

I ran and it didn't hurt...much. My leg and hip still feel a little sore. I've only walked for almost 2 weeks and I stretched for like an hour. But I wasn't hobbling! I wasn't moving very fast, but it counts.

RUNNERS. I NEED YOUR HELP!

So this might get a little long and pitiful, but please bear with me. I will try to do a Cliff's notes version.

--My body is totally effed up. It doesn't work right, isn't built right, and is all floppy. My ligaments don't hold me together, so my muscles try to do the job and then they both hurt. 

--Specifically challenging: my kneecaps dislocate and don't have much cartilage. They don't bother me too much unless I'm doing like weighted lunges or sitting with them bent for long periods of time. Knees were my first problem and the first indicator my ligaments sucked. I d/l the first one in 4th grade. They have remained relatively stable for about 10 years (praise the Lord, though I would take the old knee stuff for my current crap.)

--My pelvis is...askew in numerous fun ways. One side tilts forward, the other backwards. If your pelvis is supposed to be a bowl, mine is more like a towel being wrung. One iliac crest is about an inch higher than the others and a leg length discrepancy is either the cause or the symptom, idk.

--My chief complaint is my SI joint. A tiny little joint where your sacrum connects with your pelvis. it should move just a bit. Mine is permanently posteriorly rotated. It is an evil whore. It is never going to not hurt for me. No trauma, no injury. Just started hurting 6 years ago and hasn't stopped. Again: evil whore.

So I've had, and this is not an exaggeration, probably 2-3 years worth of physical therapy in the past 6. I do my exercises to stabilize my pelvis, strengthen my core, blah blah blah. I do it. I stretch. I ice. I do my exercises. I manage. There is a magic spot b/t not enough activity and too much that I try to find daily.

I've been trying to safely work on running. This means "running" so slowly and for very short periods of time. I warm up. I stretch. I focus on each step. I even wear my dorky back brace. Usually the first half mile to mile hurts. I'm thinking about each step, feel it in my back/hip/pelvis and want to stop. If I can get past that, I usually feel pretty good. Sometimes it just doesn't wear off. Like tonight.

Anyway, frequently when I walk/run my front upper thigh-hip area starts to hurt. Like if you took a really long step forward, it would stretch the top of your back leg. Only every single time I lift my leg, it hurts like hell. That little muscle or tendon or whatever that you feel when you lift your leg...as in flex knee to chest/pull knee upwards. Huuuuurts.

I don't know if it is the iliopsoas or what. I'm leaning towards that as part of my hip flexors. My PT used to squish her fingers UNDERNEATH the little ledge created by your iliac crest. You want to talk about painful! I do know that my back muscles are too tight and my abs are too weak, so I do tend to kind of lean back on my pelvis or arch my back.

Usually I just stretch the crap out of it and it is generally ok. Lately, that hasn't been cutting it. Tonight I just couldn't. It felt fine all day and then it hurt so so badly when I tried to run. Like hobbling, limping, crying hurt. I quit and am currently icing the crap out of it while popping nsaids. I took yesterday completely off, so I don't know if I have to run daily for it not to hurt or what.

Anyone have any advice? I'm googling, but can't find anything definitive.

IF YOU HAVE ANY IDEAS, EXPERIENCE, HELP, OPINIONS, ETC PLEASE LET ME HAVE THEM. IF YOU KNOW SOMEONE WHO HAS EXPERIENCE, PLEASE PLEASE SEND THEM MY WAY. IF ANYONE SUGGESTS SOMETHING THAT WORKS, I WILL SEND YOU A PRIZE FULL OF ALL GOOD THINGS, I PROMISE. SHORT OF GOING BACK TO PT, I DON'T KNOW WHAT TO DO WITH IT.