I started my NROLW workouts Jan 4 or thereabouts, and did great. I lost 15 lbs.
But by late April I started having a lot of pain in my right hip, which radiated down my leg and around to my lower back. I've had this problem off-and-on all my life. Usually it shows up during intense physical activity, like back when I ran 5 miles a day back in my 20s.
I have some mild scoliosis, which causes one hip to be a little higher than the other. The first time I went to a doctor about it, he said I'd have arthritis in that hip. So I figured maybe since I was getting older, I was getting arthritis, and maybe lighter workouts would make it better.
When they didn't, so I stopped working out completely in May, and worked on stretching. When the pain continued I gave up stretching for total rest in June.
Of course, that didn't work, either. So in July I went to an orthopedic surgeon/sports medicine specialist recommended by all the weight-trainer types in my area even though "he's a little traditional."
"A little traditional" means he doesn't believe in heavy weights. The heavy weights guys I know go to him to fix their injuries, listen to him go on about the dangers of heavy weights, and then they go and do what they want to do anyway.
He put me through a lot of hullabaloo, X-rays, MRI, etc., and concluded I have "tight hips", only 30 degrees mobility in my hips (or legs, or wherever he measures this stuff) when I'm supposed to have at least 110 degrees mobility. No arthritis though, hooray!
So I went to therapy and the therapist says my hips are out of alignment.
My right ilium likes to look away, see the world that's passing by, while my left does her best to keep on the straight and narrow. Somehow this misalignment causes tight hips and a hyper-mobile lower back, as well as the pain I was experiencing.
If I don't do anything about this problem one leg will get shorter and shorter until small children point and laugh at me.
So I'm stuck doing physical therapy workouts. Whether they work or not remains to be seen.
The PT appointments are always finished off with sonogram heating treatments and electric stimulation, which feels like a nice massage, but I can't help but wondering if it's just a lot of mumbo-jumbo. Even though this physical therapist is highly regarded and a very nice lady, I've never really trusted doctors, and I guess this distrust extends to physical therapists, now, too.
My plan was to get my hip fixed so I could join the next challenge on August 7. When I read that Miss Jane said it could be any workout we wanted to do, I knew I could still participate with my physical therapy workouts.
Goody!
As soon as Miss Jane approved my application to enter the challenge, I raced into our storage closet last night and took these photos (my house was full of company). So don't mind the stuff hanging in the back.
Exercises so far consist of work for hip, lower back, core, and stretches. They change every week, but they are prescribed and I have to do them or the Physical Therapy Police come to my house and beat my door down.
1. Pigeon stretch
2. Foam rolling on the sore hip
3. Balancing on a balance board (has a roller in the middle)
4. Squats on the balance board
5. One-legged squats on a bench with one riser
6. Chair squats
8. Superman reaches with the stability ball
8. Kneeling, holding the stability ball under my elbows rolling out on the stability ball until I'm holding with my hands, and then rolling back
9. Planks on elbows
10. Planks on sides; went to feet but had to drop to knees when my hip/back popped out most painfully
Therapist said the planks were a perfect example of me pushing too hard, that I should stay on the knees and not try to do it on the feet.
She also dropped a huge bomb by announcing I must never do deadlifts or deep squats again, because my hip will never be able to stand such forces, and neither will my hyper-mobile back.
And I'm not to ever, ever, EVER squat lower than chair height.
I was taking her seriously --- and thinking about what an awful life it will be without squats or deadlifts --- until she asked me why I wanted to work out like a man, anyway. After all, I was a woman! And I needed a different kind of workout!
I almost laughed out loud with relief! Obviously she doesn't know what she's talking about, and one day I will -- oh yes, I WILL -- be able to do deadlifts and deep squats again.
Then there's a pair of us, Anne -- don't tell! (To paraphrase Miss Emily Dickinson).
Most of yesterday was a world of hurt -- could barely walk. It wasn't until early evening I remembered the trick the PT showed me to put my hip back into alignment. So I popped it back and felt much better. Yes, she can be taught!
I went back today for PT and we did loads of stretches instead of actually working out because she said we needed to calm that hip down. Didn't even break a sweat today.
My hips are still too tight and need of stretching, but in the meantime my assignment is to do loads of stretches and continue to strengthen the core & butt with stuff like bridges and planks.
Baby planks! So embarrassing to be stuck doing baby planks. But who am I kidding? Right now my plank capability is about -2.
Got the okay to walk, as long as I don't overdo it, but I really, REALLY want to do a step DVD or stepups or something. I need to sweat.
Fitday is my best friend.
New avatar, too. I think that little muscle man is too cute! He needs to ask Barbie out. Talk her out of those pink weights.
Congrats on taking control, by this I mean believing you are in control of your health and not giving up just because the PT said you could never squat again. There is a man at my sisters church the doctors told him he would never walk again, but guess what, he walks all over town!! With a strong will and healthy lifestyle we can go far!! I wish you all the best with therapy and fitness!
Bev.
Hi Bonnie~
Love the avatar and I love your attitude. Good luck in the challenge and I have no doubts that you will be doing DLs and squats. Good for you!
__________________
Ginger
"The miracle isn't that I finished. The miracle is that I had the courage to start." ~ John Bingham
New PT this week. This gal said my right piriformis is off the charts in tightness, and is causing some of the discomfort. So she mashed it good with a little stick and whoa nelly, my lily-white behind is now black-and-blue.
Her plan of attack is a little different. This week I'm to work on releasing the piriformis and building up the abs. Says I'm super weak in the abs (knew that, huh) and that's our new focus. No more planks because I keep throwing out the back and hip when I do them.
I'm still not convinced physical therapy is the way to go. What few exercises I'm allowed to do are contained within a small circle that keeps on shrinking more and more with every visit to the PT.
Every day I think I'll just chuck it all, never go back again, and just work through the pain. After all, it isn't cancer, it isn't a broken bone, so deal with it.
Other than that I'm going through a really bad crunch at work and am barely home. Got online today to check in, found the Precision Nutrition sale and did an impulse buy.
I'm all over the place! Now I'm off to foam roll my black-and-blue behind.
Looks like I grabbed the wrong pants for this shoot. What did I do with those other workout shorts?
No difference in measurements, really; where there are changes, there are changes in weird and unexpected places, probably due to user error or my cycle. In the photo the butt definitely looks bigger, but the measurements show only a quarter of an inch. I think the flash helps make it look bigger!
I attribute my lack of major change due to my physical therapy program. Two weeks ago I actually saw some improvement, I think because the new PT gal unknotted what turned out to be a really tight piriformis muscle. Then my kid's school started and with his schedule and my work schedule, I had no time for PT. It was a relief to have an excuse not to go.
I kept up with the PT exercises and this weekend started some heavier duty stuff. I actually did 15 wall squats, only down to chair height but they felt good. Then I panicked and decided to wait and see what my hip did. So far, so good. I think I might be back on the road to recovery.
In the meantime, I got TNT AND Precision Nutrition. (Si, la mujer es MUY LOCA!)
I started TNT and will continue with it unless I don't see any results in one month. Otherwise, I'll stick with it until the new year, and then try PN, only because I like to shake things up!
I get up at 5 am every morning and hit the ground running. I've got college classes, work, and I spend several hours a day in the car transporting kids to sports practices. I don't get home until 6 pm and then I've got to put dinner together. I'm exhausted by the time I fall in bed at 8:30.
For the next few months my exercise will be limited to 10 and 15 minute intervals throughout the day whenever I can get it. I have one good workout on the weekend, too. This is all because of my crazy schedule. I wonder if I can get up at 4 am? How would that affect my day?
Until I figure this out, my exercise will be routines like today: I walked briskly twice for 15 minutes each. It's muggy so I quickly worked up a sweat, which is no good in the cramped office I share with two other ladies. (No A/C.)
My diet is going good, though. I like the TNT book, and I like what it says, but I have to take care that the carbs don't get too low, because I get too emotional when they do. Can't handle stress when the carbs are too low. And since I'm about to put my firstborn on a plane and send him off to college, I need all the emotional stability I can get.
I've been studying the videos in this post at T-Nation. I love lunges, dips, squats. The Physical Therapists have got me a little worried about doing them, though, so I want to make sure my form is extra-perfect. My lunges are just like the "before" video: the knees are always behind the foot. Got to work on that.
But I'm having a hard time figuring out what he's trying to say on the squats.
It's like these monthly pics are always during PMS times for me. Yesterday I gave in to PMS cravings and had me some fried chicken... yum yum yum but lordy, I'm paying the price today. Swollen all over.
I thought of delaying taking photos till tomorrow in the hopes I'd drop some water weight, but it's good I didn't wait. My tripod broke! I had to set up a stack of books and balance the camera on top. Pictures are off as a result.
Not much of a weight loss this month--probably because my body has adjusted to the TNT diet. Also because I've not been working out due to my crazy schedule. Still, it's better to lose 10 lbs over 3 months than to gain them! And I just know I've lost more than 10. I'm telling you, I'm carrying so much water right now I slosh when I walk.
hi bonnie - not sure how i missed your log, but i enjoyed reading it today - you've got a great sense of humor!! congrats on completing the challenge and doing so well! how's the pt coming?
Goodness, I must have notifications turned off, or something. Please forgive me for not responding to you all who posted here.
Does anybody know how to change the title of a thread? If not, I'm gonna have to start a new thread for my 2009 challenge, because I can't go through 2009 with the title "2nd Half of 2008 Challenge"!
a) you can start a new log and then just point people there as a last post in this one (or leave them hanging, up to you)
b) you can PM a moderator to change your title
OK, will PM a moderator. Thank you for all your help!
All right, here is my goal:
To get back on track with my fitness program.
To get rid of this hip pain.
To lose 20 more pounds, or at least, get my hips under 40 inches!
I lost 20 pounds in 2008, so it was a good year, but my hip has caused me no end of trouble.
Exercise plan First month: gentle reintroduction to fitness. I am supposed to focus on my hamstrings and gluteus muscles, as they have become extremely weak. Will work on them this month.
Will reevaluate at end of January, then start a bodyweight exercise plan like NROL at first of February.
And here are my photos:
Holy smokes, see how my right hip pops up? I think this is part of the cause of my pain. I did not like that physical therapy center; but they (and the sports doctor) did clue me in to the fact that I only have minimal hip mobility and an ultratight piriformis muscle, so maybe working on those things will bring my right hip even with the left?
Thank you, Karen! A challenge like this keeps me on the straight and narrow.
No workouts yesterday. My car broke down and I spent a lot of time in the mechanics' waiting room. I did some walking through town to pass the time, but mostly occupied it with work I brought with me. Excuses, excuses.
I was going to ask that too, but I have to say it made me giggle.
Have you thought about posting in the Injury forum? Julie might have some ideas for getting your mobility back in your hips.
__________________ It all starts with the mind, but the thoughts, the intention aren't enough. Action needs to come next. Dream it, believe it, plan it, execute it, celebrate it. - Wendy
Flight of the Noodle Casserole
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