Friday 24 October 2008

Hmmmmmmmm..........

New set of e-cises are causing a bit of pain again in my left hip flexor, but I have contacted Matt and I believe I know which new e-cise is causing this increase in pain! But we will workout which one it is and elimnate it for now, when this happens, all that is happening, is that the body is saying it's too soon, too much for that muscle to cope with at this moment at time, and we will put that at the back, and in time will come back to try that e-cise again, and hopefully will be able to perform that e-cise with no problems.....

When an exercise causes some pain, don't become negative, or down, or think it's not working, use that exercise as a test, a test to see where you are right now, in your road to recovery and a little bench mark, that you can come back to later, and perform it with no problems, and you will then be able to look back and see your improvement......Positivity people!!!! :)

Wednesday 22 October 2008

Been a while....

I haven't posted for a while.....There is reasoning behind this and not excuses either....lol

I have recently started to read Dr.Sarno's book "Healing Back Pain" and other self-improvement books.

From all this reading I have discovered, that if you think about something too much, talk about something too much, talk about pain, talk about being out of pain, then it will always remain with you, it's constantly in your thoughts day and night, it will start to take over everything, when people ask you how you are you will say "I'm fine my backs painful, but I'm fine"....This is a terrible mindset to get into to it really is.

Also at work, people know about my back pain and they will ask me on a regular basis, how I am, and I used to say "I'm not too bad, bit painful today, backs aching" or whatever. But now I reply with "I'm great thanks, I'm getting better everyday".....I don't mention the pain or anything, I am starting to think in a positive light, and am trying not to mention my pain at all, convince myself that I am fine, not to think about my pain, do my exercises daily, but do not think about them too much, I have made it as part of my daily routine now I don't think about it as such, I just do it, Like brushing my teeth or taking a shower....

Also I'am trying to stop the negative thinking behind activities or fear of activities, like walking I used to think "I can't walk that far" and guess what?! I couldn't because I had defeated myself already before I even tried it...It's difficult to change your mindset, I won't be able to do this overnight, but each day at a time..... : )

Friday 3 October 2008

It's Friday & The sun is shining.....

Well as the title suggests I am feeling pretty good today, bit bored at work, but I have asked for more work, and I am going to be starting a new project and that involves going to another office 2 days per week, which will be great, won't be stuck in the same office, with the same people 5 days a week....

Anyway, Matt spoke to me on Wednesday, and advised me to take out the femur rotations e-cise, as this seems to be causing problems, and the reason for the new flare up....I have done my e-cises the last 2 days, and I am a little better, but I still feel that there are 2 e-cises that have changed, that could be causing this new pain. Its pretty much the same e-cise, but before I would perform them in the Hooklying position, but he has got me performing these in the seated position now, and I am finding it difficult to hold my Posture, and roll my hips forward correctly, and I'm worried this is actually causing me to perform this e-cise incorrectly, and causing problems......I will give Matt a call later on and let him know how I am now after taking the femur rotations out.

The side shift doesn't seem to be improving much, on bad days I notice it alot more, but today it's not too bad, but I am not noticing much improvement, the left hip bone and bottom rib are still almost touching, which is beginning to worry me a bit, the longer I stay in this side shift the more difficult it will be to get out of it, due to muscle memory....

So on that note I have been thinking about surgery again, many specialists I spoke to before starting Egoscue, said the Bulge is very large, and it will be extremely difficult for it to go back into place and reduce in size. I know that surgery will not cure me or fix me. But at the moment it seems like the bulge is a barrier in my road to being pain free, and there is no way of getting around it, maybe if I laid in bed all day, and did my e-cises daily then after a few months it would heal and reduce in size, but the fact I am determined to live my life still, I got to work and sit for 7hrs a day, and walk occasionally, and have a social life, these are all factors working against the Egoscue e-cises, I mean 45-60mins of e-cises daily Vs 12 hours of sitting, driving, walking and standing, doesn't sound like a good match to me....

Now you may be thinking, I've gone all negative, I haven't I truly believe in Egoscue, but my side shift is something not many people have, well not to the extent of mine, every therapist I have seen, or sent my pictures to all over the world, say that it is something quiet rare, never seen a side shift so bad, and I mean I feel a bit insecure about it, I feel that when I walk along the road, people are looking at me, it's not a nice feeling, I am nearly 24, I am young free and single, and I want to start living my life, do what I want to do, without this getting in my way, I don't want to have to plan things around my back, or not do things with my mates, because of "My Back", it can become very frustrating at times.....

I won't be rushing into surgery, I will discuss this with Matt and see what his views are, I will continue with Egoscue thorough the rehabilitation phase, because I believe the key reason surgery does not work for many is because, they are too scared to exercise, move incase it hurts, or they injure themselves some more, but once you have surgery you have to work like Hell to get yourself back to great health, and that is the one factor too many patients don't do....

Wednesday 1 October 2008

Much better today : )

I feel tonnes better today, the ache in my left QL seems to have disappeared, and I feel much, much better......I did not perform my e-cises last night, I rested, as I thought if I am in pain, and muscles are in spasm, its not always a good idea to perform the e-cises, could make the spasm and pain worse.

I was thinking, it was rather cold and damp here yesterday in London, and I know this can have an impact on muscles and back pain, so maybe that was one possible reason for the flare up.

Another reason, is that the new set of e-cises, may not be working as good as I first thought, they may be causing a bit of inflammation, maybe I am performing them incorrectly, too fast. I have contacted Matt my Egoscue Therapist, and he is getting back to me. He may decide to change up some of the e-cises or possibly the sequence, or take out some e-cises, if my body is not reacting to them the way they should.

I will perform my e-cises tonight, and post back tomorrow, seeing how I feel tomorrow....

Tuesday 30 September 2008

Worst day so far : (

I did my e-cises last night after work, went well, went out to the pub with my mates (No wasn't drinking I was driving) and everything was fine, my left hip flexor was a little bit sore, but nothing major. But when I was trying to get to sleep last night, it was crazy, my left leg was just aching, like a dull ache, I just couldn't get rid of the pain, I tried every position possible, nothing helped.....I ended up falling asleep about 2:30am....

Today my left QL and left hip flexor and left glute, is very sore and tender, I'm really p#ssed off with myself really, it just shows the reprocusions of the weekend, I have set myself back now, I'm hoping a night of rest will do the trick, and I will be fine tomorrow....

I will post tomorrow and let you know how I am doing, I believe this is just a temporary glitch, and I will be fine when I wake up in the morning :)

Monday 29 September 2008

Hectic Weekend....

I had a very busy weekend, I did my e-cises, Friday and Saturday, but body was too achy yesterday, so thought it was best to leave the e-cises, recovery is better for my body.

I keep having problems when it comes to the weekends. I am now single, I am 23, and I like to go out and party at the weekends...What 23 single guy doesn't want to go out clubbing....Only dilemma is, I dont' want to drink as alcohol causes inflammation, and when you drink, it does get rid of the pain, but then you start move and you don't notice the pain you are causing, as Alcohol numbs the pain......

BUT...

If I go out and don't drink, then I can't have a good time, because my pain ruins it, so I end up having some beers to ease the pain, but then in the morning, my body aches.......It's like a catch 22 really.....I want to go out and have fun with my mates, I need to get out of the house, now that I have split with the girlfriend, I need to go out and be more social, hang with me mates, but how can I when I am in pain......GRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRR

What do I do?? How do I resolve this?? Maybe sit down all night, but boy oh boy is that boring, and also if you don't drink, you get tired really quickly, and it makes the night boring.....I like going out and having a drink and a laugh with my mates, you only live once.....

Any suggestions???

Friday 26 September 2008

Day 54:

I've had some tightness/tenderness in my left glute the last 2 days since I started the new exercises. I know the reason for this, one of the new e-cises I have is laying flat on the floor, one leg bent in the hooklying position, and the other leg, extended fully out. The tightening the whole of the straight leg, and pulling your toes towards your shin, throughout the whole e-cise, you rotate your leg from the hip inwards and then outwards for a total of 10 reps and repeat 3 times, alternating between legs.

I notice a major difference between the right and left leg, left leg has hardly any mobility in it, but its gradually getting easier to perform.

Today I have no tenderness, so it looks like it was just my muscles being worked where there not used to it, like DOMS - Delayed Onset Muscle Soreness. Have you ever started a new training program, and then 24-48hrs after, you can't move your legs or arms?? LOL...

It's pretty much the same feeling, the muscle fibres are slightly tearing from the movement, that they are just not used to...

I think this is one thing to look out for, when you start any exercises for back pain or scaitica, or postural issues, then prepare for some soreness and tenderness, it may feel like your doing wrong, but as long as at the time when your performing the exercises, that they do not cause pain, you may get some discomfort, but as long as it is not pain, then you may need to push past this, it's just your muscles screaming "What the h#ll, Who woke me up?!"... :)