Archive for Pain
No Wonder It’s Sore
Posted by: | CommentsApart from showing up to my appointment too early this morning and having to sit in the car for half an hour it went well. Mr R tried his hardest to make my hip snap and it just wouldn’t, almost, but not quite. I could feel and pinpoint the area of discomfort though. He thinks that with the acupuncture and a bit of strengthening it should come right (and really, imo, is already well on the way). He is writing to my physio to tell her to do what. she wants as she can’t break anything lol
Brought up about my foot as I had x-rays taken yesterday, all apparently normal and the fact I was to be sent for a bone scan to be sure. Said I’d rather not have any more radiation and would prefer an MRI if it came to that. That would mean I’d have to be referred to SportsMed for them to send me for an MRI as a GP can’t do this so I asked that even though a stress fx of a metatarsal might be beneath him, if he could possibly write the referral. He pulled up my x-rays on the computer (I love how they can just log in and see everything!), zoomed in on the area in question and said without a doubt there is periosteal reaction indicating a stress fracture (March fracture – common injury in sodiers). The radiologist’s report was indeed normal so he is writing to him to review it and submit a new report lol. Hopefully won’t even need the MRI to confirm now. So looks like I’ll be off to a podiatrist to sort out something for my shoe to help take the pressure off and try to avoid it getting worse and needing casting.
Six Month Blues
Posted by: | CommentsMy physio appointment could not have been timed better. I had the day from HELL yesterday. From the time I woke up I had nagging hip pain and an ache that ran the length of my thigh. All I was thinking was oh my god, please don’t let this be happening AGAIN! I just couldn’t handle it if things went pear shaped again. Thankfully after taking some painkillers it did come right and today I am back to normal. I have no idea what caused the random flare up. I biked 50km in the weekend but it is too far out for it to be caused by that. In fact, lately, cycling seems to make things better!
Had my physio appointment this afternoon. She is still too scared to do anything aggressive given my history and seems afraid she’ll make things worse. She thinks the latest snapping and tenderness might just be some inflammation from overdoing it at the gym a few weeks ago. The plan of action is to avoid the hip machine at the gym for the time being, stretch the TFL/ITB at least 3 times a day and do some ultrasound treatments then reassess. If this doesn’t help, last resort is back to the surgeon for possible steroid injection/scans/xrays. B L A HHHHH for goodness sakes I thought I was done with all this crap. I REALLY don’t want a steroid injection. I have worked so hard at getting off all medications and had been successful for the past couple of months until yesterday’s little hiccup. Feeling like life is once again on hold until good old leftie starts behaving…
Phew!
Posted by: | CommentsOoops, so I’ve neglected you guys a wee bit! It has been a pretty busy week for me so here’s a rundown.
Monday: morning physio at the gym, then the relaxation class which was really quite good, I will be going again tomorrow. Worked 4 hours.
Tuesday: I worked a 9-hour split shift at work, went for a swim at lunch time and then a bike ride after dinner (the same route as Sunday). Then I remembered that I was supposed to do a gym session on my own before I met my physio next, which I thought was Thursday but upon checking discovered it was Wednesday, so didn’t have time to fit that in unless I wanted to do two sessions on Wednesday!
Wednesday: Physio was very happy with me doing a swim and bike ride on Tuesday so not worried about skipping the gym and we made some changes to my program, mainly just adding in some extra sets where things were a bit easy. Told me to try a longer bike ride on the weekend. Worked a 9-hour split shift.
Thursday: I slept in and had a day off exercise. Worked 6 hours.
Friday: I had an appointment with the psychologist who was very pleased with how things are going. It’s amazing what a difference diminished pain levels coupled with a feeling of well deserved normalcy and harmony among peers can make to ones mood! Worked 6 hours. Went to a fund-raising silent auction for my cousin’s rowing team. Managed to buy myself a pair of awsome Roxy snowboarding boots…ummm, never been snowboarding in my life but they were a BARGAIN, winning bid of $80 and they are worth $350! One guess at what I am going to do this winter…and if I don’t like it I can sell the boots lol.
Saturday: I biked to Nanna and Grandy’s for scones and coffee then back home, a 22km round trip. It was good having the break in between. Came home and did some gardening/loading garden waste onto a trailer to take to the dump and felt pretty good afterwards.
Sunday (today): Sleep in, took half an hour to find clothes that fit, argh! Glad to be able to exercise again and ready to put in the hard yards! Sushi for lunch at the mall, grocery shopping then off to the gym with hubby for an hour and a bit. Managed to jog for my warm-up today (first time since surgery) with the treadmill set to intervals for 10 minutes. NO pain on impact, a nice and very welcome surprise! Did all my exercises then 5 minutes on the bike to finish off.
Yummy home-made Balinese curry for dinner at my inlaw’s and now a nice hot cuppa as I recline on the couch and blog 
I am really pleased with the way things are going at the moment. I feel like I’m finally getting somewhere. The hardest part of my physical activity is the flexion exercise on the hip machine at the gym which still causes a reasonable amount of discomfort but I’m sure it will just take a little time to sort this out.
I am nearly off all medications. Pain killers are stored in the cupboard (except for the emergency ones in my bag) and haven’t been touched at all during the week.
Life is good
1 Day Shy of 10 Weeks
Posted by: | CommentsI had a great physio session today, a whole hour! I am so lucky to have such a caring and hard-working team looking after me.
My strength and gait have both improved since my last assessment a couple of weeks ago and my ROM is improved after a bit of a warm up. I still feel something in the joint interfering with flexion at about 70 degrees, but if I just push a little further I feel it move out of the way and I can flex to 90 degrees, maybe a rough patch of cartilage or something?
My physio had a closer look at my back today as I have had difficulty with the pelvic tilts due to low back pain. I have had this for a while and it is most likely compensatory. Standing straight it appears that my pelvis is ever so slightly crooked (with my arms hanging at my sides the gap between my body and right arm was larger than the gap on the left). The pain was more pronounced while standing and bending (forwards and backwards) than while lying on my back doing bridge exercises (very similar movement) so it is apparently caused by compression which I have been told is easier to fix. My physio did some stretches and then I got a nice massage. My ROM was immediately improved, though by the time I cooled down and put my shoes back on I was feeling sore again bending over. I was reassured this would wear off.
I have had a good couple of days pain-wise. I am back on Diclofenac 75mg (Voltaren) twice a day and have not had to take any pain killers since Friday night. The nausea from increasing another medication has settled thank goodness so I’m feeling a lot better today. I even managed a pain-free 5 minutes on my bike this morning
Working 3 hours 5 days this week, starting tonight