Month 3 Complete - Retrospect & PT

So ends month 3 in a belated way. This post is going to be different than the previous because my lower back is still injured and I'm going through Physical Therapy to get all of my quirks figured out and resolved. As I said in earlier posts, you can't undervalue the importance of expert advice, especially in the case of injury. I've been trying to fix all of my problems on my own, and the results have revealed my lack of training. It was pretty scary when the therapist was testing the extent of my injury and made my right foot go numb from a certain back position.

My condition is relatively minor like always, and has to do with weak stabilizers in my core and a general lack of flexibility. I've always stressed having strong core muscles before doing the more complicated exercises (like dead lifts), but I was impatient and overestimated my level of fitness. Also my lack of lower-body exercises (due to agitated knees), I likely overlooked a number of important exercises. Now my lower back is "excessively mobile", which means my spine is not being well-supported by proper musculature and is causing strain to imbalanced muscle groups and some nerves.

Perhaps this time in my life will be known as the "years of injury" :) At least when everything's said and done I'll be a self-made expert on joint failure.

In this past month I've had two doctor visits regarding my physical health, and will be on a 2-3 day per week routine of Physical Therapy starting Monday. I've learned some new stretches and imbalances in my physique, and will be working to get things back on track.

New Shoulder Stretches/Exercises:

Spider Crawl:
Stand perpendicular to a wall, with your selected arm a shoulder width away. "Crawl" with your hand up the wall until there is tension or a feeling of stretching in the shoulder. Hold for 10 seconds. If your arm is normal you'll be able to reach a full extension without any pain. I was told to repeat this 10 times a day, but that seems a bit much. I'm shooting for five for the time being. Currently my right arm (bad shoulder) can only move about 2/3 of the way up the wall.

Back & Forward Arm Circles:
Swing your arm at a controlled speed in a side circle (low to high) without shrugging your shoulders. Do this forward 10 times and backwards 10 times. Repeat 10 times (?) a day (seems a bit much). For this exercise, I noticed that my forward motion on my bad shoulder is significantly better than the backward, which might be attributed to all the swimming I've been doing. It's interesting to think about, and a little astonishing at how inflexible I am with the reverse movement (it's at about 60% range of motion).

I've also been doing the stretches below as instructed by my orthopedist (back in December). They have been very helpful.




Physical Therapy - Meeting 1 Overview

I'm awaiting my PT doc's take-home routine, so for the time being I'll share what happened in our first session. I'll try to remember as much as I can :) This list will refine itself over time.

-- Laying Down
Heat
Arches (back)
Shoulder Raises (abs)
Lying exercise ball twists (obliques, abs)
Knee-to-chest-raises

-- Standing
Balancing leg extensions - 4 quadrants
Balanced leg extensions (higher raise) - 5 quadrants
Forward marching (opposite arm/leg)
Backward marching (opposite arm/leg)
Crab Walk w/ punching
10 punches (repeat w/ each leg forward)
One legged stool steps (repeat w/ each leg)
Calf Stretches
Exercise bike (5 min)
Lunges (lean forward, then reach back)

Ongoing Posts:

I hope to catalog all of the activities, exercises, stretches and techniques I learn through PT so they can be used for future mishaps. It's great to be able to learn from someone who you can count on... and with my shoddy memory this blog will serve as the perfect repository of rehab and strengthening information :)