THR My Intro...

[C Mac]

Here's another stretch that I've added in to the daily routine in attempt to get my Quadratis lumborum muscle of my back to enlongate some. This muscle is still impeding my pelvis. My legs don't open this wide, but the stretch is really more about the tilt over to the side -- I try to reach my foam roller as it sits on end.



I also do this one, which is primarily a hamstring stretch, but it also helps with my QL muscle on my THR side. Oh, I should mention that I do not lean over my leg in the same fashion as this person does. I try to keep my spine elongated and hinge forward at the hip. I get a great hamstring stretch when my THR leg is extended. When my THR leg is in the rotated position -- that is when it does more of a stretch for my back.

Getting very tired of the trochanteric bursitis and trying to find some other types of stretches that will help to elongate my IT band and keep it from creating whatever friction is aggravating the bursa. Also trying to figure out what other muscles are involved in this dysfunction...

Next week is my second Feldenkrais appointment. I skipped this week's rolfing appointment because I've been sick with a wicked cough.

A couple weeks ago I was really successful in the yard with mulching, weeding, digging and wheelbarrow work and I wasn't paralyzed the next day!!! Oh, and I tried swimming that same day and didn't drown. :th_heehee:

That's about all the news that's fit to print here --
Cardie

 

[alexthecat]

I used to put a yoga strap around my foot. Then I would lie on my back and lift that leg straight toward the ceiling and open it out to the side to stretch the adductors. Next I would bring that leg across midline and play with the hip flexion and spinal twist to get the stretch where I needed it in the IT band, glutes, or back.

 

[C Mac]

These are the stretches Alex mentions. Top one for the adductors along the inside of the thigh/groin area. Bottom one for the abductors (gluteus muscles & TFL) and IT band outside of the thigh

 

[alexthecat]

Actually, for the second stretch, I was talking about this:

Cardie, the spinal twist in your second image above may not be safe or appropriate for everyone. If it works for you, that is great. It does release the stretch from the hip and leg and move it into the spine though. I realise that may be what you are going for. In that case, I would do the stretch without the spinal twist first and then add the twist.

 

[Jyoti]

Hi Cardie,
I would be interested to know if you kept up with the Feldenkrais?
Jyoti

 

[Poppet]

Hi there Cardie, wow, all that gardening, swimming and exercise - fantastic hon, but concerned that you have a cough... please take care of yourself, you are such an inspiration to so many of us...

Sending big, big hugs xxx

 

[C Mac]

@alexthecat: I did wonder about whether you intended for that stretch to be done with the twist or not. I find it hard to get much, if any, stretch (in my leg) without pulling my leg over far enough to induce the twist -- and yes, then I do feel it in my back/side muscles.

Hi @Jyoti: I did have another Feldenkrais session this week. The focus still seems to be on my pelvis up to the shoulder with most of the movements done lying or sitting on the table. She can clearly see how differently my body moves on either side, I however, don't always feel it from the inside... A couple more little movements that I am to practice that involve just the tiny, subtle shifting of my leg/pelvis forward when lying on my side with my hip & knee bent at 90 degrees and my arms stretched forward. Also, lying on my back with my knees bent and feet flat on the ground and gently shifting my pelvis and leg as if I'm pressing down on the floor and also preparing to lift my leg up -- but not really moving or tensing any muscles.

I'll go back in a few weeks for another session, maybe my last one. In the meantime I realized that I shouldn't be trying to do my Feldenkrais moves at the same time that I do my evening stretches because they are just too different and don't work well together -- one is very subtle and gentle and not really activating muscles and the other is the opposite to some degree.

I did find a book that I've been browsing through the other day when I was at the library. It is, coincidentially, by a woman that is a Rolfer and includes a bunch of stuff that seems to be similiar to what my Feldenkrais gal has me doing -- with more of the logical talking through the process that my left-brained self craves. Here's her website Mary Bond the book is "The New Rules of Posture: How to Sit, Stand and Move"

@Smja: I hope that your John is feeling better from his cough! We all ended up on anti-biotics because ours was a bacterial infection circulating around the 'hood... UGH!!

Take care,
Cardie

 

[alexthecat]

Cardie, that stretch is a very individual thing. In my case, among all my hip surgeries, I have a lateral incision that was opened four times and an anterior incision that was opened three times. I ended up with a lot of stiffness around and between those incisions, so that was where I needed the stretch.

Of course, your situation is different. There is not really a "wrong" way to do this stretch though. Just play around with it to get the stretch where you need it.

 

[Jyoti]

Hi Cardie,
Thanks for the update. Your exercises are similar to mine. It's all to do with the hip and pelvis and they are subtle movements. I sense your not to happy with them. Interestingly, the therapist I am seeing has said I can do stretches, gym work etc as well as his exercises. He didn't feel they would cause any issues if done one after another.

I'm finding the exercises difficult despite them being subtle. My pelvis is so stuck it gets upsetting when doing them and I haven't noticed a difference in my walking yet, which is my main aim first. Hoping it will help and see mine in 2 1/2 weeks time. Will have to have a good talk with him about it as it can get frustrating.
Hope everything else is going well.
Jyoti

 

[ANB]

Hi Cardie.
This is my 2nd day on Bonesmart and it's been a blessing and reading your story is also. I soon will post my story but I just want to thank you for giving me strength and hope. I tear in writing this cause I had no idea that this procedure could be this difficult. I endured pain for 2 yrs and thought the surgery would be a piece of cake!! LOL You go girl and my blessings to you! Smile Bunches!

 

[C Mac]

Hi @ANB: I hope that you will start your own thread in the recovery area so we can all give you a big, warm welcome and hear more about your story!!

It's a big surgery and a big adjustment afterwards -- at least that's the way it's worked out for me... Thanks for reading my story and that's good to know that it has given you a bit of strength & hope.

Welcome to the forum, there's lots to look at and do. Hope to hear back from you.

Take care,
Cardie

 

[C Mac]

I haven't noticed a difference in my walking yet, which is my main aim first.

Me too, @Jyoti: of course we haven't worked on anything standing up and moving around & I don't really know if that is something that is yet to come. I'm just not sure if it's an effective use of my money and since I cannot afford to go on a weekly basis and am not sure I see any carry-over from the sessions I just wonder if it's over my head.

When I go to see the rolfer I can feel the difference in the way I move and in the lessened degree of tension in body parts that she has worked on, immediately and for some time afterwards as well. Which reminds me, I should probably re-schedule my last rolfing appointment -- it is time...

Take care,
Cardie

 

[Jyoti]

I know what you mean. It is expensive, but mine only wants to see me every few weeks and tells me to practice daily. I suppose everyone works differently. I'm sorry you will be stopping as it would be good to compare and see how things go but I do understand.

You said the Rolfer makes a difference but do the effects last a while and eventually your body incorporates them in whatever you do. I'm asking as I never went to the KMI anatomy. Thinking that if this doesn't work will look at that again.

But praying it works, otherwise I've nearly run out of therapies :wink1:

FIngers crossed we both improve to where we want to be.

Also started the deep water running. It really helped the pain in my knee as the next day I was so much more fluid in getting on and off chairs and walking. Need to try and do it more frequently and hopefully something will walk and strengthen my hips and glutes.

Good luck
Jyoti

 

[C Mac]

Hi @Jyoti:

I did find the rolfing helpful and would find that it was helpful in an immediate sense in being able to walk and move more fluidly after a session. In the beginning it wouldn't last very long, as time progressed it seemed to last for longer periods of time. I was getting weekly chiropractic treatments at the same time and those also helped. I seem to be prone to some really tight areas like my quadratus lumborm muscle in my back, the front of my thigh up top near the incision has been pretty tight, maybe my IT band (I can't seem to sort that out because I also have inflamed bursa in there).

That is wonderful that the deep water swimming helped your knee!!!! Maybe some of what was going on in your knee was related to atrophy of the muscles in your thigh and tight tendons at the knee??? Do you ever get any knee pop sensations like when a tendon shifts around there? My knee pops on the THR side have practically been eliminated since surgery and that seems to have a direct link to the amount of tension I feel in that joint -- it often feels like it needs to pop.

My feldenkrais gal does a class at the yoga studio and it's only $15 a session, so if she doesn't think I am too dysfunctional, I might try doing the class instead of the individual sessions.

Fingers crossed and I'm off to the chiropractor,
Cardie

 

[Jyoti]

Hi Cardie,
Good Luck with the class. No, I don't get a popping sound. Had a massage the other day and she believes my quads are so tight causing the knee pain. It may be that plus other stuff. Will see how it goes.
My next Feldenkrais appt is in 2 weeks and will need to chat to him about what's going on as don't feel any change.
Hope all is well
Jyoti

 

[VThereandnow]

Hey there. Just catching up on your thread. I see you're still working it. I can't tell, are you getting some relief with the bursitis? ...or is it still being a beast? -cathy

 

[C Mac]

Bursitis is a Beast, still.... I can't seem to do what my body needs in order to make it abate. I have burning pain in more places than I think I have bursa too...I don't do enough "exercise" of any sort to be able to take a rest either.

I'll see the OS in two weeks for my 1 year follow up. They no longer have any ultrasound machines in the office for viewing this sort of thing the scheduler has told me. I've heard that "conservative" PT can help with throcanteric bursitis but I haven't queried any deeper in to what that means or might entail.

I think I may need to go to the outdoor pool and soak in the cool water for a bit.
Thanks for asking,
Cardie

 

[VThereandnow]

My mom has been having terrible bursitis. Not sure if it is trochanter though. When I went home she had just started PT. Now, several weeks later, she said she feels much better. It is not gone, but the pain is much less. About a wk before my surgery her 17 yr old hip popped out. Just what I needed right? So after they popped it back in she developed the bursitis and was absolutely miserable. She said the times the PT massages it are the times she feels the best though the excercises are helping her to. Are you getting any kind of attention that way? I know you are doing the feldenkrais but maybe some massage?

So sorry you are still struggling with this. I am sure it is getting real old by now. Hang in there, Cathy

 

[C Mac]

I am just going to write a little something in here because lately I've been grouchy. However, this is NOT my one year update!

The past week or two I have had new little spots of discomfort and I'm trying to figure out what they mean. I have had a week or so of deep buttock pain in addition to a small sore spot a smidge further down in the hamstring zone. They feel sore to the touch.

When I saw my Feldenkrais gal both this month & last I made mention of my bursitis. Last month she did a little pressure on my psoas & a spot in my low back (not my QL). This month she mentioned, as I prattled on about my IT band & stretches and not feeling like it was tight -- that IT band tightness can be caused by the gluteus muscles. That's it -- we don't really talk about muscles in Feldenkrais, we do gentle shifts of my body parts and I try to "feel" the difference between my left side and my right side...

But, OF COURSE, the IT band is connected to those muscles in my gluteus and those muscles are all sorts of dysfunctional because my pelvis is still doing it's own thing!!!!! So, that's it, I haven't really got a plan for the glute muscles and they have been resistent to stretching -- I've noticed that in the past week or so, I seem to clench them protectively still when I do my evening stretches.

As most of the day today I've dug myself into some sort of dark place over my sore buttock & bursitis I decided to review my little journal and look for anything to blame this on. I did not come up with anything concrete but did note that I've walked 17 days in the past 30 or so days, and that I also did a subtle little switch-up on my bike warm-up in the gym. I had been going twice a week hoping to get to three times a week when I got this stupid bacterial cough infection and then was only at the gym once a week, but still did some advancing that might not really have been advised.

Ok, deep breath, I think I feel a little better...
Cardie

 

[VThereandnow]

Hey there, finally catching up on you. I am so sorry you are still having issues. I looked up trochanter bursitis pictures to get a better idea of things. I can see why it would be a bear to get better. Now you have some new phantom pains? I feel for you, really I do. I know how hard it is to stay positive sometimes when i am struggling and you are going on a year. I can see why you needed to get it off your chest.

Those glute muscles take a long time to get strong from what I hear. In fact my PT said that because mine were so weak, my thighs did all the biking work and hence my spasms. That journal idea is a good one. I really should start one even though I haven't yet. Would be helpful as I add new activities.

Ok to get grumpy once in a while my friend. Staying in the light while struggling is really work sometimes. It is so easy to get down about where we WANT to be and how we WANT to be feeling when our body has a mind of its own. I know you are frustrated with how long this whole recovery thing is going on. REALLY difficult once you've made some steps forward (gym 2x wk) then end up going backwards.

Hang tough Cardie, I am pulling for you. Glad you let it out-you just need to sometimes.
Cathy