Oops I did it again…….
It’s Thursday, 8/18, and I get up ready to start the day. My sister Laura and niece Emma will be here Saturday , 8/20, for a few days. Can’t wait! Been a while! As I get up out of bed, my left glute muscle is so painful I can barely stand up! What? I went to bed with no pain and wake up in excruciating pain from what?
And here we go again. My body worked it’s magic on my sprained right thigh muscle and it’s completely healed Now my left glute is screaming in pain. So back to the muscle healing rabbit hole on the internet and I find a couple of options. I go with the muscle has been weakened from non-use over the past month and that muscle was the piriformis. Next up finding out how to heal and relieve this pain!
I found a couple of YouTube videos which seemed like they would get this muscle healing going. I’m listing them below if you’re interested. These worked for me, you’d have to decide if they are good for you. My new program is now foam rolling, a stretch routine for the piriformis to stretch and strengthen and a yoga practice for the hips and lower body. If you know me, you know I’m going to search until I find something I can do and I think will help me. My new loosen up my butt muscle program seems to be in place! And on a side note, did you you know there is something called dead butt syndrome? It does exist! 😉
I started out with the stretching program and that hurt. But it seemed to help. One thing I noticed is almost every exercise program for this muscle had, was the figure four stretch. It is a yoga pose I am very familiar with so easy to do. The first group starts out doing it in a chair, then on the floor on a mat. A few other stretches and on to strengthening! Funny note, two of the exercise he shows to help strengthen the muscle are part of my aerobic routine. Up next the yoga practice. This practice includes the figure four and pigeon pose A bit painful but the only way to heal a tight muscle is to stretch it.
So the next three days I am hanging out with both my sisters and my niece. So fun but still a pretty painful glute. I am using the walking stick, which really doesn’t help but it does oddly give me a comfort zone. The girls head on into the city on Tuesday and I’m back on my program which seems to be working slowly.
Long story short, this process continued over four weeks! I did the same workout every morning and slowly my glute/piriformis began to heal. By week two I was off my fabulous walking stick as it really didn’t help this issue. Stairs will always be a problem with any mobility issue but I did work myself back to one step up and down normally. Week three I was feeling mostly soreness more than pain. I stopped the extensive stretches and kept my routine to yoga and foam rolling now just once a day. In between I was still using heat twice a day and the tennis ball for days the muscle felt extra tight.
Week four has arrived, last week, and I am just about healed. I started walking again with a mile or so each day. No issues. I hadn’t stopped by Oscar in over two months so he was happy to see me.
Friday, 9/16 was week nine! What a non-summer it has been. I fell on July 15th, three weeks into summer. No real activity for four weeks, four days and healed. Two days later my glute/piriformis acts up and there’s another four weeks gone. Thursday 9/22 begins Autumn. The summer is now over. But the positive in all this is I broke no bones and have healed pretty much back to July 14th body status!
Thanks for joining me on this unusual journey. As with most things in life, there are takeaways. Here are mine:
-Don’t fall.
-A walking stick can be your new best friend at any age!
-Listen to your body and rest when it causes you excruciating pain!
-A healthy lifestyle will help your healing process!
-Research on the internet is general and be careful what you choose for your injury and body,
-People react differently when you have a walking stick/cane. Interesting.
-Be happy for all the little advances you make towards healing. Mental attitude plays a role as well!
-Don’t fall.
I hope you found my blog entertaining and maybe a bit informative. Take care of you and your loved ones. Leave a comment here if you like. I’m going to blog on the interesting things which may come up from time to time. Be sure to check back. Happy Autumn all! 😉
*Disclaimer:
This information is solely for informational purposes. IT IS NOT INTENDED TO PROVIDE MEDICAL ADVICE. Kim Gerhardt, Certified Health Coach, does not take responsibility for any possible consequences from any treatment, procedure, exercise, dietary modification, action or application of medication which results from reading or following the information contained in this information. The publication of this information does not constitute the practice of medicine, and this information does not replace the advice of your physician or other health care provider. Before undertaking any course of treatment, the reader must seek the advice of their physician or other health care provider.
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