Posts Tagged ‘stretches’
2/8/11 – Back in Personal Training
So, I had two weeks of no Personal Training due to scheduling and conflicts, and it has been a great two weeks – NOT because I skipped the gym, but because I was able to go to the gym and focus on rehab and physical therapy moves. Due to an irritated right knee from skiing too much a few weeks ago, Melissa has taken me off lifting and added a LOT of foam rolling.
I now foam roll my: lats, upper back, IT band, quads, calf muscles, tibialis anterior (muscles on front part of lower leg) and triceps. This is my favorite part of my day. It has gone from excruciating to wonderful in about 5 days. After 10 days, it is just plain marvelous. I have tried the white foam rollers (not very dense foam, but cheapest kind you can buy), the black foam rollers (the densest foam I have found), and a blue 18 inch foam roller (almost as dense as the black). I recommend the white for your back, the black for everything else (takes some time to get used to it) and the blue for your quads specifically because it’s size really allows you to roll each leg independently much easier. The small roller works for everything except upper back (too short to comfortably go all the way across).
I also did some major stretches for the lats, the quads, the hip flexor, and the IT band. The running is on hold due to the knee, but I’m using the stationary bike for cardio. What a drag, except when you’ve got a good pal to hang out and talk to while you’re pedaling away to NOWHERE!
Ah, the two weeks has ended, and I feel better except for the knee, which still has issues 🙁 I’m making an appointment to see Travis. He always knows what to do.
Melissa reinstated the lifting – deadlifts of 75 lbs. Whew, I am a stud! There are a lot of shoulder rehab moves, which make me very happy! VERY HAPPY! As a matter of fact, my shoulder has not been in knots all week. I’ve also been wearing my night guard, though. Who knows what is working? Night guard or the rehab? Anyway, it has been a wonderful week for working out!
Can’t wait to hear what Travis has to say about the knee. It should be interesting to say the least.
Keep On Keeping On.
So, I have not been perfect with the physical therapy stretches. Wednesday, I did everything (two IT band stretches and ice). Thursday and Friday, I did nothing. Saturday and today – everything! One interesting thing, to me, is that when I am doing the foam roller stretches, my left side feels like it is fire, while my right side is ay-okay. I am really so glad that my right leg and foot are seeming to get it together. I have more faith that I can make it through this process and come out better! My next appt is Tuesday. I look to have the stretches done Monday, and I should get new stuff to do on Tuesday. We shall see.
Physical Therapy – First Visit 3/10/10
Ok, I found out that my Physical Therapist’s office is no longer a “preferred provider” for my insurance. I did find out that my insurance will still pay some, and I really like my Therapist. So, I decided to continue with them. Today, I was not disappointed!
I dutifully rode my bike to the Physical Therapist’s office (more on this later), and he asked me what I had been doing. I reminded him that I had a blog that laid it all out (which came in handy for dates and such :-)), but I supposed I could tell him anyway. When I got to the part about the 2 mile run, he winced. Then, he said that I had definitely jumped in too fast. I should have been running about 5 minutes at a time – oops.
However, the conversation got really interesting – to me – at that point. He mentioned that he had been doing some research into barefoot running, and he had found a paper documenting how good it is. He also said that he had read a lot of papers that supported orthotic therapy. So, it would be up to whether or not my left foot could acclimate. (Go left foot, GO!)
He then said he couldn’t remember how my feet looked – I promptly reminded him that if he had read my blog he would have seen them. Anyway, we discussed how since I have arches, he could give me some exercises that would strengthen the arch and the other muscles in the foot. He observed that the muscles in my right foot were much better developed than my left foot. It was very gratifying to have him validate my observations on my left foot (the ones where I said I thought it was not as storng as my right foot).
Anyway, here is the plan:
Step 1: Get the inflammation down. He is going to do some ASTYM treatment to stimulate healing in the posterior tibial tendon.
Step 2: Strengthen the left foot and ankle through specific exercises.
Step 3: Develop a plan for getting me safely started on running barefoot.
He said this could take as long as one year. Whew! Well, that’s what I read on the Vibramâ„¢ website. So, I’m not too surprised.
My take away program for the weekend:
1. Ice left foot 15 minutes once each day regardless of whether there is pain or not.
2. Stretch IT bands by leaning and extrending hip 3 times one minute each time both sides everyday.
3. Stretch IT bands using a foam roller on each leg for one minute each.
So, today I have done the foam roller. I still need to do #1 and #2.
It sounds like we are in for a tedious dry spell. I’ll see what I can dig up for fun in the mean time 🙂