Less is More & More Swimming

Not the best of shots, lol, but it was a garden first and a life-time first this week. A flock of 6+ pretty Brambling came into the garden late one afternoon. They stayed for perhaps 10 minutes before moving on and I've not seen them since. I'd never seen one before and certainly never seen one in the garden. It made my day!

I'm tired this afternoon so this may read worse than usual.....

Anyway, my rehab strategy has evolved. After 2 years of daily physio, followed by weeks filled with almost daily exercise of one sort or another, I'm taking a new approach. I reckon I've laid the foundations and the way forward is "less is more". Something the physio said a couple of weeks ago has prompted this I suppose.

So....for the moment, I'm putting my energies into the pool work. This week I tried doing 25 reps of the hyrdo exercises followed by 18-19 lengths (9 on my back, 9-10 breaststroke). However, I think keeping the reps down to 20 and aiming for 15 lengths is probably best. I felt almost ill with exhaustion afterwards on Wednesday; was good for nothing on Thursday and slept for an hour in the afternoon. Friday I was still drained and thankfully it was half term so didn't have pottery.

The main issue this week has been the right upper thigh/groin ache/pain. It was very bad after table tennis and the pool, and I had to take painkillers to be able to sleep. It has settled a little since then but something needs sorting out!

I turned up for my physio appointment on Monday only to realise I was a week early....D'Oh! So, back at physio tomorrow afternoon.

Still getting the usual deep tissue pain through the rotator cuffs and down my arms - is it nerve pain? Who knows.

Tired.

Back in NHS Physiotherapy & Back at the Pool (15 Lengths)

I was very pleased to get this photo of a sweet little Long Tailed Tit perched on the Rose bush outside the kitchen window this week. It was one of those 'lucky shots' where you've got a few seconds to get 1 maybe 2 photos before the bird flies, and this was the result.

It's been a mixed week. I started off feeling optimistic. Managed 25 mins on the exercise bike last Sunday, pushing quite hard, and it felt really good. I came off the bike feeling energised, strong and 'fit'. I didn't feel any particular right groin/front of hip tightness/pain (which was a minor miracle!) or LHS lower back pain. Monday and Tuesday morning, the normal groin/glute/back pains were minimal and I realised what life might feel life without constant pain!

However, Tuesday afternoon was my first appointment back with the NHS physiotherapy dept for the left glute/LHS lower back problems. All I can say is that I came away not knowing whether I was disappointed or got exactly what I expected, nothing. Essentially, the physio said I was doing all the right things and that it was unlikely she'd be able to do anything else for me. As ever, it's a case of prescribing exercises/stretches without seemingly to apply any real anatomical expertise. I suppose, actually, I was gutted. I wanted to see a really experienced physiotherapist who would follow the paths of causation/pain and then tell me what the problem was. Unfortunately, that's not what I got.

In the spirit of fairness, maybe the physio will be more forthcoming/helpful tomorrow (the next appointment). And, I did glean something useful in that she said it may help to reduce injuries if I have 2 rest days per week rather than 1. She also said my left hip strength was good (which I was delighted to hear!) and there was no reason why I shouldn't be able to swim safely.

The left hip assessment exercises aggravated the LHS lower back pain.

Wednesday, I was back at the pool after another 4 weeks off it. I've decided to try a new approach from now onwards. I reckon the 18 months of persevering with the 50 reps of each exercise will have conditioned the structures enough to 'move on'. This week, I tried doing just 20 reps of each exercise (as a warm up, maintenance of movement) and then gingerly started swimming. I was terrified of straining the right pubic bone muscle or right ab/groin area again. I was very careful not to apply any real stress to the breaststroke leg kick and mainly used my arms to propel me forward.

I have to say I was very pleasantly surprised! My arms/upper body felt fresh and stronger. I easily managed about 15 lengths (7 breaststroke, 7-8 on my back with flutter kicks). By the end I was getting the usual cramps in my left foot/calf and the right ab was a little twingey, but overall I was extremely happy. The break had done me good. I felt stronger.

Thursday was the usual exhausted, rest day. Friday was pottery and, physically, I coped well but must have stood over my pot in an awkward way because I strained a LHS mid back muscle which has been stiff/painful ever since! Yesterday, I didn't do my usual 45-50 mins walk. I was tired and scared of not letting my body recover enough from the swimming. I tried the new physio exercise (see below) but that's aggravated the right groin/front of hip pain/ache.


I didn't sleep well last night. I was worrying about the state of my body. Also, I somehow pinched a nerve (in my neck?) which caused sharp pain through the back of my left hand (the area before the thumb and index finger). If I lay on my right side, the pain intensified to the point of intolerable so I had to turn over, release the nerve(?), and the pain subsided. Very odd!

So, generally, today, I feel discouraged and frustrated. It's been a very up and down week. I can't take anything for granted. One minute, I feel like I might just have a chance of one day being fit and free from pain, the next minute, all the old problems are back and nothing seems to be improving.

I guess, fundamentally, I am getting stronger. The problem is the nerve pain/hypersensitive muscles. I dearly hope that that will all settle with time and continued use of the structures.

TWO YEARS

If I'd taken my camera on my walk this morning, I would have been able to upload an image of a beautiful hovering Kestrel but, as I didn't, it's another garden Blue Tit!

So, it's two years today since I started the NHS physio for the hips/back/core. Over those 2 years, my strength and stamina have improved although nowhere near as much as I would have liked. Unfortunately, the pain levels are seemingly as bad as they were back then. Maybe this will change over the next 6 months. I re-read my post for this time last year and one of the obvious improvements is the significant reduction in exhaustion. I do have more energy these days (even if I'm kinda tired today!).

I start back in NHS physio this Tuesday for....my hips/back/core...again! I think I'll be very disappointed if s/he gives me the same set of exercises/stretches as 2 years ago! I have been working my butt off incorporating all of that into these 2 years and, to be frank, it'll ring serious alarm bells if I'm given the same routines again.

This week has been a little better than the previous 7 weeks. I managed the 25 mins on my exercise bike last Sunday without aggravating things too much. I made it to table tennis on Tuesday and played for about an hour. I missed the pool on Wednesday as I needed energy on Thursday but overall, I feel like I might be getting back on track. The right lower ab pain/twinges are still there but I'm treating it as though it's nerve pain which just needs to settle. If it's anything more serious it'll become clear as I try to get back to the pool work/swimming.

7 weeks ago I was averaging between 45-50 mins exercise per day (total: 5hrs 15 mins - 5hrs 45 mins per week). Over the past 7 weeks, I've dropped back down to 30 mins per day (total: 3 hrs 30 mins per week). It's quite a significant drop and I hope I can get back up to the higher level before Christmas.

Pain

Another Blue Tit. They continue to come into my garden in delicate swarms and this little chap posed nicely on the branches of the Japanese Maple, just outside the kitchen window. One of these days I'll get some shots that aren't 'through the double glazing'.

It's been another week out of the pool, away from the table tennis table and off the bike. I have done a few decent walks though. I was pleased to manage 1.5 hours on Wednesday with a steep incline through the last part of the walk. Although there was pain/twinges through my groins/glutes and down my left leg, the big muscles (quads, hamstrings and calves) coped really well, I didn't get puffed out and I wasn't exhausted in the afternoon. My energy levels recovered 'normally' even if the pain intensified.

And, that's been the dominating issue. The pain. The LHS lower back tightness/pain, the left hip/glute ache/pain referring down my left leg through my groin; pain through the pubic bone muscles, pain through my right front of hip/groin, pain, essentially, through connector tissues around my hips. Plus, the other deep tissue ache through my rotator cuffs. I can only assume that this is all nerve related one way or another. At one point this week, the pattern of pain reminded me of the growing pains I used to have as a child - that deep ache through the pelvis down the legs. As far as I know, that is sciatic nerve pain so perhaps this is similar?

Below is a record/indicator of roughly where the worst pain is located (shown by yellow/red areas)


Anyway, I was very pleased to finally receive my letter from the hospital this week inviting me to make my first physiotherapy appointment. That'll be 19th Oct so not too long to wait now. Increasingly, I'm not sure they'll be able to help but perhaps they'll send me in the direction of where help can be found.

Yet Another Week "Off"

It was one of those moments where the little Blue Tits come into the garden like a wave of confetti and flutter about in every conceivable plant, including the ones just outside the patio doors. This little fella perched precariously on the branch just long enough for me to grab the camera and take a few shots. I was chuffed with how it came out.

Unfortunately, it's been another week trying to give the right lower abdominal and pubic bone muscle strains a chance to heal up. No table tennis, no pool work and I won't be getting back on the bike today. I've done a few decent walks but even they result in the usual right front of hip/thigh tightness and pain. I've not done any bicep/tricep strengthening either as that needs the abdominal muscles as stabilisers.

My pottery class started again on Friday, which was great. As usual, I didn't know I was missing it until I was back there enjoying it. I was encouraged to find that kneading the clay was a lot easier (all the deltoid and arm strengthening is paying off). And, I was standing, working over my piece, for the best part of 3 hours without getting lower back ache. My frozen left shoulder and left side of my neck were painful and fatigued by the end, and, in the evening, I had the usual deep tissue ache through my rotator cuffs, down my arms, but overall, I was happy to discover I've made progress physically.

Yesterday was a bit of a surprise though. In the morning, I went out for my usual 45 mins walk and did my stretches. But, by the afternoon I felt awful - drained, hot/cold/shivery and dizzy. I don't feel much better this morning. I was hoping it's just fatigue but maybe I'm coming down with a cold or something.

I plan to rest the strains for another week and then slowly get back to everything again, hopefully.

Disappointing

No birdie photos today (although that might change if I manage to get something half decent later).

Essentially, it's been a disappointing week. I hoped that the 4 week break from the usual exercise routines would have allowed things to strengthen up and heal up. Unfortunately, that doesn't seem to be the case. The pubic bone muscle strain has improved although the right lower ab/groin area is twingey and painful, and makes me think 'hernia' every time it grumbles.

Table tennis on Tuesday was the first disappointment. It very definitely aggravated the right groin/thigh pain so that it was as bad as it ever gets. Wednesday's evening commitment was cancelled so that meant I could go to the pool in the morning. I stuck to the basics. All I did was the hydrotherapy exercises that the hospital taught me 18 months ago. I didn't attempt any swimming. Right from the start the right groin/thigh was problematic and then I strained the left inner hamstring doing squats. The right lower ab/pubic bone muscle area was tender. Generally, the whole pelvic structure felt twingey, painful or strained! I came home baffled.

I have been doing those hydro exercises for 18 months. There is no way they should cause any strains or problems. It defies belief that I'm still nursing injuries from doing the pool work! The last physio I saw before I left the hospital suggested I do the hydro work for another 6 months before heading into the gym. I've stuck at it for 18 months and I'm still not ready for the gym?!?!?! So, yes, I was very disappointed after Wednesday's session.

Thursday, I was as tired as ever (which again was disappointing because I'd done a lot less than normal on Wednesday). The left hamstring strain seems to have healed up, which is good, but the right groin/thigh/lower ab area is chronically painful.

The best thing to come out this week was that table tennis helped reduce the LHS lower back tightness/pain.

On a completely different note, I caught the end of xfactor last night and Matt Cardle's "The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face" brought tears to my eyes. What a spine-tinglingly beautiful voice. You hear something extra-ordinary like that and you're transported out of the tangle of your own problems and reminded there's beauty in the world. Does you good.

Still Nursing Strains

Got my first half decent photo of a Chiffchaff yesterday morning. This pretty warbler came into the garden briefly but I only managed a few distant shots through the window, this being the best. It's only the second garden sighting of a Chiffchaff in 5 years so I was delighted.

It's been another frustrating, emotional week. The pubic bone muscle strain (from 4 weeks ago) does seem to be improving but I've done very little to test it out. The LHS lower back tightness/pain and left hip ache down through my groin and leg are back with a vengeance, having done so little exercise. I'm pretty sure now that it's an irritated/trapped nerve in the lower back. The deep right groin pain is also still present. Again, I wonder if that's nerve related too.

I'm on the waiting list (10 week wait) for more physio for hips/back. I'm not sure what they can achieve given that I have been keeping up all physio/strengthening exercises for the past 2 years. I think it's getting to the stage now where I need a scan to see what's going on. Maybe there's a bulging disc or something.

So, I've kept off the bike, out of the pool and away from the table tennis table again this week. I've done a few walks but generally I've been feeling absolutely drained for some reason. I've been forced to take painkillers at night for the hip/back pain to be able to sleep. My muscles have felt 'brittle' and as though they could be strained far too easily.

I plan to go to table tennis tomorrow and see how that goes. I'll miss the pool because I have a commitment on Wednesday evening that I need energy for. I guess it'll be a case of just testing things out and seeing how everything copes.