Woe Is Us Part Deux

My Turn!
If I ever doubted that the entire body is connected and works as one impressive chain, today would have changed my mind.
I have been having incredible muscle pain over the past few days, it hasn't been this bad in a while. Yesterday and today I have been dealing with the right side (2 scopes), I feel my psoas pulling at my vertebrae again, and then I get awful pain on medial side of my thigh, not quite groin. This is palpable too. I am so stiff and clicky as well.
Yesterday was a sore day. As I was waiting for the elevator to go down and pick L up at school, I started stretching and trying to get my hip to extend, and hopefully stretch, or possibly break up scar tissue. I got it to pop, but then it hurt. It did get better at some point, I don't remember exactly when or what happened. Which leads me to beleive it was scar tissue
Today, that side was a mess again. I felt like my hip was so tight I was losing extension again, like in the early pre-op days. I did the "stool stretch", where I put my knee on a rolling stool and stretch my leg out behind me. It felt good, I got up to walk, and my right knee was a disaster (i.e. the good knee), I was limping for a while. This too, cleared up, but the hip remains tight.

Like the uncompliant,impatient patient that I am, I had a good ride on my spin bike tonight. I know this is not helping the psoas issue since I am sitting, and spinning my legs, fast, in a small arc of motion. The psoas just winds tighter and tighter.
I have been strtetching it, still, and still doing my abductor and adductor exercises, as if this balances out the "don't spin" part.
Time to get on the floor and stretch stretch stretch!!!

The Week in Review

There is no place like home! We were in Miami for a week and a half, it was great but it is also great to be home!
The trip began with my (not so) quick MRI the night before, getting the results, L's 4th b-day party and a long trip home!
Last we spoke, my knee "issue" was TBD, possible MCL, as seen on MRI, or muscle imbalances, but I am to strengthen and stay off of my spin bike. I still think it is "joint related".

I have been off the bike for 2 weeks, the knee was ok, yesterday I was thinking that staying off of the bike was helping but this morning it was back to normal. So I was feeling unbelievably fat from lack of spinning and lots of eating (Jewish holidays=food) so I rode. I hurt, but I cannot directly attribute it to the bike.
L's party was great, its no wonder my kids love going to my parent's house, check out the BEST 4 year old party ever.







I never had a bounce house or ponies at my b-day parties!!!

While we were away, J had to come home for a day for work. The day before he was to leave, he received an email from the parking company where we leave our car at the airport. It turns out, they needed to move our car to an overflow lot since we were gone for so long, in the process, they left the car illegally parked for "a few moments" and it was ticketed and towed, due to some unpaid tickets (oops).
So, J had to go from the airport to one office in Queens to pay for the tow, tickets, storage fee, marshall fee and judgement fee, then go to Brooklyn to pick up the car! The parking company felt so bad they drove him to all of those places, paid all the fees minus the actual tickets, and gave us free parking for the entire duration of the trip (that is a HUGE savings here). It sucked that it happened but I count my lucky stars that J went to retrieve the car alone than with all of us in tow, especially after yesterdays adventure.

We flew non-stop, through DC (don't ask). We left Miami on time and made it to DC with time to spare to catch the connection. Initially, the flight was delayed an hour. We boarded, pulled away from the gate and were told we would have to sit on the runway bc Laguardia was slowing down traffic. We sat for 2 hours, then they pulled us back to the gate bc there were 6 kids on a 40-50 seater plane...not happy kids. We ended up arriving around 4PM (left Miami at 8AM), then I realized I left L's sweater on the plane. One more hour in the airport, we finally left, without the sweater, and all I could think was :thank goodness the car is here, waiting for us!)

Even I Didn't Think I Would Hear Back So Soon

Before 3PM, my phone rang...guess who it was...you got it! J and I were in the supermarket at the time, with both kids, and both were being extremely wild (the 2 kids, not J and the kids) . It was hard to have a conversation and make sure no one got hurt/killed at the same time.

Since I had already read the MRI report report, we got right down to business! What the heck is going on? He said that there was increased signal on my MCL, so he wants me to go into a brace. To which I obviously had a reply of "hell no". See, I know I have MCL problems, which is what I majorly damaged in December. This is a different feel, I explained, it feels "like joint". He thinks there is probably a muscle imbalance, residual effects of the hip arthroscopy (I knew it would come back to haunt me) and wants me to continue strengthening it and stop spinning. (we'll get back to that soon). I am of the opinion that the MCL is not involved in my complaints, yes, it hurts at times, but there is another pain as well, it almost feels like the same pain I had in my hip, but in my knee.
So.....strengthen, avoid aggravating activities like stairs and spinning and call him in 2 months if it still bothers me and we can do an injection then. I knew he would be stingy with the cortisone! If this persists, I don't think I will last 2 months and will probably call sooner, but hopefully it will go away on its own. I will be more diligent about specific strengthening, not just spinning and pilates, and if necessary, tape my knee like P has done in the past.

So the no spinning thing.....I don't know if I can do that. I tried it for 5 days a while back but went back since it didn't seem to make a difference. I didn't spin once last week because I was super busy at work and then with my appointments, packing and travelling. This week, I had grand plans to return to the gym I used to spin at when I lived at home, but just to "test the waters", I will hold back and stay off of a bike for this week as well. I return to NY on Monday, and if my symptoms have not changed, I will return to spinning. If they have gotten better, I will probably return as well, might as well if there is no pain. So in a nutshell, I cannot give in to no spinning and I don't like bracing knees, especially in a situation like this when it will only weaken all the other structures around it.

I don't feel like I am being given the runaround, I am in no hurry to do anything drastic here, and like I think I have mentioned before, the knee is not surgical, and even if it were surgical, ITS NOT SURGICAL!

I Am Not Dead

So I am still in pain!! Actually, now, I may headed into a state of unconsciousness thanks to P's grand ideas! My knee was hell today and yesterday. Today, I was limping, I could not jump down from treatment tables onto it, I could not squat. I was wearing my good shoes with orthotics. I was not a happy camper.

I have tenderness right at the medial joint line, on the meniscus, as well as the MCL and pes anserine. P taped my tibia into internal rotation to better align my knee and de-stress the pes and MCL, and miraculously, the joint pain went away too. Now, the key will be how to maintain this, I can't be taped forever, it is pretty ugly!

Distracting Pain

I think I had some ass spasms today, as well as invisible bruise pain...but I am not too sure. My knees hurt so much that everything else pales in comparison.

I woke up and they still hurt,I think the left is worse than the right, but it changes. I went to acupuncture today, and it was actually pretty cool. I asked him to be careful when putting the needles in my leg bc of the MCL sprains. He asked if I wanted him to treat that too, so I said ok. He palpated around me knees and felt where it hurt, then he put some needles into my elbows and felt my knees again... most of the pain was gone. There was still an area that was painful, so he adjusted one of the elbow needles and it got better. All I can say is FREAKY. Unfortunately it did not have long lasting effects, they still hurt. I iced a little tonight but lost my icepack to an eager 3 year old.

Why is it that I, the PT, actually injured myself during PT.
This is a lesson to all of us....Listen to yourself. I told P I didn't think I could do that exercise...but I tried it anyway......STUPID!!!!!!!!!!!!

The Fun Continues

Things have been 'wonderful'. Not only was my ass spasming, my thigh hurting, my adductors weak and spazzy (is that a word?), now I have blilateral MCL sprains (in my knee), whoohoo, it is a never ending party around here.

I have to admit, the MCL pain is worse than a lot of the hip related stuff, pre and post op. I have a stingy feeling on the medial side of both knees, feels like the ligament is ripping if I do certain things, but haven't been able to pinpoint what.For example, I am in bed with my laptop and they hurt. P tried taping one but it didn't really help. I should ice, it would really help snice the MCL is more superficial than say, my labrum, but I hate ice. Once again, I am hoping that I will wake up tomorrow and I will be better.

So what provoked this? Remember on Monday I tried the Fitter for my adductors. Apparently, I was sooooo not ready. It seems my knees went into too much valgus as I attempted to pull the fitter across into adduction and stressed the MCL. Ouch.

An update on my ass: It is piriformis.Much to my dismay, P did some ART on it and as painful as it was, it really did help. It hurt too. Today was rough! I am ready to pass out and have knee relief ASAP!!!!!!!!!!

I was just thinking...how much more pathetic can this get, I injured myself while rehabbing!!!