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dmarleyOne day, I'll make a post and there will be nothing medical in it. This is not that post, but let's just live in hope. :)
I went to the physical therapist today, and his diagnosis was that I was no longer flexing the three lowest vertebrae when I moved my upper body. (Presumably, the pain from the arthritis caused me to make this particular adaptation, but that's my inference, not anything he said.) The body being the adaptive thing it is, the stabilizing muscles in my hips and lower torso took over the task of moving my upper body, and are now finally going on strike in protest of being asked to perform duties not in their job description. The result is that there are a lot of very, very tense muscles on the left side of my body, which will need to relax, stretch and otherwise chill the fuck out. Once those muscles are in better shape, we will, apparently, work on convincing my lower spine to start flexing again.
I can't, though, help but think of my good friend![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
pktheater, who had a pretty bad fall and hit his head. Two years later, the muscles that tightened up to protect his neck from that injury finally relaxed, and he had to have surgery for a very, very painful ruptured disc. I've had x-rays done of my back five years ago, and two weeks ago, so I'm hoping that something like that would be, you know, noticeable by now. Not to mention that my doctors have done all the little "this is how you tell if you have a ruptured disc" tests. It's just that I know how much friends of mine have suffered from neck and back injuries, and I'd rather not have another long, painful injury just now, thanks. Well, okay, longer and more painful than the arthritis thing. :)
I'm currently scheduled for PT three days a week, which is about six times as often as my PT for my wrist. I'm guessing this is because this is the "how you avoid surgery" kind of PT as opposed to the "you're too screwed up for anything but surgery" kind, so I'm okay with that. I'm already feeling a little sore in my back and hip where the therapist dug in to locate all the taut muscles, but I consider this a good thing. Especially if the payoff is a back-pain free existence.
I went to the physical therapist today, and his diagnosis was that I was no longer flexing the three lowest vertebrae when I moved my upper body. (Presumably, the pain from the arthritis caused me to make this particular adaptation, but that's my inference, not anything he said.) The body being the adaptive thing it is, the stabilizing muscles in my hips and lower torso took over the task of moving my upper body, and are now finally going on strike in protest of being asked to perform duties not in their job description. The result is that there are a lot of very, very tense muscles on the left side of my body, which will need to relax, stretch and otherwise chill the fuck out. Once those muscles are in better shape, we will, apparently, work on convincing my lower spine to start flexing again.
I can't, though, help but think of my good friend
pktheater, who had a pretty bad fall and hit his head. Two years later, the muscles that tightened up to protect his neck from that injury finally relaxed, and he had to have surgery for a very, very painful ruptured disc. I've had x-rays done of my back five years ago, and two weeks ago, so I'm hoping that something like that would be, you know, noticeable by now. Not to mention that my doctors have done all the little "this is how you tell if you have a ruptured disc" tests. It's just that I know how much friends of mine have suffered from neck and back injuries, and I'd rather not have another long, painful injury just now, thanks. Well, okay, longer and more painful than the arthritis thing. :)I'm currently scheduled for PT three days a week, which is about six times as often as my PT for my wrist. I'm guessing this is because this is the "how you avoid surgery" kind of PT as opposed to the "you're too screwed up for anything but surgery" kind, so I'm okay with that. I'm already feeling a little sore in my back and hip where the therapist dug in to locate all the taut muscles, but I consider this a good thing. Especially if the payoff is a back-pain free existence.