Tag: ASTYM

Living at PT

On By LeraIn UncategorizedLeave a comment

In my last post, I mentioned that continuing physical therapy would be left up to my PT and I to discuss. Considering my desire to get back to running and considering I still need some help strengthening my muscles and loosening them up, along with my crazy work schedule that doesn’t leave me time to properly rest my affected injuries, we decided to continue on a week by week basis for now. I attended two sessions this week, and I’m honestly not sure what to think about my progress because a new issue started trying to pop up. I don’t have as much pain as I did when I started, but now my IT band is getting tight on the side where I already have the gluteus medius tendinitis and trochanteric bursitis. Given this new development, my PT decided that giving ASTYM a try would be worthwhile. Those of you who have been following along with this blog might remember that I had this done on my Achilles tendon this past summer and it’s what ultimately helped me recover from that surgery. I had my first ASTYM session for my hip/IT band today and I was really dreading it because I remember how much it hurt last time, but to my surprise it wasn’t as painful in that area as it was on my Achilles tendon. The worst part was having to wear shorts, which I hate because I hate my legs. I actually only had one pair from before I lost 70 pounds, and they’re huge on me, but they worked pretty well for ASTYM since my whole leg had to be exposed. I just changed back into my capris when it was time to work on the exercises so I didn’t end up losing my shorts on the floor xD

I left this out last time, but I started to get elbow pain last week that is very persistent and bothers me when I do pretty much anything. Doing some of my own research, I think it’s tennis elbow (lateral epicondylitis). I have an appointment with my primary care doctor in a week and a half, so I’m hoping to get a definitive diagnosis so it can start feeling better. I feel like I’m living at my physical therapy clinic. Every time I feel like I can escape, something else happens. I hope I don’t have to attend sessions for my elbow, but I won’t know until I see my doctor. I’ve also been getting tingling in my fingers on both hands, which hurts enough to keep me up at night sometimes, so it’s just a matter of time before that needs treatment, too. Having a physical job is doing me no favors. I feel like the only way I might convince the powers that be to get us a real manager is if I show up with my arm in a sling, which may very well happen considering my shoulder on the same arm is also bothering me (not as much as the elbow, though). Maybe once there’s some outward sign that I can’t do 80% of the work alone, things might speed up. I’m tired of working overtime and being in pain. I want to be able to get back to running. I’m planning to start training again in 5 weeks, which would put my first 5k race the last week of April, or first week of May, but that’s assuming everything stays on track. With the way things have been lately, it’s hard to say. I’m going to work as hard as possible at PT; if I can get back to running, that’s the first step to getting back to tennis, which I really miss!

Graduation From Physical Therapy!

On By LeraIn Life, SurgeryLeave a comment

As the title suggests, I am officially done with physical therapy! I can’t even begin to express my gratitude to the entire staff at my clinic. I’m so blessed that I found a clinic where everybody goes above and beyond and where they refuse to give up until there’s no options left. If my therapist hadn’t been willing to try everything, I don’t think I would’ve made this much progress. ASTYM really made a huge difference for me and the progress that I was able to make, and I’m glad my therapist is one of the few in the area certified in it. He told me to let him know when I can run 20 minutes without pain, and he’ll give me some exercises to get ready for tennis. According to the running plan I’ve been following, that could be in as little as six weeks if all goes well. Even if it takes a little bit longer, I don’t mind as long as I’m not going to hurt myself by overdoing it. I’ve put too much work into this recovery to have a setback that I made for myself. It’s nice to know that even though I am officially done with therapy, I can still ask for help if I need it. The cup in the picture above was a gift from my clinic, and I plan to proudly display it on my bookshelf as a reminder of all the hard work recovery has taken, and will continue to take.

I’m really excited to have the green light to train for my local hot cocoa 5k run in February. I even have a friend training for it, too, so it’ll be even more fun! Running still feels challenging, but in a good way. I look forward to each day I can get outside and grow a little bit stronger. So far my Achilles tendon has only bothered me once while running, and not even enough to stop. The main problem now is the other undiagnosed issue on the outside of my ankle on that same foot. The steroid shot didn’t work as well as I had hoped and I was sore again a week later. I’m guessing when I go for the follow up appointment, I’ll be sent for some tests. For now, that issue is letting me run as long as I do a good warm up, so I’m going to keep going for it. My doctor and my PT both said it was okay to run, so unless things get worse, I’m going to keep going. It feels so good to finally have my goals move a little closer to my reach. It took me longer to get to this point than many others who had the same surgery as me, but I made it, and that’s what matters 🙂

A Spark of Hope

On By LeraIn Cycling, Life, SurgeryLeave a comment

It’s been a couple of weeks since I started ASTYM, and it really seems to be helping. My pain at work is unchanged, but at least it doesn’t hurt as much to bike as it did before. I think work is the single biggest thing holding back my recovery, to the point where I’m going to have to start looking for a less strenuous job. Every time I start to feel better on my days off, the pain always comes back the next time I work. I can’t handle that many hours on my feet without breaks anymore. I’m so tired of living in pain every day and limping around the house when I get home.

For the first time in a long time, I feel like things are looking up. I started working on some new exercises at physical therapy which should help me to run and jump again someday. It’s amazing how hard it is to jump! My left leg does all the work, but I’m hoping the right one will step in eventually and remember how to do it. I think it probably needs a little more strength first, but I’ve been diligently doing everything at home. I’m probably one of the few people who actually likes to do the home program based on what I’ve heard other people say. I like putting on some music really loud (usually country or jpop) and working on fixing my body. It’s a half hour of my time well spent every day. On my days off work, I’ll do the program a second time before bed. If it will get me walking normally again, then running, then playing tennis, how could I not enjoy doing my homework? I’ve dealt with this injury for over two years, and while I had hoped recovering from surgery would be a little faster than it’s been, at least I’m feeling like I’m making some progress again.

My other concern as of late is that I think I found out what’s been wrong with the outside of my right ankle: sinus tarsi syndrome. I have to discuss it with a doctor, but all the symptoms match: pain on the outside of the ankle, swelling, trouble walking on uneven surfaces, degenerative changes at the subtalar joint and fluid collection (evidenced on my MRI from last summer), pain turning my foot inward… I’m not dumb enough to diagnose myself on the internet, but reputable sources say it’s often misdiagnosed, so it’s worth asking about so I can get started treating it if I do have it.. It also can weaken the Achilles tendon, which might account for some of my trouble healing. Here’s a link to the site I found with extensive information about it: Physiopedia: Sinus Tarsi Syndrome. It’d be nice to know for sure what the problem is because it’s holding me back as much as my Achilles tendon is, if not more.

Well, that’s all I have for tonight. I don’t have physical therapy this coming week because my therapist is out of the office and the other one doesn’t do ASTYM, but I’ll be picking back up again on the 29 of this month. Until next time, stay well!

A Wild Ride

On By LeraIn Cycling, LifeLeave a comment

This past week has been a roller coaster of emotion. I had my follow-up appointment with my surgeon yesterday, and I really don’t know what to think. I told him I was concerned how it was healing, and he said the same things he said last time: that this kind of recovery takes up to a whole year to be 100% better and to just be patient. He didn’t seem concerned about it at all, which I know I should take for a good sign, but that would be so much easier to do if I didn’t feel like my body was falling apart. I called my physical therapist after the appointment to discuss the appointment like he asked me to do, and he agreed to let me try a full course of ASTYM, which is 6-10 treatments, so I’ll be doing that until mid-August. I finally feel like I might have some hope back to reach my goals, which is a feeling I haven’t had in about two months. I had one of my best cycling weeks last week, which is still less than half of what I should be able to do, but it was about 20 miles more than the week before. I actually went out 5 days last week instead of just 3, and that was after only one ASYTM session! I’m hoping that with a full course of it, I can be back out a lot more. If I can break 100 miles on a work week, I’ll be thrilled, but right now I’d be happy with 75. I’d be really excited to get tennis back this year, but I know better than to push too hard too soon.

I want to take a minute to recognize my amazing physical therapy clinic. I’m not naming them to protect my privacy here, but I really would be lost without them. They’ve been so wonderful to work with, and they’re cutting me a special break to help get me back to where I need to be. I didn’t expect any special treatment, but I’m so much more grateful than I can ever express in words. Just having the chance to try something else means so much to me, because I’m not giving up until I can say I’ve tried everything.