Last week, after a short bout of improvement in rehab for my injury (which included a whole 4 minutes of treadmill running), my back started to hurt terribly after a cycling class and PT session.
On Friday, my physical therapist dealt me a big blow: my new pain was indicative of poor healing progression and he was changing my course of treatment from running related therapy to more intensified core work through Pilates.
To add insult to (literal) injury, I was also told to stop engaging my new fitness passion, indoor cycling, because it was likely exacerbating my injury (of course this was right after I finally purchased some cycling shoes).
Image: Leo Reynolds
Image: Leo Reynolds
This was a one-two punch so hard that I almost cried right there in his office. I waited until I got into the car to sob uncontrollably. Great first day of being 43 – not even two steps forward and one step back, I was (and still am) pretty upset.
I’ve tried to be done with my own Pity Party but this was not what I expected to hear after 6 weeks of treatment. I spent my Sunday morning walking (and not running) the Pasadena Rock ‘n’ Roll Mini Marathon (aka 5K – this will be Wednesday’s post) and holding back tears the entire time.
Image: Franco Folini
It seems that I’ve injured and re-injured the same area so many times that the muscles surrounding my injury have been overcompensating and now need to be retrained neuromuscularly (is that a word?) to learn to work correctly. These muscles have been attempting to protect me and are now irritated at being directed to work in a new manner. Guess what? My muscles aren’t the only ones that are irritated right now!
Image: Jeremy Brooks
I meet with my new Physical Therapist today and I’m looking forward to hearing her new plan for me. I’ve never done Pilates and while I know that my jelly belly could use some core strengthening, I never pictured myself as the Pilates type – I’m short and squat not long and lean but if this can help me get strong for good and make the difference in getting to#13in2013 in June, I’m in.
Have you done Pilates before to strengthen your core after a back injury? Private sessions? Videos? Group classes? Let me know what you’ve done or do now. Maybe I can supplement my new exercises with some recommendations.
Oh Melissa. I’m so sorry. I know how frustrating it must be. I hope that the new plan of action helps. I used to do pilates a lot a long time ago and loved it. I know you know this but strengthening your core is important to supporting your back. Starting out, I would definitely recommend privates, especially since this is injury related, so that the instructor can work with your specific needs. Once you get stronger and are familiar with the moves, you could do videos or mat classes, etc. Form is super important!
Christine, so frustrated! We’ll see what the new PT has to say but it’s likely that privates will be the way to go first. I’m really nervous but I’m absolutely certain that it will help my core (it couldn’t get much worse than it is now) and ultimately help my back.
As always, thanks for the support!
PS – I got to meet @PavementRunner yesterday. What a nice guy!
I am so sorry :/ I love pilates, actually, and really want to get back into them – probably through videos online. I liked it a lot more than yoga and I was nearly in shape when I was doing them on a regular basis. My core is abysmal. Good luck and let me know how it goes!
Pilates is VERY VERY VERY good for your back (our mutual friend Dr. Metzl recommended it, among other things.) Since you are a former yoga person, I suspect you will take to it very quickly, but do not overdo at the start, because you are using a number of different muscle groups in different ways, and it is going to ache . . . but in a good way. (And the rumor is it can make you an inch or two taller after a year or two because of the posture work, though I’ve never seen this proven.) But I’m sorry you’re still in so much pain!!
Start with mat classes, then move on to the reformer – or not. You might prefer to stick with the mat, which can get really strenuous the more you advance. I just hope Pilates is the magic trick that helps you! XO
Once I get the word (today rather than yesterday), I’ll let you know if I’m referred out and see if you want to join me.
Thanks for the support!
Thank you my smart friend! I’m looking forward to hearing what I’m told to do next. This walking of 5k’s sucks – post tomorrow will be one big whinefest (vs the preferred winefest!).
I’ll let you know….
Yes! Finally someone writes about muscle factor x.