physical therapy Archives

ITBS Recovery Week 6

March 4, 2013 · by Ari ·

Hi friends. If you have no idea what I’m talking about, feel free to check out my first recovery post. Here’s a little reminder.

How I’m feeling physically:

Honestly, I’m feeling about the same. I have good days, and bad days. I don’t feel better than last week, but I don’t feel worse. Walking still feels…odd. When I walk for a long time (a long time being one side of the house to the other), it feels like fluid builds up in my needs. It’s weird, and I don’t know if that’s an accurate statement, but that’s what it feels like. I tested out the rowing machine this week. The first day it felt fine; the second it hurt afterwards. I don’t really understand my body. It’s a mystery.

How I’m feeling mentally:

Just like physically, I have good days, and bad days. One aspect that is incredibly frustrating is not being able to do my job. I’m a choreographer. I have to be able to dance, and right now, I can only mark things when I teach my kids. I can’t give 100%, and show them what I want from them. It’s a mental battle for me. Then sometimes after a great yoga class (I never thought I’d say that…), I feel so grateful to be able to move at all. I’m grateful for the opportunity to explore new things, and for my own determination and commitment to staying fit.

This whole period is really testing that commitment. It would be so easy to not do anything at all since there is so much that I can’t do, but I do feel really proud of myself for sticking with it, and finding workouts that still feel good. Here’s how this week went down.

Monday:

Tuesday: Yoga. We did normal yoga-y things. I didn’t hate it. I’d call that a win.

Wednesday: Massage. Ugghhh…they are so painful, and no fun at all, but hopefully it’s helping. Pretty much the entire section from my butt to underneath my knee on the left side causes lots of crying and cursing. It’s a fun 90 minutes, let me tell you.

Thursday: Gym. I tested out the rowing machine with 2,000 meters, then did a bunch of strength training that left me sweaty, and with all my muscles feeling like jello. I used to really love strength training, and I’m trying to get myself back into it.

Friday: Yoga. We did yoga-y things, and I REALLY LIKED IT!!!! Who am I??? My favorite work out buddy came with me, and it was almost like old times with our Friday am workouts. They’re my favorite part of the week, and while I, of course, wish it was a long run, or even a long bike ride, nothing beats a good workout with a great friend!

Saturday: Dr D. & gym. Dr D. adjusted me, and did all of his painful ART tricks. It was sososo painful. I cried a little, and started to feel frustrated about the past 6 weeks of putting myself through painful treatments for minimal results, but it did help. I went to the gym after, and did an other 2,000 m of rowing and strength training. This time the rowing didn’t feel so great, and my knee started acting up later, so I think I’m gonna steer clear of all cardio equipment again for a while. Just means I need to get more creative!

Sunday: Rest. I was going to try out a hot yoga class, but after a few hours of filming for Drink & Dish, I just was not in the mood, so I gave myself the day off, did some editing, and worked on some other blog stuff.

This week: I plan to get a little creative with my workouts. Heather suggested checking out a barre class. She mentioned the teachers she’s taken from are really great at working with injuries. I was also thinking about trying out a strength training class at the gym or a studio just to shake things up. I’m also going to really focus on what I’m eating. The truth is, I’m no where near a comfortable place with my body, and if I’m going to be mentally okay with this break with running, I need to get back to my normal weight. I want to go to New Orleans next week feeling good and not anxious about food, so this week is time to buckle down!

Needles & Goiters

March 22, 2012 · by Ari ·

And the award for best post title ever goes to….!

Not ME?!?!

You must be joking. Everyone wants to read a post about goiters. And since that is clearly the most exciting part of this post, let’s save that for last and start with needles. Yesterday, I returned to physical therapy for some more Trigger Point Dry Needling. As I mentioned on Tuesday, I have not been feeling great lately. I was beginning to lose hope about these super painful treatments, but I figured I started it and should stick it out. Yesterday was super fun because on my right calf, then hit a blood vessel.

See that bruise? Okay, so it's not as big and scary as I was expecting. I don't bruise very easily, but yesterday it was bleeding and that was kind of scary. Who knew needles could produce blood?

And on my left calf, hit some nerve that sent a tingling sensation in my foot and a burning sensation down my leg. Don’t be scared mom! I asked lots of questions and ~~even though they’ve never done this before~~ they said it’s totally normal 😉 I spent most of the afternoon walking like a freak with super tight calves which is always the case immediately after. But then I went to rehearsal, and for the first time in over a month I COULD DANCE WITH MY STUDENTS!!!! I don’t know if you realize how ridiculously difficult it is to teach choreography when you are having trouble with just walking around, but it is hard and painful and not fun. I didn’t even realize just how limited I have been until all of the sudden, I was able to actually move and it wasn’t hurting, and I felt happier and better physically than I have in over a month.

Then, this morning I got up and walked to the bathroom without stumbling!!! I’m always tentative and nervous to start moving in the morning because that’s when the pain is the worst, but this morning, I felt only slight stiffness AND I RAN YESTERDAY! And not just la la la look at the ducks and my snail pace run. I did a tempo run at my new half marathon goal pace (9 min/mi). The run was nothing too spectacular speed wise. I met my goal, and that was cool, but lately every single time I run, and often even if I don’t, the next day I feel absolutely awful. Yesterday I ran and danced and loved life and today I love life even more because I can walk, skip, jump and pick flowers while gazing at rays of sunshine 😀

Okay, now let’s talk about weird things like goiters. About 2 weeks ago, I went through a little bit of the crazies. I was dealing with crappy insurance changes, mistakes that were minor in the long run, but felt major at the time, and a stupid endocrinologist who I’ve always hated, but due to lack of communication, almost changed my prescription TWICE without having seen me in 3 months. If you have thyroid issues, you know just how crappy it feels when your dosage is wrong, so this obviously caused a ton of anxiety, and a few days of feeling like an emo teenager because I handle changes and lack of control about as well as those people on The Biggest Loser who spend hours crying in the gym because they have to train with a different trainer for the week.

Enough was enough, and I sought out a new specialist, and had an appointment within 2 weeks! I waited to get into Dr Brard’s office when I was diagnosed for 6 months. Ummm, listen Dr B, you suck and I wish I would have known that when I signed up for your stupid 6 month waiting list. So today I had my first appointment with a new endo that came pretty highly recommended. There aren’t very many of them in Phoenix and almost all of them come with super negative reviews. People are picky about their thyroids, and I don’t blame them.

I feel like this office was love at first site. The guy behind the desk was nice and friendly and didn’t mess anything up! Then the nurse laughed at my stupid jokes and didn’t seem annoyed by the fact that I refused to shut up or let her get a word in edge wise. Then the nice little assistant endo man asked a LOT more questions than I had ever been asked before, and noticed things that are associated with thyroid and still bothering me even with medication. Like the fact that my hands and feet are always freezing. Like as I type this, I wish I had mittens on. Then he asked if I had any stretch marks and I said “only from when I was fat” which prompted several more questions about my weight loss. He was nice. I liked him.

While I waited for the main doctor to come in, I started looking around the office, and they have all of these funny pictures.

Agreed.

He has a sense of humor! This place is just racking up the points in my book! Then the doctor came in and before he said anything, congratulated me on my weight loss. I guess his friend filled him in. It’s been so long now that I’ve been around the same weight, that I sometimes forget that I did something kind of cool, and lots of people would like to lose 75 lbs and never do. He seemed so impressed that I “get it” and mentioned that he sees people all the time that just never do. Thanks doc!

Then he felt around in my neck–let me tell you, this is the least fun thing (well that and all the blood drawing) about going to the thyroid doctor! I do not appreciate people touching my neck, and it always feels like I’m choking, but I mean that’s where the thyroid is, so whatev. Then he tells me “Yes, you have a goiter. It’s small, but firm.” To which I responded “LIKE THAT OLD WOMAN ON SEINFELD?!?!!??!

I can’t for the life of me figure out how to get the actual video on this post so you should click on this and watch it!

He knew what I was talking about which scored him more points, but I guess it’s very common with thyroid disease.

“Hashimoto’s thyroiditis is a more common cause of goiter formation in the US. This is a autoimmune condition in which there is destruction of the thyroid gland by one’s own immune system. As the gland becomes more damaged, it is less able to make adequate supplies of thyroid hormone. The pituitary gland senses a low thyroid hormone level and secretes more TSH to stimulate the thyroid. This stimulation causes the thyroid to grow, which may produce a goiter.”
Source

Anyway, I guess the goiter is no big deal, and my meds should keep it from getting any bigger. They better, because my so sensitive best friend Jason made sure to let me know that if it got like the woman on Sein, that he wouldn’t be able to be seen with me anymore. Thanks Jas. So glad our friendship is based on such meaningful deep qualities 😉 I guess if it keeps growing I’ll just have to call Elaine, and ask her to do some volunteer work hanging out with me…

That’s all for now. Got new blood work today, and have to get more on Monday, but really I’m just thankful to have a doctor who seems like he gets it and is not a jerk face!

Trigger Point Dry Needling

February 23, 2012 · by Ari ·

If you’ve been reading for a while, you may recall that I have had chronic achilles tendonitis for the past 10 years or so. It kept me from running for a long time, until I decided it wasn’t going to anymore. I tried to be super smart about it–I only run 3 times per week (most weeks), and try to never run consecutive days. My body just doesn’t particularly like it, so I try to thank it for putting up with me and carrying me to a few finish lines. I also try to ice every day that I run, and for a while my body was holding up great, but when I started to feel more significant pain, I started going to physical therapy.

You may remember when I wrote my post about the Astym. Let me tell you, that was fun. Every session I was like “KT, do I get astym today?!?! She would be like “Calm down, Ari. I know you love astym, but sometimes my soft, gentle calf massages are so much better.” Yeah, astym is not fun and it is super painful, and so are KT’s massages, but it really was helping. The last time I got it done, I was ~~whining and crying like a pathetic baby~~ taking it like a champ, and one of the other therapists suggested I get the dry needling. He said it would hurt less than astym. Ummmm, you want to stick needles into my legs and shake them around?!?!?! I politely said no thank you, and have skirted the subject ever since.

I’d actually been considering it a little bit since. They explained that it’s essentially like hitting the “reset” button on a muscle that has been tight for a significant amount of time and hasn’t been cured with massage and foam rolling. My calves have two settings–tight, and ridiculously tight. Finally yesterday as KT was massaging and said “You need a needle in here!” I nervously agreed.

They handed me a special consent form, and I immediately got even more nervous!

One of the risks is lung puncture. I mean, I’m no anatomy expert, but that sounds basically impossible while needling my calf. However, it still scared me! I signed, and tried to prepare myself. I begged KT and Ashley to hold my hand, but KT was on photography duty and Ashley, well, Ashley our friendship is over. Except when I need you to make me run fast. Then we can be friends again 😉

Matt explained that he would be putting the needle in four different spots. He also told all sorts of awesome jokes like saying “Oh I’m so glad I finally get to do this on someone!” Great, Matt. Thanks for that.

The first one actually didn’t hurt at all! I barely felt it. He asked how I was doing and I was like “Great!” Hah. You see, it’s not the actual needle going in that hurts–it’s kind of similar to acupuncture where the needle is really thin, but this one isn’t hollow. The part that hurts is when they shake it around in there. The first spot was on the outside of my calf which is less sensitive. Then they did one in the middle and all of the sudden it felt like a charlie horse! Holy crap. It was not fun. The third one was even worse! I asked for a little break before the 4th one, because it was rough at this point. They basically make your leg muscles spasm, and I don’t know about you, but I don’t find that to be the most pleasant feeling.

The last one was so weird! It was down closer to my achilles and it made it feel like my foot was asleep! You know the spidery tingling feeling when you stop on your foot when it’s asleep? That happened and it freaked me out! They said it as normal, and before I knew it, I was done. If it works nearly as well as they say it will, it’ll definitely be worth it in the end. The only other part that is less than fun (other than, you know, the 4-5 more weeks I have of this) is how sore I was yesterday! They warned me that I would be, but you know that feeling when you’ve had really bad charlie horses during the night, and the next day your calf is so sore that it’s hard to walk? Is that just me? Anyway, that’s how it felt. You should have seen my trying to teach choreography. Yikes.

Have you ever experienced TDN? Any other crazy physical therapy or other medical things?? I think things like this are so interesting, and I’m always curious to know what other people have experienced!

Scraping and Cookies

December 7, 2011 · by Ari ·

Hello, from Lux!

Lux is a super cute indie coffee shop downtown that makes me feel like I am not cool enough to drink coffee here. There’s not really a menu, and everyone pretty much seems like they are hip and cooler than me. I’m sitting here maybe their coolness will rub off on me 😉 I had a class out in the boonies today and I didn’t want to head home and then drive back downtown for rehearsal, so I packed my lap top and figured I could do some blogging in the in between. I ordered a chai latte which I am kind of loving right now.

It’s not super sugary like at most coffee shops, just chai spicy and delicious.

Tech week has been going well and all of my performances this week have been too. It’s always crazy when everything ends at once, but I have to admit I am looking forward to a little bit of a break. A break which will not happen if I keep scheduling through it. Whoops. But I am happy and humbled to continually be offered work in my field. I often feel so lucky to receive opportunities that I have a hard time turning them down and understanding that not every opportunity will fulfill me as an artist or make me a better teacher. But I have my East Coast trip that I’m looking forward to!! I think I will end up being able to see 10-15 people I adore all in one trip. Thanks friends for all living so close to New York. If it weren’t for Steve, Winston, Clementine and my bank account, I’d be right there with you. 🙂

After being scraped in physical therapy today, I spoke to 2 of the therapists there about my progress. They scraped all around my ankle today instead of just my achilles and it hurt a LOT today. KT (the therapist I’ve been working with) says she feels like we are constantly trying to play catch up with a problem that has been chronic for so long. It will start to feel better, and then I run and it feels worse. They know I’m not going to give that up, so it’s I guess like trying to put a bandaid on it and do what we can. They also don’t approve of the 2 pairs of shoes I just spent $160 on. Oy. I left honestly feeling a little defeated. I spent most of my life being overweight and practically sedentary. Now that I am healthy, I want my body to do what I want it to do. I am physically fit enough to do the things I ask of it. KT and Gabe even both talked about how I am strong and I am able to do everything they ask of me, and I am still able to run, so I guess I need to get out of my pity party and be appreciative for what I can do. I just can’t help but wish that I’d be able to do it with less pain. It makes me anxious because I fear that one day it will get worse and then I really won’t be able to do things. But again, that day is not today, so I need to quit worrying what if and just be grateful. Done. Thank you body for carrying me 11 miles last weekend. Please do a good job carrying me through my first 10k this weekend and through 12 miles next Friday. I trust you to do a good job 🙂

In other happy news, today as I was baking some of my own cookies to put myself in a good mood, the remainder of my cookie packages showed up! I seriously now have 4 different varieties of cookies in my house. That is bad news. I need to share them ASAP. I will take some photos tonight and then post all about the cookies and their awesome senders! I love presents. I love cookies. I love Christmas!

Ok I’m off to grab dinner and head to our dress rehearsal. Come see Fiddler. It’s really good I think. Ohhh!!! And we got asked BY THE GOVERNOR to perform at the official candle lighting ceremony on the first night of Hanukkah!!! So honored and excited!!!

Scraped

November 21, 2011 · by Ari ·

Hello friends! I am so glad to be over the lame-o sickness that got in the way of my work outs the past two weeks. This morning I woke up and it was a little drizzly out which is actually a lovely treat here in Phoenix. I only planned on running 3 miles, but decided to change up my route and went just under 4. I tried to focus on just letting myself run this morning, not worrying about speed or impressing anyone with my time. I’m still a little sore from my consecutive runs this weekend, so it was nice to just get out and not really think about anything 🙂

And guess what!! I got my Garmin in late September. My first run was September 26th and today I hit 100 documented miles!!!!

Whoot!

After my run I hurried over to my physical therapy appt. On Friday she mentioned that she wanted to have one of the other therapists perform a scraping technique on me. What? SCRAPE? That sounds awful. I asked if it hurt and she played it off like it was maybe minor pain and then said “Well, some people bruise.” Bruise???? So when I got there today, she informed me that ready or not the scraper was coming. Oy!!

There were these two new big football player guys there today. While I warmed up and stretched they were cracking me up. I don’t even remember what they were saying but they were loud and they were funny and I was amused. That is, until just before the scraping when they said “Oooohhhh you’re being scraped???” Then proceeded to scare the crap out of me about it. Thanks, guys. I wasn’t already nervous enough. I informed them that I no longer liked them and they told me to join the club haha. I asked one of the assistants to photograph the scrape sessions so I could give you a visual. They all thought I was kind of a freak, but I’m kind of used to that 😉

See that tool in his hand? He's going to use it to scrap the crap out of my leg and foot.

Here I'm pretty sure I was actually crying a little. Don't judge me.

"Is it over yettttt?????"

The technical term for the procedure is Astym (A-stimulation). The theory is that it releases scar tissue and promotes healing. I even found a video on youtube, except the video doesn’t show the patient jumping out of their seat in pain. They must not have legitimately been doing the therapy.

I had it done on my left calf, achilles tendon and the bottom of my foot–that was the weirdest spot because it tickled and hurt at the same time. I am one of those people that twists and laughs uncontrollably during a pedicure. This was not a pleasant tickle though. Not at all. But, to be honest, if it even gives me the hope of being able to run, dance, and live my life without my tendons giving me pain, it will be so worth it. I haven’t been without pain since high school, so it would really be incredible.

Have any of you ever had this done? What’s the weirdest medical thing you’ve ever experienced?