Physio

My Physio appointment last Monday was different - as I told her about the "new pain" she came to the conclusion that it was a type of joint pain. She tested again the angle I could bring my leg up to my chest and since I managed 105oC last time i was hopefull........ I got 70oC.

Grrrr so her explanation was she thinks thick scar tissue has developed in the muscles in the groin and deep around the hip capsule it'self which is in turn stiffening everything up - even though I am doing my stretches and exercises. So she decided to put my leg in to various traction positions to try to loosed the scar tissue etc.

For those who have not had this done it basicly involves a seat belt and a towel and the physio wraps the belt around her then also around my leg which was bent up when lying on my back. Once all was clipped into place she the proceeded to lift the leg with pressure and stretch the joint area as well as moving the leg in all different positions. Yes it hurt but it did loosen the joint a little and when I left I could get 90oC. Still not 105oC but at least an improvement on when I went in! Oh and one of the traction positions was to wrap the towel round my foot then attached the belt to my wrapped foot and the physio pulls the leg. - Basicly the position your leg is in if you have the keyhole hip surgery. It felt WEIRD, it was quite a good feeling for a bit but as she stretched I felt lots of fibres/ligaments/muscles go pop & creak then it started to hurt. So I kindly asked her to stop.

I didn't get any manipulations or cupping this time, didn't miss it at all!! :)

Catchup Time

It has been some time since I last posted, the past few weeks have been a bit of a struggle with one thing & another. My hip is still showing little improvement & I have been sleeping huge hours – much more than normal & very tired. I have also had bad heavy sore heads which makes it hard to concentrate. I stood on a rusty nail from our building work and it went straight through my shoe into my foot and had to have a tetnus booster which flared up my arm and has caused a lot of pain the last few days – plus my foot is bloody sore. So it has been fun & games lol. Here is a bit of a summary on what's been happening with my hip;

Physio;

First week in Sept my physio was away and had another at the practice. It was not the best session as she thought I should have been further ahead than where I was and wanted to know why I wasn't doing this and I should be doing that etc etc. She also was a lot more aggressive and did some of the deep tissue massage over my scar which my normal physio was working up too but it was still not quite ready for rough treatment. I left feeling quite out of sorts & I am sure the physio I had is very good at their job I just don't think she gelled with my situation & I do understand it is hard picking up someone else's paitient! Luckily my physio was back the next week.

When I saw my normal physio again she did quite a bit of deep tissue work as things had gotten a little stiff and put more cups on than usual – quite painfull as she is getting closer & closer to the incision line.

On Friday I was given my swim program which I can start this week and we also made the HUGE step to the gym the have attached to the physio & started a Swiss Ball program. I was a little nervous as did not know how my hip was going to handle it. Things were pretty unstable as this was the first time I had “worked out” since mid 2007.......!

Hip was quite twingy in the groin, deep in the joint & of course all of the surrounding muscles :) It did not feel to good sitting on the ball as the pressure on the joint sitting was still quite painfull. All my muscles are completely wasted – which I pretty much knew already and it's going to take a LONG time to start building them up again, without increasing the pain levels to the joint/groin area.

I have approx 15 Swiss Ball excercises to do as well as my stretching program and my new swim program which I will start later in the week.

I have my 3 Month post surgery checkup tomorrow in Christchurch so will be interested to see what my specialist says, wonder what he will say about the groin pain..... things are still healing so I think I am going to get a “It's normal and will come right with time...” sort of answer.

Will update tomorrow when we get home :)

When will I have a good day again....

I woke up this morning to my nose blocked, swollen sore neck glands, finger joints so sore I couldn't clentch my hands and my hip sore and catchy. Grrrr. I hate being sick - I have not had a cold of the flu since November last year! I only hope I don't get a roaring fever as that will set my hip right off.

My finger joints have not been co-operating at all, I have been keeping them warm etc but to no avail - it's just not nice! For my massage course I need to massage people and get the hours for my record book. I gave Craig a massage last night - I think the antiflamme rub helps my fingers a little but they throb afterwards and go really stiff. I wish it was arthritis as then I could take something for it. I just have to wait for summertime.....

My Massage Course is going good, however I have fallen way behind with assignments and am stressing a little. It is hard to concentrate with my head foggy from pain killers and just the overall tiredness from everything I have been through. I am trying to stay confident but finding it very hard to stay motivated at the moment. I am still in bed (12.46pm) and don't want to move as it hurts everywhere.

I had another physio appt yesterday. More cupping!! Which I actually love and it really works well on me. I first had them placed again on my lower back, 2 on my bum with one on the very tender piriformis muscle, one on the outside knee joint and one on my calf. I was so amazed at how quickly my knee joint had healed and it was hardly sore - whereas the last two times it was nearly too sore to massage. The cupping works great to separate the tight & toxic muscles and increases the bloodflow hugely to that area and just works so well. Then after the cups were on for around 15mins my physio got into more deep tissue work on my lower back, bum, hamstring and calf. My physio was actually able to do deep tissue massage on my calf which had not been previously possible. My hamstring is not sore at all which I am thankfull for, just a little tight. My lower back seams to be improving also which is good as it was so tight it was pretty much siezed.

Next I got to roll onto my right side (ouch as the bursa on that side it still not 100% happy from favoring that side so much) and my physio started working on my IT band and the muscles round my incision. She started on the bottom of the IT band near the knee however I couldn't tolerate the pressure so she decided to cup the muscles first to get the bloodflow into the area and try massage after. She put the first cup around 3cm up from the knee and she managed 2 suction pumps (the feeling of being cupped on very sore muscles is hard to explain - to not put you off it very much feels like the muscles are tearing as they are sucked into the cup. However this only lasts till the bloodflow gets going and it actually feels GOOD and RELAXING!) Then she moved about 5cm above that one - much closer to where the incision is. This one she only managed 1/2 Suction Pump as it was super, super sore/stuck etc. The cup managed to stay on through and did manage to increase the bloodflow to the area. It was quite cool this time as I could actually see the cups on and working. The cup near my knee looked like a mallowpuff - that's how much skin was sucked into the cup and was a deep purple colour with the increased bloodflow.

After around 10mins my physio took them off the tried again to rub along the IT band. What a huge difference! She was able to massage alone the band with much less pain! She was not going as deep as she had on my back but still it was a big improvement, I was so amazed and really think many people with tight IT bands could benefit from this. She moved over my thigh muscle next - I was expecting it to be very sore as it has wasted away a lot and I had a lot of trouble with it cramping badly after the op. However when she started it did not hurt at all!! Yay one muscle that was not sore! She got in quite deep and still no pain, wasn't untill she got to the outer edges of the muscle - round the IT band and my incision did I feel any pain.

My next appointment is Monday 4pm and am looking forward to it. The weather has turned today, we have had two beautiful sunny springlike days here but this morning it is overcast, quite windy and there are some very dark clouds down south! It looks like this weather is here for the weekend too.....9 days till Springtime!!! I hope the weather starts to really improve, I love spring & summer. We have lots of lovely spring flowers out in the garden at the moment and it's lovely!

9 Weeks Post Op FAI Open Surgery

Saturday was 9 weeks since my open surgery operation. I had another physio appt on Friday and had more deep tissue massage done and instead of accupuncture my physio did Chinese "Cupping";

Cupping is an ancient Chinese method of causing local congestion. A partial vacuum is created in cups placed on the skin either by means of heat or suction. This draws up the underlying tissues. When the cup is left in place on the skin for a few minutes, blood stasis is formed and localized healing takes place.

Cupping therapy has been further developed as a means to open the 'Meridians' of the body. Meridians are the conduits in the body through which energy flows to every part of the body and through every organ and tissue. There are five meridians on the back that, when opened, allow invigorating energy to travel the whole length of the body. It has been found that cupping is probably the best way of opening those meridians.

Cupping has also been found to affect the body up to four inches into the tissues, causing tissues to release toxins, activate the lymphatic system, clear colon blockages, help activate and clear the veins, arteries and capillaries, activate the skin, clear stretch marks and improve varicose veins. Cupping is the best deep tissue massage available. Cupping, the technique, is very useful and very safe and can be easily learned and incorporated into your family health practices.

Now plastic cups based on the traditional cups by applying the traditional cupping therapy together with the magnetic therapy. The new cups have done away with the traditional firing. This has made the application of the cups more easily and safely. It has a good penetrating effect and a big drawing strength. It has not only improved efficacy but also simplified the procedures of cupping therapy.

Above - Modern Cupping Cups which I had on me (couldn't take a photo of myself so this is an example!)

The improved plastic cups for ancient Chinese cupping therapy are now available for supply. They are easier to be handled and safer to be used for self-treatment at home. In China, the new cups are very popular for family cupping treatment.

Above - Traditional Cupping Cups.

I had cups placed on my lower back, bum (ouch) and the outside of my knee joint and calf. They were left on for around 10mins and though painfull when the cups are first applied after about 10 seconds the pain went away and it felt quite relaxing. Slight brusing where the cups were came out over the weekend but it wasn't sore. I also had my ROM rested on my hip and managed 68Deg when bringing my knee up to my chest before things started to pinch. My glute muscles on my operated side have pretty much dissolved compared to my right side and I can now work on getting those back!

Excercises - I have been given another one which is when lying on my stomach to clench my bum and hold for a couple of seconds then release. Being carefull with this one as when you clench those muscles it also contracts round the hip joint and I can feel it in the groin area.

My next appointment is on Thursday & would quite like to have the cupping done again as I think it had a good effect on me especially bringing the bloodflow back to the muscles PLUS it doesn't invlove needles!! :)

Physio, Deep Tissue Massage & Needles!

Today (Tuesday)I had my second visit with my new physio & it was my first appointment where she actually got into the physio side of things!

She started off with me lying on my good side (which isn't as good as I would like it to be, but that's another post!) and started deep tissue massage on my glutes, thigh, hamstring & calf. She found my knee joint to be very stiff and painfull (side effect from the dislocation process during the operation) and spent a lot of time working on the joint and loosening it up as well as my calf muscle which was incredibly tight and painfull.

After around 30mins on those areas she then got me to lie on my stomach and worked on my lower back & sacrum area.



My Sacroiliac Joint was very tender & easily irritated since my injury and after what goes on with the pelvis during the surgical dislocation it was not surprising I nearly jumped off the table when she only lightly touched the area to see how painfull it was.....

This area is extremely painfull and she did some light massage over the area but not too much as it is not nice when that flares up, makes sitting/lying very uncomfortable. She then moved onto my lower spine and worked on loosening up the very stiff Lumbar Veretbra.

Next came the needles, now I am not a fan & never will be of needles but as long as I am laying down & have sugar afterwards I am able to handle it ok. I had had Chinese Accupuncture before and the needles were left in for over 30mins and were followed by a very vigourous massage. It was very different to the physio style accupuncture!

Needles were placed round my knee joint, lumbar spine & sacroiliac joint and left for around 10mins with heat pads placed over the needles (had to ring the bell as lying on my stomach was beginning to irriate the front of my hip as it was stretching a little too much!)

When I stood up at the end of the session my calf felt better though my lower spine was quite stiff. Went home and snuggled up in my lazy boy with my kitten and blankets and had a snooze, needles always make me sleepy!

(Written Wednesday 13th) - Last night I was a little stiff and had some muscle soreness but was not too bad, I did have a little trouble trying to get comfy in bed and sleeping. Today I am quite stiff so trying to move round lots to keep muscles moving. My groin is a little more twingy today but will see how that goes!

My next appt is Thursday 2pm and I have two booked for next week as well. Though it is painfull it feels sooo good to finally get some deep tissue work done! I am now nearly 100% walking with just the one crutch and only on bad bad days do I use both.

First Physio Appointment Post Op

Well I managed with some difficulty to drag myself to my 9am physio appointment this morning. Brr it was so cold!

As my physio who I have had throughout my injury has left and gone to Australia I had to find a new one, luckily a friend of mine sugested a great physio here who deals with complex cases and she was also recommended by my surgeon.

So It took around 40mins to go through my strory, show her my photos,x-rays & MRI images & I am pretty happy as she is lovely and does have some experience with hip problems like mine!

We are going to start out slowly as it is only early days and since my injury was in 2005 my body is going to take a long time to heal back to normal. She has given me two stretches to do, calf stretch & lower back extension 9(lying on my stomach arching my back) as my lower spine has pretty much siezed up. She wants me to do these gentle stretches till next Tuesday to loosen the muscles then on the next appointment so is going to do some soft tissue work on my thigh/calf/lower back & see what my limitations are.

Only a little more sore than usual for going through the excercises and am looking forward to getting the muscle work done next week. Am booked in for Tuesday & Friday next week. This new place I am going has a mini gym there also so you can go and do you rehab and be kept an eye on unlike being sent to a big gym and floundering so that's good.

I will also be doing a lot of rehab in the pool - which I don't mind as I only live a block away from the indoor pool here & it's warm!! Only thing I hate is the strong chlorine smell so hopefully it's not that bad as have not been there for years.

Sleeping - I am able to lie on my right side for around 5-10mins just to give my back a rest but them my op'd hip starts to ache quite badly so have to move back onto my back.