Wednesday, May 9, 2012

Physical Therapy Ch. 8: GOOD NEWS!

This morning, I lay on my right side on the exam table at Boulder Center for Sports Medicine, my right leg bent on the bottom and my left leg straight on top. Cathy, my physical therapist, asked me to raise the left leg just a bit, then told me to do whatever I could to prevent her from pushing it back down toward the table. She pushed. I resisted. And for the first time since I started this physical therapy odyssey she was unable to push past my resistance.

She then ran me through some other tests. I had to jump up and down on a trampoline, monitoring the pain in my sacrum. So far so good. Then she had me jump onto the trampoline from the floor, landing on one leg and stabilizing myself. I did just fine with those, feeling no pain in my sacro-iliac joint and only a little pain in the left hip.

Then I had to do the same thing on the floor, which means a harder impact. Still no pain! I wobbled a bit when landing on the left leg, but I caught my balance fairly quickly.

Finally, she put me on a leg press sled and had me push with my top leg while swinging the bottom leg in a running motion. This actually felt good. I could feel my glutes working, but without any accompanying hip pain. Too bad there's no leg press machine like this at any of the rec centers I frequent.

After I passed these tests, Cathy took me back in to the exam room for some needling (my piriformis, QL and glute medius on the left were really tight).

And when she finished with that, I got my good news:

I'm now allowed to do two sessions per week on the Alter-G--starting whenever I want!

Of course the sessions are limited. I will warm up for five minutes, run for twenty minutes at an easy pace and at 50% body weight, then cool down for five minutes. If I have any joint issues (as opposed to mere protesting muscle pain), I must stop. So most of my cardio will still be on the recumbent bike and walking on an inclined treadmill. But my first appointment for a real run is Monday morning.

I'm nervous. After all, it was just two weeks ago that Cathy said I was probably in for no running until July. And I know these things have their ups and downs. If my SI joint hurts, I'll need to stop.

But for now I'm letting myself be happy.

California Here I Come!

In other good news, I registered for my winter marathon. It will be the California International Marathon on Dec. 2. I will be rooming with Tricia--this will be her first marathon!--and possibly Kathy (if she decides she's OK with doing a winter marathon). Hopefully we'll all be healthy, relaxed enough for some fun meet-ups with other bloggers--and ready to run fast.

I haven't decided how to work this with the Detroit International Marathon on Oct. 21. I may take a step back and run the half-marathon. But I'm not going to make that change until I see how my back is doing going into June.

27 comments:

  1. Woohoo!!! GREAT news. I want to do CIM one day too.

    She told me I could get a punch card at BCSM for the Alter-G. Do you know how much it is?

    ReplyDelete
  2. Awww yeaaah!!! Finger crossed that all goes well on the Alter G! CIM is tugging at me! No worries if you do the half in Detroit - you'll still get the Canada run and skip some of the - urm, more "urban" splendor that Detroit has to offer. Time will tell!  :)

    ReplyDelete
  3. "Finger(s)" crossed - not sure how to cross one finger ... :P

    ReplyDelete
  4. That's great! I'm excited for you to get on the AG! Warning: at 50% body weight, you may get camel toe. Hahahaha! I have found that I feel best on AG at 60% and above. Can't wait to hear what you think about it. These days, I am able to do 70% and that's about it. Back starts barking at higher %.

    PS-My sleep challenge has been SUCKING. I'm a single mom this week, so...

    ReplyDelete
  5. Yay!!! That's great news. Can't wait to hear all about the Alter-G!

    ReplyDelete
  6. Congrats Terzah!  That is excellent news, I am so happy to hear that you will be running on the Alter G.  :) 

    ReplyDelete
  7. WOW!! WOW!! WOW!!   I am so happy for you!!  You are braver than me!  I really want to register for CIM but haven't found the confidence to do it!!  I hope your run goes well and I am so happy for you!!  I know you must be so happy too!!

    ReplyDelete
  8. That is AWESOME news. Yay! Makes me happy. And I was laughing yesterday that we used the same name for a blog post. Great minds think a like. :)

    And I REALLY want to run CIM either this year or next year. It is on my "to run" list for sure!! Can't wait to hear how the Alter G goes! :)

    ReplyDelete
  9. omg!!! that is SO exciting!!  I'm so thrilled for you. YAY!!!!!!

    ReplyDelete
  10. that is awesome news!!  Really excited for you.  Can't wait to continue following your journey.

    ReplyDelete
  11. fantastic news!!!
    so happy for you !!!
    CIM that is on my list....not this year but soon I hope!

    ReplyDelete
  12. Ooooooo!!!!! Congratulations. So excited that you get to do some running again!

    The California International Marathon looks like it will be a fun race. I can't wait to hear more about you running again and less about Physical Therapy (not because I don't like reading it, but because I want you to be healthy and healed)!

    ReplyDelete
  13. Excellent news!  Super duper yay!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!  :)

    ReplyDelete
  14. so, so happy for you!  progress :)

    glad you picked CIM!  

    ReplyDelete
  15. Michelle BouchardMay 9, 2012 at 7:16 PM

    yay for good news!  

    As far your recommendations about books--I'd love to have them!  I like almost everything.  Except romance, sci fi and fantasy.  I liked the Dragon Tattoo series, I also like to read classics that I missed in high school so anything that way would be great.  I enjoy reading about historical events when put in a story setting--like Uncle Tom's Cabin and Unbroken.  The Help was great and I also enjoyed Water for Elephants.  I'd love to hear what you might suggest!!  Thanks!!

    ReplyDelete
  16. VERY good news!! Have fun on the alter G. Maybe sometime I will find one and get to try it out. And good luck with the marathon strategy too. I think you can do Oct and Dec is things go well, but it's always good to be flexible. And as you say, see how you feel.

    ReplyDelete
  17. SOOOOOOO EXCITED for you!!! That is great news and I bet you can't wait until Monday! 

    ReplyDelete
  18. Yay!!! I'm so excited for you- and can't wait to hear about your experience on the AG.  A little disappointed that you won't be here for the Houston full... let me know if you swing through any other time.  :)

    ReplyDelete
  19. Congrats. Very good news and I'm pleased for you.

    ReplyDelete
  20. Hurray! What wonderful news!! :)

    Ahhh, I wish I was going to be in CA to meet up and run after you guys (not with, that's for sure, speedy!).

    ReplyDelete
  21. scarlett elliewoodMay 10, 2012 at 2:30 AM

    Terzah, that is fantastic news. All your diligence has really paid off. Congratulations. 

    ReplyDelete
  22. Happy dance!

    ReplyDelete
  23.  That is great!  I am always curious about the Alter G --never seen one in real life or run on one.

    ReplyDelete
  24. Fantastic news Terzah! I'm so happy for you! Yay for CIM too!

    ReplyDelete
  25. The CIM is a great race! You are going to love it! 

    ReplyDelete
  26. Great news! Glad that you registered for the C.I.M.!
    I am very happy to know that now you can run.

    ReplyDelete
  27. I've already read the Alter-G post, so this is a bit of a step back.  ;)  Congrats on being cleared to run a bit!  I'm excited about your winter marathon too!

    ReplyDelete