Remember I took a downhill-facing tumble a few days ago.
Well, between landing on the hand belonging to the bandaged shoulder, thus screwing that, I twisted mid-fall to avoid a faceplant among the foot-diameter sharp rocks I was aimed at, and now my right leg is, to put it mildly, a mess. I went to Dr. Shane yesterday, and he taped up the shoulder, which helps: it’s doing great. The leg, not so much. He worked quite a bit on it, but assuming adhesions in the soft tissue, he didn’t do a back crunch. Now that he’s got the peripheral soft-tissue pain solved, I can now feel the real pain, which kept me awake most of the night—can you say screwed-up sacroiliac?—meaning that place where, without a proper joint-joint, the backbone attempts to maintain a connection with the pelvis…
Jane worked it over with the percussion thumper we have (a very good one)—and lent me her SI belt, which is a Good Thing, so I did the morning walk, but this pain is really quite distracting. I would say from the ‘feels like your upper leg is afire’ pain of yesterday, and the inability to raise my knee at all, it’s better; but this is ‘my hip joint has a toothache’ pain that just kind of ebbs and flows constantly.
And we have our local con tomorrow. I am so not happy with this. The cane I used for walks before I took up figure skating has been gathering dust since we moved here, but I think I am going to take it for use on stairs and just when I want to get the weight off that side. And if anybody bumps into me I may use it Ilisidi-fashion. Ow! I’m using ice, Aleve, the SI belt, and hot baths, hoping to get this damn joint to slip back into alignment, but ow! ow! ow!
Will you be able to go back to your dr. soon for another session, preferably before you have to be chipper and happy and dealing with fans at the con? It seems like the universe’s way, to hand you a problem right before you are preparing to go off and do something fun! Advil/Aleve/high dose Tylenol is a Very Good Thing. Too many people try to tough it out and are miserable when appropriate amounts of medication could make a vast difference, but you are wiser than that 😉
I could go this afternoon, but it’s a 140 mile roundtrip. Dr. Shane is good, which is why we do it—but it’s real difficult if you ever need a re-see. I’m using Aleve right now—it’s more a bone-nerve pain rather than a muscle pain, and ime, Aleve is better at that than Advil—but tomorrow is going to be less fun than I’d hoped, I fear.
Ow, indeed! I do hope the pain eases off very soon, and all the best for managing the con.
Hmmmm…..when I’ve had joint pain that keeps me from sleeping, I usually take vicodin at night in addition to the other anti-inflammatory treatments I use. Typically, I don’t need to take it for long as the problem is being dealt with either surgically or otherwise, so we’re not talking long term use. I don’t have a negative or strong reaction to the drug like some….just helps me sleep/deal with the pain when I have to focus on life issues. I’ve also found that sulindac does a better job with some joint pain than naproxen(Aleve)…I use it when naproxen doesn’t work. Ibuprofen (Advil)does absolutely zero for me. As you’ve found, it’s all about figuring out what works for you as an individual. My end goal is to not use drugs daily, so my anti-inflammatory diet/supplement regime helps with that.
I hope you feel better soon, and that you do enjoy the Con after all.
Sometimes the pain relievers — and hot baths are good, too — let you relax enough to speed up the healing process. Highly desirable! So take it as easy as you can today, and plan on sitting as much as possible tomorrow. Good luck — your household is overdue for a little of that!
Ow! No fun for sure. Try /gentle/ linear and diagonal stretches of the mid to lower back. Tight muscles there can pull your spine out of line and also compress the spaces between the vertebrae where the main nerves enter and exit. Beware; too much sitting can and will exacerbate low back trouble. Changing your position & shifting your weight frequently will help fight stiffness and its additional pain.
Man oh man… that SI joint is my own personal version of, uh, joy. I so feel for ya, sister!
But – there’s such a thing as an “SI belt?”
Yes. It’s a very simple belt fastened with velcro— http://www.amazon.com/SI-LOC%C2%AE-670-OPTP-Sacroiliac-Medium/dp/B000R3KN9S/ref=sr_1_2?s=home-garden&ie=UTF8&qid=1313105261&sr=1-2
TO use it: you first sit down with feet on either side of stout kitchen chair, pull inward as if you were trying to break the chair: this aligns the s-i joint. Put the belt on with the grippy surface right over the s-i joint, and tighten as tight as reasonable.
It holds the sacroiliac joint stable. We have used it when learning some more difficult stability move on the ice: but it has a medical application, in just such instances. Wear it when having to lift too much or bend too often.
Watch it with that cane. When my 98 year old grandmother started bopping the bagger at the grocery with hers, they locked her up.
Lol—we’ll keep that in mind.
Whew… you do have a way with words – ‘my hip joint has a toothache’ – I do feel that pain. I hope that gentle stretches and relaxation will ease the muscles and let things slide back into place. Best wishes for an easy Con and a good weekend to follow…
Do get better soon! And try to have fun at the Con!
Yikes! I hope it will ease up and get well soon. Or it can ease down if that suits as a preposition proposition. Hmmm, though I suppose given the areas affected, it’s more of a postpositional ph(r)ase.
Enjoy the con! Sounds great, even with leg trouble.
One enjoys lady Ilisidi very much, even if she is not enthused at humans. One might at times agree with her or with Mr. Twain, but one tries to be more optimistic. — So go with the cane. — one hopes the young sacker didn’t need to be bopped with a cane! (Much funnier when one is not a party to the occurrence. One’s own grandmother can be…hard headed…but fortunately has never tried to apply a cane in such fashion.)
hoping all the relief methods are working …. that sounds awful .. so best wishes
for the Con and the hip …
If you are a “side sleeper,” try sleeping with a pillow between your knees — You might also try lying flat on your back on the carpeted floor, and have Jane help you lift your legs (bent at the knee), and just balance them over your hips. The weight of your legs might help release the SI joint a little. Having broken my kneecap which was wired back together, and having had a rotator cuff torn for years, and then surgically repaired, I hear you on the “toothache in my hip joint.”
And guess what? I’m allergic to all the good stuff — Demerol, fentanyl, morphine, Darvon, Vicodin — and aspirin! About all I can take is ibuprofen, acetaminophen, and good ol’ Aleve. In both cases (my knee and shoulder) I had the benefit of being under the care of an excellent rehab therapist who gives super massages. I wish I could send her to you. Oh, and the cane doesn’t go on the hurt side. It goes on the side opposite the hurt side. That way you “unload” the hurt side by leaning toward the cane. The cane should also be slightly shorter than you think it should be, which makes you have to lean that way.