Weird stuff found at the myofascial therapy center

[cjsmith]

Second appointment at the Myofascial Therapy Center yesterday. This one was markedly different than the first, probably because a) different practitioner, b) not an evaluation.

If I rub the base of my foot (either one) I can feel it's a little... crunchy inside. Like there are Rice Krispies in it. I showed this to the nice lady and she said oh yes, those are adhesions. She proceeded to find a huge colony of them where I'd found just one or two. They've taken over the whole medial half of my plantar arch. Getting those unstuck will take a while and feels icky.

There's a tight muscle (psoas) running just inside the bump of the pelvic bone. It's right near where I've had annoying pain for 25 years. Hmmmmmmm. I will be very, very good about doing my "homework" to stretch this out.

Hey kimatha: I have tight piriformis muscles! I've heard of those somewhere before. :)

Comments

[quasigeostrophy.livejournal.com]

One of my PF exercises from the physical therapist was to dump a cup of marbles on the floor and pick them up, however many I wanted/could at a time, and place them back in the cup, all with my toes.

I didn't get a tennis ball exercise, but when I'd start the PT appointment, the therapist would take these metal bars and do some extremely (bordering on painful but not quite) serious deep-tissue massage to the PF.

[cjsmith.livejournal.com]

Last year my PTst told me to pick up a washcloth with my toes. It was a lot harder than I thought it would be.

You needed it stretched, eh? I was supposed to do something similar with my iliotibial band a few years back, and lemme tell you that HURT. That was the only thing that worked, though.

[quasigeostrophy.livejournal.com]

I was supposed to do something similar with my iliotibial band

OW! Not even the fun kind of pain. ;-)

[cjsmith.livejournal.com]

Oh, no kidding. I called that cylinder my torture device. But I got back down off Half Dome after a whole bunch of that torture. (My knees hurt but didn't collapse -- I counted that a success.)

Do you still have to do the marble thing?

[quasigeostrophy.livejournal.com]

I probably should be, but I haven't kept up on the regular exercises since my PT sessions ended last fall. The PF hasn't been very bad, though, either, although it is still present. Something else that I just dropped when I started working suckyjob that I need to get back into doing regularly, I guess...

[cjsmith.livejournal.com]

Taking care of oneself = Good. Lately I've been told this repeatedly by multiple friends, so it must be true!

I just attempted this exercise with the caps from a couple of whiteboard markers. Then, thinking there was some logic behind getting assigned a washcloth instead of marbles, I tried it with my sock. Whiteboard markers are WAY easier than a sock. I've got a long way to go. *sigh*

Do you sleep with one of those stretch-it-all-out braces?

[quasigeostrophy.livejournal.com]

Taking care of oneself = Good. Lately I've been told this repeatedly by multiple friends, so it must be true!

Yes, and as much as I don't put stock in specific dates/numbers, as I approach changing the tens digit in my age later this year, I'm paying more attention to that. :-) I was good a few years ago. Riding the century bike ride and all that. What happened? Life, I suppose.

Do you sleep with one of those stretch-it-all-out braces?

No, they're not my type. *rim-shot* ;-)

Seriously, though, I had an Aircast ankle stirrup (http://www.aircast.com/products/product.htm?pid=6&pgid=5C897292-C6B8-4E3E-8E9F-AAF2D867E1F7&rnd=167078266) before I went to PT for the first time, and one of the first things the therapist told me was to stop using it.

[cjsmith.livejournal.com]

I was good a few years ago. Riding the century bike ride and all that. What happened? Life, I suppose.

Yeah, and in my case, weird nerve disorders. It's incredible how unhealthy I am after a year-and-change of basically not moving. Scary. I hope you can get back out there.

I had an Aircast ankle stirrup before I went to PT for the first time, and one of the first things the therapist told me was to stop using it.

I was thinking something designed to keep the foot flexed, like these. Was the Aircast able to do that? If so I'm surprised the PT told you to stop it. Doctors out here seem to love the stretch-it-out-at-night approach. Rob had one of those night splints for gosh, must've been two years. (Didn't work.)

[quasigeostrophy.livejournal.com]

No, the Aircast stirrup was more of a restrictor, which I think is why the PT said to quit using it. I'm surprised, looking at the link you posted, that she didn't recommend something like that. Maybe it was a question of severity and she didn't think mine would require one? Or maybe she figured that it would have the same effect Rob's did?

[cjsmith.livejournal.com]

Or maybe she figured that was the doc's territory. I think it was a podiatrist who told Rob to use that.

Some people get relief after using one of those things for a while, and others just... don't. It's annoying enough to wear (especially if you ever roll over at night) that I'm glad for your sake you're not wearing one. :) Unless it would have helped in which case I wish you had. That parses, doesn't it?

[quasigeostrophy.livejournal.com]

It does. :-)

I never saw a podiatrist. GP referred me to PT.

[cjsmith.livejournal.com]

Ah. Maybe if you make some noise (hey! PT isn't working!) you might wind up at a podiatrist. I dunno. My podiatrist (Dr. A) sent me to PT and seemed not very surprised that it didn't work. My latest podiatrist (Dr. O) seems more into the whole PT idea.

[quasigeostrophy.livejournal.com]

I'm all for PT - it blew away my chondromalacia patellae completely many years ago. For the plantar fasciitis, in my case I think the PT did work quite a bit, but it just didn't make it go away completely. The PT's opinion at the end of the sessions was it was a problem I may have to "deal with" and do the exercises (which, as I mentioned, I've not been doing properly for a while) "for the rest of my life". It's not what I'd call serious pain, which I would describe some of what you've talked about as from my outside perspective. I will be getting back into the regular stretching, though, now that I have the mental cycles to deal with life again. :-)

[cjsmith.livejournal.com]

Wow - glad to hear it blew that away. My iliotibial band stuff came with chondromalacia patellae, but apparently most of my pain was the ITB. PT didn't blow that away but it did reduce it to the point where the joints were usable.

If the exercises aren't too onerous, maybe dealing with them forever isn't too too bad. Exercises seem like a healthy way of approaching something, anyway.

[quasigeostrophy.livejournal.com]

They're pretty simple - it's a sign of either how lazy I got, or how much my job was draining me, or both, that I quit doing them last fall. I also tend to turn into a slug as the weather gets colder. I'm opening up both from quitting the lousy job and from the spring weather I think.