Tag: nerve flossing

Flossing amid the winter gloom

So the weatherman cooperated with my new regime. Yesterday I didn’t ride at all. Not riding makes my brain restless so I started the day with 20 minutes of meditation. I haven’t done sitting meditation in a long time, because long slow rides make it superfluous. (Most meditation teachers would disagree but I doubt they’ve ridden a bike across Kansas. Then again, I did run into a Tibetan monk in a cowboy hat walking down the road in Missouri this summer so what do I know.)

Cold drizzle made outdoor riding unappealing, so I rode Big Nellie in the basement for the first time since last winter. Two hours on a bike indoors may sound boring but I multitasked with a Bill Bryson book, Neither Here Nor There. It’s his account of travelling solo through Europe.

After that I did a PT session. After reviewing several YouTube videos on nerve flossing, I decided to stop beating my left leg up with the foam roller. I did four or five flossing sessions (they only take a minute). So far, I am seeing no noticeable change. If this doesn’t work, I’m going back to my yoga-based routine from 2017 – 2018. In many ways it is quite similar to the PT I’ve been doing but costs nothing. I tried some balance moves today. The Flying Wallendas will not be calling me anytime soon. I also did a shoulder stand that I cut short to avoid taking out the router on the table next to me.

After that I watched Room on Netflix. A gloomy movie for a gloomy day. Lots of really good acting though.

Tomorrow, I hope to pick Little Nellie up from the bike shop. Then I’ll go to the WABA Holiday Party. I’ll be the guy with the pronounced limp on the left and the beer on the right.

 

A change of plans

My recovery from knee and hip pain has hit a setback. For the last several days, I have been experiencing aching on the side of my leg from my hip to my mid calf. After 10 weeks of physical therapy I was hoping to see some progress by now but I am getting worse.

I was going to throw in the towel on physical therapy, but, after reading Brittany’s post today, I decided to change things up.

When I explained this new pain issue, my therapist examined me and concluded that I probably have a sciatic nerve impingement. I need to stop tightening the muscles around the nerve and free it up instead. So we decided to drop certain exercises that were intended to strengthen my outer left hip and left butt cheek. Instead I’ll be doing nerve flossing. This involves gently moving my left leg out and back from a sitting position. I’ve done this before for other nerve problems. I don’t recall if it worked but at least I won’t be making pain worse. Also, based on another video I found, using a lacrosse ball or a foam roller to knead the muscles in my left leg is probably not helping so I drop that for now.

Another thing my therapist wants me to do is back off my bike riding. Eek! We talked about taking a couple days off each week a few appointments ago. Now she wants me to ride every other day.

Today, the weatherman cooperated. It was gross outside. I went to the gym and did some upper body weight lifting for the first time in a while. When I got home my leg was still killing me so I went to bed, laid on my back, and did a body scan meditation. Of course, as is often the case, I fell asleep. I woke up without any pain.

Hey wait a minute.

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Zzzzz.