Thursday, December 13, 2012

You may recall that this summer I had a problem with my elbow. It hurt the most after mowing the lawn or vacuuming and, after doing both in one day, the pain was so bad I saw the doctor. He sent my to a physiotherapist and I was hoping he would tell me I couldn’t do those things any longer. But no, he gave me some exercises to do to strengthen some muscles and, after a few weeks, my elbow was okay (and continues to be fine).

Some of you who saw me on this last trip know that my hip has been a problem for awhile. We bought a new mattress this summer, but that didn’t help (although I love the sleep I get now). I’ve lost some weight since the summer but that hasn’t stopped the pain in my hip. I finally gave in and saw the doctor today.

I’m not sure what I was expecting, but it certainly wasn’t acupuncture needles in my hip and leg to help him diagnose the problem. I will still have x-rays, but he says the muscles on that side of my body are like plywood (and they should be like fresh fish). He has given me a couple of exercises to do and he warned me that they would hurt.

If he hadn’t given me that warning I would have thought I was doing them wrong. He has me rolling over a tennis ball on the hip that is sore, and also lying on my back with the tennis ball under my hip. I’m supposed to do each exercise for five minutes, but I don’t think I managed even two minutes in total today. Perhaps it is something I can work myself up to!

He also said that walking is good for it. I had stopped walking on the treadmill because I thought it might be part of the problem. He also says yoga is good which is something I thought about but, again, didn’t know whether or not I should.

So much for me being able to ease into a life of luxury!