Rockets Playoffs and a misplaced sacrum...

Well, all I am going to say is getting a year older sucks. I don't like having to take so much recovery time rather than giving up training. Some people would be thrilled that they could skip a workout. Skipping workouts gives me guilt. But there are some days that you have to skip the workout or else you will be skipping more than just one. It will grow to a day or two and frightfully more if you are not careful.

After the MS-150 ride last weekend, the car ride home was not ideal for a tired low back. I have a habit of making myself take the uncomfortable spot, position, place, or job. Basically, I tried to make myself as small as possible so that someone else will not be uncomfortable. As a result, I make myself uncomfortable. So last week on the ride home I paid special attention to make sure I was taking up as little space on the back seat so that the other two passengers did have plenty of room. With one cheek on the flat part of the seat and one cheek on the sloped up edge of the seat, my hips were at an angle all the way home and I made sure to stick my upper body close to the door to let the person next to me have plenty of arm room. No one's fault but my own if I was all jacked up.

Then on Monday, I had my normal slew of classes and clients. Nothing really out of the ordinary here other than I could have used some more sleep.

On Tuesday, I had my 5:30 am spin class and my 9 am Pilates Mat class. I worked the group hard in Pilates and we used the foam roller quite a bit. I think I might have done a move with the foam roller under my pelvis that could have irritated my tired muscles. I do this exercise often, but this time I may have tweaked something. I had a bunch of errands to run and then that night we went to Toyota Center for the televised Game #2 in the Houston - Portland showdown. We left at halftime around 10:30 pm and I slept in the car on the way home. Sleeping in car seat = pain.

On Wednesday, I had the feeling like my low back wanted to pop back near my sacro-illio joint in the pelvis. I just could not get it to feel comfy. I did some other extra curricular activities that frankly, my back was not something that I focused on so I cannot say if that irritated it or made it feel better. I didn't get much sleep before my early class the next morning. So that did not help.

On Thursday, I took the day pretty easy since I knew my workout was later at night. I went to the movie and saw 17 Again. I was surprised that it was pretty enjoyable. It has a few good messages for teenagers and a lot of good laughs for those of us that graduated high school in the late 1980's. My back still felt like it wanted to pop back into place. I did a 75 minute run while my kid was at swim team practice and my run seemed harder that it really should have. There was a point in the run that I was ready for it to be over and that is not normal. I have grown to enjoy running so this was a bit irritating to me. I did not sleep well because every time I rolled over I felt my back. The only good thing about that is the new James Bond, Daniel Craig, was in my dreams.

Friday was a busy but normal schedule at work and at noon I taught my Power Flex class which is a variable resistance barbell weight lifting class. I did all the lifting unlike the Friday before where I only did the upper body work. I worked hard and at not time did I feel any sharp shooting pains. We went to Game #3 of the NBA Playoff games between the HOUSTON ROCKETS and the Portland Trailblazers. We got to the Toyota Center and I was happy to sit in my seat for 90 minutes before the game started while Buddy and his dad roamed the concourse doing stuff. I was tired. More like my back and legs were tired. The game was AWESOME and the Rockets won!

On Saturday morning I had Team in Training coaching and my tri group was running 6 miles and then doing an open water swim. I ran the six miles with them and took a slower pace with my gals who pull up the rear and I was happy to be going a slower pace. My hamstrings and adductor muscles were sore. I did not have any back pain while I was running, only tired legs muscles. After the swim workout I had to attend a nutrition clinic and getting out of the car I noticed my back was sore. I felt like I was walking funny. I felt like I was walking even weirder when I left the nutrition clinic a few hours later. The soreness in my back got more intense as the day wore on. Sleeping was not easy because I kept on waking up from the pain. Robert Downey Jr. was making a guest appearance on this night. Again, I am not complaining.

I woke up Sunday morning and I was sore all over. My legs hurt, my pelvis hurt, my back hurt, my pectorals hurt, my neck hurt, and I am sure my ear lobes hurt. It was not achy sore but deep muscles soreness. I had to do something so I took my bike out to the park to do some easy pedaling and loosen some things out but there was a "Fun Walk" and rushing water going over the road in spots from all the rain that we have been having that I only got about 10 miles in. Getting in and out of the car was painful but riding my bike was not painful. Very strange. El Esposo was asking me if I was ok when we were at his company picnic later that day because he could see that I was walking funny. I had sharp shooting pain near my sacrum. After watching the Rockets win a nail biter of a game to take the lead on the series against the Trailblazers I made an early appointment to get in to see Dr. D and find out what was up with my back. I ended up going to bed with an ice pack on my back and it felt great.

Today I was out the door early and to the Spine and Sports Therapy office by 7:45 this morning. Dr. D said I had really done a number on my back and that my sacrum was out of place and pushed back off the joint causing the discomfort in the spinal dura and the areas where my cervical spine in my neck were locked up and in my thorasic spine in my mid back that was popping out of place. My muscles in my legs and hips were compensating for the aggravated muscles in my back and my hip flexors had basically shut themselves off. So after adjustments, percussion therapy work, and acupuncture I had a little bit of relief. I still had a full slate of clients and classes so I had to take it easy. It was hard to take it easy and teach a step class but I managed to do it. The rain, thunder, street flooding, and tornado watches caused the cancellation of Buddy's swim team workout and the TNT swim workout both at open pools. So I have been taking it easy and now it is time for more ice and some Traumeel on the back.

I have learned that when my back or my pelvis feels like it wants to pop and it won't, it is time to see the docs. I did this to myself so I really cannot complain.

Later Gators,

Liz