Knead the dough

I went back to the chiro yesterday.  That was interesting.  They threw me on a hydro-massage bed before treatment.  Ever seen or been on one of those?

As I was being kneaded from below and jiggling around I was reminded of the phrase "it must be jelly 'cause jam don't shake like that."  It was fine the first few minutes then it got irritating and I was glad it was over.  Johnny Angel...err...Dr B. came over and took me back to the room.  All I could think of was how bad I wished I'd let one fly on the way into the office since I ate breakfast before I came in.  I was just glad I had to sit on my rump and pray there wasn't the sound of a huge implosion while he worked my muscles.  Then he said "I'm going to have you lay on your belly."  Are you friggin' serious!??  I wanted to say "for your own safety, you don't want me to do that."  I immediately got the vision of him with no eyebrows from the methane explosion brewing.  I prayed and laid down.  Thankfully I wasn't in that position too long but long enough to make me not want to eat before appointments from now on.  Yeah, sorry.  I share too much but don't act like you haven't gone to the gynie or some other doctor and had that panic sweat set in when you feel Mr. Methane trying to ruin your day.

Is it any surprise I kept a daily diary to bring with me?  Of course not.  The receptionist said I'm the 2nd person of all of their patients to do that and he would love it.  He did.  He was almost giddy over it.  I aim to please.  He said he's encouraged by what he's seeing and that some of the new soreness is from the strengthening exercises he's having me do.  He said he's convinced a lot of this is musculature and affecting the nerves.   He worked the same muscles that he did before and then when I told him the top of my foot down to my toe was crampy and tight he said he was going to check the muscles in the front of my shin and work them.  Oh. My. Lord!  The last time I felt pain like that was when the Mr and I were dating.  We were play fighting and I went to kick at him and he blocked me and my shin hit his foot at full force.  It felt like dragging a rolling pin down the front of my shin.  I gasped and he said "yeah, you're REALLY tight, this isn't going to be pleasant the first few passes as we loosen this up."  I bit my lip and the more he worked it, the more I laughed because it was so excruciating and I swore I wasn't going to cry this time.  I kept apologizing for being such a wuss and he said I was fine.  Oh man, I thought that pain would make me limp outta there.  But within about 3 minutes it was basically gone.  He showed me some stretches I can do for the fascia since the arches want to cramp from the strengthening exercises and one of them brought instant relief.  Then he lasered my feet in the problem areas and that was about it.  He wants me to keep testing how long I walk to see if I can clock more time since I'm currently up to an hour before my feet say "mmm, I don't think so."  I already feel slight improvement in the "catching" I felt just above the arch and across the top of the foot.  The bad news is it's those horrible, painful stretches that are likely responsible for it!  So I'm going to do some massage to the front of the leg after every workout, well everyday so that I can be prepared next week.

This week could be a big stride week for me if his suspicions are correct and the muscles are the main issue. Depending on my diary from this week, he may put me in vibration therapy which is considered the rehab phase over the 'healing' phase.  At that point, I think he'd re-evaluate the following week and then determine if I'm able to add light low impact back in.  I told him about the Tae Bo I did Wednesday night where I stood for any upper body movement standing still and only doing squats (which he pre-approved) and since I had no issues the following day before the appointment, he wasn't concerned.  So I may be able to throw one of those in each week until I'm cleared for low impact.  These strengthening exercises and soft tissue massage will be part of the rest of my life.  He has already seen vast improvement in the pliability of my foot thanks to my trusty spiky ball so I'm hoping to do the same with my legs for next week.

Moving in the right direction!  I guess that means I am now required to window shop for medical purposes.  What a shame!

Have you ever gone through the issues I experienced at a docs visit?  (Jiggling on machines, impending flatulence or having a maneuver done on you that made you jump out of your skin.)

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