When Your Hip Pops

I have trouble keeping my joints in proper alignment and lately, my body seems destined to wake feeling a bit battered. I saw the chiropractor again yesterday after his office called to say that his services are covered by our health insurance so it's just a matter of the copay. He thinks I've got a disc issue in my lower back. I don't think that's true but of course, there aren't any radiographs either. I continue to do the piriformis stretch and a variation which also helps with the hips. Sciatica has become a generic term for pain in the gluteus. The radiating pain down my outer calf and the spasms in the opposing hip don't fall neatly under that umbrella though. 

At the gym today, my left back hip twinges mercilessly but I don't let it keep me from doing cardio although I'm slower than usual. It is also Program 2, which looks like a pair of mountain peaks twice over. I still think it's the most difficult of the 3 Fitness Programs available on the Precor. Afterward, I try not to limp to the Aerobic Room to do core and stretching. It's here, during the second set of piriformis stretches that I finally feel the left hip and femur fall into alignment with a surprising pop. Prior to this, this move elicited a disturbing sensation, like trying to fit a square peg into a round hole but all surrounded by jelly. Yes, it's just as weird as it sounds. The hip pain dissipates. Whew! 

Top: Program 2 after 1 min.
Bottom: After 24 minutes.

I do a few Walking Lunges while still in the Aerobic Room but my knees and glutes are sore. No reason to go crazy. I've already replaced my sweaty mask with a new one. I'm surprised to see and feel the sweat from my face bead up inside the used mask as I roll it up and place it inside a sandwich baggy inside my gear bag. Later, when I remove it to clip the ear loops and discard it, it'll still be wet enough to soak through two facial tissues. If the mask is repelling sweat, then perhaps if I blot it dry and hang it, it'll still be a viable mask for another day at the gym? I don't know. I don't want to develop "mask acne" either. The reusable, washable masks have already shipped. 

I do small shoulder exercises before climbing onto the StepMill. Earlier I saw a big, middle-aged man literally climbing the steps with his hand down near his thighs. Was he was too tall for the handrails. I don't think so. Whatever the speed he set the machine to, clearly, it was too much for him. The default is, of course, one. I use speed 5 and if I'm not playing with my footwork, then even that is dreadful and plodding. But I'm not draped over the machine like it's scaffolding to hold me up.

I see the new member that Gym Owner was showing around last week. He's wearing a matching gray sweatsuit and has a picnic cooler thermos in hand. I guess he plans to sweat a lot and drink a lot? And again, he's wearing his mask under his nose. Because no one breathes through their noses, right? Bandana Man has an actual bandana on again. I keep several in my purse in case I forget my mask. Yesterday, my husband forgot and wore a bandana in the grocery store. Like a holdup man from the wild west. 

When I get home, I look up "hip and femur misalignment" and discover something called "sacroiliac joint dysfunction." A bell goes off in my head as I look at the diagrams showing the afflicted areas. I check the symptoms list and discover one that had always perplexed me but I'd never associated with my sporadic hip spasms: sudden intense pain in the crease between the thigh and pelvis. What the hell? I have another chiropractor appointment tomorrow and a whole lot of new questions. Hypermobility (a familiar nemesis) seems to be the cause. At least I now have a name for these seemingly disparate ailments. 

Summer's over though. Temps dropped into the 40s last night and the heat kicked on. I like a bit of chill in the air, but dropping to 39F next Sunday is a bit soon!

15Sept2020

Freakin' Chilly Tuesday

Precor elliptical
35 min
Program 2
HR n/a
Cal 305
Distance 2.78

Crunches x 2 x 60
50 Bicycles
Piriformis Stretch
Plank 60s
Fire Hydrants 25 x 2
Bird Dogs 60s x 2
Piriformis Stretch
Pushups 25
Quick Mat Stretch

Walking Lunges
19, 20

Band stretches 15 x 2

15 lbs DB raises supersets x 3 sets
x 15 lateral standing
x 20 reverse inclined flys

Matrix Step
Speed 5
Min 15
HR 124
Cal 102
Steps 681
Floors 42