Gracilis Pain

[Mr. Bloom]

PT in Indiana require referral and it takes some time to get in.

Sciatica is an issue as well and all this originated with the car wreck in Pensacola. There is a hip misalignment causing the sciatica, but I suspect that the same imbalance is leading to pain in the gracilis while riding. After many years, I'm once again shorter on the right side than the left...

I think I'm going to get chiro to continue hammering on the hips and ask him about specific exercises on my next visit.

Thanks All!

[Velobambina]

Let me preface this by saying I'm NOT dissing chiropractors, but have you thought about going to an Osteopath?

I've been to both---preferred the treatment I got from the Osteopath. This is just me and I know that there are superb chiros out there. I have a slight case of scoliosis that causes my pelvis to tilt.

FYI, you might want to check out a book that Jennifer Rhodes (a PT) wrote. Can't remember the title---Peak Fitness, something like that. It addresses issues caused by misalignment & gives you exercises/stretches that I found useful.

GOOD LUCK!!!

[Zen]

i'm currently trying to diagnose my hip alignment/sciatica/piriformis sydrome/arthritis/whoknowswhatitis with the help of a physiatrist.

[BleeckerSt_Girl]

Mr. Silver....
before you spend a fortune on doctors and specialists and scans and tests, do just try this out:

1) get a good protein powder from the health food store and drink about 30g worth in a big glass of pure healthy 100% organic juice once a day.
2) get a good calcium supplement and take it daily (about 1000mg maybe) along with a quality multi-vitamin/mineral. Take them with your daily protein drink.
3) stop drinking carbonated soda- either regular or diet.

It's cheap. But it's not easy I'm sure.
If you do these three things as an experiment, I bet you will see a big difference within 5 days and feel much better all over.

[Zen]

Can you expand on that? What's the basis?

[BleeckerSt_Girl]

Can you expand on that? What's the basis?

I'll try. I'm no doctor, but....

Replace carbonated soda with organic fruit juice....a no brainer? The silvers have mentioned before that they drink a lot of cola every day, and found it difficult to cut back. This can leach out nutrients from your body, including calcium (overdoing colas can in fact lead to accelerated bone loss according to studies), and put a strain on your kidneys. Calcium helps prevent painful muscle cramps, which might be what Mr. S is experiencing (gracilis is a large muscle, right?). "Real" fruit juice adds nutrients rather than washing them away like sodas do.
Protein is something some of us actually don't get enough of in our daily diet, especially when doing lots of physical exertion like the Silvers do. I had a hip injury from roller skating recently, and had two weeks of totally agony and pain and immobility, where nothing was seeming to get any better at all (plus consulting with my dr. and chiropractor...not much help there, it was a pulled muscle with inflamed bursa at the hip joint and they basically told me just to wait for it to heal). I was in horrific pain and could not sit or put my own shoes on or even lift my legs up to get into bed.
I did some reading and got some supplements which included protein powder. I read that insufficient dietary protein can delay healing of tissues and injured muscles. Though I take plenty of vitamins and calcium, I reviewed my diet and found I was not eating the recommended normal daily requir. of protein for someone like me, and hadn't been for a long time. Once I started taking that protein powder, my hip kicked into super-light-speed recovery- within 72 hours I was like suddenly 80% better! It was miraculous to me. I swear I felt better all over- but perhaps that was placebo effect? I'm still taking it (20g/day worth) and am feeling fabulous these days.
Hope this explains my humble suggestions? They might be worth a try for Mr. S, and they don't cost much and aren't harmful in any way.

Oh, and another woman I know who skates and works out like CRAZY also injured her hip muscle two weeks before I did, and she had exactly the same experience as I did- she suffered, immobilized and in awful pain, with almost no improvement for a whole MONTH, then started protein supplements and immediately recovered within a few days and was kayaking and skating again. Wild! Can't hurt to try it, I say!

[Zen]

This link is about anti-inflammatory foods-
http://nutrition.about.com/od/dietsf...flamfood_2.htm

This one is about calculating protein requirements-
http://exercise.about.com/cs/nutrition/a/protein_2.htm

last but not least, carbonated beverages and bone loss-
http://osteoporosis.about.com/od/die...nts/a/soda.htm

I'm not disagreeing at all, just tossing in some details.