On the mend again – BionicOldGuy

It’s been a little over a week since I posted about my setback when I became overconfident and started working out too much. This time I was more careful coming back. I’m now back to where I was before the setback. This time I’ll be much more careful not to overdo it. I can ride pain-free for at least 30 minutes at a time, which is fun and relaxing. I can reach some pretty beautiful scenery here in a 30 minute drive.

I’m also doing well with my physical therapy. I can’t say it’s completely painless, but I learned from my reading the important concept of “centralization”: When you have sciatica, the pain originates somewhere and then spreads down the leg. In my case, that central origin point is probably the middle of my hip piriformis Muscle. It is okay if you feel pain in the central area during PT, but this should not aggravate transmission to the leg as this would mean that the sciatic nerve is being compressed by the exercise. I’ve been doing well for the last week or so following this principle.

I had to get an MRI of my pelvis as I will be seeing an orthopedist in a week. That proved painful. For some reason, lying on your back for long periods of time, even with a pillow under your knees, still hurts. But the useful information from this is that the pain was clearly coming from my left side IF appropriate. Until now, I assumed that I just had piriformis syndrome (now also called deep buttock pain). If my sacroiliac joint is also inflamed, I should do additional PT exercises. That’s why I added the ones that will hopefully help. I have also carefully begun adding strengthening exercises such as glute bridges and banded clam exercises, which are critical in the long term for strengthening the piriformis muscle and stabilizing the SI joint.