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Hip

1/25/2020

13 Comments

 
Picture
I began the New Year by screwing up my hip.
 
Maybe because I’m of A Certain Age, lots of folks assumed the injury came from a fall.  
 
The real culprit was a yoga pose.
 
Now, I love my teacher’s classes. The one I attend meets weekday mornings, which means that there’s usually less than half a dozen people there, so, more attention from the teacher.  Also, this instructor does asanas (poses) that I haven’t done with previous teachers.  As someone who gets easily bored, that last point is a huge plus. 
 
But here’s the other thing.  
 
My yoga teacher is also a bodybuilder.
 
And to that end of getting the class as strong as possible, she challenges us.  Usually I’m up for it because it’s fun to try different poses, although I think I know my limits.  Also, if a pose hurts, I always stop.
 
This is why I initially thought I had only tweaked something.  The pain was annoying, but mild enough that I went home and vacuumed the entire house, thinking that cleaning might “stretch out the muscle.”  
 
By dinnertime I knew that housework wasn’t going to be the cure.  This was a no-brainer conclusion because now
I couldn’t walk without limping.  Also, I couldn’t stand in one spot for more than five seconds without intense pain
​kicking in.   

Still, being a cock-eyed optimist, I came up with Plan B:  I was just going to rest for a few days.

I didn't have a heating pad, but I did have a heated electric throw.  Scrunching it up in a corner of the couch, I burrowed my hip into it.  I had icepacks, too, so alternated those with the blanket.  I also smeared on organic CBD oil.  Finally, I was gulping down 800 milligrams of Ibuprofen every four hours, which took the edge off of the pain, but never came close to taking it away. 

Three weeks passed.

I wasn't getting any better, but I had bought a heating pad.  (In retrospect, limping for nearly an hour through a huge supermarket for groceries wasn't the best idea.)

In fact, I was in so much pain after the shopping adventure that I called the Hubster, crying.  He was out of town, and he knows that I'm not a complainer.  He offered to take a flight home the next morning to take care of me, a suggestion I didn't refuse. 

Right about now, you might wonder why I didn’t see a doctor.  
 
Yes, I have insurance.  But I’m not a fan of the medical establishment.  Maybe it’s because I’ve known too many people who got sicker after they went to a physician; or received a faulty diagnosis, or ended up paying hundreds of dollars for needless tests.  And more often than not, all three.  
 
Nonetheless, at this point, I gave in.
 
The Hubster hadn’t arrived yet, but thankfully, a friend was able to take me to an urgent care facility.  There, the intake clerk couldn’t believe I hadn’t come in earlier.  We still had to wait nearly two hours,  but that was okay, especially since being in this sort of pain meant I really couldn’t do anything else.  (Also, my friend had snagged a chair next to an electrical outlet, allowing me to plug in my heating pad.)
 
Ultimately, it was worth it.
 
I saw a terrific nurse practitioner, who asked a lot of questions and answered all of mine. We even had a few laughs.  And then, he gave me exactly what I needed—a shot in the butt.  He also wrote out prescriptions for a muscle relaxer, as well as Naproxen (which, as it turns out, works way better for me than Ibuprofen) and a numbing gel to slather all over the injured area.  And, much to my surprise, he didn’t try to push blood work or X-rays on me, instead focusing on what he was pretty sure was a badly pulled muscle.
 
I’ve followed all of his instructions to the letter and now, a little more than a week after that visit, the pain is nearly gone, and I’m not limping.  I’m also sleeping.  I miss my classes, and hope to be back within a couple of weeks. 
 
One more thing. 
 
Just before leaving the clinic, I was handed a page of gentle exercises to do every day.  
 
Each one is a yoga pose.
  
13 Comments
Larry Grant
1/25/2020 03:32:13 pm

Hubster here. It is such a relief that the meds and exercises are working.

Reply
Hilary A Grant
1/25/2020 05:13:36 pm

Yes, for both of us! xo

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kerri fisher
1/26/2020 12:46:38 pm

So sorry to hear about your pain, but glad to hear it is getting better. You poor baby! I have chronic pain, but I am so much better since cutting out (mostly) bread and sugar! Thank goodness, because pain SUCKS!

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Hilary A Grant
1/26/2020 02:36:31 pm

Is your pain arthritis? I don't eat very much bread, but it would be hard for me to completely cut it out. Same w/ sugar. Don't eat much of it but it would be hard to cut out completely. Leslie says I should do what you're doing because she also has hip issues, and cutting out bread and sugar has helped!

Holly Tibbles
1/25/2020 03:37:38 pm

Sounds awful. When I was pregnant, I had sciatica for two months. It was hell! Totally incapacitating. Glad you are on the mend.

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Hilary A Grant
1/25/2020 05:14:22 pm

Oh, so you're familiar with this sort of pain. It's awful! And yes, I'm feeling better every day. :)

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leslie spoon
1/25/2020 06:44:21 pm

Hilary I am so glad that you are feeling better. My hip problem started with yoga too. All I do now is restorative.

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Hilary A Grant
1/25/2020 08:02:58 pm

I'm hoping I can return to yoga, even if I'm in the back in a chair doing upper body poses.

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Laura
1/25/2020 10:00:25 pm

You can make me laugh, even when you're talking about excruciating pain...you've certainly got a real gift for writing, my friend! So very sorry to hear about the pain you've had to suffer through, but super relieved to hear that you're healing and feeling better. I had no idea that yoga could cause that much pain to someone who was experienced and was being cautious...maybe I should remove that from my bucket list? Very smart to plug in your heating pad in the Urgent Care. Glad you have a heated throw for our sometimes chilly wintery nights too--I love mine! Loved your punch line of being given yoga poses for rehab--so ironic and funny.

Reply
Hilary A Grant
1/26/2020 10:49:57 am

Thank you! I'm starting to think that whatever I did in class was really more the straw that broke the camel's back. It was some sort of stretch, and it would have been one that was on the floor, and it was probably one I'd done before. My yoga teacher says she can provide me with a chair, and as soon as there is zero pain, I will go back because I miss the way yoga clears my head. :) .

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Hilary A Grant
1/26/2020 11:07:50 am

If so inclined... you can bring up this essay again, then look to the right hand side of the screen, and you'll see Categories. Underneath that, you can click on Blogaversaries, where I reflect on the previous year's essays. Click on that. I always mention the essays I like best, and they're highlighted so you can open by just clicking the link.

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Cathy Stalter
1/26/2020 09:52:51 am

Glad you had a resolution to your hip problem. I just saw that the LO Library has chair yoga on Wednesday mornings. I think I'm going to try that since I have two knee replacements and can't get on the floor without a big amount of effort to get in a standing position! Tough getting old. Take care of that hip so you don't have to get it replaced:).

Reply
Hilary A Grant
1/26/2020 10:51:23 am

You'll enjoy chair yoga. I'm sure it will be super gentle. Go for it! Yes, no more hip opener poses for me, I'm afraid!

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    Hilary Roberts Grant

    Journalist, editor, filmmaker, foodie--and a clown! 
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