Fritzy 22's Journal, 07 May 22

Nature... gives and takes...glad you are getting some answers for issues. I am sure that there are some good youtube videos on careful stretching. Do not think it would be too time consuming to do a bit every day. But it is probably important to start with very basic things...  

Thanks Liv - my doctor showed me one stretch he did when he had a similar issue otherwise I think he is waiting to see the xrays before giving me more advice. I can do some of the stretches I did in physical therapy that help and I've been marching around the house bring my knees up high. That stretches the area in my upper thigh and glutes without pain - although I wonder about my balance sometimes. I may have to drive Bobby to the park in town that is level and walk him around there. My neighborhood is very dog unfriendly - not allowing them in any of the parks even though deer and turkeys make a big mess there. I just went outside to water the peach tree and saw about 50 tiny peaches on the ground and one of the branches chewed where the deer could reach it. 

How's your balance on a ladder, Fritzy? Are you able to set one up at the fruit trees to reach the pieces higher up? Hopefully the stretching will make a difference in your walks and the soreness you're experiencing afterwards.💙 

I wonder if water exercise would be a good option for you. I have been doing water Aerobics at our YMCA. It's great after lifting the evening before. All of the lifting and water exercises are beginner level but I feel good about doing it. Praying for answers and relief for you! Frustration makes improving your food choices so much more difficult!  

Fritzy 22, can you do single leg raises while lying on your side? If you can, try mixing set’s (5 to 30 rep sets as you are able) of those in with your stretching. The extra blood flow should help you reach your T-band better with your stretching. 

(iliotibial band) 

Getting help or advice from a physiotherapeut is a good thing. They know their stuff. In yoga class today we spend quite a big chunk of our class laying on our back pressing the lower back down while breathing in slowly. It was pretty amazing actually. I dog walk quite a bit now that my daughter has a dog. I love it... but I live on the prairie and it is flat 

My inlaws have fruit and deer... and they fence everything in far enough from the trees so the deer cannot reach... but then there are racoons... another story 

I have Bursitis on both hips, sounds like you do too. Get the injections if you can't do physical therapy...PT is better and lasts longer though.  

Bananas - I don't like being on ladders but I don't have a problem with balance when using them. I have a 6 foot ladder I use in the house once in awhile (changing batteries in smoke alarms) but usually I use a 2 step ladder for bird feeders and I've used it at the fruit trees. There are so many peaches every year that I am able to get plenty. I let my neighbors come and get what they can. The house next door has 5 kids so they can have their peach pies. One year there were 4 baby deer that spent the spring and summer at my house. I'm sure the babies thought peaches were deer food. Thanks SLYONE - water exercises may help but I will never, never, EVER wear a bathing suit in public so I need to do other things. Thanks Tom. Yes I can do single leg raises while laying on my side. What really hurts is something the physical therapist had me do. It didn't hurt at the time, but now I can't do it. I lay down with my knees up and put my right foot over my left knee and then press down with my hands on my right leg just above the knee. That really hurts in my upper thigh, lower glute area. Same pain when I try to put my shoes on. Thanks Liv again - is a physiotherapeut the same as physical therapy? I'll have to see what my doctor wants me to do after I see him again. I have lab work to be done the week before my next appointment. I have deer fencing around all my fruit trees. I think it is 5 feet high. The peach tree gets really heavy and the branches bend. I need to ask my yard care people to try to tie a rope around the tree and attach to the fencing to bend the tree in the other direction. A big area is leaning down to where the deer can get the branch. And racoons get whatever the deer don't. Thanks Luci - finished physical therapy in March for my back and sciatic nerve, but this is a different problem. My doctor may send me back to physical therapy. I'm not sure about the steroid injection. I hurt in so many places and I'm not sure where the shot would go. I'll just keep trying to lose weight and do what my doctor says. I need to move around more. Sometimes I think resting will heal an area, but I think that's if it's an injury. I think my muscles are just sore or it's arthritis.  

I saw someone else on here recommended aquatic therapy. You really don’t need to be in PT to do it. I highly recommend getting in the pool and walking laps forwards backwards and sideways paying attention to your posture and increasing the depth of the water as you get stronger and don’t have pain. If you know how to do Gentle hip exercises doing in them in the pool should help. Stretching in the pool is great too, you can utilize the steps. And it also decreases gravity and helps with the spine.Of course this is assuming you have access to some type of pool in your area!! Otherwise listen to your body and don’t overdo it. Hope this is in someway helpful and not too much! 

They have Lycra swim shorts and long sleeve shirts these days just for swimming. Look it up. 

Thanks chef and Katsolo - I did look up swim suits for plus sizes and with shorts. But honestly I won't be seen in public in any bathing suit until I lose at least 30 pounds. Walking will have to help and stretching. 

I am at my highest weight ever and Also have arthritis, back pain and bursitis so I really understand.Remember, you’re doing this for you. Choose what’s best for you and don’t worry about what other people may think! Including me BTW, You burn a lot of calories in the water and it doesn’t hurt as much! 

I agree. No one cares what you look like in water aerobics class.  

You may find the Upright Health channel on YouTube helpful. It has a vast amount of information and exercises (including stretching) for hip pain. 

Good luck finding a solution, Fritzy 22. Pain drains your energy, making it even more difficult to move adequately to help with the pain; it’s truly a vicious cycle, one only you can break.  

Your post had a positive influence on me Fritzy 22. Some months back I cleared off the table in my garage gym to have working room to get a new (refurbished) computer set up. Part of the clearing included hole punching my pages of stretches, putting them in a notebook, and basically getting them “out-of-sight, out-of-mind”. After reading your post I pulled them back out and did them today 😊. Thanks! 

Thanks Chef and Katsolo - I do appreciate the advice, but really, I have zero interest or intent on getting in a pool so unless I do stretches in the tub water aerobics is out for me. Thanks SieteTresEva - I do look up stretches. I have several I do but am waiting to see what my doctor says after seeing the xrays before doing much more. Tom, I'm glad my post had a positive influence on you. At least you saved you pages with stretches on them. I had 5 or 6 the physical therapist gave me and I threw them out. I still do some of them. I am figuriing out that walking aggravates whatever is going on. When I don't walk I don't get much, if any pain in the middle of the night. I didn't walk Sunday, no pain pills. Yesterday I drove to the park where I could walk Bobby on a level surface instead of hills and woke up around 1am and had to take Ibuprofen. Doesn't seem right.