Health & Rehabilitation Section

p90x_Dude

I know there is no section in this area, but being I'm a physical therapist and I'm responsible helping people achieve healing I'd like to open up to any concerns, questions or comments in this area. Being most of us are getting our fit lives back injuries can happen, so I think it would be good if we were here for each other in that respect (listen to the new kid on the block talk). Just a suggestion.

p90x_Dude

I know there is no section in this area, but being I'm a physical therapist and I'm responsible helping people achieve healing I'd like to open up to any concerns, questions or comments in this area. Being most of us are getting our fit lives back injuries can happen, so I think it would be good if we were here for each other in that respect (listen to the new kid on the block talk). Just a suggestion.

Javancub

I've started walking 7miles. My speed is about 3.0 to 3.5mph. Its not a level ground, there are some hills and downhills. I've noticed during the middle of the walk my chins start hurting. I'm very much a heel walker and I don't know if its just me building the muscle or if I'm going to give myself a chin splint. I don't do this but once a week because of the pain and usually my legs are pretty sore for the next 2 days. Any suggestions?

MFS27

I have a question for you - wondering if you have any experience with rehabbing swimmers? I swim about 3,000 yards 5 times a week, and my shoulders get pretty sore from all the repetitive motion.

Are there any kind of arm exercises I can do to strengthen my arms/back muscles without putting strain on my shoulders? I can't do push-ups or pull-ups - they make my shoulders hurt worse.

p90x_Dude

I've started walking 7miles. My speed is about 3.0 to 3.5mph. Its not a level ground, there are some hills and downhills. I've noticed during the middle of the walk my chins start hurting. I'm very much a heel walker and I don't know if its just me building the muscle or if I'm going to give myself a chin splint. I don't do this but once a week because of the pain and usually my legs are pretty sore for the next 2 days. Any suggestions?

My suggestion is first make sure you're wearing (1) good arch supports and heel cushions in your shoes, (2)second really warm-up and stretch the calf muscles, (3) third cool down and stretch the calf muscles again after walking. You may even want to use some ice and elevation after walking to prevent increased aggravation. If it continues try walking on more level ground and you may need to have a physical therapist or podiatrist look at your foot/ankle alignment. It's all one chain from foot to scalp and as funny as it sounds a bum arch can cause neck pain eventually. Keep me posted.

p90x_Dude

I have a question for you - wondering if you have any experience with rehabbing swimmers? I swim about 3,000 yards 5 times a week, and my shoulders get pretty sore from all the repetitive motion.

Are there any kind of arm exercises I can do to strengthen my arms/back muscles without putting strain on my shoulders? I can't do push-ups or pull-ups - they make my shoulders hurt worse.

Well, it depends on what is causing the pain. It sounds like tendinitis but what motions hurt the most
1. raising your arms straight in from from your side to above your head
2. raising your arms straight out from your side to above your head
3. rotating your shoulder in and out (internal & external rotation).

That would probably give me a better idea of what the culprit may be. How is your posture meaning when you stand erect, do your ears line up with the middle of your shoulders? If the ears are a bit forward of the shoulders this is called "forward head" (don't worry we all have it). It causes alot of stress on our rotator cuff (especially the supraspinatus) and causes shoulder pain with repetitive activities where we lift our arms above our heads.

In the mean time try the following:
1. Mid trap exercises (if you have a band place the middle in a doorway or around a stable object and pull the shoulder blades together with the elbows horizontal to the ground)
2. Corner stretch - find a corner and place each hand about shoulder with and lean into the corne stretching the pectoralis minor

Try these for a couple of weeks and let me know if you have additional questions. I'm going to try and find diagrams of the two exercises which are minimally invasive/aggressive and should not cause more pain. You may have to cool down on the swimming and incorporate cycling/running or something that puts less stress on you rotator cuff. Keep me posted, hope this helps you.

jamie77

I have a question....I have scoliosis with herrington rods (sugery at age 13) and lately I have developed sciatica. When I work out really hard, my hip and leg just throb all day. Is there some sort of streching I can do to minimize that? I always stretch after workouts, but apparently not the correct way.
It has really slowed my weight loss, because I haven't been able to make myself work out the past couple of weeks. I know I'm going to be in pain all day if I do, so I just don't bother. Thanks

p90x_Dude

I have a question....I have scoliosis with herrington rods (sugery at age 13) and lately I have developed sciatica. When I work out really hard, my hip and leg just throb all day. Is there some sort of streching I can do to minimize that? I always stretch after workouts, but apparently not the correct way.
It has really slowed my weight loss, because I haven't been able to make myself work out the past couple of weeks. I know I'm going to be in pain all day if I do, so I just don't bother. Thanks

Hmm this one is challenging.
What type of curve do you have in you spine (S or C)? Where are the rods? On which side do you get sciatica? What kind of stretches are you doing?

I know it's alot of questions, but when I see a patient I have to get as much information as possible from them before I can make recommandations (and remember they are only recommendations and don't always fix the problem).

jamie77

I have a question....I have scoliosis with herrington rods (sugery at age 13) and lately I have developed sciatica. When I work out really hard, my hip and leg just throb all day. Is there some sort of streching I can do to minimize that? I always stretch after workouts, but apparently not the correct way.
It has really slowed my weight loss, because I haven't been able to make myself work out the past couple of weeks. I know I'm going to be in pain all day if I do, so I just don't bother. Thanks

Hmm this one is challenging.
What type of curve do you have in you spine (S or C)? Where are the rods? On which side do you get sciatica? What kind of stretches are you doing?

I know it's alot of questions, but when I see a patient I have to get as much information as possible from them before I can make recommandations (and remember they are only recommendations and don't always fix the problem).

S curve...there is one on each side of my spine from neck to hips. Spine still curves a little to the left and the pain is in the right hip and leg. A chiropractor told me to just do simple floor stretches, but that is not working at all.
I'm glad you asked this question...I'm hoping you can save me a copay...:happy:

sgtinvincible

Good topic P90x!

MFS27

I have a question for you - wondering if you have any experience with rehabbing swimmers? I swim about 3,000 yards 5 times a week, and my shoulders get pretty sore from all the repetitive motion.

Are there any kind of arm exercises I can do to strengthen my arms/back muscles without putting strain on my shoulders? I can't do push-ups or pull-ups - they make my shoulders hurt worse.

Well, it depends on what is causing the pain. It sounds like tendinitis but what motions hurt the most
1. raising your arms straight in from from your side to above your head
2. raising your arms straight out from your side to above your head
3. rotating your shoulder in and out (internal & external rotation).

That would probably give me a better idea of what the culprit may be. How is your posture meaning when you stand erect, do your ears line up with the middle of your shoulders? If the ears are a bit forward of the shoulders this is called "forward head" (don't worry we all have it). It causes alot of stress on our rotator cuff (especially the supraspinatus) and causes shoulder pain with repetitive activities where we lift our arms above our heads.

In the mean time try the following:
1. Mid trap exercises (if you have a band place the middle in a doorway or around a stable object and pull the shoulder blades together with the elbows horizontal to the ground)
2. Corner stretch - find a corner and place each hand about shoulder with and lean into the corne stretching the pectoralis minor

Try these for a couple of weeks and let me know if you have additional questions. I'm going to try and find diagrams of the two exercises which are minimally invasive/aggressive and should not cause more pain. You may have to cool down on the swimming and incorporate cycling/running or something that puts less stress on you rotator cuff. Keep me posted, hope this helps you.

3. rotating your shoulder in and out (internal & external rotation). - this is def the motion that makes my shoulders feel tender. It's not a horrible I-can't-stand-it-pain, but kind of like twinges.

For the mid trap exercise - is that facing the door? So like a rowing motion? (Pictures/link please!)

I know, I know...I'm in denial about putting the brakes on swimming (I'm training for some long distance swims) This shoulder problem is pretty common with LD/open water swimmers...just trying to see if there's anything I can do, preventively, before it gets worse.

Thank you!!!! You are awesome!

p90x_Dude

I have a question for you - wondering if you have any experience with rehabbing swimmers? I swim about 3,000 yards 5 times a week, and my shoulders get pretty sore from all the repetitive motion.

Are there any kind of arm exercises I can do to strengthen my arms/back muscles without putting strain on my shoulders? I can't do push-ups or pull-ups - they make my shoulders hurt worse.

Well, it depends on what is causing the pain. It sounds like tendinitis but what motions hurt the most
1. raising your arms straight in from from your side to above your head
2. raising your arms straight out from your side to above your head
3. rotating your shoulder in and out (internal & external rotation).

That would probably give me a better idea of what the culprit may be. How is your posture meaning when you stand erect, do your ears line up with the middle of your shoulders? If the ears are a bit forward of the shoulders this is called "forward head" (don't worry we all have it). It causes alot of stress on our rotator cuff (especially the supraspinatus) and causes shoulder pain with repetitive activities where we lift our arms above our heads.

In the mean time try the following:
1. Mid trap exercises (if you have a band place the middle in a doorway or around a stable object and pull the shoulder blades together with the elbows horizontal to the ground)
2. Corner stretch - find a corner and place each hand about shoulder with and lean into the corne stretching the pectoralis minor

Try these for a couple of weeks and let me know if you have additional questions. I'm going to try and find diagrams of the two exercises which are minimally invasive/aggressive and should not cause more pain. You may have to cool down on the swimming and incorporate cycling/running or something that puts less stress on you rotator cuff. Keep me posted, hope this helps you.

3. rotating your shoulder in and out (internal & external rotation). - this is def the motion that makes my shoulders feel tender. It's not a horrible I-can't-stand-it-pain, but kind of like twinges.

For the mid trap exercise - is that facing the door? So like a rowing motion? (Pictures/link please!)

I know, I know...I'm in denial about putting the brakes on swimming (I'm training for some long distance swims) This shoulder problem is pretty common with LD/open water swimmers...just trying to see if there's anything I can do, preventively, before it gets worse.

Thank you!!!! You are awesome!

I see, if it's most painful when rotating the shoulder in while the shoulder is flexed in front at about 90 degrees it could be what is called "impingement sydrome". It's when the supraspinatus tendon (1 of the rotator cuff muscles) gets pinched under the acromion process (boney protrusion where the collar bone connects away from hte sternum.. Yes it's just like a row, good catch there. This site has some pretty good examples http://exercise.about.com/cs/exerciseworkouts/l/blbandworkout.htm
not saying you'll need the physioball though.

p90x_Dude

I have a question....I have scoliosis with herrington rods (sugery at age 13) and lately I have developed sciatica. When I work out really hard, my hip and leg just throb all day. Is there some sort of streching I can do to minimize that? I always stretch after workouts, but apparently not the correct way.
It has really slowed my weight loss, because I haven't been able to make myself work out the past couple of weeks. I know I'm going to be in pain all day if I do, so I just don't bother. Thanks

Hmm this one is challenging.
What type of curve do you have in you spine (S or C)? Where are the rods? On which side do you get sciatica? What kind of stretches are you doing?

I know it's alot of questions, but when I see a patient I have to get as much information as possible from them before I can make recommandations (and remember they are only recommendations and don't always fix the problem).

S curve...there is one on each side of my spine from neck to hips. Spine still curves a little to the left and the pain is in the right hip and leg. A chiropractor told me to just do simple floor stretches, but that is not working at all.
I'm glad you asked this question...I'm hoping you can save me a copay...:happy:

LOL, I wish I could save you that copay. It's difficult but I'm thinking you pain may be coming from external rotation of the hip as a compensation. I'm looking into some exercises at this time.

yoginimary

Got one for you (thanks for doing this btw :flowerforyou: )

I somehow hurt my wrist about two weeks ago. It hurts right under the place they draw blood when they can't get it from the elbow. It hurts the most with my hand tilted away from my thumb or when hand is flat on the floor. I've been doing yoga with my hands in a fist and that doesn't cause any problems. It hurts the most in the morning. I've been wearing a brace at night for the past few days as well as taking advil (advice of some nurse friends) - 200 mg 3x a day.

Thanks for anything.

p90x_Dude

Got one for you (thanks for doing this btw :flowerforyou: )

I somehow hurt my wrist about two weeks ago. It hurts right under the place they draw blood when they can't get it from the elbow. It hurts the most with my hand tilted away from my thumb or when hand is flat on the floor. I've been doing yoga with my hands in a fist and that doesn't cause any problems. It hurts the most in the morning. I've been wearing a brace at night for the past few days as well as taking advil (advice of some nurse friends) - 200 mg 3x a day.

Thanks for anything.

Hmmm let's see, sounds like maybe tenosynovitis or inflammation of the tendon that attaches to the thumb. Have you every fallen on the wrist and what is your profession (or better yet is there something you do that is repetitive with that hand?) Is the location in the center, right or left in reference to the pinky & thumb. Trying to figure out if it's one of the bones in the wrist which you may need an xray or mri to confirm no fractures or ligament damage.

yoginimary

Got one for you (thanks for doing this btw :flowerforyou: )

I somehow hurt my wrist about two weeks ago. It hurts right under the place they draw blood when they can't get it from the elbow. It hurts the most with my hand tilted away from my thumb or when hand is flat on the floor. I've been doing yoga with my hands in a fist and that doesn't cause any problems. It hurts the most in the morning. I've been wearing a brace at night for the past few days as well as taking advil (advice of some nurse friends) - 200 mg 3x a day.

Thanks for anything.

Hmmm let's see, sounds like maybe tenosynovitis or inflammation of the tendon that attaches to the thumb. Have you every fallen on the wrist and what is your profession (or better yet is there something you do that is repetitive with that hand?) Is the location in the center, right or left in reference to the pinky & thumb. Trying to figure out if it's one of the bones in the wrist which you may need an xray or mri to confirm no fractures or ligament damage.

If you put your fingers on the bony part of your wrist that stick out it's in that area on the thumb side and right above that area - I guess it hurts more right above that area than the bone. It also hurts when I push on it. I've never broken a bone, but I'm not sure it hurts that much. It's more annoying than debilitating. Oh, and there isn't any swelling.

I'm a housewife, or as I like to say a "kept woman", I also teach yoga and clean houses occasionally. I'm fairly active both exercising and otherwise, but I can't think of a movement I do a lot.

Thanks again :bigsmile:

p90x_Dude

Got one for you (thanks for doing this btw :flowerforyou: )

I somehow hurt my wrist about two weeks ago. It hurts right under the place they draw blood when they can't get it from the elbow. It hurts the most with my hand tilted away from my thumb or when hand is flat on the floor. I've been doing yoga with my hands in a fist and that doesn't cause any problems. It hurts the most in the morning. I've been wearing a brace at night for the past few days as well as taking advil (advice of some nurse friends) - 200 mg 3x a day.

Thanks for anything.

Hmmm let's see, sounds like maybe tenosynovitis or inflammation of the tendon that attaches to the thumb. Have you every fallen on the wrist and what is your profession (or better yet is there something you do that is repetitive with that hand?) Is the location in the center, right or left in reference to the pinky & thumb. Trying to figure out if it's one of the bones in the wrist which you may need an xray or mri to confirm no fractures or ligament damage.

If you put your fingers on the bony part of your wrist that stick out it's in that area on the thumb side and right above that area - I guess it hurts more right above that area than the bone. It also hurts when I push on it. I've never broken a bone, but I'm not sure it hurts that much. It's more annoying than debilitating. Oh, and there isn't any swelling.

I'm a housewife, or as I like to say a "kept woman", I also teach yoga and clean houses occasionally. I'm fairly active both exercising and otherwise, but I can't think of a movement I do a lot.

Thanks again :bigsmile:

Tough to say, could be some instability of the carpal bones (small wrist bones). I have occassional pain from mine from poor sliding techniques in baseball. Injured my right wrist last year sliding for a ball (softball) and it hurt me for months which bothered me because I usually bounce pretty quick from an injury.

Watch any activities you're doing that may irritate it (like push ups or repititive activites with an extended lever arm like tennis)
Make sure you warm up good before any activities and ice afterwards.
If it persists or gets worse, I'd get it checked out

I know this isn't much, but it's tough when I can't touch, move, examine the site in person. Everything is purely speculation, but I think it's pretty close.

iojoi

I have fibromyalgia so have all the inevitable aches pains fatigue etc and was told to either do thai chi or swimming so i chose swimming as thai chi here is a non starter in this rural area.. i am not allowed to put my knees through more than a 25 degree angle through exercise due to short tendons but i have some stretching exercises to do for them
but am also having problems with my elbows and i have inconclusive results with the carpol tunnel tests ... is there any other exercise u think could be helpful ?
my symptoms are that i find it difficult to open heavy doors carry pans of water or veg in the kitchen and take out pans from the oven as well as pains in my hands wrists etc so i find it hard to cut root veg etc

TNTPete

Wow P90X - you are so kind to do this!! Thank you !! Awesome help and if I run into any problems I will definitely be posting!! :flowerforyou:

p90x_Dude

I have fibromyalgia so have all the inevitable aches pains fatigue etc and was told to either do thai chi or swimming so i chose swimming as thai chi here is a non starter in this rural area.. i am not allowed to put my knees through more than a 25 degree angle through exercise due to short tendons but i have some stretching exercises to do for them
but am also having problems with my elbows and i have inconclusive results with the carpol tunnel tests ... is there any other exercise u think could be helpful ?
my symptoms are that i find it difficult to open heavy doors carry pans of water or veg in the kitchen and take out pans from the oven as well as pains in my hands wrists etc so i find it hard to cut root veg etc

Have you tried "myofascial release"
http://www.myofascialrelease.com/home.asp

The link is to the home page of the myofascial release guru and has tons of information listed on it. Basically fascia courses throughout our bodies from head to toe and a disruption at any area can cause pain a the area where tension builds. Simple stretch and hold activities may lengthen and realign fascia sometimes eliminating or significantly decreasing pain in a few treatment sessions. This may be used in conjunction with massage to decrease pain associated with fibromyalgia.

As for exercise, so little is really known about what actually causes fibromyalgia (I know you've heard that one before). What I have found is any low impact activities that don't increase pain will be of some benefit. They have to be spaced out so as not to increase symptoms, you can try a forearm curls with a 2 lb weight shooting for greater reps (12 - 15) or squeeze a racquetball to increase grip/finger strength, but is would not be intense, very gentle to start paying close attention to how you hands handle it. Keep the pool work going, best exercise to unload joints and get some cardio/strength gains.

Keep me posted.

p90x_Dude

Wow P90X - you are so kind to do this!! Thank you !! Awesome help and if I run into any problems I will definitely be posting!! :flowerforyou:

Thank you, but I have to give credit to Christ Jesus as He has motivated me to help others. I'm actually seeking additional training in neuro so I can have greater impact on the medical field and my patients/clients.

God bless