I put off going to the pool yesterday for ages, I was still so tired that I didn't really feel like going at all, but my physio sent me a message saying she had talked to my pain specialist and that he had agreed that I needed to go to the pool everyday (groan).

After dinner my Mum said that I could leave it for that day as it was only once but I felt that if I didn't make an effort, that I would take the easy way out too often and end up not going as often as I need too.

We went to the pool just after 8pm at night and it was really quiet and may turn into being a good time to go to that pool. I even got the slow lane all to myself for over half an hour!

For every length of freestyle I have to do 2 lengths of just kicking but I have to pay attention to how I am kicking and that I actually use my right leg...my physio said she didnt care how slow I moved, I need to focus on my technique and trying to mirror the movement of my left foot. I tend to use my ITband and my hip muscles rather than my calves and even when I am consciously trying to use my calves I STILL couldn't really get them to work.
I have to practice walking slowly, forwards, backwards and side stepping, all the while trying to mirror the normal movement of my left leg and and also just kicking on my back, going really slowly and trying to co-ordinate knee flexion with ankle dorsi and plantarflexion...I hate doing this as she made me hold still to the rail and just practice kicking and this makes the pain so so bad and I dont even feel safe for some reason!
She told me to wear a aqua belt round me to help float my middle as I am so small and it helps but I need to get used to it.

She is hoping that over time I will feel what is the right movement whereas right now I am having to watch what my foot is doing or else I dont know where it is!

But things will get better I hope, still early days and I'm going to see my pain specialist in 4 days so hopefully he will be able to help me out!

1 comments:

Lisa Moon said...

Good for you for going, even when you were so tired...
And I CAN understand you're not feeling safe. Completely. I feel like that when I'm trying to take the public transit, in a store, on the sidewalks... yup, lots of places. Hard to feel safe when at any moment someone could cause you such intense pain without trying or even knowing.
Glad to hear you're able to check in with your pain specialist so often; I get the feeling the doctors I've seen know less than I'm coming to know about CRPS and I haven't even been reading up on it for very long!
Gentle hugs,
Lisa