Engage the Core
0 mi, 0 ft
One month into hip pain, and both life and this blog are rather less biking-oriented than had been hoped for the glorious summer months. The trochanteric bursitis of the previous post shows no sign of abatement, and may likely now be classed as "chronic" rather than "acute". Let this be a lesson, dear reader, to never ride, squat, walk, stand, or indeed sleep with imperfect form.
Physiotherapy appointment Number Two with delightful physiotherapist "B" took place a few days ago. In the week and a half since the initial session, considerable effort had been engaged to rectify the posture that had elicited such horror during appointment Number One and is no doubt the root cause of the deleterious hip inflammation. Extensive interwebs research yielded a self-diagnosis of "posterior pelvic tilt", the less common variant of poor posture relative to fashionable "anterior pelvic tilt". There transpires to be a sizeable online community dedicated to posture diagnosis and correction in its many forms. With vigorous enthusiasm, nine pre-work mornings were spent testing various stances in front of the mirror, contorting the pelvis anterior-wise, sternum thrust forward as if "hanging from a meat hook" per reasonable-sounding internet advice. Days spent strutting round the office, led by the ribcage, with presumed perfect posture.
And of course exercises at home to recruit the glute. Aptly named, as it transpired that only one glute was capable of being recruited. Incredibly, there was negligible mind-muscle connection to the left gluteus medius, which undoubtedly explains the left hip location of the injury. Following another online search, it was learnt that many people struggle with gluteal asymmetry, which must be rectified via extra-frequent exercises of the impacted buttock. You are encouraged to check for yourself reader, to ensure that you can properly manage the critical function of equally engaging both glutes. Lie face down, tighten the core, and squeeze one side at a time.
Back to the physio office. "The pain is no better, B, but the posture is completely fixed and glute engagement is now significant." As the astute may have prophesied, the standing test did not go well. "You will have all manner of lower back problems standing like that! You are trying much too hard!" Surprisingly, it transpires that no thrusting of any variety is required to achieve perfect posture; one must simply start with natural crappy posture and then enage the abs, and the glutes magically follow suit. That is the secret. After a week and a half of agonised contortions, this was much more comfortable. B was however considerably impressed with the improved glute recruitment. For the following set of exercises, squats were prescribed for additional glute strengthening, in low quantity and with perfect form.
So here we land. The following days spent engaging the abs, slowly squatting, and foam rolling leg muscles adjacent to the injury site in the gym three times per day, to the bemusement of the gym regulars. No biking, and very little ambulation. Even walking a mile on the flat, with the core engaged as radically as permissible, seems to aggravate the rubbing of the muscle over the trochanter and result in regrettably intense pain.
But one silver lining. Back when self-propelled to work via bicycle, the commute invariably took one hour each way no matter the hour, and the almost daily late meetings were thus a source of some teeth gnashing. These days, in meetings still ongoing at 7.30 pm, sitting contented in the knowledge that the traffic is easing and ten to fifteen minutes of time on the 280 will be saved on the way home. Becoming slowly and completely subsumed into work, as is the preferred mode in my office.
One month into hip pain, and both life and this blog are rather less biking-oriented than had been hoped for the glorious summer months. The trochanteric bursitis of the previous post shows no sign of abatement, and may likely now be classed as "chronic" rather than "acute". Let this be a lesson, dear reader, to never ride, squat, walk, stand, or indeed sleep with imperfect form.
Physiotherapy appointment Number Two with delightful physiotherapist "B" took place a few days ago. In the week and a half since the initial session, considerable effort had been engaged to rectify the posture that had elicited such horror during appointment Number One and is no doubt the root cause of the deleterious hip inflammation. Extensive interwebs research yielded a self-diagnosis of "posterior pelvic tilt", the less common variant of poor posture relative to fashionable "anterior pelvic tilt". There transpires to be a sizeable online community dedicated to posture diagnosis and correction in its many forms. With vigorous enthusiasm, nine pre-work mornings were spent testing various stances in front of the mirror, contorting the pelvis anterior-wise, sternum thrust forward as if "hanging from a meat hook" per reasonable-sounding internet advice. Days spent strutting round the office, led by the ribcage, with presumed perfect posture.
And of course exercises at home to recruit the glute. Aptly named, as it transpired that only one glute was capable of being recruited. Incredibly, there was negligible mind-muscle connection to the left gluteus medius, which undoubtedly explains the left hip location of the injury. Following another online search, it was learnt that many people struggle with gluteal asymmetry, which must be rectified via extra-frequent exercises of the impacted buttock. You are encouraged to check for yourself reader, to ensure that you can properly manage the critical function of equally engaging both glutes. Lie face down, tighten the core, and squeeze one side at a time.
Back to the physio office. "The pain is no better, B, but the posture is completely fixed and glute engagement is now significant." As the astute may have prophesied, the standing test did not go well. "You will have all manner of lower back problems standing like that! You are trying much too hard!" Surprisingly, it transpires that no thrusting of any variety is required to achieve perfect posture; one must simply start with natural crappy posture and then enage the abs, and the glutes magically follow suit. That is the secret. After a week and a half of agonised contortions, this was much more comfortable. B was however considerably impressed with the improved glute recruitment. For the following set of exercises, squats were prescribed for additional glute strengthening, in low quantity and with perfect form.
So here we land. The following days spent engaging the abs, slowly squatting, and foam rolling leg muscles adjacent to the injury site in the gym three times per day, to the bemusement of the gym regulars. No biking, and very little ambulation. Even walking a mile on the flat, with the core engaged as radically as permissible, seems to aggravate the rubbing of the muscle over the trochanter and result in regrettably intense pain.
But one silver lining. Back when self-propelled to work via bicycle, the commute invariably took one hour each way no matter the hour, and the almost daily late meetings were thus a source of some teeth gnashing. These days, in meetings still ongoing at 7.30 pm, sitting contented in the knowledge that the traffic is easing and ten to fifteen minutes of time on the 280 will be saved on the way home. Becoming slowly and completely subsumed into work, as is the preferred mode in my office.
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