Gotta move that pelvis!

Last week I had a structural exam with the physical therapist at Phase IV. This was the first time that I have had a full structural exam and it went a little something like this: take off your shoes and socks and stand over there, now turn around, now bend this this way, now hold this limb in place while I push it, now sit over there and twist this way, now lay over there and bend this limb, etc. etc.

Edwin, the PT, measured my ability to rotate, bend, and extend every joint within my core body, legs and arms. The only joints I think he missed are my jaw and my fingers. He even pulled out a tape measure and a big plastic protractor to measure my extensions and positions on one side relative to the other. The result was a slight bit of weakness adducting one of my legs, unbalance in the flexibility to rotate my neck (injured by a chiropractor a few years ago), not so great posture in my upper back, and that my right hip is rotated forward from my left hip.

The rotated hip was newly diagnosed but not surprising. It's probably caused by a combination of running on the slanted part of a road, and driving in L.A. traffic (use just one leg to brake and accelerate). I expect that some of my hamstring, back, and other pain is caused by the discrepancy in leg length caused by the rotation in one hip over the other. In fact, one of my running partners this morning--who is herself a trained PT-- says that it is a problem that she often has. When it happens to her, she has the same sorts of pains in her hamstrings and legs. Her solution is to go to a chiropractor who releases the tension in the hip by massage so it then aligns properly again. She says that she helps it by getting lots of massages.

Hmmmm.... getting lots of massages.... besides the expense, it doesn't sound like too unpleasant of a treatment plan! I'm going to see Edwin again next week. Let's see if his treatment is as pleasant as the 'lotsa massage' solution.

As for the posture, well, I have horrible posture. It's a bad habit. I read a lot and hunch over in front of the computer or lab bench a lot. I know that I am not alone. I've often wondered if those special posture devices that you see in the back of magazines would help me. My next session is on Monday and I assume that I will be assigned a lot of back and core strengthening exercises to help with the posture. We'll see!

Now where is that phone number for the massage therapist...