One of the dirty little secrets nobody tells you about pregnancy is that you're going to be in various forms of discomfort long before you go into labor.
The pregnancy hormone relaxin functions to loosen up the joints and ligaments, allowing your pelvis to open up, making delivery possible. And the bloating/swelling associated with pregnancy does other things to you.
Unfortunately, these things go to work long before delivery, and not just on your pelvis.
It impacts activities like yoga, because your joints are suddenly much more flexible and prone to injury than you realize. Every pose in an opportunity to strain or hyper-extend something.
And it makes you more prone to other injuries because the stability of things like, say, your knee joints, just isn't what it used to be.
Here's where I'm going with this:
About a week ago I woke up with serious pain and numbness in my right hand. I couldn't use it for two days - I mean my hand went from normal to 'couldn't get the cap off the toothpaste' overnight. It's faded for now, but my hand still doesn't feel quite right and I still have twinges of pain. Sudden carpal tunnel syndrome is a completely normal part of pregnancy. Woo freakin hoo.
Three days ago my patello-femoral pain kicked up something fierce in my left knee - for no apparent reason. I hadn't even gone for a walk. I've been hobbling around for two days, trying to avoid the sharp stabs of pain. PT Chris taped it for me yesterday so I at least walk without discomfort. Apparently the loosened ligaments have impacted the already not-so-great tracking/position of my patella(s), which had not given me so much as a peep since my bike fitting last spring.
My point is: it's bad enough for a normal person. But throw someone trying to maintain some semblance of exercise into the mix and you're asking for trouble. I'm not sure how I'll handle it if this keeps up - there's only so many parts I've got that can break.
In other news:
My shoulder is healing ridiculous slow. The PT is 100% convinced the tendon is torn, but between the pregnancy and the potential permanent negative impact a surgery would have on the shoulder structure, we're obviously not going there right now (probably never).
As of yesterday she said the anatomy finally feels normal (it was ugly and swollen and sticking out funny when we started). Part of the reason she's so sure there's a tear is that I still have noticeable pain when she manipulates it certain ways, which just shouldn't be there now that everything else looks and feels completely normal.
That said, she's allowing me back in the water today. I've got an appointment with a recently retired swim coach/current PT student from her office for 1:00 this afternoon to evaluate my stroke and get me to work on some drills.
3 comments:
Sorry to hear about your shoulder. I hear ya on the loose joints thing. For me it's been mainly my hips and ankles affected- anything on a step in the aerobics class can be scary. I've hit the floor a few times, fortunately I've got plenty of padding to cushion the blow.
I hope the misery of April is becoming a distant memory. Do what you can, but remember to cut yourself some slack.
My knees got bad during pregnancy and never got better afterwards. I hope this doesn't happen to you because it's a pain in the... ahem. No swearing in front of the baby. ;)
How did it go in the water?
Stroke analysis from a trained professional = priceless!
Sorry to hear your joints are revolting.
Post a Comment