Hey!

Long time I know but it’s that time of year with Janathon just around the corner so I thought I would check out how everyone’s been gettting on and update on what I’ve been up to since my last post (8th Oct…eek!)

So last time I posted I was having trouble with my left hip and hadn’t run since 22nd September. I ended up seeing a speciailist and had an ultrasound scan and an MRI scan, turns out I didn’t tear my labrum (yay!) but had iliopsoas tendinitis (I think) but without the snapping that is typically associated with it. The specialist said from the MRI she thought it would be another ~6-8 more weeks before I was able to run again and that I should continue with physio and have my physio assess my running. This was the beginning of November. I had to cancel out of another half marathon – St Neots in November but knew in the long-term it was going to be the right thing to do. During the time I had been seeing my physio for my hip I had continued to attend my body pump classes  limiting the stuff I did with my hip but still going as they were about the only thing left I could do as I didn’t think body combat was a good idea with all the kicking involved! I was going ~3-4 times a week so, although I wasn’t running I didn’t feel too bad. I also started a 6 weeks pilates course on 24th October that was run by one of the physio’s at my physio clinic that my phyiso had recommneded. So generally I felt like I was investing in improving myself so that when i could run again I would be at my very best. Around the same time as starting my pilates I had a couple of weeks where I couldn’t go to my body pump classes to the same extent as I had been due to work being really busy. It was around this time I started to get pain in my right shoulder – I initially thought it might be a bit of RSI as I’d had this before from working in a lab. Around the 3rd week in November I went to the doctor to see what they thought as my movements where becoming increasingly restricted and I had noticed that my collar bone was slightly raised on the right hand side near to where I was experiencing the pain. The doctor prescribed anti-inflammatories and referred me for more physio (!) and an x-ray. I had the x-ray and saw Christaina (my physio) who questioned acute bursitis and gave me a couple of physio sessions and some ultrasound before referring me back to the doctor to see a specialist and suggested I also stop going to the Pilates classes. My x-ray came back showing an abnormiality in my collar bone – sclerosis of my collar bone at the medial end and the doctor called me back in for more tests to figure out what was causing it. I had to have blood tests and a chest x-ray (all OK) and have been to see a shoulder specilaist who sent me for two MRI’s – one of my collar bone and one of my right shoulder and I will be seeing him again on 10th Jan for the results. Until then I’m on anti-inflammatories and pain killers and not able to run, not because of my hip but now my shoulder, and not able to do any of my classes so all making for a very dull me!

The last couple of months has made me realise just how important exercise in my life is and how much I rely on it to relieve the stresses and strains from everyday life and for the general wellbeing you get from it. Bit by bit I have had to give up pretty much all of the exercise I do except for walking. I had one session with my physio after seeing the hip specialist where she assessed my running. From this she said she could see a number of potential issues – firstly my hip flexors are way stronger than they need to be and I use these to run instead of my glutes, I am tall and quite long legged, I have a really flexible lower back and and I run on my toes! All things I need to change if I don’t want the same hip problem to rear it’s ugly head again! In the session I tried doing some of what she said and i found it really hard and that it required an immense anount of concentration from me otherwise I would just revert back to what I’m used to! I haven’t run or continued with the hip excercises since due to my shoulder as a lot of the exercises requiring support/use of your shoulders. My physio said we will pick it all up in the New Year once I have my results from the MRI scans. On a postive note though I haven’t had any twinges or pain in my left hip for the last 2 weeks now so I think that’s all OK, just got to sort my shoulder.

I also moved again in October (!), this time with the housemate from the last place. I moved into the last place in May and by August we were informed of a massive building extension starting almost immediately and which would continue for at least the next 3 months which neither of us had been informed about previously and needless to say where not very happy about. It all got quite nasty and we saw another side to the landlords that we hadn’t seen before and we didn’t like so we decided to move out. We finally moved out on October 13th which made for a busy couple of months. The one good thing about it all was meeting Sarah my housemate – we get on really well and even though we had lived togheter for only ~ 3 months we decided to rent again together which works brilliantly. We are now in a bungalow, not far from where we were before which we love but have noticed a bit of damp so unless the landlord can fix it we may have to move again but we’re keeping our fingers crossed it’ll get sorted 🙂

Works been really busy, all good but very busy so that’s been keeping me out of trouble!

My nephew Caolan is now ~8 and 1/2 months and a whole heap of fun and into everything! Here he is in a ‘santa’s little helper’ outfit I got him before Christmas posing with his Dad Dan.

It was this time last year I was considering Janathon for the first time…what a lots happened in a year! I so want to do it this year too but certainly won’t be able to do it running everyday which is what i would most want to do. I am thinking of doing it as my way back into exercise and maybe doing some form of exercise everyday and see how I go and build myself up from that…we’ll see, I still haven’t entered…yet! If it’s not something you’ve done before I’d definitely recommend it.

I’m off to catch up on a few blogs and see what everyone’s been up to the last couple of months. Hope you’ve all had a lovely Christmas and I wish you all a very Happy New Year!

J x

December 2011

December 30, 2011

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