Tuesday, October 11, 2011

Breaking up is hard to do


I have to break up with my physical therapist. Just the thought of bringing it up to him makes me uneasy. How do I say I think it's time you let me go? Do I go the 'I have too much on my plate and just can't fit it into the schedule anymore' route? What if he says well then we'll do it this day or that day? Do I wimp out and blame it on the orthopedist and tell him Dr X told me I should be done with therapy after this last visit. Which is the truth by the way. I'm seriously stressed about it. I don't like confrontation and avoid it at all costs.

The reason I'm seeing a physical therapist is because I had some shoulder pain that started last year or so. It was so bad I could barely sleep at night so I went to see a physical therapist to see if he could help me out. He immediately thought I had a torn or damaged rotator cuff. The symptoms are exact to what I was feeling. If you don't know anything about rotator cuff injuries, they do not heal themselves. You need surgery to fix a tear. Or you can go without and learn how to manage it through therapy which is what I was basically doing. At least thats what we thought. So over the course of 3 months he taught me how to manage the pain, how to use my back and chest muscles properly without causing stress on the shoulder. He is a CrossFit trainer so he completely understood me when I said I wasn't going to just stop doing what I love. I'll just work around it. So I did. I continued with modified WODs and just kept on going even though there were days I couldn't lift my arm up. I know, sickness. Then I saw the Orthopedist and he told me I don't have a tear, I have adhesive capsulitis. It's basically a bunch of tissue that probably got damaged from overwork or a trauma (possibly a misguided clean, overhead squat or pull up) thats bunched up under my shoulder blade causing pain when I move my arm in certain directions. It's a very odd injury in that it can come on whenever, mainly in women around 40, and it will go away by itself. Without intervention it could take 2 years to completely go away. With proper therapy it could still take quite a few months. That is where I am. I got a steroid shot and now I have a few extra warmup stretches I do every day. My point to all that rambling was that I feel like my therapist has taken me as far as I can go at this point. I've learned all I need to know about how to manage my pain and get on with my workouts. I guess it's hard because he's a nice guy, we have a lot of things in common between CrossFit and cooking... And I think I may be his first client that is under 80 and doesn't have a hip fracture so I think he's happy to torture me with cf style sessions when I'm there. This Thursday should be my last visit if I have the balls to end it that is.

No breakfast. Lunch after WOD was eggs w/beef, peppers tomatoes. Protein ball snack. Coconut water.

warmup:
stretching
squats
jump rope

Strength: week 1, day 3
Back Squats
warmup: 5x60, 5x75, 5x90#
work: 5x95, 5x110, 9x125#
last set max reps

WOD:
Cleans, bar facing burpees
15, 12, 9, 6, 3
45# squat clean
bar facing burpees

9:01 (yay burpees!)

*Notes - Probably could have done more on the 125 squats but was afraid I would get stuck on the squat. Must learn to not be afraid to dump from back. WOD was good, needed to stay under 10 minutes. Burpees unbroken! Next cleans that come up move up to 65. Overall felt good. Steak and veggies last night did the trick. Tonight chicken roaster w/squash and sauteed spinach.

Food Tip: Try unsweetened shredded coconut. NOT that sugary crap in the store. Find a health food store, Trader Joes, Whole Foods or order it online. I add it to everything, oatmeal, deserts, yogurt, paleo friendly 'bread crumbs' for meats. It's a nice little tasty treat.







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