The nicest sort of day, with massage and relaxing

Lounging in bed all morning with books and computers and coffee and cookies and a person excellent to gaze at. I read a little poetry and finished Dishwasher Pete's book, which I highly recommend. Getting a fabulous hour and a half massage and then sitting in hazelbroom's sunny flowery kitchen with iced chai and fast wireless... Bagels in a relaxing way... a fabulous art gallery on the way back to the car (and managing to park within half a block of hazelbroom's house and the bagel place and the art gallery, and walking to everything). Then lounging the rest of the afternoon with a million screamy but basically peaceful kids in the yard, everyone coming over, everything very social: Rook, Moomin, Nukie, Hamster, Peanut, Hamster's parents, Zond-7, Minnie, her baby, and my uncle and his wife, and Peanut's parents dropping in and out as well. It was really nice. We ate stuff from the Hole and played some board games.

I'm still glowing from the massage. The difference between no massage and massage is hurting all over, vs. hurting just basically in one place and a bit down my leg.

I find that what I need for massage is deep tissue stuff with a lot of trigger point work and myofascial release. T.W. has pointed out the TFL and ITB (tensor fasciae latae and iliotibial band) is super nasty on my right leg. When people work on it it hurts like hell but helps the pain in my knees and my whole leg... The muscle around the front of my hip is also super messed up. I also go a bit crazy with pain at the point on my calf where that same muscle or fascia or whatever, ends, just below the knee on the outside.

So I need to do more swimming and strengthen my stomach muscles more, but I also really want more massage since it helps so much with pain. My leg all cramps and seizes up, all the way down to my smaller toes. uncramping the front of the hip muscle, whatever that one is called, helps me walk more normally, because i can bring my right leg further forward. Well, blah blah blah. More massages!

Comments

[Melissa]

Glad to hear you got your massage.
I hope the benefits last for quite awhile for you.
And that you are fell a bit better too!

[Pretty Lady]

Woo-hoo! Let's hear it for massage! Glad you found the right practitioner.

You know, I've noticed lately that all these doctors, chiropractors and physical therapists seem to be prescribing 'strengthening the stomach muscles' for Back Issues, among my clients and friends with back problems. In my observation, the problem frequently seems to get worse after sustained stomach-muscle strengthening sessions such as Pilates. I'd be interested to get your experiential opinion on this.

[badgermama]

I am so unlikely to "do pilates".... but I do find it helps me to keep my stomach muscles more tense, and to move mindfully, which perhaps counts as "attention to posture".