Crash! Boom! Bang!

I've done it again. I managed to further injure my already hurting right leg. Nice.

Luckily this seems to bee passing by quite well.

So the thing that happened was that I banged my right tibia right next to the knee on the dishwashers door/lid. Hard. And it Hurt. Big time. It hurt through the night and the next morning. Second day was a bit easier, but I had to walk with my right leg completely straight. If I put any weight on it with the knee bent, I got a shot of pain and the sensation of losing control of my leg. It felt like it was caving in on me. Not nice.

Due to this I had to skip one of the few remaining ballet classes before summer break. Broke my heart a bit, really. I did get to attend the last two classes, thankfully. But now there are no more classes before the fall season begins. Sumemr is on.

I'm missing ballet already, even though its been less that a week since the last class. How are you all holding up the summer break?

Help Wanted

Dear dancing friends and strangers, a fellow dancer is in need. Of help,that is. And you can do it.

Bush ballerina needs something simple from you. Her request is here, clickclick. In short all you need to do is measure your heart rate right after doing one side of plies ( from 1st, 2nd, 4th&5th incliding port des bras if you like). That's option A.

Option B is to measure your heart rate after both sides of plies in row.

How simple is that! Just measure your rate and report back to Bush Ballerina. Help a fellow dancer in need.

And the same in Finnish just in case  it helps:
Bush Ballerina pyytää apua kaikilta balettia harrastavilta. Hän tarvitsisi sydämen syke tietoja A) yhden puolen plie -sarjan jälkeen (plieet ekasta, tokasta, neljännestä ja viidennestä asentosta+ port des braat jos haluat), ja jos jaksat niin myös B) molempien puolten pliesarjojen jälkeen.

Tärkeää on molemmissa tehdä sarja/t ja heti sen jälkeen mitata syke.

Sykeenhän saa mitattua joko kaulalta henkitorven vierestä tai ranteesta peukalon puolelta. Laske kuinka monta kertaa sydän lyö 15 sekunnin aikana ja kerro neljällä= on sydämen syke minuutissa. Käy raportoimassa Bush Ballerinalle, tai jos haluat, voit kommentoida tuloksesi myös tähän postaukseen, niin välitän tiedon eteenpäin.

Lisähelppiä sykkeen mittaamiseen.

How Come I Wasn't Told?

On Fridays class my spot at the barre is in a corner in front of mirror. We start the class with left hand on the barre so I'm facing the mirror.  By the time we get to the grande battements I'm doing fine on the right side. No problems, enough space to swing battements away to my hearts content. But on the left side, it's always the same problem.  I'm this close to kicking the classmate in front of me and almost every time I do kick the mirror (now behind) me at least once.

So yesterday it hit me. My left leg must be at least 20 cm longer than my right! Why else would I have these problems only on the left side?

How come no one never told me this?

How come the FTs, the Orthopedist and other doctors never noticed this?

I mean, no wonder I'm having issues with my right foot, 'cos it's that much shorter!

If only it were that simple though... Right?

Bet her legs are the same length!
(Pic reference)

Well, I had a MRI scan of the right foot on yesterday (prior to the epiphany). Maybe I'll get some real answers finally.

With my luck, the found nothing, though.

I really do love the minions! I just wish they wouldn't make me crave cheese puffs so much...

Was this supposed to help?

Had my ultra (the foot just so no one get the wrong idea). Nothing was found.

Had the orthopedist consult. He thought nothingh wrong with the big toe tendon, just the plantar fasciitis issue.

Got a cortizone injection to my heel. Wasn't excited about that then either. Now its been week and all I'm thinking is: Was this suppose to help me? Optimism gone.

Okay, I have to admit the pain is not in the same anymore. Location and general feel have changed. So far the pain level has been more painfull than before the injection. Great. Most of the time it feels like walking on a bruise under my heel.

First three days were really bad. Made me miss the first ballet class of the term. Now for few days the outer rim of the heel has hurt when I walk in addition of the bruise under my heel.

"No need to limit your activity" he said. Yeah right. I have a follow up appointment in a week. Have things say.

But today I'm going to class. The gear for today:

Turquoise leo from Plume
White skirt by me
Off white legwarmers from... dunno
Black tights from Revolution
Bloch Elastosplit slippers in Sanshas bag, hah

Yes, I wear black tights with pink slippers and off white legwarmers. So sue me. Don't really care right now (read: never).

Christmas Break, New Year and so on

The leg issue is still on. More on the matter. Persistent bastard that one is.

Well at least this Christmas break has shown again, that break from ballet is not the cure for my itch, so to speak. I have had both, pain in the hell and outer thigh too (IT band). Regular foam rolling keeps the thigh in check, but only when done regularly. Thats to say every 2 or 3 days. What a drag really. I mean, I'm on a combined Christmas holiday/Summer vacation (yes I really did save some summer vacation days for this time a year), and all I wanna do is slouch on the couch, U know. And I have work for my health! Geesh!

Saturday will sort me back to regular schedule, ballet lessons start to rolling again. To work I had to go already yesterday. So the slouching will have stop. Before that I will have an appointment with a doctor and an ultrasound, followed by an appointment with an orthopedist. For the leg, recommended by the PT. Lets see if they can sort whats wrong with the foot, an more importantly, if there is something that can be done to fix it. It's only been 1,5 year, so I'm so ready to get rid of it! 

Right now the weather is nice and frosty

Pain, ache and some woe, part 2

So what's up with my right leg? I have been seeing my physiotherapist this fall, total of five times I think. I had, sadly, the last appointment week before last. The right sole is much better now, but still walking and standing irritates it. So I'm not all in the clear yet.

The FT concluded that the main issue was not plantar fasciitis, but that I had had a tenosynovitis in the tendon that flexes the big toe in the spring when this all started, a year and a half ago. And that had left the tendon immobilized and that in turn cramped up the hole sole including the plantar fascia.

In my appointments with the FT, he worked the problematic tendon, getting it loose again. He also worked on Achilles tendon and the IT band related muscles, because they were cramped up too.

IT band and related muscles (pic reference)

I've had had problems in the past with the outer head (greater trochanter) of the femur being sort of  rubbed by something, a tendon or what'sit. The friction occurs when I walk, and can be felt if hand is placed on the outer head of the bone. The area can get sore, if I continue walking in spite the rubbing. This happens only in the right leg, never has it been on the left. So I have concluded that my right leg in whole, is second rate product. I have made a complaint to the factory about it, but my mom has not been compliant so far. I don't remember having these issues back then in the spring 2013. But I have had those issues this fall again.

The femur (pic reference)

my spikey

Though plantar fasciitis was not the main cause of my pain, I found some of the remedies for it useful in my case also. This video shows a very effective stretching and massaging for the plantar fascia. I have also used icing on the sole after exercise or stretching. I have been rolling a tennis ball under my foot a lot. Also I have used spikey massage ball and a soda bottle frozen with water for rolling.

And then there is the Strassburg sock.  I usually put the sock on when I go to bed and take it of at some point in the night. So I don't have on the whole night, maybe 2-4 hours, depending how well I sleep. Before my first appointment whit the FT, I had it on the whole night, and boy was I happy, when he said I could stop using it ('cause it did not help so much). I took the sock back in my routines after my very last appointment whit the FT, and it seems to help keep the sole in check. Or has no effect what so ever, who knows... But I am reluctant to find out what it would be like not using it.

Strassburg sock. (pic reference)

This post had very little to do with ballet, I have trouble staying on point U see. Will do a post about the stretching and rolling the outer thigh area later, for I have been doing a lot of work with that too this fall. And the fascia surrounding muscles in general. That too will have little to do with ballet too, I think.

--
This post is solely based on my experience, what I have found useful in my case. I'm not advising anyone to do as I do, for I'm not an expert on the matter. Though most of these things can be found also in several plantar fasciitis sites on the net. 

Pain, ache and some woe

So I´ve suffered from plantar fasciitis since mid summer 2013. At least so it was diagnosed by 2 doctors and a physical therapist back then. The thing got started last year in the spring, when I started running as a hobby. To get fit, U know.

Turned out to bee such a mistake! My right heel and sole got sore, and plantar fasciitis seemed to fit the symptoms. Did I let it stop me from going to ballet classes though? Obviously not. I cut down the amount of walking and standing into minimum. Not easy with a job that is mostly done standing. And having a dog for that matter. But not ballet classes, though I mostly skipped all the little jump series and such that I noticed were not good for the leg.

So the lesson here is that exercising is not good for your health. So stop it. At least if you are me. And its not ballet. Raah, raah :D Just kidding.

But on the more serious note, for the past year I've tried stretching, several different types of exercises for the foot and legs, foam roller, ice treatment, non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (aka Burana) and the Strassburg Sock. And a lot of kinesio taping. And they have helped to keep the pain tolerable. Except, that since it been over an year, my head was starting to flip. I was cutting down my life, not going anywhere, because it would end up in with the leg hurting more. Actually ballet was the only thing I would not give up.

The pink tape is my favorite :D
Notice also the woolen sock... And yes this photo was taken in the summer

Few weeks ago I got a referral from a doctor to an other physiotherapist. One who is specialized in the problems of the lower limbs. Thats legs. Duh! Makes sense 'cos I had a leg problem. And things started to unravel... As some might have already guessed my problem wasn't in the plantar fascia. So don't be like me, and wait a year to see if things start to get better. Even if it is generally said that it often takes over an year for plantar fasciitis to heal. Go see an expert. It could something else.

To be continued...