Tues Run

Another routine run this mrn.  Running slightly slower today but all in all a good run.

1hrs 22mins, about 11+km.

____________________________________________________

Been having some backache and stiff shoulder for the past couple of weeks.  A gym instructress introduced me to one of the physiotherapists in Core Concepts and I finally went for a sports massage during lunch today.

Think I'm too used to the deep massage for the calves but oh man, the massage on my back and shoulders were something else.  Especially the shoulders.  He was saying they were very tight, can feel a big knot underneath my right shoulder.

But with all "torturing", I do feel much better (perhaps psychologically?) and my shoulders feel so much less stiff.

Hope I don't suffer too much from the after-effects of the massage tomorrow :P

Ankle Injury Talk

By invitation from kind soul T, I attended a talk on ankle injuries on Sat.

It was a small turnout at the Emmanuel Physiotherapy at Clifford Centre. The speaker, Mark, gave a very good presentation on the common running injuries starting with ankle injury. His talk was very informative including demonstrations on how to stretch & strengthen on target areas such as the ankle, quads, calves etc. The content is actually not new to me since I've been injured long enough, seen the physio countless times to know a lil about the subject matter. However, it serves as a good reminder about the importance of stretching and strengthening (something which I admit til today I don't do enough of! :P) and definitely brings me back to my CGH days when I had to endure the boring stretches in those hourly sessions..

The other speaker, Philip, also did a good job telling us about the various "laws" we runners or at least sports enthusiasts should follow. Amid the theories (almost felt like I'm in a lecture! :P) and graphs, his talk was peppered with interesting stories to drill home the fact that we have to learn to build up gradually and not load up too quickly. Ever heard of the Milo & Cow story ? I didn't until Philip told us about it :)

I was actually keen to book an appointment to see the physiotherapist about my condition but instead he offered to analyse my gait there and then, at no charge! I initially declined coz there were many others there and I was pretty embarrassed about being "showcased"! With urging from the rest, I grit my teeth and "strutted" up and down across the room repeatedly while the therapists analysed my walking gait and they gave the following observations. (The physio guy was speaking really fast and I had difficulty catching up, so I hope I remembered the correct things!)

• My left ankle is tilted at an angle (dunno outwards or inwards - think is outwards?). That is why when i run my tiabialis posterior (i think) has to overcompensate and hence my shin pain.
• This also contributed to my recent pain at the back of my ankle (soleus?). Think I need the resident SGRunners doc, Mr R, to help verify these .... hehehe
  
• My calve muscles are very very tight
• So are my ITB
• No problems with my hips (yay!!)

So he told me to do more massaging of my ankles and calves at home to loosen them. So all the above consultation, without paying a single cent. He said there is no need to pay to get sports massage when I can do it at home using a metal rod (he got his from Ikea he claimed) :P

Anyway, this guy seems very experienced and knows what he is talking about (ok, but who am i to judge?). I shall heed his advices since anyway there is no harm in doing those stretches. Ok, I must find time to stretch stretch stretch!

Looking fwd to the next talk.

Physio 10

Yes, today is my 10th physio session. Really questioning why I'm going still ...

Anyway, saw the physiotherapist, updated her about my running mileage, my pain etc. She also enquired about what other activities I did etc just to find out more about what could have contributed to my pain. She couldn't find a pattern but after seeing the mileage that I run, she said that i increased my mileage too fast (from 1.X km to 3km) and that spinning might also contribute blah blah.
She said the only way is to start from ground zero, and slowly "load" (either increase speed or time but not both) so that we can ascertain what could be the contributing factor. I told her point blank (politely of course) that I'm not keen to start all over again from scratch. She said its up to me and that that was what she suggested and she understands how I feel, but her wish is for me to get better.

Getting better is obviously my biggest wish too, but sometimes, we just have to balance between getting better with some reasonal amount of activity, and getting better conservatively. I think I will choose the former. I have opted for the latter for the past few months and yes, it helps but not totally. Anyway, I hear what she said and I will be more careful and also establish a proper pattern in my running mileage. She agreed that I need not go and see her coz I can record and monitor on my own. She said she wouldn't discharge me but will put my session as an open-date which I was fine with.

Next up, appointment with the sports doc. Judging from the x-ray he said that my bone is better and healing (HOORAY!) and that the current mild pain that I feel (he did some examination of both my legs, finding out where it hurts when he pressed down lightly) is probably the actual shin pain. I also briefly repeated what I mentioned to the physiotherapist. He did some assessment and decided to observe my running gait again. Lots of things he said but I shall not try to repeat them here (coz I oso can't remember liao). Anyway, gist of it is:

1. My ankle /calf lacks the flexibility and hence i wasn't able to bend my ankle far enough to form a 90 degrees angle without much of a force. What this means is that I am not able to run i think efficiently or properly lah .. dunno what.
   
2. My adductors are not strong and hence when I run, my knees tend to move inwards thus making my knock knees problem more pronounced. Considering that women are built with wider hips, so my problem seems more acute that my knees sometimes brush against each other when I run, especially when I'm tired.
3. So doc suggested stretching of my adductors and lots and lots of stretching on my calf to ensure i can do (1). I thick-skinly asked him how to stretch my adductors (coz he sound like I ought to know), then he was shocked to learn that he has not shown me the 5 stretching for runners. So here they are:-
• Calf & Deep-calf stretch - (Calf Stretch) To stretch your calf, stand a little way from a solid support and lean on it with your palms. Bend one leg and place your foot on the ground in front of you, leaving the other leg straight behind you. Slowly move your hips forward until you feel a stretch in the calf of your straight leg. Be sure to keep the heel of the foot of the straight leg on the ground and your toes pointed straight ahead. Hold an easy stretch for 30 seconds. Do not bounce.
  Stretch other leg.
  (Deep-calf stretch) - In the same position as the calf stretch, shift your weight farther onto your back leg and bend your back knee until you feel your heel wanting to raise off the floor. (Keep your heel on the floor, though.) You should feel the stretch in your Achilles tendon.




• Quadricep Stretch - Hold left foot with your left hand and gently pull your heel towards your backside, keeping the rest of the body straight. Feel the stretch in the quadriceps (thigh) muscles. Repeat with the other side.






• Hamstring stretch - From a standing position, put one foot on a chair. While keeping this foot flat, slowly straighten this knee until you feel a stretch. To increase the stretch, slowly lean forward from the waist while keeping your back straight and chest out.



• Adductor Stretch - Seated, put the soles of your feet together. With your elbows on the inside of your knees, gradually lean forward and gently press your knees toward the ground.


• ITB Stretch - with left hand on the wall, left leg straight and left hip towards the wall, slow lean towards the wall and lift the right leg and place it in front of the left to lend support.
  According to Runner's World, this is the best ITB stretch in the world. But this isn't the one that my doc demonstrated to me though.
  


(pictures plugged from here)

4. To consciously run with the knees facing outwards (have to stretch out the adductor muscles so that the knees can do that)
   

Doctor said that he will keep the follow-up session as an open-date (HOORAY!!!) and wished me good luck.

Physio 9

After 3 weeks break, finally went for my follow-up physio session. Initially wanted to reschedule so that I can coincide both the doc's appointment with my physio session, but wasn't able to book a slot.

Since took half day leave, must fully utilise it ... target to do a swim and then head to vivocity to window shop a bit before heading to the hospital. Anyway, to cut the story short, didn't have time to do both so only did one - swim. Practised my swim, still very breathless and tense. Need more practice!!! And its funny how people around me were swimming leisurely and yet so much faster than me!!! They covered two laps while I was still struggling with my one lap! So embarrassing! But i kept reminding myself that its alright, that I'm just learning :P But its good to be able to relax by the pool while everyone left the pool to return to work ... so I was able to enjoy the pool all by myself for a little while ... nice :)

Physio session - as usual. Told her now I'm having right shin pain. She did some assessment and found that my right leg is now weaker than my left *FAINT* and that when I do my one-leg stand, my right ankle now wobbles more than my left *FAINTx2* haiz .... I dunno what to say about myself ... and she noticed that my knees tilt inwards each time I do my one-leg bend. So many problems hor ? So anyway, I will have to resume my one-leg stand exercises and she also prescribed me hip strengthening exercises. This would mean I have to be more disciplined and do these exercises more religiously. Will I ? Frankly, knowing myself. Answer is No. Yes, so who can I blame that I'm not recovering well ? :P

Did my run on the treadmill and she said she noticed my left foot kicks out more obviously than my right. I told her the doctor mentioned this in his very initial assessment of my running ! -_-" aiyo ... is this therapist for real ?? Anyway Darek also came over to ask me about my progress and asked what I did to be better. I said "Nothing. Just rest". Think everyone is as puzzled ?

Physiotherapist commented that my calves were very tight, warned me to be mindful. I hence requested for deep tissue massage. So after my hip exercises, one of the trainers helped to massage my RIGHT calf. Yes, right. Coz now the therapist found my right calf just as tight -_-" Wah! I'm definitely not used to be massaged on my right!!! The pressure he placed was unbearable that I had to stop him several times! Torture!!!!

I was wincing in pain with every step while making my way to the shower and heading to the counter to make payment :P and only felt the muscles loosening after the short walk to the train station (waited a good 10 mins for the shuttle bus only to find that it was packed and some people just thick-skinnedly jumped queue and board the bus! so gave up the wait)

Maybe one of my Feb goals is to tell myself to be religious in doing the hip & ankle strengthening exercies.

Physio 8

Just checked my blog entries. My last physio session was 20 Dec. So it has been a good 3 weeks since my last physio.

Was raining on and off the whole morning and it decided to get heavier by the time i was travelling to Simei. Well, as the physiotherapist said 3 weeks ago, they couldn't find anything particularly wrong with me, not with my running gait, nor my physical body. Hence, she did a re-assessment of my body from my feet all the way to my hip area. Just to see what she could have missed out the first time round. She noticed that my right hip tend to over compensate (for my weaker left ankle/leg) by tilting upwards when i do one-leg bends. That might potentially be a reason for my problem, but she couldn't be certain. Apart from that nothing much.

So I went on the treadmill to start a 1.2km SLOW (at 8km/hour) run as instructed by the doctor the last time I saw him (to start on the run after 1 more month of rest). I felt awkward, almost like an elephant running !!! :( Not a good feeling but still, I'm just glad I'm at least starting to run a little again, albeit slow and extremely pathetic distances!! I think I must be doing badly that one trainer actually came over to ask me whether I was alright! -_-"

As I ran, my physio came over to observe briefly my running gait. Both of us noticed that somehow my knees are nearer when I run now!!! *HORRORS* You mean my knock knees problem is worsening ???!!! *panic*

She asked whether there are any pains when I run, and thankfully there were none. So she just left me to my running and said that we will meet up 2 weeks from now. To give her time to read up more about what could have caused my problem, and to give me time to train under my doc's instructions and to report on my condition & progress thereafter.

So I just finished up my run, did another 1.2km walk (sian sian sian!!!) and ended my physio session.

First time my physio session cost so little! Less than $20!!! Almost fell off my chair haha :P But its good to see the friendly trainers again.

One good thing that came out of this session is that I met Tekko at the gym. He was also there for his physio session and was religiously doing his reps. We chatted a bit before we continued with our own workouts. We ended our respective sessions at about the same time and we headed to the soya bean / snack shop beside the clinic for some drinks & chit chat. Good to catch up with Tekko! Haven't seen him for a while already. Thanks to Tekko for his advices (not to run too much -_-", to cross-train etc.) and also VERY glad that Tekko is coming back strong after his surgery barely 5 months ago! Well, of course his hard work & determination paid off. Tekko told me that he worked out 6 days a week and no matter how busy (or sian) he is, he would still religiously do his workouts daily. WOW!!!! *kow tow* I'm such a SLACKER compared to him :P

Ok, let's see how things go ba for the next 2 weeks .... there are people who were surprised that I actually returned to see the physio :P Thought I gave up already ... yeah ... I'm about to ... see how ba ....

Physio 7

After 24 hours of rain, woke up to a super cool and refreshing morning.

As like any other wed morning, made my way to CGH for my physio session. Already mentally prepared to tell my physio that I will give this physio session a break next week and probably re-start the week after (as I'll be on leave anyway).

Wanted to go earlier so that I can have a proper workout (40mins on the elliptical trainer) but got out of the house late as I was chatting with my family. Only managed to do 20 mins on the trainer before my number was called. Went in to see the physio, she apologised that they (she consulted her senior as well) could not find the root cause of my pain. That they couldn't determine where my problem was and all they can do for me now is via the method of elimination - i.e. to eliminate which part of my leg could be the cause (via taping). She said that it would be a very long process just to eliminate one by one the possible cause and we just have to be patient .... -_-"

She started me off my stretching. Plan was to tape one part of my leg then start me on running after my stretching. While I was doing my stretching, she came to me saying that she just spoke to my doc and doc said since I'm not having any pain right now, to let it rest first. So no taping, no running for now.... come back again when I'm rested enough and ready to try a run (which is about 3 weeks from now)

So for now, just continue with my elliptical training, my stretching (she said my calf is still very very tight! she spent quite a while just massaging my calf today - yipppeee!) and to return to see her 2nd week of Jan.

Wow! I got more than I bargained for! Was getting very sian of going physio every week and not seeing results. Just when I'm about to give up Heavens give me a reprieve haha ... but yeah, sadly, still can't run. I think I will be a good patient, be patient too, and not run for now. Geez, by Jan, it would mean I have laid off running for 3 months!!! Its crazy !!!! :(

Anyway, so I guess I better rely on myself for now ... do my elliptical, start my swim lessons (once I find an instructor) and do my stretching EVERYDAY ...

Physio 6

Too sian to write an account for my physio session #6.

In short, doctor asked me to lay off for another 3, preferably 4 weeks before I try to run.

When I run, will be to start with a 1.2km run followed by 1.2km briskwalk on the treadmill.

Physiotherapists (both Derek and my original one) spent time analysing my running gait and couldn't find anything particularly wrong. Both are baffled by my condition. Original physio said she needs to think about my condition more. I got off the physio without having to do any of those silly balancing acts or strengthening exercises. That, to me, is the BEST thing that happened for my physio session #6 :P

Every week I feel like giving up going back to CGH, but every week I dragged myself there, telling myself "Maybe, today is the day I can see some light at the end of the tunnel". I just don't believe that I've already rested for almost 2 months and I'm still not well! Find that totally unacceptable. Is this a waste of my time (and annual leave) ? I'm really tempted to give up...

Let's see whether I go for physio session #7....

Physio 5

I have been so busy last week what with my courses from Mon-Thur totally threw my schedule off course, that I just didn't have time to go for my physio session. Since some of the marathoners predicted that they would be pai kah post SCSM and planned to take leave/off on Monday, I decided to follow suit and arranged to go for my physio on Monday.

The arrangement to go for my physio on Monday wasn't without its difficulties too. I called up several times to reach my physio, had to ask her for alternate arrangement as I was in pain and didn't think it wise to go without physio for 2 long weeks (since I was busy whole of last week, and she would be away the following). I guessed my desperation permeated through the analog cables and she agreed to get someone else to see me. However, she failed to call me back and I had to repeatedly call her to check on the status. She was actually unable to secure me a slot with her boss nor any of her peers and hence told me to come "before 8:30am on Monday morning" so that one of her colleagues who were available then could see me first thing in the morning. Mine wasn't an appointment and hence it wasn't recorded in the system and I guessed I basically had to try my luck. She reassured me though that she had informed the counter staff and her colleagues to expect me on Monday morning.

So dutifully I reached CGH 5 mins before the clinic opened and politely explained to the counter staff that I was there to see a physio. Blank stare ... "XXX is on leave whole of this week" she said. Again I tried. Explained to her that she had told me to come early to see another physio, whoever is available. She came back minutes later, to tell me that NONE of her physio is available. They would only be in at 9am -_-" hmmm ... mis-communication again ? Anyway, beggars can't be choosers I suppose ? I was told by sources that the physiotherapist actually need not do me the favour to make alternative arrangements to see another physio, and that she could have just easily said No to my request to see someone else. So putting all these factors in, I am just glad she helped me to secure a session with one of her colleagues. :)

So anyhow, I started my warm-up while waiting for my appointment. My sports doc happened to be at the gym and was kind and concerned enough to stop by and asked how I was doing. Updated him my condition, he sat me down, and went through once again where the pain locales were. He found it atypical that I didn't feel the pain at the areas where (it used to hurt) it hurts when I run, but I felt the pain further up my shin. Anyhow, summary of the conversation was that if I feel the pain even when I walk, it is likely due to some stress injury and he suggested I lay off running completely for about 3 months. What choice do I have anyway, could just nod. Doctors are doctors, they really have excellent memory! He remembered that I was actually planning for the KL pacesetters in Jan and he said it would not be wise to take part, especially when it would be too fast a jump in distance. Anyway, I told him I'm already not counting on that and I understood that I wouldn't be running. Awww well, what to do rite ?

Then I went to see the physio (Derek). I had to rewind the whole story and told him the history right from the very beginning. Its funny why everyone will ask me the reason why I run (or train). I'm always baffled. Eh, I run coz I like lor ? To them, they always assumed the answer is "marathon". I always had to correct them and say "nope, I'm only doing half". Think they must be thinking "this gal siao, doing half only run so much for wat ??" -_-" Anyway, Derek made me do one-leg stand on alternate legs REPEATEDLY for a VERY LONG time. He couldn't find anything particularly wrong (he said my balancing is "ok leh!"). The only difference he finally found was that my left toes tend to clamp up while my right toes were typically more relaxed. He suspected that might contributed to the pain as well. For the session, he went back to the basics and prescribed me some stationary lunges and balancing on the trampoline. Key focus for me was to ensure I re-wired my brain to not clamp up my left toes when I do one-leg stand, and for this habit to be applied even for running. It was tough going, doing 30 repetitions per exercise, each of 10s duration. My ankle was almost giving way from all the wobbling (i had weak ankles). I like this physio though. He is more hands-on, he makes the effort to come by periodically to check on my progress, what I was doing, to ensure I was doing the right thing! This is a far cry from my original physio who seldom comes out to check on me, and many times I was left wondering whether I was even doing the right thing!!! And he oso made the effort to explain to me WHY i was asked to do the various sets of exercises. Most importantly, he told me he wants to find out WHY i was having the pain!! YES!!! EXACTLY!!! As of now no one has been able to tell me WHY i was injured, just a few fluffy ideas / reasons but no root cause determined yet. So I was almost crying out "YES YES!!!" when he said he was trying to find out WHY. Also, he made the effort to look at the shoes I was wearing, and he was the ONLY one that found out I had some orthotics put into my cumulus. I also told him that I bought a pair of kayanos, and he wanted me to bring BOTH pairs of shoes in my next session, so that he could take a look at them (together with my original physio). If the first session is anything to go by, I would really much prefer this physio to my original one. I see that he is at least more determined to help me solve my problem. Let's see how ... if I have a chance to assess him again, and he proved to be a better physio (in my opinion only), I will request for a switch. Not sure whether CGH will allow though, I think it would not be fair ? And CGH also would not want to entertain such requests ? Well, lets see how ...

Derek also wanted to assess my running gait and so put me on the treadmill. Unfortunately I was in pain and hence could not run for long, he requested for a short run of 2 mins for him to observe my gait. We ended with a deep friction massage by this trainer. He was very candid, asking me whether I ran the marathon the day before (DUH!!!! -_-") and was asking me about my previous mileage and the frequency of my runs. He said I must have sufficient rest breaks in between (say taking a week off every month etc.) and that I have to cross train! Ok ok ... anyway, his message is the same as everyone else. Lay off for now. Do something else to maintain the cardio ... yes yes ... I hear it ...

Total time spent in the gym : 2hrs 30+mins ...

What a long session ... thankfully I'm on leave, else it will be such a rush ...

Physio 4 & Doc Followup

My 4th session with physio. Told her I'm not feeling good. My shin hurts and I feel calf pain even when I was on elliptical trainer on Monday. What is going on ? She asked me many questions such as:

• Is the pain more acute after the strengthening exercises?
  
• Did it get more painful after my run in new shoes (i didn't run -_-")? after wearing heels ?
  

She wanted me to monitor or to be more conscious about what I was doing prior to the pain. Ok, will try to take note.

Did the same old sets of strengthening exercises and again deep tissue massage. This time round done by my trainer. Wah, I could feel him using his elbow to massage my calf! I was like just gritting my teeth, burying my face into my arms and screamed (of course I was on mute lah :P). My trainer got a scare when he thought I was crying and asked with concern "You crying ah????" Think he really got worried there ... haha ... aiyo, of coz I wouldn't cry over this rite ? Its painful no doubt, but in a sadistic way, it actually feels damn shiok! :P

The timing was impeccable. My appointment number (to see the sports doc) flashed on the LED once my trainer was done with the massage. Perfect! So I went to see the sports doc (Dr. Jason Chia) and told him the same thing about my shin pain, my NOT running since the last time I saw him. He seemed concerned enough and agreed that I should get another X-ray done. Well, results of x-ray didn't show anything different from 3 weeks ago (that should be a relief!). Since an x-ray is unable to show whether there are fractures, only that there are small "lumps" at the side of the big bone, which might be an indication of stress injury or fractures etc. The shin pain might also be brought on by the muscle stress around the bone area. With so many possibilities (and short of going for a bone scan or MRI), the doctor suggested deep friction (or what I thought was deep tissue massage). This doctor is pretty hands on, brought me back to see the physio and told her to administer deep friction on my shin area. Prior to that though he wanted to do a gait analysis on my running. So off we went to the treadmill where his staff set up the video cam and stuff and got me to do some running. I could feel the pain with every heel strike (didn't notice until Dr. Chia asked me when I felt the pain, push-off or heel-strike)

From his observation of my walking & running, he said I might not pronating enough. Wah lau, sometimes I'm pronating outwards, sometimes not enough. What is this ?? Don't get me wrong, I'm not saying Dr is not good, i'm just saying why analysis by different docs always give such varying observations ? Very the confused ...

Anyway, ended the session with the deep friction of my shin - specially by the physio. Typically it would be administered by one of the trainers, but the physio had to do it herself because she said she will have to report back to Dr. Chia. Wah seh, not bad hor ? So I had 2 deep friction massages in one morning. I jokingly told my physio that I'm being tortured TWICE in one morning, and that why didn't they consider GA for patients that have to undergo such pain :P
Well, silly me. She explained that they will need to obtain feedback from the patient to ensure they don't injure the muscles and cause bleeding in the course of the massage.

Well, so for now, I have to monitor how I feel. When does my shin hurts, whether my shin feels better after the deep friction (I feel better today).

So well, SCSM is definitely out for me. I have mentioned about the KL pacesetters to both Dr. Chia & physio. Physio doesn't seem that optimistic, and frankly, me neither. Well, just have to pray for the best, hope (oops, thanks to Roentgen for pointing out my little boo boo :P) prepare for the worst.

What to do ? Such is life .. you don't often get what you want.

Physio 3

Getting a bit sian to go for my physio session. Yeah i know, its just the third session, i shouldn't be expecting a miracle. But just that I wonder how long am I suppose to keep up with this weekly routine of stretching & strengthening. Granted I'm not walking with a limp, but ... u know what i mean ...

Anyway, got there and the staff did not find my appointment in their system. Already not very happy about being there, IRRITATION sets in. Asked me whether it was a manual appointment, which i have absolutely no idea what that means. I told her all my appointments were made the week before, on the spot, after my physio. A few more questions later from her, she sensed my growing irritation and managed to get me a number. Went in to see the physio, who was saying she normally doesn't schedule patients at 3pm because that is normally a very busy time (anyway my session was at 4pm!) and that she was very busy now. So was telling me to do warm up, stretching etc. and sent me off.

Dutifully stepped onto the elliptical trainer and did my 15 mins warmup, during which i met a familiar face - Tekko! Wah! felt much better just seeing a familiar face in the gym (hoorah!), took a while before he finally saw me. We chatted for a good 5 mins I think before i finished up with my warm up and he continued with his stretching etc.

Went back to see my physio, my balancing is much better than last week (of course lah, I forced myself to practice one-leg stand on cushion at home several times the past week) but because of my only practicing on my left leg (she didn't say need to practice my right?), I could stand on my left longer than on my right -_-". But still, my one-leg stand is VEry wobbly. Still not a good sign. But seriously, can everyone stand on one leg (with eyes closed mind you) and not hobble around or shake ?? A little tidbit of information for you: Do you know it is more difficult to stand on one leg with your eyes closed than with them open ? Maybe I'm just so lacking in general knowledge (or common sense? :P) but I didn't know that until I was told to do it. Apparently eyesight contributes to your balancing. With your eyes open, it helps you to correct & balance and when you close them, you actually lose one of these senses to help u to balance and you are forced to rely on your body for the balancing. Interesting huh ?

Anyway, I told my physio about my pains due to my short run on Sunday, and also asked where are we heading in these sessions. Yes, according to her I'm better, but I'm STILL NOT ABLE TO RUN (of course I didn't shout at her lah, am just stating my point clearly here :P). She said I still need to work on my strengthening without which I will still have all these problems. Several things that she mentioned (which I'm using this opportunity to jot down more for my own sake before I forget about them :P):

• She checked my Kayanos and found the soles too stiff. That could be due to them being new and need to be broken into. So she said my running in my new shoes & with all the current problems that I'm having may have caused my pain on Sunday too.
• Once I'm able to balance (one-leg stand) for a good one minute for each leg, i can then progress to do agility work (lateral jumps, hops etc.). That will take another 2 sessions.
• She asked me to hop on one leg and my left shin hurts. So no go for the agility work for now :(
• I complained about my calf pain and she found many "knotty" (i suppose that's what she meant?) muscles when she massaged on both my legs. Really quite a number. Asked her why I got those and she said it is due to problems like my weak ankles. Thus although I can go for periodic deep tissue massage to release these "knotty" muscles, I wouldn't be solving the root cause.

So off she sent me for more stretching and balancing works and did these with increasing frustration:

• one-leg stand on BOSU ball (4 exercises : with eyes looking up, then down, then closed, then closed with swinging arms). Each exercise is to be done for 30 seconds (my one-leg stand on the ball could hardly last 3 secs!!! so you can imagine my frustration), 4 sets per exercise.
  
• one-leg stand on tampoline (2 exercies: with eyes closed, with eyes closed and swinging arms). Same thing, 30 seconds and 4 sets per exercise. This is slightly easier than the BOSU ball which is more wobbly.
• Lunges with a 9lb bodybar. 1 lap along the track outside the gym.
  
• P-squats with a 9lb bodybar. 1 lap along the track outside the gym.
  
• Hip Flex, Abductor, Adductor, Extension. 10lbs, 4 sets of 15 repetitions each. Very difficult and very boring. At this point I was getting VERy frustrated and closed to giving up! The trainer came by several times to ask how I was doing and I could only smile at him with this really pained face. Physio came over close to 6pm (think is to check how much longer I have) to ask how I am and I could only smiled & said "VERY Tired!!" Seriously, I'm really sian about doing all these exercises. I used to dread doing them when I go to the gym, and that's why I run ? And now I'm forced to do them coz of my run ? A little ironical isn't it ??? ARGHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH I was so frustrated I was so close to screaming
  

I was suppose to do some other stretching but I decided to just skip them as it was getting late, people were all packing up and I basically just didn't have the motivation to carry on. Of course, I dared to skip those because physio also told me that those exercises are not the "die-die-must-do" ones. Haha, so I ate snake, went back to her and asked whether I will still get my massage (she said she will prescribe!) and she said "oh yah!". And since it was after office hours, she had no choice but to do it on her own. Wah! The massage is PAINFUL but SHIOK! As she found those knotty muscles and massaged on them, sometimes pressing on them really hard (she is a very petite lady and I actually felt her whole body on the bed so as to transfer more energy into the massage *faint*). I was of course in lots of pain but she was very encouraging throughout. But with the massage, she said that it has once again been proven, that women has a higher threshold for pain. That if it were her other male patients, they would have been screaming in pain, but I wasn't even flinching. hahaa. ... I have heard about women having higher threshold for pain, but for men to scream ? Kinda difficult to imagine since that species typically has so much ego in them :P ooops, can almost hear protests from the men hahahhaha :P

Finally finished up my session, did a quick shower and left the gym at 6:30+pm. By then the trainers themselves have already changed and doing their own workout at the gym. Wah, so motivated bunch. Saw my trainer doing his workout and said a quick bye. Wah, no wonder he got such a good bod! (yup, did I mention he has a good physique? Too bad I'm not interested coz he likes bluetooth devices! hahahahahhahaha) :P

Physio & Other Musings ...

What's up lately ...

Physio
Went for my 2nd physio yesterday afternoon @ CGH.
Did lunges & p-squats (?) on the track. 1 lap each.
Then did some balancing acts on the trampoline. Suppose to do them on my last physio session but trainer missed them out accidentally *faint*
No wonder the physio was disappointed when she tested my balancing yesterday and noticed no improvement and gently reminded me to work on my exercises. Almost felt like a student being caught for not doing her homework *mutter mutter*

So this will be my weekly routine for now ... boss must be wondering why I keep taking leave .... thankfully we met in the lift this morning and I managed to find an opportune time to explain about my need to take leave frequently for now ...

Not very nice to be taking leave so often, especially when I'm new to the job ... and my first year appraisal is coming up real soon! *faint* .... what bad timing eh ?

Shoes
Ok, though I am not running, I ended up buying another pair of running shoes. Was mid-way blogging about my shoe-buying experience in RL ... but just didn't have the drive and motivation to finish blogging about it.

So will just briefly mention it here.

Went RL with the gang last Sunday as Divey wanted to buy a new pair of Cumulus. Was browsing there and chatted with one of the staff there. A very young guy who happened to be standing around so I started asking him on his opinions about shoes (needed Support shoes according to the CGH physio). We started talking, this guy (Simon) although young, seems to be very knowledgeable about certain injuries (those that he has lah - which is shin splints & knee problems). Simon was real nice, very patient in explaining to me about what shoes might be suitable for me etc.

Anyway, to keep the story short, I got myself a pair of Kayanos. I have no fantasy about it solving my problems, don't get me wrong. But I thought I would like to try on another pair of shoes that hopefully wouldn't aggravate my current situation. I tried on the Kayanos but the female version was too small for me, so ended up got to get the men's size :( (same as my Cumulus). So bade farewell to the cutsy girlie kayano, and out came the manly silvery blue Kayanos. Well, I have to admit that the silvery blue pair of kayanos holds no attraction to me especially when the first time I set my eyes on them was when this "old man" with super huge feet was wearing them :P But then, i realised that it actually looks kinda cute leh after trying on them .... so I concluded that the silvery blue kayanos look better on ME lah ! :P

As of now, I only managed to take the kayanos out for walks and a short run on the treadmill. Was told that the kayanos has some ankle support mechanism that will make it "mould" to the shape of the wearer's ankle after breaking into the shoes, making the shoes fit the ankle better. Let's hope it truly works and help provide some support for my weak left ankle.

That's basically my update for now ... more physio sessions coming up ... may also consult a sinseh (basically just trying whatever options presented to me ... ). Let's see how things go ...

Ok, am beat. TGIF! Going to zzz ...

SleepyAMMJazzy

My First Physio Session ...

Was limping a little even while walking, and my calves were tight. VEry tight.

Just out of my meeting after 6pm and received an sms from an angel. She has decided to go for her physio session since the haze was bad and she decided not to run (Well done gal for the discipline NOT to run in the haze!! U did the right thing!) This angel, by the name of Divey, has kindly asked her physio to "have a look" at my problems and he has kindly agreed. THANKS Divey for "jiao gor-ing" me !!

I thought long and hard whether to go (coz I already made prior arrangements with family to have dinner) and decided I better go have some professional opinion about my problems so had to make the difficult decision to fly my family aeroplane *sound of jet plane flew past*

Met this young physiotherapist (Leslie), who happens to be younger than me *faintz*, at his clinic. He observed and analysed my feet, the way I walk, I stand and even my shoes. He checked my legs by massaging and checking on where my pain points are. With these tests, he diagnosed that I have mild flat feet on my left foot!! I was like "huh???" but ... but ... but .... I have been told I have normal arch by 3 different people (2 podiatrists & 1 salesperson - the mizuno salesman that seem to know a lot about shoes ... )! Anyhow he patiently explained to me (with pictures some more!) my mild flat foot resulting in some tendon or something having to pull up the arch to support it, thus causing my shin pain. He reiterated that I have flat feet coz he said most flat footers have VEry big calves -__-". He repeated not less than twice. Inside me I was like "DO I HAVE VERY BIG CALVES???? REALLY :(((((" Anyway, several suggested methods to counter the pain I'm experiencing would be :

1. Taping - he showed me how to tape up my left foot before my runs
2. Orthotics - for my running shoes
   
3. Physio
4. Buy shoes with motion-control

At no point did he push me to go physio with him, no stress, no pressure, no hard-sell. Very cool guy. I wasn't sure what to believe anyway, and just didn't think there was any harm to try (what else could happen ? I already limping!) so i decided to just go ahead and have a physio session with him there and then. I have to really thank Divey for being with me and having her physio session delayed BECAUSE OF ME!! and also to thank Leslie for OT-ing just to see me. Super thankful to both of them.

So started the physio session, didn't know exactly what to expect just that it might be painful. Normally I will only try to press down on my shins occasionally to try and massage and dispel the pain. So was a little worried about the pain I'm subjecting myself to .. haha
To cut the whole thing short,
the pain ....
was ....
EXCRUCIATING
towards the end of the therapy when he was like using all his might to massage the shin area. I was like close to tears!!! Divey looked so worried seeing me wincing (sorry gal! :P) but I was just in too much pain to reassure her I'm actually fine hahahah

After the session, I realised I couldn't walk without limping even more and I was warned by both of them I might be even more sore the next day, and it might last for 24 hours (or in my case, even longer - Leslie disclaimed) -_-"
But seriously, my calves feel less tight after the massage. And today I feel alright enough (darn! no MC!!) to go to work. Albeit I have to walk a little slower, but in all I feel alright. Heng!

Next session with Leslie would be the following Wed.

I'm just glad when he said what I'm experiencing is "muscular". Muscular pains should be fine. Its when the pain is with the bones that I ought to be REAlly worried!

Just hope this ebb in my running will be over real soon. I miss being able to run normally without all these pain plaguing me.

Wish me luck!

LimpinJazzy