Physical therapy

So, Physical Therapy. Yep, just one sentence with two words. Physical Therapy. It's what I've been doing twice a week for a few weeks now. I had some pretty bad shin splints in my left leg and then the pain radiated around to my calf. Once the pain was so much I couldn't run, I gave in and started visiting the friendly confines of Maximum Performance Physical Therapy on a regular basis (I already visit on a regular basis for the fitness portion!).

The diagnosis was a raging case of tendinitis in my calf and some shin splints. The shin splints healed rather quickly once I stopped running. We're still working on that left calf, but it's improving.

I get to stand on a wobble board similar to the one below on one leg and do balance exercises. Front to back 15 times. Left to right 15 times. Rotate clockwise 15 times. Rotate counter-clockwise 15 times. On both legs. 3 sets each. Apparently I need some work in the balance area.
Next up is some one leg balance work on the BOSU or some other wobbly surface.

And then more one leg balance work on a balance beam. But not a regular balance beam. Not, this fun little number is made of foam and stays on the floor because you wobble all over the place. Let me tell you, my wobble skills are MONEY after all this work.

And after I do all my exercises, I get a little massage, ice and ultrasound to finish up and get that healing started. I'm starting to really dig the ice and ultrasound with my friends Jenny and Trebor, but the massage really isn't that pleasant. This is why my calf looked like on Monday after a particularly strenuous massage courtesy of a physical therapist who shall remain anonymous. Needless to say, he put a little "oomph" in getting out all the knots along my calf muscle.

Every little red spot is a bump in my muscle. That's not really a good thing since it's supposed to be long and smooth. Hmmm, Houston, we have a problem.

But, fear not. While the picture looks bad, the massage only hurt while in progress and afterwards I felt great. The calf pain is non-existent except for those massage sessions, so the leg is healing. I got clearance to run a whopping half mile this week and I did it with no pain. I'm hoping they'll let me do a full mile next week.

Moral of the Story: Stretch your calves and when you hurt, go see your friends at Maximum Performance.