Friday - Bike/TM Pilates

[Guest guest]

Hi Everyone,

TGIF! Today I did the bike for 15 minutes/ TM for 30 (doing a rolling hills program for intensity - my trouble w/ the TM is to get my HR up I either need to do hills or increase speed - I'm going to ask the chiro what he recommends as being best for my back -speed or hills....) Afterward, I did Kathy 's Pilates for Lower Body. Kathy does a super job with this one with good cueing, a calm demeanor and a nice choice of exercises (some non-Pilates exercises are tossed in as well), otherwise it is the standard Pilates leg work that you see in most PIlates workouts.

I know you all are sick of hearing about my back - but can I talk for awhile? Yesterday at the chiro he explained that the muscles on my right side are "bunched up" (shortened, I guess) so that the right side of my back is more prominent. The weird thing is that it has always been my left side that has given me discomfort - anyone know why? (or can anyone recommend a good website, book or other material that has a good layman's explanation of what I think are muscle imbalances??) I"m really interested in finding a way to fix the imbalances, both w/"professional care" such as w/ a chiro or PT, etc., and at home on my own. I know I drive my chiro crazy w/ the questions - yesterday he asked if I wanted his textbooks (I said yes, but he didn't give them to me!) Which brings me around to my other dilemma w/ him - I like him for small talk and I think the treatments he has done have made a difference and he has given me

a greater awareness of what is going on with my back, but I don't like that he seems impatient with my questions. I know that is a bad relationship issue as I should be able to ask questions and not feel like I"m annoying him. The dilemma is that his office is very conveniently located and that makes me more willing and able to stick with the treatment - I know I can find another practitioner, but the lack of convenience, etc, may make me less willing and able to go. So...what to do? I guess I can keep hammering him with the questions or maybe I can propose a truce - I'll ask questions for the first half of the visit, then we can make small talk for the second half. I seriously would like to educate myself as much as possible - I have zero background in anything medical so my questions and understanding (or lack thereof) may be annoying to a professional, but I still feel they should make an effort to accomodate

questions and talk about what the patient wants to talk about during the appointment. I would also like more ideas on what I can do on my own and in my daily life to correct the issues - I don't want to go to him for the "answer" I want to do a measure of self-care and self-correction as well. For instance, if my right side is more bunched up/shortened - all these years I've been focusing on stretching the left side b/c that is where the discomfort is - has that been wrong? Has that exacerabated the problem?

Sorry to ramble!

Take care,

Donna