# I tweaked my groin.



## Flea (Aug 5, 2011)

And no, that's not a dirty joke so wipe that smirk off your face.  :uhyeah:

What can I say?  I got leg-swept.  Someone in my group _loves_ leg sweeps and he's very good at it.  It could be a hell of a lot worse; I just hyper-extended one tendon, but the pain has radiated toward my knee and my cheek.  I took it to the doctor this morning and she said I should be ready to work out again in 2-4 weeks.

That, of course, and the ice packs and ibuprofen.  I'm taking that component seriously.  The biggest nuisance for me in this is that I'm not sure how to exercise in the meantime.  My default is long walks, situps, and squats.  Those are all out for the time being, but I _need_ some kind of activity.  Any suggestions from other groin-tweakers who've been through this?


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## Stealthy (Aug 5, 2011)

Lay off the horse stance for a while:whip1:


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## Buka (Aug 5, 2011)

Hi, Flea, I work in a physical therapy unit, and just had a couple groin pulls in this afternoon.  You have to be careful for a while. Probably best to give it a few days before starting anything. When you do start to gently exercise - heat the area first with something. Then, lie down on your back, bend the knee of the affected side and put your foot slightly up towards your butt. Let that bent knee fall out to the side but support it with a couple pillows (or something) underneath it. Set a timer for ten minutes or so. Depending on the severity of the pull you might want to chill out from there, and maybe ice it right after. 

When you're ready to do a little more (maybe right then, maybe a week later, I don't know) you might want to try this. Get a theraband - or any of those rubber tubing/belts of the least resistant color (they come in colors for their tensile resistance) and tie it in a loop. Lie on your back, bend your knees (up) and place it around your knees. Gently open your knees, slightly fighting the resistance. How far and how hard depends, so approach it smartly. Do so ten times the first time around. Then, while on your back, legs flat, you want to work the opposite way. Have somebody (standing beside you) take the loop (it's off your knees now) and hook it around the foot of the affected leg. Open your feet apart, have your partner pull the slack, then gently force your feet closed. Don't strain while doing this, you do it gently. Ten times.

Increase slowly over the next week. As it heals, increase the sets and the resistance  (baby steps) Move the abduction (legs opening) resistance down by hooking the loop around your feet instead of your knees. Open gently. Easy does it.
Gentle stretching of all the major muscles in the lower body/back will probably help as part of the program as well. Just go easy. Best of luck.


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## jks9199 (Aug 5, 2011)

It may depend on just what set of tendons/muscles you've injured, but if you can physically walk -- do it.  I'm not particularly familiar with Systema's drills & exercises, but you can probably also LIGHTLY practice some of them, or focus on moving slowly but properly.  For example, I've got a bunch of stepping and weight shift drills that aren't very strenuous; they're all about moving properly, not fast or hard or strong.


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## Flea (Sep 9, 2011)

Nearly a month and a half after the fact I finally got smart and went to a physical therapist.  I'm really glad I did, because this thing is worse than I thought.  I thought I was done with the limping, but she said it was still there.  I showed her a printout of exercises my GP had given me, and she said they were _way_ too far over the top for the level of my injury.  She gave me a new routine, which will take me back to health in very slow micro-increments.

So that's good news.  The not-so-good news is that I don't think I'll be able to go to a particular seminar next month.  It's five full days, six hours a day (o _glorious_ excess! :fanboy and I've been drooling over it since I first saw it advertised last year.  The PT gently implied that I won't be in shape by then, even for a single day of regular training.  I called up the seminar teacher and he gently implied that I should wait until next time.

I just hate this feeling of being grounded.  It feels very claustrophobic to get no exercise, and I keep "cheating" and re-injuring myself.  Most of my hobbies are really physical - MA, hiking, biking, tango. Being a bus commuter has made this especially challenging because I must walk at least a couple blocks to get anywhere.  No wonder I'm still hurting after six weeks.


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## Sukerkin (Sep 9, 2011)

I feel your mental pain, Flea.  With my injuries it's been something like two months since I've been able to train {considering I can barely walk or lift my right arm that is hardly surprising :lol:}.  It is deeply frustrating but I find it best, as when I packed in smoking, to consider it a test of my will.  At least that helps me cast it in a constructive light .

Unfortunately, the 'steel zen' that is my Iai is part of what helps me deal with the general day to day stresses, so I've gotten a lot more grumpy of late .


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## Flea (Sep 9, 2011)

That, and the dolt who leg-swept me is the same dolt who insulted me on Facebook last week ...

:dalek:   :dalek:   :dalek:


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## Flea (Dec 5, 2011)

It's been four months now, and it still hasn't gone anywhere.  I've been limping around painfully since July. Some of my clients have taken to calling me Gimpy.  I did two months of physical therapy which helped to a point.  Then I hit a plateau with that, and the PT threw up her hands and referred me for an MRI.

I just got the results back from that and it showed absolutely nothing.

This is great news!  It can only mean that I've magically been cured as of last week when they ran the test.  Let's hear it for the miracles of modern science!  Now if you'll excuse me, I think I'll go jogging.


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## Flea (Dec 8, 2011)

My doctor was kind enough to call me this morning for a followup.  She was very gracious and kind, and offered to send me back to the same PT for more work even though the PT already said she couldn't help me.

"So in other words, you can't help me?"

No, she said.  She could write me a rx for pain killers.

If I had cancer or something I'd be all over that.  But I know from experience that all painkillers do is make me stupid.  I'm still in exactly the same amount and quality of pain, I just don't care.  Which usually means that I'm in no shape to do things like drive or carry on a cogent conversation either.  No thanks.  

So for all intents and purposes I'm at the end of the road with this.  I took her up on her offer of more PT on the philosophy that it's better to do _something_ than nothing at all.  I don't think the PT will be all that thrilled to see me again.  But the status quo is completely unacceptable - it's to the point that I'm visibly limping everywhere.  It's painful to walk at all.  I've not only lost all the physical outlets for my stress, but the social outlets too with the hiking club, the dances, and of course the MA.  

So now I'm looking at alternative treatments.  I have the number of a good Rolfer, for one thing.  And a good chiropractor. I'm trying to clean up my diet (not easy as I'm getting more stressed by the day!) I'm trying to drink lots of water, but I find the winter weather dampens my enthusiasm for it.  Can anyone offer me some other suggestions please?


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## decepticon (Dec 8, 2011)

Be careful about going to a Rolfer. That can be some very deep work and depending on what is going on, could exacerbate the problem. I used to be a licensed massage therapist and based on my experience, I would suggest you consider first seeking a therapist with neuromuscular therapy or myofascial therapy training, unless you really know the Rolfer well and trust that they have extensive experience working with acute injury problems. Your chiropractor might have such a therapist working in their office. Of course, every practitioner is different, but I have known some Rolfers in the past who worked deep just for the bragging rights of being the most intense bodywork in town - regardless of whether it actually helped the patient. Talk to other patients if you can, to see where your person stacks up. Sorry to say, but in bodywork, pain does not automatically equal gain.

One thing you might want to consider is whether your limp is caused by restriction, by pain, or by things just not working right any more. Because different problems can cause each condition and would require different treatments to resolve them. MRI's are great but are not fool proof and can miss some soft tissue problems - so don't assume that just because it didn't show anything definitive, that there isn't a problem.

Pay attention to when and how the leg feels, so you can provide the maximum amount of feedback to your therapist. Does it only happen when you move your leg a certain way or is it constant? Only with weight bearing? Does the feeling seem more like a sharp, quick stabbing pain (kind of like a Charley Horse) or is it a dull ache, burning, or "electric shock" type of sensation? Does it wake you in the night? Is it better or worse when you first get out of bed in the morning? The answers to all these things can help your therapist determine which specific muscles are involved and what is going on with them (tears, contraction, nerve involvement, tendons or main portion of the muscle, etc.)


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## Flea (Dec 8, 2011)

Thanks for all the wisdom!

For what it's worth, it's pretty constant but the intensity varies a bit from day to day.  It's a steady burn. It hurts the worst when I walk, especially at the initial moment when I move the affected leg forward.  On my worst days that becomes a restricted motion thing too. I also can't sit with my legs crossed (either leg) or do much external rotation with the affected leg.  

I'm hellbent that this *WILL NOT* be a permanent thing, but I'm getting nervous as I'm running out of ideas.


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## jks9199 (Dec 8, 2011)

I'd suggest going to another doctor.  There's obviously something there, and obviously PT isn't getting it.  Do you have the option of seeing a sports medicine doc rather than a GP?


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## Flea (Dec 9, 2011)

That's not a bad idea!  It's a small town so my options are somewhat limited, but I'd even be willing to consider someone else at the same practice.  

Transportation is a big issue for me under the circumstances; as a bus commuter I can't help but walk at least 3-4 blocks per day, and my border collie sees to it that I get way more than that.  This practice is beautifully located along bus lines.  But I'm sure I can find others.


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