Hip Hip Hooray!

There is a girl in my adjacent office, named Dawn.  She is in her early 30's and had had no less than 3 hip surgeries in less than 2 years.  You see Dawn used to model, a perfect size 0, and after her hip was torn she gained a bit of weight.  Before the hip was properly healed, Dawn, out of frustration and self-disgust (disguised in her own mind as self-determination), decided to take up running as a way of shedding those unwanted pounds.  This put undue stress on "the good hip", which caused it to tear.  So hip surgery #2, and it should come as no surprise, despite her surgeon and physical therapist's recommendation, Dawn returns to running.  She is now recovering from a re-repair of the original hip surgery.  And is gearing up for a 5K this spring.  I shake my head because I know what she is going through to some extent.  The idea of running is powerful.  It makes you feel like you can do just about ANYTHING.  It makes you (mistakenly) feel like you are burning thousands of calories, and thinner, and stronger and UNSTOPPABLE!  But as I think back to my final 5k, my "last run", the excruciating pain I felt running on already-torn cartilege and probably weak hips, looking at others' knees all bandaged, braced and strapped up, I wondered what cost are we willing to pay for feeling unstoppable?  

Dawn is not going to be able to stop the aging process, and boy do I NOT want to be there when she begins!  Joints, in midlife, give back what you do to them earlier on.  If we can't stop and listen to our bodies, we better be prepared to use a walker, cane or wheelchair later on!  It is obvious to everyone BUT Dawn that running is just not meant for her.  Unfortunately, she is not ready to hear that.

But we all reach the point in life where we become brutally aware that our actions today have a huge impact not just on how our bodies look and feel when we are older, but also in how much stress we are self-creating but not listening.  

My hip has been so sore that I broke down and went to bed with Icy-Hot on it last night.  Slathered it on my lower back and all the way from the spine to the hip. It burned like my skin was on fire, which I tollerated because I was so hopeful it would help.  It did not.  As I limped into work, screaming in my head of how SICK OF THIS I am, I realized that it is my fear of not being taken seriously that is keeping me from making a doctor's appointment.  Well, that's one of the reasons.  Last time I went to the dr who did my knee surgery, his schedule got messed up and I was kind of shuffled in as a personal favor (we work for the same company) and even though the x ray showed that I have an extra, sharp piece of bone jutting out on that hip and my band is getting caught on it, he didn't seem to take it seriously.  He gave me a cortisone shot, which meant he was jabbing my hip bone and with a sharp needle, injecting and scraping on the bone, then he had someone come show me some stretches and strengthening.  This lady was patient and asking questions about my hip and when I told her about my incident years ago when something "snapped" and "let go" she said, "sounds like you tore something I'm there."  Anyway, I feel like my doctor looked at me as someone who was just trying to get a shot so I can be pain-free and then not do anything. And, he is partially right.  It's hard to do stuff when doing that stuff hurts. 

I haven't been stretching as thoroughly or as often lately, so when I got settled into work, I hid in my back "lab" area and stretched and stretched.  My back and my hips.  Then, I tried a few lunges and to my surprise, it didn't hurt my knee or hip.  So I did some squats.  Despite my knee being more swollen lately, I was able to go deeper than I have since the surgery (nearly a year ago) AND NO PAIN!  I did a second set of squats, and when I took a step afterword, several pops and cracks and all of the sudden, my hip felt 100% NORMAL!  I walked back and forth several times to be sure it wasn't a fluke and tears sprang to my eyes when I was certain it was not.  I am walking like a normal person for about the first time in a year!!! (3 years, if you count the knee stuff).  I don't have people looking at me weird or asking what happened.  I sure hope this lasts, and I really hope I can continue doing squats and lunges without knee pain.  So who is unstoppable now?  

I should be getting my garcinia cambogia tomorrow, and my eye cream I bought last week seems to be working well already.  I am having an awesome day.  I hope you are too!