Pain inhibits muscles from firing. Muscles can not fire unless the nerves are happy enough to fire them. Nerves compressed and/or in far too much pain will lead to atrophy no matter the amount of strengthening.
Thank you! I am pretty sure my PT was trying to explain this to me on Thursday but I don't understand things until I read them, especially things said to me in a medical setting. I am getting now that PT 1 and PT 2 were on the same page. It was just PT 1, who happens to be the one who dragged me through nearly 6 months of nightmarish strengthening exercises on top of multiple injuries while insisting that I was not showing signs of having any nerve problems, who felt like I should keep trying to strengthen.
The above cycle is heightened for people with hypermobility. Inhibited muscles can pull things off of alignment faster which can compress/shut down nerves faster, which can.... you get the idea.
Didn't know. I have had little in the way of medical advice pertaining to my hypermobility. It's just been deal with an injury when it arises. I have some books I am looking at buying on Amazon since I have yet to have a doctor have much to say about it, other than
keep those muscles strong. In fact, PT 1 basically called it a non-issue as far as my labral tears and recovery were concerned. But I was limping and everything got out of alignment in a hurry, causing tendinitis and some ligament issues, too, so that wasn't good information, either.
PTs love patients who enjoy strengthening. The last person who will ever tell a patient to back off usually is a PT. When a PT of all people says back off, it's a good warning to head.
He is only doing stretches with me now. This whole thing just re-blew up like a week and a half ago when we were doing nerve flossing. All of a sudden, I was very not OK.
Up to that point, I knew I wasn't fully recovered from my injuries but felt like I was recovering. I'd been plenty active with repairs on this trailer we just moved into and and really felt like I wasn't hurting myself. The flossing seemed to just bring that nerve issue right out onto front street where I could not think it was anything else and cannot ignore it.
Have you considered seeing a pain med doc? Not for pain meds per se, but for a path to relieve some of the pain to start then rebuilding strength in more productive way?
Right now, PT is working with me to get the pain down. He offered dry needling and electro-stimulation on Thursday but I declined because I knew I had places to go afterward and didn't know how I would feel afterwards. I plan to take him up on one or the other tomorrow. I am also working on a pain/pain reduction diary that seems to be helping me to isolate the hardest things I do in a day and what helps get my pain down afterward. He is encouraging me to carefully stretch but to be very mindful about any other exercise at the moment. I am hoping this will be adequate.
I really appreciate your input on all of this. I have a lot to learn about hypermobility and chronic pain. I kept thinking most of this was temporary issue but it's long-term already.
. Ah well.. afted the MRI, xrays, orthopedist, injections ect.. only the osteopath could help me.
