I went in to see a physical therapist yesterday after Dr. Young Guy made a referral. He wanted me to learn some exercises that would help reduce my pain and inflammation with the trochanteric bursitis that has been plaguing me for about a year or so. Even steroid injections into the bursa have been unable to completely relieve the pain. If you want to read more about the pain in my tuckus, although I can't imagine why, you can read more here.
Wah wah wah.
I left my appointment with several items that I had expected: a visit summary which included detailed instructions on strengthening exercises, one of those cool yellow stretchy therabands, a reminder of my return appointment, and.......
....something that I never dreamed I would throw into the passenger side of Goldie.
Yeah. A cane.
My therapist held one out to me as she was evaluating my gait -- or the way that I walk. "You're limping," she observed. "Try this. Like this." She demonstrated the correct use of the cane.
I was flabbergasted. A cane? "Um, no. I don't think I want to use one of those."
"Just try it." Bless her heart, she didn't roll her eyes. At least not when I was watching her. "Just try it. Does it make your hip feel better when you walk with it?"
Dang. It did. It REALLY did. As a matter fact, not only did my hip feel better, it was the first time in ages that I was able to walk completely pain-free.
"You don't have to use it forever, you know," she commented. "We're just giving that inflamed bursa a chance to rest until the injections and exercises can truly settle things down."
I walked in the house brandishing my new dumb stupid......wonderful......accessory. John eyed me and said, "You're supposed to walk quietly if you're going to carry a big stick, hon.."
Har. Har. Har.
I'm deciding how much I'm actually going to use this thing. If I start using it everywhere I go, I'll have some serious explaining to do after I made such a big deal to my friends how much BETTER I feel since the rituximab infusions. But I DO. Aside from the Tr B pain, I do feel better. I think that my increased activity levels have made it easier for me to get out and walk and exercise, but in doing so,
have kicked up my hip issues.
Hm. Walk without pain.........or spend a few minutes yakking with people. Guess I've decided.
Ooo. I could accessorize my newest accessory! Hm. How do you add bling to a cane.......?
4 comments:
Easy to bling it up - you can use colored tapes to add racing stripes, or make a candy cane. You can put stickers on it.
You can add pom-poms or bows on it.
I've seen it done. The most over the top version I've seen is a woman who had her cane decorated as a Christmas tree.
But I also get the emotion of this - when I first used a cane, it was a very emotional thing. AS IN - I'm not old, what am I doing with this? AS IN - I'm not really that sick (yeah, right), why do I need a cane?
Don't let your emotions get in the way of doing what's good for you.
Could you color coordinate your cane to your lucky shoes?
I would hang mice all over it!
Hey, if the cane helps you get to where you don't need it AND aren't uncomfy...yay!
And you can poke it at Lulu when the citronella runs out. ;)
For your bling...you could start with bike handlebar tape...use that as a baselayer to which you could stick the bling...thank you for making me laugh. I needed it. Sometimes it is hard to see the silver lining.
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