It’s been a bit over a week since I posted about my setback when I got overconfident and started exercising too much. This time I was more careful when returning. I am now going back to where I was before the recession. This time, I will be more careful not to overdo it. I can ride for at least 30 minutes at a time without pain which is enjoyable and relaxing. I can get to some great sights here within a 30 minute drive,

I am also doing well with my physical therapy. I can’t say that it’s exactly painless, but I learned the important concept of “centralization” in my reading about it: when you have sciatica, the pain comes from one place and then refers to the leg. In my case, the central point of origin is the center of my hip, probably the piriformis muscle. It’s ok if you feel pain in the middle part during PT, but the referral to the leg should not worsen, because that means that the sciatica nerve is compressed by the exercise. I’ve been doing pretty well for the past week or so following that principle.

I had to get an MRI of my pelvis because I was visiting an orthopedic specialist in a week. That hurts. For some reason, it still hurts to lie on my back for long periods of time, even with a pillow under my knees. But the useful information from this is that the pain is clearly coming from my left IF attached. Until now I assumed I just had piriformis syndrome (now also known as deep gluteal pain). If my SI joint is also swollen there are additional PT exercises I should do. So I’ve added expectations to help. I also cautiously began adding strengthening exercises, such as glute bridges and clamshells with bands, which are critical long-term for strengthening the piriformis muscle and stabilizing the SI joint.