July progress report

I feel like I’ve made huge improvements since my May progress report.  Let’s look into that.

Gokhale method work

I’ve mentioned the Esther Gokhale class work a few times.  Since the May progress report, Peter and I finished her six-week class and have also attended one of her “alumni” refresher courses, on glidewalking.  I know I recommend her class in every blog entry, but honestly, I can’t say enough good things about it.

I do her stretch-lying routine before bed every single night and now the only time I wake up with back pain is if I wind up in some crazy position overnight.  Most mornings are completely pain free.

I also practice hip-hinging at least once every day for 30 seconds at a time.  I’ve mentioned this in prior entries but it’s made a noticeable improvement in my SI joint pain.

When I remember to do it, her method of walking, called glidewalking, is also very good on my back.  I almost never remember to do it while I’m walking, though. That would be a good mini-goal for my August progress report (hear that, future self?).

New Back Doc and the spinal decompression therapy

I’ve completed 11 weeks of treatment now.  I no longer go three times per week but instead have dropped down to 2x/week. I think I have one more week at 2x/week and then I’ll drop to once a week and then, eventually, monthly.

In the May progress report, I wrote:

• It’s hard to say whether it’s really helping.  On the one hand, I’m almost entirely pain-free during the day…on the other hand, I still have SI joint pain if I do the elliptical and I haven’t tried riding or doing a workout since starting the treatment (at the doc’s request — he wanted me to pause those things so that if I had pain, he would know that it was something with the SDT and not the riding or whatever).

Progress