Massage and Physiotherapy

As I mentioned in my last post, I've been stretching more lately. This is a bit of a convoluted story as to how I ended up stretching consistently every day. And it all started when I was last visiting my chiropractor. I mentioned to her that I have really tight muscles. I read in a book (I think it was Diabetic Athlete's Handbook by Sheri R. Colberg, but I'm not positive now) some time ago that people with Type 1 Diabetes like me are prone to having tight muscles. I've never been a super flexible person, and I just assumed this is something that I will have to deal with as being naturally inflexible AND having diabetes. My chiropractor, who had previously recommended some stretches to me for my right calves (which have not been working even though I've been doing these stretches every day before bed) recommended that I go see a massage therapist who was new in her clinic and taking clients. 

I should note, my partner has recommended that I go to massage therapy in the past as well, but I honestly just never got around to it. I was going to try a massage therapist someone I know tried, but they didn't have the best results with that particular therapist, so I was really hesitant to try them. 

This was my first time visiting a proper massage therapist ever. The lady I saw seemed to really know her stuff. The first time I went, I booked a shorter appointment because I had no idea how long I should book (the second appointment was longer). I told the massage therapist that my back had previously been injured, so she set to work on trying to correct that. At the end of the first appointment, she gave me a list of muscles that she wanted me to stretch every day. At that time she told me to Google the muscles to find appropriate stretches, which I did. I had to wait a few days because I was really sore after the massage (she warned me that would happen); after a few days I started stretching those muscles every day until my second appointment two weeks later. The second massage didn't hurt nearly as much (nor for as long), which I thought was due to all the stretching I had been doing, but my massage therapist said that was also because she had more time as the second appointment was longer. At the end of that visit, she recommended I visit a physiotherapist to get some extra help in the stretching department.

I was able to get in with a physiotherapist at the same clinic about a week later. The physiotherapist was fantastic! With her help, I discovered not only that I am crazy stiff, but I'm putting all my weight on my left side when I stand (and no one else has noticed this!) So even though I've had more pain in my right calf muscle, it's my left side that's tighter (probably from compensating more for my right side). So my physiotherapist gave me a series of eight stretches to do every night (unfortunately I can't do two of them right now - I'm waiting for a foam roller that I ordered to arrive, which I need for these two) which includes "nerve flossing" (a term I was unfamiliar with, but basically stretches to gently mobilize a compressed or irritated nerve). I asked her how often I should do the stretches, and she said that the gold standard is twice a day (though once a day is probably more realistic). She also said that some of the exercises can be done more often through the day, but the nerve flossing should only be done a maximum of twice so I don't irritate the nerve more.

So while I've only been doing the particular stretches that my physiotherapist gave me for about 4 days (and I've been able to do them twice a day two times!) I've been doing more consistent stretches almost every day for three weeks now! I also noticed that I have what feels like a tiny bit more mobility since I started. It isn't much, but I'm excited to be feeling results, especially when I've been doing the stretches my chiropractor recommended for a number of months now and didn't feel like they were helping much. I'm going to trust the process and stick to what my physiotherapist recommends for now, but I am hopeful that I'll be moving better than I have in a long time with her help. :)

I'm also feeling more realistic about everything now, too. Most likely, once I gain some more mobility in my joints, I'll probably have to fight to keep it (and so continue to do some stretches every day or most days for the rest of my life). But thanks to using the Finch app, I've already started building more exercise into my day, so I'll hopefully be able to use it to build more good routines in the future. :)