Next time you want to sound thmart, while also being a thmart ass, you can tell someone they are a piriformis syndrome (LITERALLY, A PAIN IN THE ASS).
So, the reason I am writing about pains in the ass is because I have a nagging pain in my left buttock. Not horribly painful, just a little annoying. Just enough to ask my husband to give me a butt massage a couple of nights in a row (which he gladly obliged).
Then, on Tuesday, I did some really deep squats on the hack squat machine…See, my rationale is that since I can’t lift HEAVY anymore (any kind of weird heavy strain makes my uterus feel all weird), at least I can increase my range of motion, to keep it challenging.
Anyway, I felt the left buttock kindof stretch and tense up while doing these deep bucket squats, but at the time, I liked the sensation, since I had been having problems with tightness.
A couple of nights later, probably around the time DOMS came into play, the painful buttock spasms began. Any kind of weight I would put on my left leg put me into yelps of pain and tears.
OK, some of those tears were pregnancy hormone related, I am sure. I had come home earlier from work to find that my dog had chewed the corner of my BRAND NEW SOFA I bought at Macy’s. I cried about that too. I was crying about everything that day, so crying about buttock pain was no exception.
I can only describe the pain as something between stabbing pain and the pain you feel when your leg has fallen asleep and is coming back to life. You know how it hurts when your leg falls asleep and then you try to stand on it? That kind of pain. The pain also crept down the inside of my left leg.
So, the self-diagnoser I am, I typed my symptoms into google.com and got sciatica/piriformis. VERY typical among pregnant women, but that is usually due to more weight pressing down on the nerve. I have only gained 2 lbs, but my uterus is expanding, and that expansion could have caused it. Or the deep squats. Or a combination.
I talked to my sis-in-law in New Mexico who is a physical therapist. She recommended I continue with light hip and glute exercises, as well as a lot of stretches. Also maybe it is time for a pregnancy/body pillow for when I lay on my side.
Anyway, last weekend we had the year-end curling tournament (bonspiel) and I was worried that I wouldn’t be able to lunge, or sweep, but magically, the pain really subsided (after another butt massage and some stretching) and I was able to play decently. Our team took 2nd place.
Speaking of competitions, my mentor who helped me with my first competition, Sheri Newton, told me about a competition in Boise, Idaho, in April (sponsored by bb.com). My parents live there, so maybe I’ll enter next year, as a goal to lose the baby weight! With mom and dad in town, hopefully they won’t mind watching the baby while I’m on stage.
So, until the next wonderful pregnant mystery appears, I’ll keep plugging along. Hopefully will make it to the gym more often, or at least be able to restart my Brooklyn Bridge walks if the weather ever gets better.
Keep me posted on your training, folks!
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