Home PT Week 34 April 24th - April 30th 2017

Home Physical Therapy Week of
Monday April 24th - Sunday April 30th 2017:
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Home Physical Therapy session 70 - Spondylolisthesis BJJ
Monday 4/24/2017.   
Updates:  Today is my 6th day out of 9 days to be on prednisone and my leg pain is better.  I have some pain every day but it is less and it is not constant.  Seems to be aggravated by walking too long or by standing in certain positions and even sitting in certain positions but still better then it was last week.  I've also been adding back in my stretches at various times thru the day/week.  I'll do door frame hamstring stretches and the figure four stretch several times a week as I think about it.  I'm also going to look into finding some yoga classes. 

30 minute slow paced walk.  Today was the first day since my leg started hurting 10 days ago on April 14th that I was able to walk without leg pain.  I did a slow paced 30 minute walk during lunch and made it without any pain in my right leg outside shin / calf / or ankle.  My low back feels slightly tighter then normal but doesn't hurt.  I also tried to remember to tighten my core whenever I stepped up or down over curbs.  Feeling hopeful!

Isometric hands against knees:   Both knees at the same time (different from picture below)

45 second sets.  With back flat on the table you lift both your knees up feet off the table.  Your cross hands to opposite knees and press against your knees while you try to pull your knees towards your hands.  Hold for 45 seconds.  2nd set was same as before but you switched your hands to be straight forward left to left knee and right to right knee.  3rd set was same as before but you put your palms flat on the ground  next to your hips and pressed into the ground with your hands while keeping your knees up. 


Figure Four Stretch: 

3 sets each leg 60 second hold. 


Deadbug abdominal exercise: 

This is like a modified bicycle crunch but instead of bring your elbow to your knee - you kept your arm straight and it went back behind your head as the knee came up and then switched for the other knee.  This was done for 3 sets of 45 seconds. 

Side Planks:

3 sets on each side for 40 seconds each.   Overall increase of 15 seconds per side over Thursday. 


Side leg raises: 

3 sets on each side of 35 reps.   





Plank. 

3 sets for 70 seconds each.  Overall increase of 15 seconds.  All 3 sets were from the elbows.




Hamstring door stretch 

3 sets of 1 minute stretch each leg.  Total of 3 minutes stretching per leg. 

Also while doing the hamstring door stretch I did a neck exercise. I lifted my head off the ground and turned my chin side to side shoulder to shoulder for 1 minute. 

3 sets of 1 minute each. 

Bridges with pelvic tilt hold.  3 sets of 35 reps where I press my low back into the table I hold the pelvic tilt and bridge lifting my hips off the table.    Overall increase of 15 reps. 

Plank with arm and leg raises: 

3 sets of 40 seconds each.  Overall increase of 15 seconds.  These were harder then I expected today. 




Hamstring and groin stretch: 

3 sets for 1 minute each. 



Pelvic tilt crunches: 

1 set of 30. 
Lay flat with knees bent like the picture above.  Do a pelvic tilt and hold it continuously while you do 30 crunches slowly just to the point where your hands go over your knees.  This gave a good abdominal burn! 



Pelvic tilts:  

 

While lying on the floor I did a 5 minute pelvic tilt hold.  Occasionally I would relax back to normal for a seconds and then go back to the tilt hold.  This was for 5 minutes.   

Today's time - 51:30. 


Tuesday 4/25/2017: 
30 minute walk. 

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Home Physical Therapy session 71 - Spondylolisthesis BJJ
Thursday 4/27/2017.   
Updates:  I've been doing 30 minute walks all week and my leg has had no pain.  For my core work today I pushed the paced a bit, increased some reps/times and completed the session faster today.

Isometric hands against knees:   Both knees at the same time (different from picture below)

50 second sets.  20 seconds longer overall today.  With back flat on the table you lift both your knees up feet off the table.  Your cross hands to opposite knees and press against your knees while you try to pull your knees towards your hands.  Hold for 50 seconds.  2nd set was same as before but you switched your hands to be straight forward left to left knee and right to right knee.  3rd set was same as before but you put your palms flat on the ground  next to your hips and pressed into the ground with your hands while keeping your knees up. 


Figure Four Stretch: 

3 sets each leg 60 second hold. 


Deadbug abdominal exercise: 

This is like a modified bicycle crunch but instead of bring your elbow to your knee - you kept your arm straight and it went back behind your head as the knee came up and then switched for the other knee.  This was done for 3 sets of 50 seconds.  15 second overall increase over Monday. 

Side Planks:

3 sets on each side for 45 seconds each.   Overall increase of 15 seconds per side over Monday. 


Side leg raises: 

3 sets on each side of 35 reps.   





Plank. 

3 sets for 75 seconds each.  Overall increase of 15 seconds.  All 3 sets were from the elbows.




Hamstring door stretch 

3 sets of 1 minute stretch each leg.  Total of 3 minutes stretching per leg. 

Also while doing the hamstring door stretch I did a neck exercise. I lifted my head off the ground and turned my chin side to side shoulder to shoulder for 1 minute. 

3 sets of 1 minute each. 

Bridges with pelvic tilt hold.  3 sets of 35 reps where I press my low back into the table I hold the pelvic tilt and bridge lifting my hips off the table.    Overall increase of 15 reps. 

Plank with arm and leg raises: 

3 sets of 45 seconds each.  Overall increase of 15 seconds.  




Hamstring and groin stretch: 

3 sets for 1 minute each. 



Pelvic tilt crunches: 

1 set of 30. 
Lay flat with knees bent like the picture above.  Do a pelvic tilt and hold it continuously while you do 30 crunches slowly just to the point where your hands go over your knees.  This gave a good abdominal burn! 



Pelvic tilts:  

 

While lying on the floor I did a 5 minute pelvic tilt hold.  Occasionally I would relax back to normal for a seconds and then go back to the tilt hold.  This was for 5 minutes.   

Today's time - 50:35.  I pushed the pace today by resting less between sets and moving quicker between back to back exercises.   This allowed me to actually get a shorter time today then Monday. 

Dr. Visit, MRI and anti-inflammatories for my leg pain.

Wednesday April 19th, 2017 Dr. Visit:
Today was my visit with my Dr. to talk about this new leg pain I've been having.  He asked me about what was going on leading up to the pain and I told him about the plane flights, sitting in classes etc. He had me do a few standing movements and then had me sit on the exam table.  He proceeded to test my quadriceps by pushing against my ankles while I extended my legs forward.  He then did the same in reverse to test my hamstrings and also my ankles by asking me to push down with my feet and pull up too.  He said they all feel satisfactory and he wants to do an MRI.   He also prescribed prednisone anti-inflammatory which I will begin the first dose today. 

Thursday April 20th, 2017 MRI: 
I arrived at 8:15 am for my MRI.  Got in the machine and they had me lay on my back and placed a large pillow under my knees.  This helped but my back still had some pain and discomfort from having to lay completely still for 30 minutes.  It was very loud and I'm thankful for the ear plugs they provided. 

Friday April 21st, 2017 - MRI Results: 
I was surprised to get my results the following day as they had told me it would probably be Monday.  Before the MRI all I knew I had was spondylolisthesis Grade 1 at L4/L5. 
After MRI I have been told that I have several more issues. 
1. L3/L4 - Small disc bulge with moderate bilateral facet arthritis. 
2. L4/L5 - Small disc osteophyte complex. 
3. L4/L5 - Moderate to severe facet arthritis. 
4. L4/L5 - Moderate bilateral neural forminal stenosis. 

The Dr. is recommending we start with a bilateral facet injection.  I have a formal appointment with him on Tuesday to discuss further.  At this time I'm leaning towards no injections and asking about stretches and new rounds of Physical Therapy. 

For the past 3 days I've been using the prednisone and it feels like its helping.  My leg has not been hurting as much. 

Home PT Week 33 April 17th - April 23rd 2017

Home Physical Therapy Week of
Monday April 17th - Sunday April 23rd 2017:
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Home Physical Therapy session 68 - Spondylolisthesis BJJ
Monday 4/17/2017.   
I've had new pain that started last week and is still going on today.  I'm having leg pain in my right leg down on the out side of my shin side calf area.  I have a Dr. appointment on Wednesday and I'm going to attempt to do my core exercises and extra stretches this week anyway unless he tells me other wise. 

Hip Ups:

3 sets of 30.  Lift my hips off the ground like a reverse crunch. 


Figure Four Stretch: 

3 sets each leg 60 second hold.  Increase of 15 seconds per set.


Side Planks:

3 sets on each side for 30 seconds each.  


Side leg raises: 

3 sets on each side of 30 reps.  





Plank. 

3 sets for 60 seconds each.  All 3 sets were from the elbows. I felt like I could have done longer sets but with my current leg pain I decided to stay with 60 seconds today.  I'll probably try 75 or 90 second sets on Thursday. 




Hamstring door stretch 

3 sets of 1 minute stretch each leg.  Total of 3 minutes stretching per leg. 

Also while doing the hamstring door stretch I did a neck exercise. I lifted my head off the ground and turned my chin side to side shoulder to shoulder for 1 minute. 

3 sets of 1 minute each. 

Bridges with pelvic tilt hold.  3 sets of 30 reps where I press my low back into the table I hold the pelvic tilt and bridge lifting my hips off the table.    

Plank with arm and leg raises: 

3 sets of 30 seconds each. 




Hamstring and groin stretch: 

3 sets for 1 minute each. 



Pelvic tilts:  

 

While lying on the floor I did a 5 minute pelvic tilt hold.  Occasionally I would relax back to normal for a seconds and then go back to the tilt hold.  This was for 5 minutes.   

Today's time - 42:48 


Home Physical Therapy Week of
Monday April 17th - Sunday April 23rd 2017:
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Home Physical Therapy session 69 - Spondylolisthesis BJJ
Thursday 4/20/2017.   
Today was a day of increases in reps and times. 

Hip Ups:

3 sets of 35.  Overall increase of 15 reps over Monday.  Lift my hips off the ground like a reverse crunch. 


Figure Four Stretch: 

3 sets each leg 60 second hold. 


Side Planks:

3 sets on each side for 35 seconds each.   Overall increase of 15 seconds per side over Monday. 


Side leg raises: 

3 sets on each side of 35 reps.   Another overall increase of 15 per side over Monday. 





Plank. 

3 sets for 65 seconds each.  Overall increase of 15 seconds.  All 3 sets were from the elbows.




Hamstring door stretch 

3 sets of 1 minute stretch each leg.  Total of 3 minutes stretching per leg. 

Also while doing the hamstring door stretch I did a neck exercise. I lifted my head off the ground and turned my chin side to side shoulder to shoulder for 1 minute. 

3 sets of 1 minute each. 

Bridges with pelvic tilt hold.  3 sets of 35 reps where I press my low back into the table I hold the pelvic tilt and bridge lifting my hips off the table.    Overall increase of 15 reps. 

Plank with arm and leg raises: 

3 sets of 35 seconds each.  Overall increase of 15 seconds.  These were harder then I expected today. 




Hamstring and groin stretch: 

3 sets for 1 minute each. 



Pelvic tilts:  

 

While lying on the floor I did a 5 minute pelvic tilt hold.  Occasionally I would relax back to normal for a seconds and then go back to the tilt hold.  This was for 5 minutes.   

Today's time - 46 min.   

Planes, classrooms, hotels and leg pain...

Planes, classrooms, hotels and leg pain...
Monday April 10th - Sunday April 16th 2017:

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Update - Spondylolisthesis BJJ

I spent this week at a Microsoft Training class which means I flew on planes, stayed in a hotel room and sat in a technical classroom all week.  This apparently wrecked havoc on my back as I'm now experiencing new pain.  I've had grade 1 spondylolisthesis at the L4/L5 area for almost a year and the pain has been confined to my back.  For the past several days, I'm now getting pain in my right leg on the side of my shin area.  I've got an appointment with my Dr. on Wednesday to see what he thinks and maybe ask about getting an MRI of my back.  I've only had xrays of my back. 

I've done no core exercises this week and only a limited amount of stretching.  The pain is mostly constant in my leg but it does seems to be less at certain times and more at others but always on.

Here's hoping I get some good news and maybe he tells me it should go away on its own...

Exercises: 
Monday I did 15 minutes on an elliptical machine at a slow controlled pace.  I also did some upper body weight training with light weights.  I did a few stretches throughout the week but not very much.  No core exercises as I was in my hotel room in the evening and at the training class all day.  The sitting in the training classes, waiting around at airports and flying on the planes did not help and is probably what kicked off this new pain episode. 

Home PT Week 32 April 3rd - April 9th 2017

Home Physical Therapy Week of
Monday April 3rd - Sunday April 9th 2017:

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Home Physical Therapy session 67 - Spondylolisthesis BJJ
Monday 4/3/17

This week was a change up of Home PT.  I did my regular Monday core exercises as you'll see below and then on Wednesday I did Brazilian Jiu Jitsu Class and on Friday I did a 1 hour grind match that was incredibly difficult.  A 1 hour grind match is where you grapple for 1 hour straight with your partner(s).  This particular grind match was with the same partner for 1 hour.  I barely made it.  In fact, if I'm being honest - I almost quit at about the 45 minute mark.  That is how exhausted I was. 

Here's Monday's workout: 
Plank. 

3 sets for 90 seconds each.   Increase of 15 seconds per set! 


Figure Four Stretch: 

3 sets each leg 90 second hold.  Increase of 15 seconds per set.




1 leg bridge with 1 leg raises. 

 

While holding the bridge with one leg, the other leg did 25 leg raises.  3 sets of 25 reps for each leg.



Bridges with pelvic tilt hold.  3 sets of 40 reps where I press my low back into the table I hold the pelvic tilt and bridge lifting my hips off the table.    

Hamstring door stretch. 

2 sets of 2 minutes stretch each leg.  Total of 4 minutes stretching per leg. 


Pelvic tilt hold:  

 

While lying on the floor I did a 5 minute pelvic tilt hold.  Occasionally I would relax back to normal for a seconds and then go back to the tilt hold.  This was for 5 minutes.   

Today's time - 37 minutes. I moved faster today between sets and did not pause or rest.

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Exercise - Spondylolisthesis BJJ
Wednesday 4/5/17 Taught a 45 minutes Kids BJJ (Brazilian Jiu Jitsu) class. 
Taught a 1 hour adult BJJ class.
Three 5-minute grappling rounds

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Exercise - Spondylolisthesis BJJ
Friday 4/7/17 1 hour grind match against another BJJ Brown belt.  Totally exhausted at the end.  Almost quit at the 45 minute mark but I pushed thru.  This really helped me to work on my defense by trying to relax there towards the end and defend while I tried to recover some of my energy. 

Saturday morning at 6 am I had to get on a plane and fly out of state to a Microsoft Training class.