Swallowed pride tastes gross...

Instead of being pissed off about the fact that I have been sidelined by sciatica right now, I'm ok with it. I was pretty upset about it at first. At my first physical therapy appointment last week, the initial evaluation screwed me up royally. The PT did was he was supposed to do -- attempt to illicit pain to pinpoint what the cause is and how to treat it.

By the next morning, I was in tears. I was in pain. So much pain. The worst pain I have experienced with this yet. The spasms were unbelievable and I could feel twitching from my bum down into my leg. I went and had a clinical massage to the area, which thank goodness gave me a great deal of relief.

I went to PT last Wednesday and basically chewed him a new one. Mostly, I didn't agree with his theories on disc involvement and I was angry that he had instructed me to not even stretch it until the pain was relieved. I was so frustrated.

I really hate the way I behaved that afternoon. I really really do. As an OT, I really stress to my clients/patients that they need to understand the importance of compliance. When I say do not do something (and here is why) I get kind of perturbed when they don't follow my instructions, or get defensive with me. I hate it. I want to shake them, heh....you know what I mean. Shake the sense into them!! I can only imagine my PT feeling that very thing toward me at that moment.

So I vowed to just do what he says to do. Lay on the floor in prone (on my stomach) as much as possible. Walk around frequently. Don't do any extended times of sitting. Ice. Heat. Advil. No bending over too much. No engaging of the glutes. Which is what I did almost all weekend.

And I was happy to report at my appointment yesterday that I was feeling great, was no longer angry...and....maybe he has a point about his theories. (In my tiniest voice ever.)

Ugh. Shoving away one's pride, swallowing it WHOLE...sucks. But I need to be patient with this injury, and with the instructions for it. I want to get back to my exercise routine and can't rush it.

I'm proud of myself for being able to admit that I was wrong. But I hated having to admit that to myself!