I mentioned that I did a 30 day yoga challenge for the month of January. (And while I struggled and got grumpy with it I did keep at it... yay me.)
Well, what I did not mention is that I somehow thought that doing yoga was the same as stretching and so I kind of stopped stretching? (I think you may be able to see where this post is going.... ahem)
See, pre-January, when I was mainly walking, I learned the hard way that my legs need some love to not get "injured", so I'd make sure after a walk to come home and use a roller on my legs and maybe some stretching too. But that stick roller thing made a huge difference and I stopped getting muscle strains/pulls/whatevers.
So then I do my month of yoga in January and a few walks too (they fell a little to the wayside if I'm honest) but the stretching and rolling stopped. And I didn't think much about it as I was just trying to keep up with the daily yoga.
A couple of weeks ago, I wanted to get back out for a solid walk and so I did the first longer walk I'd done in a few weeks and I did some yoga that day too. Yay me, awesome!
The next day, I was swinging my legs off my couch like I do a bazillion times a day (I sit on my couch with my back against an arm and my legs stretched out and so to get up I have to "swing" my legs off to the right and stand up from there.... if that makes visual sense?) and BAM. Something... went.
I swore. And froze.
Bad. Bad bad pain but in a way/area that I'd never felt it before. Like.. inside? my leg? Upper right leg... not quite anywhere but close to the "inside" area?
I had no idea what I'd done. Pinched a nerve? Torn something? What was going on? My best guess at the time was some kind of weird cramp. It was so uncomfortable. So I called C-Dawg (I legit had no idea what else to do) and told her she might have to put me down like you do to a horse that broke its leg. I tried to hobble around my place as I talked to her, trying to explain without having any idea what was going on. She suggested I take a muscle relaxant in case it was a muscle spasm, so I did and then went out for a walk (which I was going to do anyway) to see if I could stretch it out some....
The walk didn't start out well and I thought I might have to go back home but I told myself to go to the store and get some chocolate and come home... so I managed that and the leg did loosen up but I still had no idea what was going on. It was so bizarre.
Long story short, I nursed it for a good few days, I wore an upper leg warmer at night (thanks ballet) and I took pain meds (Advil/Tylenol). And I massaged the area, and around the area and I found some really really sore spots. And that's when my brain put two and two together. I was working my legs in these yoga positions and NOT STRETCHING or rolling them after. So the muscles or whatever... "leg parts" were being used and then not being taken care of. And as both C-Dawg and Jason pointed out I'm not... young anymore. I refused to acknowledge their thought that this was an age issue.... I'm pretty sure that my doing a long walk and some yoga the day before and then not doing ANYTHING at all rolling/stretching/helping wise just tightened everything up to a point that this one simple movement was too much and it revolted.
I'm not sure what internal tendon/muscle/whatever I pulled or hurt or I don't even know, I just know that I've reminded myself that after a yoga video, I need to spend a few minutes rolling out my legs and helping those areas relax, or bringing blood flow to them or whatever it is I'm doing. I just know I'm pretty sure that's what I need to do.
Help my legs especially.... to... like, chill... after doing stuff. The "neglect" I accidentally did did not go super well!
I'm glad it wasn't serious or terribly long lasting though, that's for sure!
(But also, there's a massive frustration with trying to be healthy and then hurting yourself and an even more massive frustration with "injuring" yourself by doing NOTHING... just getting off your couch... like really? Come on.)
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