Week 4

Welcome back to my page!! Apologies in advance for the late updates--my website was down for several days, but it is fixed now :) Let's roll.

Monday, April 29th

I don't know what hurts more: my heart after last night's episode of Game of Thrones. or my quads.

Last week, I promised to give some more info regarding "Glute Amnesia" -- I am here to deliver! Glute Amnesia is a weakness in your glutes that can cause stress and range of motion issues in your knees, lower back, and shoulder joints. Essentially, due to a lack of using them, the glutes can't or forget how to fire and activate. So, if you don't use it, you lose it.

Glutes are made up of three parts: the gluteus maximums, gluteus medius, and the gluteus minimums. Together, they provide stability and mobility to the hips in relation to the rest of your body. They should be rotating your hips outward/inward, extending your hips, keeping your pelvis level while walking/running, and keeping your torso upright while you sit.

So how do you know if you may have it? Signs and symptoms include:

• Tightness in hamstrings after doing glute dominant exercises (dead lifts, step ups, etc.)
• Unable to keep your belt line parallel to the floor while standing in an upright position
• Knee pain, lower back pain, leg pain
• Loss in ability to move hips through full range of motion
  • Adds stress to your knee, lower back, and shoulder joints

Mechanism of Glute Amnesia

• Anterior pelvic tilt (postural flaw)
• Overworking or isolating the quadriceps
• Improper training
  • Landing improperly from jumps
• Knee or back pain sufferer
  • Compensate muscles for glutes
• Hamstring pain
• Lack of use
  • Prolonged sitting
  • Desk job
• When sitting, your gluteal muscles will shut off and after a prolonged amount of time day after day, you are at high risk for developing Glute Amnesia

What injuries are associated with this? Well, I'm glad you asked because I'm about to tell you!

• Patellofemoral pain syndrome
  • Pain in the front of the knee due to cartilage damage from overuse/excess weight
• Iliotibial Band Syndrome
  • IT band is tight/inflamed so it doesn't work properly
  • Connective tissue rubs against thighbone
  • Movement of knee becomes painful
• Disc Herniation

What are the steps to rehabilitation? It is crucial the hip flexors are released. One must do hip-extension exercises, including straight-leg hip extensions and bent-leg hip extensions, as they target the glutes and hamstrings. Also, the abdominal muscles must be activated so that the hip flexors and lower back can work together.

So why did I write all of that? Because I--along with many other Netflix and nap enthusiasts (and people in general)--have it. Now that there is a clear understanding, I can target these muscles to get stronger. With this, I may be able to reduce some knee pain directly caused by this.

Tuesday, April 30th

This week, I have officially hit a plateau -- I am so tired. However, I am determined to keep going because that's what matters: getting over the hump of exhaustion, while still being mindful of my own health. Tonight, I've decided I am going to bed no later than 10:00 and, if I'm back from tech week in time, 7:30, because right now, I am seriously envious of my third grade bedtime.

Today, I went to the gym, preforming some glute-intensive exercises. I did squats, making sure my toes did not go past my toes and my glutes were pushed outwards, while maintaining balance. Then, I did some leg raises, making sure to keep the leg straight at all times (I did this on each leg, lying on my back, on my side, and then while lying on my stomach). Then, to activate the abdominal muscles (a group that works intensively with the glutes), I did crunches; I did some normal ones, followed by side crunches, and crunches while my legs were in the air.

Wednesday, April 1st

College decision day!!! One of my main goals for this project was getting strong enough to feel confident enough in myself to go where I wanted, regardless of their campus or value of their disability services. I got into my dream school, Tufts! But I was very concerned, as the campus is hilly and physically taxing, not to mention buildings that don't have elevators and the cold winters. I had spoken to some students there, and got an overwhelming response of: you're in trouble. But, after building up strength and gaining some confidence, I decided to say "this is what I love and want, it's never gonna get easier, so let's do it now while I can (thanks, senior-project quads)," and committed! I have loved everything about the school since I first visited and am beyond thrilled to be a Jumbo next year!! I will be majoring in undecided because I am very indecisive! However, I love writing and after spending growing up in doctors offices, PT offices, and hospitals, I've also gathered a passion for anatomy and helping others--it will be interesting to see where that takes me :) Either way, this project will serve me well in whatever I do, as I need to be strong enough to function as a person and in society to have a healthy mindset and live a "normal" life.

Today, I went to Robin and did some celebratory exercises! Look below for some videos of me doing curtsey shorts (lower body muscles), lunge-kicks, and more! Also, pay close attention to the video entitled "Fun video of my elbow trying to dislocate :)". This video shows how my limbs, so used to hyper extending, don't know what is supposed to feel right. It also shows how ever small amounts of pressure can create great stress on the joints.

Thursday, April 2nd

Due to the Thursday block schedule, I only had one period to do my project. With this time, I went back to the gym and continued to do work with resistance bands. I also went on the treadmill for 45 minutes, working on endurance. To cool down, I went on the bike that I started using last week (the one with back-support).

At home, I looked up some stories on connective tissue disorders and found it interesting to see people talk about their stories -- ones that resonated with me, and others that I could not imagine.

Friday, April 3rd

Today, I went back to Robin at the Sweatshop :) I warmed up on the elliptical (below is a cringe Snapchat of my pink, pasty legs going to work) and hit over 400 strides! Then, we did a full day of core, as my knee was bugging me. I did crunches using the bosu ball, normal crunches, crunches to the side, crunches with my legs in the air, and more. Then, I laid back on an elevated board and brought my legs up together and perpendicular to my body. Then, I tightened my core and let them down slowly and brought them down as low as I could without having them touch the ground. Following this, I held it for a (generous) count of eight. The grind never stops.