In which a medical professional confirms that everything is connected…
Back in December, I wrote about the Weird Hip Thing that I was experiencing on my right side, and theorized that it was connected to my lower back, and mentioned that I have been working on my lower back for nearly 30 years. I have always been able to work my way through body issues with the Alexander Technique and thought that eventually I would sort out the Weird Hip Thing as well. However, earlier this year, I took myself and my hip off to my doctor and said “It’s just not getting better, please help.” She diagnosed me with Iliotibial Band Syndrome and referred me to physical therapy. Physical therapy was scheduling two months out at that point. My hip still hurt. We soldiered on. Time passed, as it does, and I finally got to go to my first PT appointment three weeks ago!
We are now three sessions in and, as I expected, my problem is not just IT band syndrome. I brought my copy of the Anatomy Coloring Book to my first session and we used a diagram similar to the one pictured below to trace the path of my issues…lower back (around L4) into gluteus maximus and medius, around the iliac crest to the tensor fasciae latae and the iliotibial band, down the leg to Gerdy’s tubercle at the knee, and winding up at the outside of my ankle. This is, coincidentally, the path of the sciatic nerve on the outer side of the leg. I don’t have sciatica as such, but I do have a lot of profoundly unhappy muscles and tissue that are along the path of the nerve. We are working on strengthening the gluteus medius on both sides and doing dynamic leg stretches instead of static stretches. Everything is feeling better and I’ve learned a lot more about how all those complicated parts work together.
The sciatic nerve is labeled as 3 in both of these drawings. The tibial and common fibular nerve are both branches of the sciatic nerve.
I do think that figuring out how to not habitually arch my lower back caused the other parts of the right hip and leg to have to pick up their share of support. I had, of course, thought through having equal weight on both feet and lengthening all the way up from the ankle to the shoulder on both sides, but I didn’t directly consider the role of the nerves and the application of strength training (although I have been doing strength workouts regularly for the last five years). My Alexander Technique experiences help me to focus on targeting the exact muscle(s) that need to be worked for each PT exercise and helps me to not collapse on the standing leg while doing hip abduction exercises. Everything is connected…and it’s all coming together.
