Busted.

My back that is...  I don’t know what I did exactly, but I have strained my lower back.  I have pain in the front of my hips, my lower back and sometimes my diaphragm.  From my research I strained the diamond shaped muscle that surrounds your spine in your lower back (Thoracolumbar fascia).  

It is connected to ligaments that hook into the hips and connect to the diaphragm.  When I read the pain described, I instantly thought it was right.  In more research, I learned that it is a common injury in dancers, high heel wearers and those who have hyper-extension.  It results from a lack of core control.  Well ladies and gents if any guys read this, I do and have all of those things.  Oh and I sit all day so my hip flexors are extremely tight.  They started bothering me when I was training for my half marathon back in September and ultimately ended up straining my IT band. 

In my opinion, the lower back pain and hip soreness/tightness are all linked to having a desk job, running on slanted roads and not stretching enough.  I never had any issues when I was active for the majority of the day and I when I ran/walked much shorter distances. I will not be running at all for quite some time and I definitely will NEVER run anything over an 8k willingly.  My distance running days were short lived and I am a-ok with that.  Instead, I will be doing  more yoga and weight training.  I won’t be the body builder type, but I do recognize that I need to focus more on toning and strengthening.  The stronger I am, the less likely I will be to get injured because all my muscles will be working together as opposed to one muscle/muscle group bearing the brunt.  

Since I am not one to sit around and let my body heal all by itself, I have been actively working on healing it.  I'm doing yoga poses and specific stretches for my legs and back multiple times a day.  I started a light medicine ball workout to strengthen body entire body.  And I stopped wearing high heels {tear}. It's been about 4 days since I've started all three and I am feeling much better!  I jump started this entire healing process with a 90 minute hot yoga class.  It was my first hot yoga class, but it won't be my last!  I will be a weekend hot yoga goer!  First of all, 90 minutes is really a long time, but you aren't really thinking of time because you are so focused on breathing deeply and not swallowing your sweat.  The "Hot" part is true.  It's hot...like 107+ degrees.  You literally are dripping sweat from every pore in your body and your clothing is so wet that your husband will think you jumped into the pool.  It's insane and totally awesome!  You are so flexible because your muscles are so warm.  It's really neat to see just how flexible you can be at your first class.  I can't wait to see my progression.  

Have you every tried hot yoga?  What are your thoughts?

Much love.