It was shocking to realize how much the tendons in front of my hips had shortened. I had to use a bit of the washing-machine action through the hips, to get a stride more than a couple feet long.
That’s way too hard on the cartilage, so once the washing machine warmed me up enough to stretch without injury, I stretched enough to let me take a tolerable stride without grinding my knees.
There’s only so much my tendons will release, in one careful stretching period. There’s quite a bit of work ahead of me.
I really haven’t been taking position seriously enough: spending so much time driving is not just hard on the torso (which I have managed with better success) but it’s hard on everywhere you bend, especially when your body sucks at bouncing back.
Short tendons in the front of the hip pull your lower back out of alignment, dragging on the front of the spine. This is terrible, as anybody who has ever had the least little bit of low-back trouble can tell you.
The way CRPS makes your tissues less resilient means that a few good stretches will not do what they used to do, back in my 20s and 30s, when 10 min. of dedicated work would put me right back in trim. Like most athletic young adults, I had no idea how good I had it… 🙂
Taking care of my hinges now has to be part of my daily routine. Especially since the driving isn’t over yet. Stretching five or six times a day, like I do my neck, which I’m still losing ground on; walking absolutely every day, or at least six days out of seven. At least it will buy me time, until I come up with something more definitive.
I fight hard to keep CRPS out of my legs in terms of circulation and sensation. Not interested in losing them to any kind of laziness!