Are you experiencing pain in your body? You've come to the right place.
As a health coach, I am very picky when it comes to what I put in my body. I will admit, this was not always one of my main concerns. I always believed I was eating fairly healthy. I rarely ate processed or fried foods. I ate high quality proteins and carbs, fruits and vegetables, drank water and exercised and I thought I had a pretty good balance in work, life and sleep.
Several years ago, something came up for me. At age 34, I had my first of 2 bunion surgeries. During recovery, I began favoring the right side of my body. Ready for the good news? I lost weight. Don't get too excited. Now, the bad news. PAIN. I began experiencing pain in my hip. At first, the pain bothered me when sitting down or standing up. A year later with no relief, the pain took a turn and began bothering me at night. So much for my balanced sleep cycle.
What's a girl to do? I did what most of you would do, I made an appointment to see my doctor.
I visited doctor after doctor only to conclude that nothing prescribed was fixing the issue. I went to a chiropractor, acupuncturist, 2 sports medicine doctors and 3 different physical therapists. I was prescribed anti-inflammatory pills, very expensive anti-inflammatory patches and a handout for at-home exercises. I said yes to not 1, but 2 cortisone shots. What was I thinking? The first shot healed me for exactly 14 days. Day 15, the pain was back. The second shot had no effect. I was told "You have too much salt in your diet" and "You walk too much". I was tested to see if one leg was longer than the other. Terms like over-pronating and greater trochanteric bursitis were tossed around. I went on to purchase a foam roller and a "stick" to massage the IT band. I purchased a brace to keep my IT Band in place. I purchased a memory foam mattress topper. I discovered that sitting on soft surfaces for more than 5 minutes exacerbated the pain. Note to self: Don't sit on soft surfaces.
At this point I was desperate. X-rays showed no breaks, tears or arthritis. I skipped the MRI scrip, which later showed a dry socket near the paraformis resulting in a greater trochanteric bursitis diagnoses. I went on to try the Graston Technique. I am one tough girl and I wasn't throwing in the towel. Read more: http://www.grastontechnique.com/ The Graston Technique did help quite a bit by breaking up the knots that ran along my outer right leg and IT Band. After 20 visits experimenting with the Graston Technique, I called my doctor to report that this method had helped but was not ridding of the pain. He told me there was nothing else he could do. He suggested getting back into a workout routine, to which I was already doing. Was my doctor even listening to me?
Enough is Enough!
At this point, 3 years in, things still didn't add up. There had to be a better way. I decided to take matters into my own hands. It was up to me to build strength within my body and my mind. We have one body and one mind. Most people want an easy fix. Most people resort to pills for the "quick fix". I was part of this mindset.
Adding in healthy goodness leaves no room for the junk!
I began to look closer at my diet and other areas of connectedness in my life. I decided I was going to get healthy and get strong. My plan was to rid of my pain through diet and exercise. Here's the good part: To start, I began working with a personal trainer. I began seeing results in just 2 months. My trainer held me accountable for my actions. I committed to showing up for him and most importantly for me. I put Monday and Wednesday on the calendar as a "to-do". Next, I changed my diet. I rid of ALL dairy, ALL processed food and ALL un-natural sugars. I began adding in tons of vegetables, berries and high quality protein and good carbs. I have experienced more energy, weight loss and clearer skin. I'm sleeping better and guess what? The pain is GONE! The cravings are GONE! It's proven that when you add in healthy goodness, there is no room for the junk!
Find out more by visiting my website - www.lifeelemental.com
Sheila Petersen
Health Coach, CHC, AADP
Email: sheila@lifeelemental.com
Web: www.lifeelemental.com
Follow me on Twitter @lifeelemental
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