Planking and Foot Numbness

I’ve been doing daily five-minute planks for two and a half years. As a result, my core has gotten much stronger and helps support my weakened lower back. A few weeks ago I started noticing that my right foot would be numb when I stood up at the end of my plank, some days more so than others.

While nervous that I might be doing more harm than good, I started breaking up my plank into shorter segments and while in plank position, I focused on keeping perfect form. I’d hold my usual plank, only instead of transitioning into the next type of plank I’d take a break and stretch out my back. For example, I’d do a two-minute straight-arm plank, stop and do a few cat/cows, go back into side plank with one minute on each side, stop and do a few cat/cows, and finish up with a one-minute plank on my forearms. I found that by breaking it up and focusing on form, my foot numbness was less severe.

 

Yay for Physical Therapy

I started physical therapy on Wednesday with my wonderful PT, who fortunately, I hadn’t seen in ages. He started me off with the big guns, dry needling with electrical stimulation, something I’d not experienced before. He put the needles in four places in my lower back and upper glutes. It was moderately uncomfortable, but the results so far seem quite promising.

Sitting for very long still causes pain in my right leg, but most other things I do cause very little discomfort. The best news was that my PT told me that I can do anything that doesn’t cause pain. I’m still going to lay low on running for a couple more weeks, but I have to admit that I’m already feeling quite hopeful that I just might be ready to run again in March.

I’m scheduled for PT twice a week for the next month and then we’ll assess where I am and what else can be done. I go back to see my spine doctor for a followup in mid-March…

 

And the Winner is!

I’m excited to announce that the winner of my Kudos coaster giveaway is Calvin. Congrats, Calvin, and thank you for entering! The fine people at Kudos will get your two coasters in the mail to you soon.

 

And Now on to a RunDown of this Past Week’s Workouts…
Running

Still no running, but I’m hopeful that PT will get me back on the trails soon!

 

Biking

I rode a total of fifty miles on three separate days this past week, my most to date indoors. I was lucky enough to have friends join me on both Monday and Wednesday mornings at 5:30 AM – Angela on Monday and Lupe on Wednesday.

 

Bill warmed up on the elliptical before hitting our weight room which made it a lot more fun than usual in our little home gym.

 

Strength Training

I lifted like a boss; however, still be selective and careful when choosing what I can do.

 

Yoga

I described to my physical therapist the different yoga poses and stretches that I’m doing for my sciatica and he said that they all sounded good. I also checked to make sure that doing cobra and gentle forward bends are okay and he said that I can do anything that doesn’t hurt.

 

Last Week on the Blog

In case you skipped checking in on my blog this past week, here’s what you missed…

 

In addition to the workouts I mentioned above, here’s a complete rundown of my workouts from this past week (completed mostly in our home gym)…

 

  • Questions:
  • Are you a planker? If so, how often? 
  • Do you workout alone or with friends? 
  • Did you race this weekend?

 

And that’s a wrap… Have a great week!

 

Disclaimer:  This post may contain affiliate links which means if you click on the blue product link and then make a purchase, I will receive a small commission for referring you. You will pay no more or less for the product; however, Amazon will show their gratitude for my referral by paying me.

 

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I’m linking up with Holly at HoHo Runs and Wendy from Taking The Long Way Home for their Weekly Wrap. Be sure to check out not only the hosts’ posts, but the other great bloggers joining in on the fun!