What a dink I am. In my last sciatica progress report I mentioned how my chiropractor gave me “permission” to ride the bike for 12 to 15 minutes at a leisurely pace. In my smug attitude, I said, “Forget it. What’s 12 to 15 minutes?”

You see, I wanted to go back to my 45 and 60 minutes spinning classes. So, at my next visit, he asked how the biking was going and I told him, I didn’t bike and explained why (how pompous was that).

Being Brought Back to Earth

As I was stretched out face down on the chiropractic bench, he squatted down to make eye contact with me. He said, “Let me see if I can explain this so you understand the mission here.” Uh oh. I knew I was in trouble.

He then explained that when a professional athlete is injured and begins to resume activity, he does not begin working out with the team. He starts with a modified workout on his own until he’s gained the necessary strength and stamina to work with the team.

My 12 to 15-minute rides are my solo workouts that will help me regain strength and stamina. Once I’ve proven myself with my solo workouts, I can join the team, in this case, the spinning class.

After being served a portion of humble pie, I dusted off my Pee Wee Herman bike, adorned myself with my Hello Kitty bike helmet, affixed the bike horn on my handlebar and dusted off my pink and white bike basket. Okay, now that you have a visual of a 5’8” woman riding such a bike, wipe that image from your head (and stop laughing).

I grabbed my daughter’s stylish mountain bike and went for a 15-minute ride. It felt great. It’s amazing how much of a difference there is between a real bike and a stationary bike.

Wonderful Progress with Sciatica

Between the biking, homework exercises, walking and chiropractic sessions, there’s a marked difference in my condition. No more morning stiffness, pain or numbness. No more leg tingling.

As a matter of fact, I explained to my chiro that now when I wake up, in addition to the cracking sound in my knees and other joints (upon my morning stretch), I now get a clunking in the hips. He was pleased to hear because that means my hips are no longer locked in place in the unnatural position, which contributed to my sciatic condition.

Still Taking it Slow

We’re still taking it slow. I can’t get back to running yet or full spinning classes. This week we’ll continue as we have been and next week we’ll increase the homework exercises and incorporate a few more routines.

All I know is that after 6 months of pain, I’m feeling much, much better. The trick to sciatica, in my opinion, is to find the right chiropractor (which leads me to a future post on what to look for in a chiropractor).