Rbka

I do a lot of biking and especially mountain biking, in particular downhill mountain biking, and it requires you to keep your feet level (i.e. at 3&9 on a clock, not at 6&12) meaning one foot is always in front and one is always behind. I first became aware of the problems this was causing in my front hip in 2010 when I broke my arm and began running during my recovery (while not being able to bike). When running I had horrible left hip pain that would cause mechanical issues in my knee as well. In the end, I figured "well, I'm not going to stop biking and I can't undo the damage I'm doing by biking with stupid little physio exercises" so I just didn't deal with it (bad idea). I know the front foot/hip issue is correct because all my friends have ongoing issues in their front foot/hip too (my husband rides right foot forward and has chronic tightness and pain in his right hip...) I got a new trail bike last year that has longer crank arms (i.e. which puts my feet at even MORE of an off-set) and that's when the sh*t really hit the fan so to speak... I first felt "Pudendal Neuralgia" pain in late July 2016.

At the same time I had other issues... In February 2016 I began having numbness in my left side of my face and in both arms. I know I had done mechanical damage in those areas (my jaw has been a mess for years as I used to be a pack-a-day gum chewer and I have broken both my arms previously as well as done a lot of rock climbing), but this was different as it was being aggravated non-mechanically (i.e. I would have symptoms even if I hadn't done anything to flare them up) and the issues were systemic. It also coincided with a recurrence of post-concussion syndrome from a bad concussion I'd suffered in 2012. I had to go off work on sick leave because of my cognition problems/screen sensitivity/headaches as well as because my arms going numb made it really awful to type. I was fully off for 6 weeks (starting April 2016) and then did a gradual return.

What precipitated all this was 2-fold: I changed jobs in February and was working way too much (like 50-60 hours/week) and I was doing extremely challenging high-intensity workouts (HIIT). Plus we'd just bought our first house which was pretty stressful too.

So I have this pattern: past injury/tissue damage + stress (causing systemic inflammation) = nerve problems.

Now I'm pain-free most of the time, but I don't dare ride a regular bike yet. I bought a used recumbent bike and have been using that

Often I feel like I'm effectively coping with stress and I'm not consciously worried, but I'll feel tingling in my face. My face tells me the truth while my brain is trying to gloss everything over. My only current stress management technique is to take action, deal with the stressful event, and move on. This is ineffective because 1. sometimes processes take time and I'll have to cope with the stress for a certain period before I can take action. 2. Another stressful event will always crop up: such is life.

Learning more about TMS, doing Vipassana meditation and The Miracle Ball Method. Taking pleasure in the small joys in my daily life
Also pregnant due late Sept... oh boy, what timing!