I’m glad I know belly dancing

Lately Brett and I keep joking that if there’s a small end of a statistic, we’re on it. If 80% of people don’t have problem A, we’ll be among the 20% of people with it. Of course, that’s not true in all cases, because that would just be horrible. But recently whenever something comes up, especially if it has to do with me and a medical condition, I’m pulling the short stick a little too often.

Currently I’m dealing with SPD – symphysis pubis dysfunction (1 in 4 women get it, lucky me!). My pelvis is falling apart. In particular the left side has moved way out of alignment with the right.

It means that once or twice a week I wake up in the middle of the night feeling like a large hairy monster is trying to rip my left leg off, and is partially succeeding. I’ve felt like I’ve had a pulled left groin for probably three months now.

And my sciatic nerves are all upset about the whole thing, severely limiting the amount of walking I can do and absolutely eliminating any running.

The only comfortable places I can find to sit are our couch (which is comfortable no matter what condition you are in) and my exercise ball. Luckily the exercise ball is portable so I can get up and do things in other places in the house.

But all this means is that I’m in physical therapy. Again. I’ve done physical therapy for ankles, knees, back, shoulder, neck, and even my hip once before. One of the things I’ve noticed the many times I’ve done physical therapy though is how much of what they ask me to do in physical therapy is just like what I do when I’m belly dancing. The physical therapist calls them clocks when I circle my hips. In belly dancing they are called full moons and half moons. It’s the exact same thing.

Belly dancing has proved very useful in my life. In multiple situations.