Judith Proctor's Journal

 I'm gradually gaining on the bursitis

(I don't think that cut tag worked correctly, can someone remind me how to use them....)

The injection a couple of months  ago in the bursa in my left hip definitely helped.  It meant I could sit down for about half an hour, which was a vast improvement on nothing!

And gradually making further gains.  The big catch was that every time I overdid it (I was able to walk for five or ten mins, which was good, but if I walked too far or tried swimming front crawl as I would normally do with  straight legs, then that could trigger intense pain behind my knee), I lost about three weeks of progress.

I was still having to lie down on the floor cushion for a fair chunk of the day, and to sleep on my right side at night - which means it's no surprise that I eventually developed bursitis in the right hip...

I got a steroid jab in the right hip bursa about a week ago, and that does seem to be helping further.  It's taken about a week for the right hip pain to mostly die down.  He didn't want to do two hips at the same time as that uses a lot more steroids (I already have osteoporosis and steroids are not good for it...)

The effect has only kicked in gradually, but it's definitely there. I suspect the right hip pain was affecting the way I was walking as I've noticed an improvement in the left leg pain even though that didn't get injected this time around. 
Bursitis can cause sciatica. The inflamed bursa presses on the sciatic nerve, causing extreme pain down the leg.

My walking range has now improved to about half an hour.
I'm able to swim more too.  Did 20 minutes earlier in the week. Went for half an hour today, but that turned out to be too much.  It's evening now, and my left hip is still very painful.

it's just a case of finding the balance. More exercise is good overall, but I need to scale it up very gradually.  The long term aim is to be able to drive again, but I don't think I'm ready to try that yet. Car seats are soft and tend to trigger pain quite rapidly.

 I've been trying many things to try and help the sciatica.    One of the things I've tried is a sit-stand desk, very similar to the one in the photo - it's a Yo Yo desk. (but mine has the risers crossing in the centre rather than at the side)

Has it helped - yes, I think it's been an overall improvement.  The sciatica still hurts, but I've noticed an increase in the time I can spend sitting down - which makes a bit difference when board gaming.  It's as though I have a ration of how many hours I can sit for, and standing at my desk helps me use those 'sitting hours' for other things.

The think I most noticed when starting to use the desk was that I got a lot of pain in my calf and other leg muscles.

I'd noted this as a potential problem from people writing about their experiences with standing desks and it's why I went for a sit-stand desk rather than  a pure  standing desk.

Being able to lower the desk again when I needed to ease out my legs made a big difference. Now I've been using it for a month, I find I'm choosing to use it standing for most of the time.  I'm often more comfortable that way - but I can still sit down if I want to.

It was the fact that the desk could be easily adjusted from sitting to standing that sold it to me.  It needs a bit of a yank, but there's assistance from a gas lift and it really isn't too difficult.

I got this one cheap as it was a return, and I've no complaints.

One side effect is that I've noticed my leg muscles are getting stronger. I can feel the difference when I'm doing morris.

Would I buy it again?  Definite yes.

I notice they've still got some returns - https://mailchi.mp/8283b51ff5a6/clearance-sale-off-sit-standcom-limited-period-offer-284022?e=%5bUNIQID - and their sales guy was very helpful when I bought mine.

 I'd definitely  break yourself in gently if you do get one.  Try standing for 10 mins every hour to start with - you spend less time on your feet than you think!