How to find a muscle I didn't know I had

[ailbhe]

There's a muscle in my abdomen - an abdominal muscle, as it happens, apparently transverse - which I can't find. The handy hints I was given to help myself find it are rendered null by not having accurate or, at times, any sensation in the relevant parts of the pelvic area. But I'm trying to find it.

The good news is, if any of the hopeful contorting I'm doing at the moment is working, I will be able to feel myself using it from outside soonish, which is how I can tell a lot of stuff in that general area - by laying a hand on my abdomen and checking.

The bad news is, I've spent almost four years using the wrong, or at least not the best, muscles to compensate for my lack of ligament-power and now I need to relearn some fairly ingrained habits so that I can keep using my hips to walk with and not end up in bed again like I did with Emer.

The good news is, this means 30 minutes in a swimming pool once a week, with water deeper than my waist, and no-one climbing on me. Hydrotherapy.

Comments

[aquaeri]

Don't feel bad about having to feel the muscle from the outside, with a hand. That's extremely common in "get to know your torso muscles" classes I've been to.

[brightglance.livejournal.com]

You've probably heard the pilates-based hints already? (walk fingers 2cm down and 2cm in from hip bones, cough and feel the muscle under your fingers move? then the pilates exaggerated breathing out is supposed to help you engage it.) Good luck with the work you're doing, the hydrotherapy sounds great.