Snow Days!

Here We Go Again . . .

I'm Back

Wow . . . who wrote this blog? Where is she now? I hope to someday be like her. She has contagious enthusiasm and confidence. Sadly, she lost most of her zest for running while rehabbing her Illiotibial Band injuries. Eighteen months of pain and discomfort broke her - two rounds of physical therapy, MRI, countless appointments, second opinion, anti inflammatory medications that didn't help, hip bursitis, cortisone shots, tailbone pain, a chiropractor, and FINALLY a second chiropractor and a massage therapist both with experience with the injury (thank goodness)! Those two were her saving grace - the reason she is able to run a little today.  They cause her much pain - the graston technique to break up scar tissue, e-stim, adjustments to back, pelvis alignment, working out trigger points in piriformis and thighs - but enduring the pain allows her to run - which is what she really wants. But now she is over cautious and gives up too easily. You see . . . SHE is ME. I am looking for the ME I used to be. I want to run. I want to want to run.

My husband encourages me to run. He runs every day. Every. Day. No excuses. That inspires me. He also wants to run a half marathon. With me. In New Orleans. Yikes . . .  but super exciting. New Orleans is one of my favorite places. Looking back at this blog, I remember how running made me feel. Invincible! I want to experience that again. I think I'm on my way back. I am going to blog my experience for the next year. That's how long I have to get ready - one year. I think I can, I think I can, I think I can . . .

I have learned from my injuries the following things I must do to stay healthy:
1. stretch - even if it's only a mile
2. ice - even if it's only a mile
3. strengthen hips, thighs, glutes, and core (since this is most likely where the injury began)
4. aggressively treat any tightness/discomfort with foam roller, chiropractor visits, and massage therapist

I also know now how important diet and rest are to recovery. Changing my diet to include more protein and less junk food is going to be a challenge, as is getting a minimum of 8 hours of sleep a night.

I've been back at it for a week. I'm feeling some tightness and discomfort already in my IT Band. I'm doing my strengthening exercises and I've made an appointment with the chiropractor. I'm sure there is some scraping in my future. I am building back my base and cardiovascular endurance. It always irritates me to have to start over. I'm planning to stick with it for the next year and not have to start over again. Here's to starting over for the last time! I can and I will!

Getting to the Bottom of Things

My PT and I are fed up. Tired of nothing working. Frustrated. She decided to look at my feet and how I walk. She noticed that my left foot pronates (or rocks inward making my arch practically flat). She had me lie down and she held my ankles and kind of shook my legs around and told me to relax. She pulled my ankles and laid my legs down flat on the table. One of my legs is longer than the other! My left leg is longer between my hip and my knee. This is why I pronate my left foot - it makes my leg shorter. My body is compensating to equal out my leg lengths. Pronating causes stress on the knee. It is pulled inward - thus putting pressure on the IT Band. AHHHHHHHH light bulb moment! Now we know the cause of my injury. I visited my Dr a few days after the PT noted my leg discrepancy. The Dr noticed too that the left side of my pelvis tilts forward, making the discrepancy even worse. The Dr stretched me in a way while I was lying down that evened out my pelvis, then she had the nurse measure my legs. I have a 1 centimeter discrepancy when my hips are even. The fix for this is easy - orthotics. They are just shoe inserts that have firm arch support to keep that left foot from pronating. Also, a heel lift for the shorter leg. I have the heel lift in my running shoe already. It feels great. I have ordered the orthotics and am waiting for them to come in. My Dr prescribed another round of steroids to see if we can knock out the inflammation that is lingering in my hip. I sure hope so. I am so tired of being achy and missing running too!

Bursitis

No wonder my hip hurts so badly when the PT rolls it! I have bursitis in my hip and got a cortisone shot at my checkup on Tuesday. I have been told these shots really hurt, so I totally dreaded it when the dr suggested we try it. She sprayed my hip with some "freezy cream" then gave me a numbing shot and then the cortisone shot. It only pinched a little - not bad at all. It really, really, really hurt more on Thursday than it did when I got the shot. I am happy to report that today my hip is feeling much better :) I took my last 800mg Advil this afternoon, so I am looking forward to seeing how my knee and thigh feel without any anti inflammatory meds. I got a flyer in the mail for a race in October. I aked my pt if that was a realistic goal. She said she thought that was reasonable. Four more weeks to heal and four weeks to train. Oh, I get to start training in 1/2 mile increments. I'm looking forward to it!

Still Not Well

Just to update . . . I have been in physical therapy for Iliotibial (IT) Band Syndrome for 7 weeks. My IT Band is so inflamed that an MRI even showed the inflammation (I was told if it showed up on the MRI that it is severe). The first couple of weeks of physical therapy were extremely painful. The physical therapist used a plastic rod and rolled up and down my thigh along the ITB tract. I have knots in the muscles from my knee to my hip that she was trying to work out. I also used ice massage, strength training exercises, and stretching. After several excruciating visits, and a bruised thigh, we saw no positive results. She decided to go a different route (thank goodness) - no physical activity, even limit walking, continue stretching and icing, add electrical stimulation and ultrasound of those sore muscles and the IT band. I also tried several different kinds of anti inflammatory medications until I found one that worked! I am taking by prescription 800mg of Ibuprofen (Advil) 3 times a day along with a steroid dose pack. FINALLY . . . I am feeling some relief. It is not well by any means, but much, much better. Hopefully a few more weeks of this will have me up and running (hehehe forgive me).

Injured - Udpated

I have a knee injury (which leads to back pain) and am sadly taking a break from running - starting Saturday afternoon. I might regret it, but I will be running Saturday in a 10k that I have already registered for. I will be keeping up my cardio by training on the elliptical. Hopefully it will be a quick recovery.
Update: My friend Sharon pointed out to me how crazy I sounded. . . I will NOT be running the 10K on Saturday. I will be trying to recover from this injury so I can get back to running sooner.