The main reason for this post is to shed some light on a problem I've heard a number of runners having. Some variation of a tight lower back and tight glutes.
I should know better by now. By doing one single activity for too long, in this case running, I'm bound to create a problem. The last six years that I've been participating in ultras have provided an immense amount of pleasure and of course a bit of pain. Most of the time the pain goes away with a little rest, but for nearly the last two years I have experienced an increasing amount of tightness in my lower right back and glute. Slowly the pain changed from a discomfort to a genuine injury that was hindering my stride and slowing me down.
At the end of 2012 I took some time off and worked on getting my core strength back to something normal and hoping the back issue would go away with the rest. After a couple weeks off I went for an easy 9 mile road run and I could barely walk when I was finished because the pain in my back was so bad. In fact it was worse than ever before and I really started to worry that I would be throwing away 2013 getting it sorted it out. Was it my tight hamstrings? Weak core? Or something else? The answer was YES, YES and YES.
Through a referral I decided to go see John Fieg, PT, at Canyon Sports Therapy where I would get a full gait analysis and try to figure out the source of the pain. After explaining the pain and watching me run they had me lie down flat, pulled on my ankles and had me sit up. I was astonished at what I saw. My left leg was nearly 2cm longer than my right. I had a posteriorly rotated hip and to compensate I would rotate my right hip to try and compensate for the leg length discrepancy. After a quick manipulation my sacroiliac joint (SI) was popped back in place and almost instantly I felt better. Now the real work would begin by strengthening my hips, glutes and core in order to keep the SI joint in place.
I'm happy to report that after 8 weeks of doing the exercises and very limited running I'm feeling much stronger and the SI joint is staying in place. Again, I wanted to share this in case other runners have been dealing with some mysterious radiating pain/tightness in their lower back. It is curable and you should do something about it!
The moral of the story for me is that I cannot get away with "just running" any longer. Like many things in life I'm going to have to do some maintenance work to keep everything running smoothly. Now I can start to focus on that first Friday in September...
Showing posts with label injury. Show all posts
Showing posts with label injury. Show all posts
Sunday, March 3, 2013
Friday, April 30, 2010
Knee Progress Report - 2 Weeks
In an effort to keep up the good news around here I'm happy to report that I'm healing ahead of schedule. I went in for my two week checkup this morning and the great Dr. Cooper cleared me to start running again, preferably on the trail! Yesterday was actually the two week mark from my knee surgery, where I ended up having a plica removed, a little patella cartilage cleaned up and a slight lateral release. The latter will allow my patella to track a little higher than normal which should reduce wear and tear on the existing spot. Since I had surgery I've been going to therapy a couple of times a week, where everyone was impressed with my rapid improvement, that was until Brandon Roy decided to upstage me by playing in an NBA playoff game 8 days after surgery. Can you believe that? They repaired a torn meniscus, a more intensive surgery and he came back that quick, really quite amazing.
As for me, up to this point I've been riding the bike and doing the exercises from PT and the only thing that could still improve is the flexibility of my knee. There's still a slight amount of swelling and inflammation that prevents me from pulling my heel up to the back of my leg. Once I can do that I should be golden. So the plan is to mix in some running with the cycling until everything is back to normal.
On the competitive side of things I still plan on doing the Pocatello 50, but I have opted for the relay option with Peter instead of the full meal deal. My new goal is complete my short 16 mile section without pain and if that goes well it will be the Devil's Backbone 50 in July. Peter and Jay are also making the trip for this one so it should be a good time. After that is the Cascade Crest 100 that Greg and I will be doing in the fall. I am highly optimistic that if I stick to the conservative plan I will be able to complete each one of those. Patience is hard sometimes.
As for me, up to this point I've been riding the bike and doing the exercises from PT and the only thing that could still improve is the flexibility of my knee. There's still a slight amount of swelling and inflammation that prevents me from pulling my heel up to the back of my leg. Once I can do that I should be golden. So the plan is to mix in some running with the cycling until everything is back to normal.
On the competitive side of things I still plan on doing the Pocatello 50, but I have opted for the relay option with Peter instead of the full meal deal. My new goal is complete my short 16 mile section without pain and if that goes well it will be the Devil's Backbone 50 in July. Peter and Jay are also making the trip for this one so it should be a good time. After that is the Cascade Crest 100 that Greg and I will be doing in the fall. I am highly optimistic that if I stick to the conservative plan I will be able to complete each one of those. Patience is hard sometimes.
Thursday, April 8, 2010
Knee, Meet Surgeon, Please Get Along Together
It's official, I'm having surgery. The whole thing started at the end of November and after trying everything but surgery I'm willing to give it a go. The official diagnosis is Medial Synovial Plica Irritation. Often times it is referred to as patellofemoral pain syndrome (PFPS or runners knee). Essentially it is a dull ache that gradually increases in pain until you're forced to stop. Sometimes it takes days to build up while other times it only takes less than a mile.
An MRI done back in December revealed a possible meniscus tear as well as a large cyst; aka Mr. Irritated Plica. More often than not rest and an anti-inflammatory regimen will take care of it, but not this time. In the words of my surgeon "I see about 200 of these a year and I perform surgery on about 5". Looks like I scored on the wrong side of the odds this time around.
Through the course of this whole thing I've tried complete rest, physical therapy, and both non-steroidal and steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (all oral, no shots). The result is always the same. I can run, but I'm limited to a paltry 20 to 30 miles per week and there's no way I can do back to back long runs without the pain returning. I even contemplated an extended time off, like the rest of the year, but I'm told it wouldn't make a difference. Plus I'm not sure my family could tolerate me for that long, there's no doubt I would go a little crazy.
So next Thursday I go in for a simple scope that will make me good as new. I know, I know, I'm not naive enough to think that nothing can go wrong or that it won't work, but at this point I'm extremely optimistic and I will do everything in my power to make sure I heal and rehab properly, pinky swear.
An MRI done back in December revealed a possible meniscus tear as well as a large cyst; aka Mr. Irritated Plica. More often than not rest and an anti-inflammatory regimen will take care of it, but not this time. In the words of my surgeon "I see about 200 of these a year and I perform surgery on about 5". Looks like I scored on the wrong side of the odds this time around.
Through the course of this whole thing I've tried complete rest, physical therapy, and both non-steroidal and steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (all oral, no shots). The result is always the same. I can run, but I'm limited to a paltry 20 to 30 miles per week and there's no way I can do back to back long runs without the pain returning. I even contemplated an extended time off, like the rest of the year, but I'm told it wouldn't make a difference. Plus I'm not sure my family could tolerate me for that long, there's no doubt I would go a little crazy.
So next Thursday I go in for a simple scope that will make me good as new. I know, I know, I'm not naive enough to think that nothing can go wrong or that it won't work, but at this point I'm extremely optimistic and I will do everything in my power to make sure I heal and rehab properly, pinky swear.
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