Saturday, November 11, 2006

Making Do

Today has been a day of compromises.

My hip is acting up—something I’ve been reluctant to talk or post about, using the brilliant logic that a problem not written or spoken of does not exist. Right. I don’t think the recurrence of this injury has to keep me from the marathon in January, since I’ve got plenty of time to fix it, and it actually doesn’t bother me too much when I’m running, only afterwards. But that’s the early warning sign, and I’m taking it seriously. Unfortunately, I’m not sure how to proceed from here.

I’ve tried physical therapy in the past, and each therapist I went to fixed something, but never the actual problem I went to them for in the first place. I’m willing to invest time and money in something that will solve the problem, but given my past experiences, I’m feeling a little wary right now. I’ve actually had better success diagnosing and treating my own problems, than going to a professional.

This is a soft tissue injury, not a bone or cartilage problem. I’ve had the hip x-rayed and had an MRI, so this isn’t something necessarily beyond my ability to correct on my own. But I also think my biomechanics are out of whack, which I probably can’t fix alone. I’ve got a touch of patellar tendonitis in my left knee and some other kind of tendonitis in my right hip, so the signs of a biomechanical problem are definitely there. So I’m wondering if the PT who fixed my Q-angles (when I really wanted help with swelling and tendonitis in my foot and ankle) can help. He’s into tape. Seriously. He puts super-adhesive tape in different places and it makes you use your muscles differently, correcting imbalances. But would he really help my hip, or would he just end up fixing something totally different?

Besides, I’ve got a roll of duct tape right here. . .

So while I dither over whether or not to blow a few hundred bucks on therapy that probably won’t help, I have decided to back off the long runs this weekend. I spent this morning in the gym doing elliptical and running on the treadmill. I’m no fan of the treadmill, but at least it’s a stable, level surface, which I sure can’t say about the bayou trails. In fact, my hip started nagging me again almost exactly two weeks after I started doing the bayou trails again, so that could be part of the problem. I love those trails, but they’re uneven and probably do me no favors.

My short-term plan, then, is lots more work on the foam roller and with my trigger point ball, and limit my workouts this week to the elliptical machine and treadmill, instead of running around on uneven surfaces. I need to also go see Mary (how long have I been saying that?) but work is so crazy right now that I just don’t see it happening. I suppose I’ll have to make the time, no matter how big the hassle, since there’s no way to do it conveniently.

The other way I’m making do today is with the computer. I woke up from my post-Indian food nap to find our DSL wasn’t working. The lights on the box were orange and buzzing, and when I tried to reset it, the box failed completely. Dead. Nice. So I’m on the laptop, on dialup tonight. Isn’t it just our luck that the DSL failed on the weekend, adding to the delay in getting a new box shipped out? I’m glad, though, that I’ve kept paying for my dialup service. It came in handy on vacation, and it’s preserving my sanity tonight. I can live with a slow connection, but none at all would simply not be acceptable.

But these are pretty high-class problems, as far as things go. Dan is going to try to find another power supply for the DSL box tomorrow, just in case that’s the problem. And in the meantime, I’m still connected (slowly) with the world!

Recent Workouts
Monday: 4 mile run
Tuesday: 4 mile run
Wednesday: rest day
Thursday: 4 mile run
Friday: rest day
Saturday: 90 minute elliptical, 60 minute treadmill run

4 comments:

spongey437 said...

Hi Bunnygirl,

This may sound weird but have you tried fish oil?

I have had knee problems on and off (kind of like your hip) for the past three years. And it changes knees every once in a while - started in my right knee with ITBS and most recently was in my left knee and I have no idea what the problem was.

But recently I was diagnosed with high cholesterol. OK, it really wasnt that high for most people, but I have a family history of heart disease so my doctor wanted to put me on a pill. I asked for an alternative to a prescription and she decided to try Omega 3 fish oil pills to see if those helped.

Well, it just happens that one other benefit of the fish oil pills (other than being good for circulation and cholesterol) is that it is good for your joints.

Guess what? I have been on these pills for about a month now and my knees miraculously feel a ton better. I dont wake up with pains in them anymore after long runs or if I just sleep wrong. no more twinges when I hit the eight mile of a long run like I used to get. No idea if it is actually the fish oil pills, but I havent really done anything else differently.

Just something to consider and might be worth trying for the $15 investment it would take.

Best of luck

Jeff

Moby Dick said...

My hip acts up when I spend too much time on the cardio or I am working too many consecutive hours at my standing-up-all-the-time job. I am not sure that there is a cure for that beyond lots of rest?

Comm's said...

The tape thing I am wondering about. if he (therapist) is using standard white coaches tape then he is a loon and you should run away immediately. you can not tape a hip that way.

Now if he is using a japanese technique using a specific type of tape, the name eludes me but its generally in different colors like green or blue or pink...remember last spring I wore the stuff on my calf for a tear, then stick to the man the tape will help by pulling the fascia away from the muscle and proactively heal you up.

Have you tried A.R.T.?

Ann (bunnygirl) said...

eThe ART therapist I went to last year was also a chiro and more interested in fixing spinal issues. She did wonders for my neck, but the promised relief of my hip pain never materialized.

The taping in question is caled Kinesio Taping and it really does work! At least, it sure helped my knee when what I wanted was to get the tendonitis in my foot fixed. LOL!