Hip Update: Internal conflict and another Dr's appt

I know I've mentioned this before, but I am the world’s worst when it comes to making personal decisions. I analyze, re-analyze and over analyze. Trying to decide whether or not to run Houston is the perfect example of this. One moment I have my mind made up that I am just not doing it. The next, I am definitely doing it.

Here’s an example of my internal ramblings…

Statement: Ugh, I really shouldn’t run this stupid race, I could make my injury worse
Response: Yeah, but I really want to do this. I’ve been training dammit…think of all those Saturday mornings since NYCM when I could have slept in…

Statement: Why did I just have to get that 4-miler done? I didn’t have to run that evening. I could have waited until the next morning…maybe this wouldn’t have happened.
Response: Stop that, it’s like a little ticking time bomb…if it was gonna happen, it would have happened the next time I ran! Besides, it was a busy week! I was trying to get in a run before the week got even crazier.

Statement: Wait, my hip is feeling better today! Woohoo!
Response: Alright then, let’s do this!!! Bring it, baby!

Statement: (After Saturday’s run and Coach's e-mail) Well, that sucked. There’s no freaking way.
Response: Okay, I’m not going to do it. WAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHH! Too bad the last day to defer was YESTERDAY. Stupid, I should have run on Friday!

Statement: It’s just one marathon. There will be plenty of others.
Response: Yes, but this is the 40th anniversary of the race! I ran the 35th anniversary (1/2)! And, it’s just a few days before my 40th birthday, too! What a way to bring in my 40th year!

Statement: Yes, but I don’t want to spend my 40th year on crutches or being out the rest of the year because I could make things worse!
Response: But look at that medal. That AWESOME medal! I still have the commemorative chip from the 35th…this is way cooler!

My precious........

Statement: Okay, I won’t do it.
Response: Good, glad a decision has finally been made.

Statement: (Today) Holy crap, my hip feels pretty damn awesome today! I think I can at least try to do this.
Response: Don’t be stupid, it’s temporary…I bet it’ll hurt if I run. Besides, running a marathon is hard with a healthy body..think how hard it's gonna be with an injury!  Then again, I can always stop, or I can turn around at mile 8/9 with the people running the ½. And then there’s the Kinesio tape…the Doc said that would help. 

Statement: No, really! It feels a little uncomfortable here and there, but there’s no pain! Yippee!!!
Response: Okay, let’s do this shiznit!!! (Maybe)

Statement:  Wait!  I haven't run in 3 weeks!  It's been 2 weeks since my last elliptical workout...what if I can't do this?
Response:  Okay, so aside from not PRing, you can totally do this.  Take it slow and listen to your body.

See what I mean? Indecisive in the worst way!

As far as my Dr’s appointment, I saw the doc yesterday afternoon. He said that his goal is to get me to the race on Sunday. He did more adjusting and seemed to focus a bit more on my hip alignment (I’ve had issues with this in the past). He also showed me additional exercises to try and tested my range of motion. Most of the pain is in my glute, but there is still some pain here and there in the front of my hip. Once again, after all the torture adjusting, the hip felt quite a bit better. At the end of our session, the Doc said, “Okay, let’s talk about this weekend.”

Ummm, hello? You can bet I was all ears.

He told me that he had another doctor coming in on Saturday who was going to be helping him tape up some patients.  get your mind out of the gutter...he was talking about kinesio tape!  Well, a stronger version of the kinesio tape (Tex tape, maybe?). I asked him specifically about his thoughts on whether or not I should even attempt a marathon at this point.

Bottom line:
Based on his assessment of the location of the pain and my range of motion, he does not think there is any larger underlying cause (i.e. stress fracture). He feels that what I am experiencing is ligament pain.  No more.  Of course, he did say that he could not be 100% sure without a scan, but didn’t feel that was necessary due to his assessment and the improvement I've shown. He also said that he does have patients running on Sunday, even though he has advised them not to run (these are some of the people coming in for taping on Saturday). In other words, he would tell me if he thought I should not run. I also asked if running on Sunday would make things worse. He said that my hip would probably bother me at some point during the race (I kinda figured), but did not feel I would make matters worse. However, if the race did not go well due to pain, that I should see him next week to address more hip stability exercises. If I have the normal residual soreness post race, I should just continue with the exercises already prescribed.

Yes, I had several questions typed out and ready to go, including one about his thoughts on the kinesio tape. He addressed most of my questions before I even got to them. Basically, he said that I should let the pain be my guide. If the run goes like my last couple of longer runs and the pain eases up after the hip is warmed up, I should be a-okay. But, if the pain is sharp, if it persists or gets worse I should stop or turn around with the ½ marathoners. Easier said than done.

So all of this to say - I haven’t made up my mind yet. I will say this – my hip feels pretty awesome today. If this continues, I will attempt an easy, short run on Thursday. If that goes well, I’m going for it. If not, well…I am sure I will go through the entire conversation above in my head again before throwing in the towel. Why is it so damn hard to throw in the towel, anyway?

Have you tried Kinesio tape? Please, share your experiences with it!

:-(

Well Blogger friends, today I was hoping to report back with awesomely wonderful news about this morning's run.  Unfortunately, the news is not as good as I had hoped.

It's not horrible either, but I am beginning to lose hope.  I ran 4 miles at a pretty easy pace.  Cardio-wise, I felt pretty good....it felt good to be getting the heart rate going and to just be out there running!  However, the hip hurt the entire 4 miles. Not a horrendous "I can't take another step" sort of way....but as in "let me adjust my gait, so that it hurts as little as possible" kind of way.  I was envious of the people I saw enjoying their morning run. This was not enjoyable.  This was "Oh sh*t, how am I supposed to run 26.2 miles in a week???".  I will say that toward the end of my 4-miler, the hip did start to feel a bit better.  Maybe because it had finally warmed up?  I was tempted to run a little more just to test this theory, but then decided I should go ahead and stop.  Why risk it?

The rest of the group was running 6, so I had time to do my stretches before meeting  up with everyone for coffee.  To be honest, after that, the hip didn't feel awful.  However, it has bothered me off and on all afternoon.  One minute it feels okay, then I step funny and it hurts again.  And to make matters worse, I let my emotions get the best of me - I drowned my frustration in a slice of pizza and 3 cookies at a football party today.  Stupid. 

As for the marathon, Friday was the final day to switch races or defer, so that's no longer an option.  Coach feels that if I am looking at the big picture, I should not run the marathon next weekend for fear of making things worse and having to take more time off after the race.  This might jeopardize my plans for the 70.3.  Not running at all didn't really cross my mind (much) until that e-mail from Coach.  I am struggling with what to do.  I've never DNSed, never DNFed, never been this injured.

Sigh.  I see the Dr again on Monday, so I'll see how that goes.  I may attempt a short run again on Tuesday or Wednesday before I make my final decision.

There's not much more to say, except that this kinda sucks. :-(

On a happier note, the Texans won today!!!!!  It was an amazing game and I loved every minute of it.  Finally, we have a great team again.  Wooohooo!!!

GO TEXANS!!!

Stupid Hip: Update

As you can imagine, waiting to see the doctor has been difficult.  Seriously - longest.wait.ever.  I am not a patient person at all.  So, imagine my anxiety surprise when I received a confirmation e-mail from the dr's office on Monday stating that my appointment was scheduled for 7:00 am on Friday, January 6, rather than Tuesday, January 3.

Yes, this was me after reading that e-mail on Monday!

I did what anyone would do - I called the Dr's office and calmly explained that I scheduled my appointment on-line and was sure I scheduled it for Tuesday not Friday.  Unfortunately, they had me in their system for Friday.  But, they did have an appointment on Wednesday at 5:15 pm.  Ack!  Deep breaths, deep breaths...okay, Wednesday was better than Friday.  Whatever. This particular Dr is known among the running and tri community, and I personally know a few people who have recovered quickly from various injuries after being treated by him.  I figured he was worth the wait.

I went in yesterday expecting nothing short of a miracle.  Silly and unrealistic of me, I know.  But, dammit, I have a marathon in less than two weeks!  And, I have to say that I was pleasantly surprised.  No, I am not totally and completely cured, but I do feel better. Much, much better.  As in, I still have some pain, but I can walk without wincing better!

So what was wrong? The terms Glutius Minimus, Glutius Medius and Piriformis were used, as well as
capsular impingement, tendonitis and another -itis.  In normal people terms - the issue has little to do with my actual hip joint at all.  It's more closely linked to the fact that distance running can fatigue the hip abductors, causing the pelvis to become unstable and force the other muscles to over compensate. This causes the ligaments around the hip to hurt when you move your legs and apply weight to your hip.

So what did the Dr do?  First, he asked me to move my legs in different ways - sit and put the ankle of my right leg on the knee of my left leg, stand and lift my leg, etc.  Then, manipulated my leg in all kinds of different positions and asked me to tell him when I felt pain.  He did a lot of this.  For treatment, he used muscle stimulation and added heat to the area.  Next, the torture treatment included him pressing (hard) on the different muscles and tendons near the hip capsule and glutes...yes, that shiznit hurt!  I was holding onto the table, sweating and cursing in my head.  OUCH!  But, when he asked me to get up and walk (and I wasn't sure I could walk after all that), my hip felt soooo much better!  He also did some alignment work on my spine and showed me the stretches that he wanted me to do at home.  I explained that I had been stretching like a madwoman, but he explained how the stretches I need to do for this particular area needed to be mostly dynamic stretches.  And yes, I confessed - before this injury, I rarely stretched at all.  He wasn't surprised and told me that most people do not stretch as well as they should (if they even stretch at all).

The Glutes - gotta stretch'em!

Apparently, the hip can be pretty freaking complicated.  Who woulda thunk it?

What's next?  The Dr warned me that I would be sore the next day (and I am) and told me to rest for the next 36 - 48 hours (except for the prescribed stretches).  On Saturday, I get to run!  Only a few miles, but hey, it's running.  I will see how I feel after that and I will go back to his office on Monday for more torture treatment.  (He said it could take 3-4 of these sessions to get me all better.)  And, if I am feeling good next week, there is still hope that I can run the marathon!  Fortunately for me, this is my taper time...although, this is not exactly the kind of taper I had in mind.  But I have hope!

A glimmer of hope!  Really, that's what I wanted.

Have you suffered from this?  How is your stretching - do you do it religiously, not at all, sometimes?

Update on the hip

First of all, thanks for the well wishes about the hip, I really appreciate the kind words! 

So, I used the elliptical again yesterday for another 5 miler.  The hip doesn't seem to hurt during the workout and even feels okay afterwards.  However, by the end of the day, I am limping around because it hurts to step down on my right leg.  I think this is partly due to the workout, and partly because I have been spending the rest of day playing with the kids (rather than sitting in an office or in meetings all day).  We've played putt-putt golf, we've taken strolls around the neighborhood while they've used their new scooters from Santa, etc.  Either way, this is not encouraging.  At all.

I e-mailed Coach and she told me to take the next couple of days off.  Completely.  She thinks that the hip doesn't hurt while I am working out, because it's warmed up.  So, no spin class and swim for me today and no 12-miler on Saturday (not even on the elliptical).  I am seeing the doctor on Tuesday, but that seems like an eternity away.  I feel like I've wasted over a week stretching and seeing what happens.  Even with the stretching, the hip isn't getting any better...but, at least it isn't getting any worse either.  I've googled every hip condition I can think of and can't seem to find quite the right description of what I am feeling.  Sigh.  This is extremely frustrating.

On a  happier note, we are taking the kids to see Phineas and Ferb this afternoon...that should be fun!

We're planning to have a really low-key New Year's Eve tomorrow.  The Hubby is on call, so we're staying close to home and hanging out with the kiddos (which probably means playing Wii!).  Hope everyone out there has a wonderful New Year's eve and day!  I will be back with a post of my New Year's goals in a day or two.

What are your plans for New Year's Eve?  Big party or low key like us?

Stupid Body

Sometimes, when things are going great and the workouts are feeling awesome, our stupid bodies find a way to tell us to chill.  In my case, this is happening with my hip.  In my 10 years of running, I've only had a few aches/pains that have stopped me from running completely - bad ITB issues after my 1st marathon in 2003, achilles tendonitis while training for the 2006 Houston Marathon and pretty bad shin splints sometime after that.  I'm not counting the broken toe, since that was a stupid, non-running related injury.  And now, after having a great NYC marathon and some good runs afterwards, my hip is deciding to protest.  

To help let my hip get some rest, I took a few days off from running last week in hope of being able to still run my 18-miler on Saturday.  At the start of my 18-miler, the hip hurt a little - more of an uncomfortable feeling, rather than extreme pain.  By mile 5, I noticed that the hip didn't bother me at all. The rest of the 18-miler went great!   In fact, I'd say it was one of my best long runs this year.  My pace was consistent, my energy level never waned...maybe it was the Hammer Gel I've been experimenting with or maybe it was the pleasantly cool weather.  It even drizzled off and on during my last 5 miles, but even that didn't bother me.  My run felt so amazing, that I actually wanted to keep going!  I decided to stick to the Coach's schedule and not overdo it...but I did add another .5 on the way back to my house.  :-)  After my run, as the day went on, the hip felt okay - a little achey? Yes, but overall not bad.  Sunday, it continued to ache, but again, nothing major.

On Monday, I headed out for my 4-miler.  As soon as I started, the hip hurt with every step on my right foot.  After 2 miles, I stopped and walked for a bit.  After a 1/2 mile of walking, I started up again...it was cold and dreary outside.  I had dressed warm enough for a run, but not warm enough for a walk!  After making it home, I logged in my workout.  In no time, I received an e-mail from Coach saying, "When you are hurting STOP! No running by any means for the next 4 days".  I was also advised to stretch, stretch, stretch, so that's what I am doing.  I tried the spin class at my gym yesterday and also got in a 2100 yd swim.  Today, instead of running 5 miles, I headed to the gym and used the elliptical there.  It felt like a punishment at first, but honestly it wasn't too bad!  I had my iPod shuffle to listen to, and I watched E! (and read the closed caption)...I never have time to watch TV these days, so that was sorta nice.

I have an appointment to see a Dr on Tuesday of next week. I am hoping there's nothing too serious going on with my hip!  Until then, spin, swim and elliptical it is!  All that I know is that I have no biking or swimming for the next 2 weeks during my taper...I hope I am able to run again soon, or I might go crazy!

Have you been sidelined with injuries?  How have you coped with not being able to run?