I wish we could see physical therapists for all ailments- not doctors.
I had my first physical therapy appointment today and my PT confirmed what was wrong with my knee just from feeling it. No “come back in 2 weeks”, no crazy x-rays or MRIs.
Most of the appointment was spent taking measurements for orthotics, with maybe about 5 minutes of actual PT, but I still feel good about it. I’ll be stretching, strengthening, and massaging my knee back into good shape. 🙂
A few things I learned:
– My legs and feet are oddly symmetrical- same length, same overall shape. Apparently that’s weird. Even weirder considering all the hip injuries I’ve had in the past.
– “Tight” & “flexible” aren’t necessarily related. My hips are fairly flexible, but the part of the band that’s near the near is super tight. (The PT barely touched it and went “Whoa-yeah, that’s tight”.) Being flexible actually makes it harder to stretch the band.
– IT band syndrome occurs frequently in both runners and cyclists. Cyclists are usually affected in the hip area, whereas runners are more often affected in the near area.
– Not only do I have IT band syndrome, I also have patellofemoral pain syndrome. Which explains why it hurts in 2 different places, and explains the “weak & crunchy” feeling.
– I’m allowed to progressively increase my exercise. As in set progression– no pushing through pain, no toughing it out, no “I feel great today, I’m doing more”- no “typical runner” stuff. 😉 Two thumbs up to that! 🙂
But on 2 conditions: 1. I promise to foam roll & ice afterwards and 2. Not until my orthotics come in and I break them in. So, a little more patience required. 😉
The PT was really good at explaining why things were happening in my knee. Essentially, my IT band, which is on the outside of the knee, is too tight. Not only is it getting irritated, it’s pulling my knee to the side (out). (Some of the fibers from the IT band actually go in and connect to the patella.) The inner lower quad muscle is supposed to pull the knee back, but mine is weak, so it’s not happening.
So now I get to do “quad sets” to my little heart’s content (basically flexing my quad over and over to teach it how to work again). And I get to continue my love affair with my foam roller. He was very happy to hear about the quality time the foam roller and I have been spending together.
During the few minutes of actual therapy I had, the PT massaged my IT band. All I could think was “Ouch” and “I love you”. I couldn’t decide which one I was thinking more… 😉
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