Running
Every once in awhile the stars align. As soon as the baby eats and there’s someone to take over the duties of upright-baby-holder-{reflux}/baby-cry-stopper/baby-putter-to-sleeper, I can get outside for the most glorious event in the world.
A run.
There’s always laundry to be done, dishes to be washed, showers to be taken and work to be done, but when the aforementioned events occur about once every 2 weeks, you take advantage of them.
The year before I got pregnant I injured my knee doing what I loved to do: running. After a year of rehab, I was just starting to be able to get back into running when I found out I was expecting. Although I’d always pictured myself running while pregnant, I knew it wasn’t going to happen. I didn’t think twice about trading my runs for walks.
Pregnancy is notorious for messing with your joints and ligaments and I’d heard horror stories about what pregnancy can potentially do to your IT band. There was no way I was adding fuel to the fire that was my injury- I’d rather hang up my running shoes for another 9 or so months rather than risk permanent injury.
My entire pregnancy was loaded with statements like “if I can run again” and “we’ll see if I can run”. I questioned and wondered and hoped that my knee would make it through and I could pick up running again. I did what I could to keep my knee in good shape while I was on a running hiatus- squats, lunges, foam rolling, and stretching.
And now its time to see what will happen this time around as I lace up my sneakers and hit the pavement for the first time in almost a year.
LookBack
Hope you’re having a wonderful weekend in this warm fall weather. Here’s some stuff that happened this week:
First, check out my guest post on Live, Laugh, Eat: 5 Healthy Habits That May Be Sabotaging Your Diet.
Then, some stuff that happened on SoS:
I celebrated 1,000 posts here on SoS and shared some of my favorite posts & recipes.
2 ways to give back this season for less than a dollar.
An easy hearty appetizer: chickpea artichoke crostini.
Why foam rolling may not be the answer to IT band pain.
Stuff that happened on tiny sneakers:
We’re in the home stretch: third trimester time!
The dreaded glucose test.
And I leave you with the cutest picture on the face of the planet:
What are you looking forward to this week?
Injuries
If you’ve ever had trouble with you IT band, chances are you’ve been told to foam roll, foam roll, foam roll. And maybe stretch.
That’s what I was told too: by other runners, by my physical therapist, by nearly everyone I encounter that knew what an IT band was.
And I listened: I foam rolled the crap out of my leg. And then it got worse. The more I foam rolled, the worse it felt. {And not in that foam rolling “this hurts so good way”.}
It wasn’t until I found my chiropractor that someone finally believed me that the foam rolling and stretching wasn’t helping. See, my IT band was never tight. No stretch would target it, and foam rolling was just beating it up.
Instead of all over foam rolling, my chiropractor focused on specific points of tissue along my IT band that were bothering me. He said the key was to get those spots loose before anything else would help.
New research just came out that shows maybe this guy knew what he was talking about. {I had no doubt he did.} They’ve now shown that foam rolling isn’t a productive treatment method. Instead you need to target several trigger points that are related to the IT band, specifically the tensor fascia lata {TFL} and gluteus maximus.
Trigger points are essential knots of tissue. Targeting these areas with massage, whether it’s a tennis ball, a foam roller, the stick, or someone hands, is what will make a difference in the recovery of the IT band. {Trigger point therapy.} Everyone has different trigger points, but the TFL and glute max trigger points are extremely common when it comes to the IT band.
The TFL is the tissue on the upper outside portion of your hip- if you’ve foam rolled, you’ve likely screamed bloody murder here once or twice.
The glute is, well, your butt. That doesn’t usually feel too good either. But working through these areas can make a huge difference in your treatment.
So while generic, non targeted foam rolling isn’t the answer, targeting specific trigger points can make all the difference. The reason foam rolling works for some people? You’re probably hitting those trigger points. For other people, the trigger points are too deep into the tissue to get it with a swipe of the foam roller.
So just a reminder, the answer isn’t always where you feel the pain.
PS I’m talking glucose tests over on tiny sneakers
Injury prevention
It’s pretty apparent that I’m no stranger to injuries. I do my best to prevent running injuries, but sometimes it’s not enough. Plus, most of us are stubborn enough to think an injury won’t happen to us.
But if you feel an injury coming on, the best thing you can do is take care of it right away– don’t expect it to disappear on it’s own.
Injury: Shin Splints
What: Pain in the front of your lower leg, usually towards the inside.
Intervention: Stop running. Rest. Ice. Cross train. Slowly rebuild mileage.
Stretching your calves, running on softer surfaces, and making sure you’re in the right running shoe (not too stiff) can get you back up and running faster.
Compression sleeves or kinesiotaping may help as well.
Injury: IT Band
What: Pain on the outside of the knee (or hip)
Intervention: Rest, ice, stretch, foam roll, strengthen. Cross training can help reduce some of the running-specific friction of the IT band rubbing against your knee.
Alternate running on the “wrong” side of the road- many roads are slightly curved, which can make one leg need to reach farther than the other.
Stretching and foam rolling are key here- loosening the IT band will help prevent so much friction.
Injury: Runner’s knee
(patellofemoral pain syndrome; chondromalacia)
What: Pain under & around the knee cap; may cause grating sensation.
Intervention: Reduce mileage, strengthen muscles around knee (especially quads). Be cautious about deep bending knee activities such as squats and running on hills & hard surfaces.
Straight leg lifts can help focus building the small part of the quad muscle just above your knee cap on the inner side, which can help hold the patella in a more comfortable position. Using tape to hold the patella in the proper position can help too.
Notice some common themes? Rest or cut down on mileage, ice, & get the right shoes for your gait. Don’t power through it!
Injuries, Uncategorized
June 5th- 3 months, 4 days ago. {Update: almost 4 years ago now}. Three miles into the woods at Algonkian Regional Park. The dull pain that I’d felt in my knee on my last few runs struck again- and struck hard. It didn’t take long for the pain to kick into high gear.
I knew I needed to stop running. But when you’re 3 miles into an out-and-back 6 mile course that lead you down a single path in the Virginia woods, where do you stop?
I quickly discovered it hurt more to walk than it did to run, so I kept running. {Although at this point I felt like I’d finish faster if I crawled….}
Immediately after the run my knee was ok- sore, but manageable. But by the time I got home from the race, I knew I had just done some serious damage. {I was right.}
After icing & resting for a week, I still couldn’t walk. There would be no miraculous recovery- it was time to go to the doctor.
Endless x-rays and an MRI later, I learned I had iliotibial band friction syndrome, patellofemoral pain syndrome, swollen knee fat pads, and misaligned tracking of the patella. {This was good news compared to the initial diagnosis of a torn meniscus, which meant knee surgery.}
{And judging by a new set of x-rays, I also have chondromalacia/early arthritis, and severely tilted patellas- & my “good” knee looks worse than my bad knee. Fun.}
Several rounds of physical therapy, anti-inflammatory drugs, and more resting & icing ensued. Along with several snazzy new taping styles:
I still couldn’t run.
Yesterday was my “final” follow up appointment. The one the doctor scheduled to make sure I was back on my feet & running again.
When he saw I wasn’t, his reaction: “Well, WHY aren’t you better yet?” Umm I don’t know doc, isn’t that your job?
One of the things the doctor had prescribed in physical therapy was iontopheresis: which uses ultrasound to drive cortisone deep into the joint. The PT had other ideas and never did the treatment.
An internal office showdown ensued. {Hello, you work for the same company, in the same building- can’t you guys talk?!}
The doc decided I had to have the cortisone as a last ditch effort. Of course I’m thinking, great more PT. But he said he’d do it today- awesome, one less visit for me!
Then the nurse came in and pulled out two giant syringes with long exposed needles- and just left them on the counter haunting me for the next 20 minutes. They didn’t mean iontopheresis- they meant cortisone injections.
To skip the details, those things HURT. {I did get complemented on my strength of dealing with the pain. I should have gotten a frickin gold star!}
So then I was sent home to let the cortisone do it’s thing along with some stronger anti-inflammatory creams and instructions to come back in another month.
No improvement by next month? Back to that surgery option.
{On a side note, I reacted to the cortisone and have since felt like I’ve packed an entire 2 weeks of the flu into a single 24 hours.}
I’ve already been sidelined for the 2 races I was most looking forward to this year: Iron Girl & 36 North…
So here’s to hoping the cortisone does the trick… adios fall race season. <– spoiler alert. None of this worked. Updated: March 2014
You can follow the “highlights” of my knee injury here:
A Restless Month- MRI Time
And the Verdict Is…
All About IT Bands
Hurts So Good- PT Starts
Adding to the Diagnosis
An Attempt with Kinesiotaping
Trying McConnell Taping
The missing triathlons: More Than a Tri & The Post in Which I Admit Defeat
Have you had a running or sports injury? Are you back to running?
