This week was 24 miles of running, 14 "miles" of pool-running, and 2500 yards swimming -- training log is here.
I shut things down for the first few days of this week until I could get a sacral stress fracture ruled out. I was fairly sure I didn't have one, since I could press firmly everywhere without any tenderness. But still, best to be careful - I had a friend pull out of a race this past fall with very similar symptoms, and he DID have a sacral stress fracture, so it was a possibility.
Thankfully, the orthopedist ruled it out quickly, based on x-rays plus a whole bunch of poking and twisting. The ortho ordered me to PT, which was where I was going anyway.
The next steps were PT and the chiropractor. PT to figure out what I was doing wrong and how to fix it; the chiropractor to undo a rotated sacrum.
***
To explain what I'm dealing with....my symptoms were a sense of my right leg just not working well, combined with a burning sensation and tightness in both legs, especially the hamstrings (with the right worse than the left). I also felt like I had no power when I was running and my heart rate was notably elevated at paces that should have been easy (I noted all of these intermittently before the marathon, but attributed them to taper anxiety).
As for the cause? My understanding is that my sacrum got rotated out of position, which completely screwed up my running gait and also resulted in pressure on the nerves near the S1 vertebrae - hence the intermittent burning, tightness, and lack of power in my hamstrings over the past 2 weeks. I can do hamstring ball curls and similar at the gym completely pain free, so there's little or no damage to the muscles themselves. But they burn and grab up painfully when I run, sit, or sleep on my side. So....this is largely a nerve problem.
***
I got adjusted by the chiro on Wednesday. I'll admit that I was hoping for a massive POP! followed by my dancing out onto the streets, pain free, as sunshine spilled from the heavens. But....I wasn't quite that fortunate (though the drive home was considerably less painful than the drive there).
My first run back the next morning was one of the worst runs I can remember - I felt awkward and off balance, like I was going to trip at any moment. And everything hurt, especially the hamstrings.
But....things improved from there, with each run a bit better than that before. I've been given a slew of glute activation exercises, and I started blending those with short runs. Do the exercises, do a short run (trying to run correctly), do more glute exercises. Rest, repeat.
By Saturday, my running felt like me (I felt like I was mimicking someone else on Thursday and Friday), and by Sunday I was feeling almost comfortable.
I also had a lightbulb moment on Sunday. I had been hunching my shoulders and craning my neck forward during my last few runs - it felt like a compensation for my painful, tight hamstrings. However, I know that tilting one's head forward and hunching the shoulders can increase sciatic nerve tension. Since my pain clearly had a nerve component, I wondered if fixing my upper body would make a difference. So, I went to work on my upper back with a peanut (think two tennis balls attached to each other), and then started my run....trying to forget about my lower body and just keep my head aligned with my torso and my shoulders relaxed.
And...the hamstrings felt much much better and my heart rate finally dropped down to where it should be. Yay!
So a lot of progress this week, and hopefully I'll make more next week, and can start thinking about a comeback.
I shut things down for the first few days of this week until I could get a sacral stress fracture ruled out. I was fairly sure I didn't have one, since I could press firmly everywhere without any tenderness. But still, best to be careful - I had a friend pull out of a race this past fall with very similar symptoms, and he DID have a sacral stress fracture, so it was a possibility.
Thankfully, the orthopedist ruled it out quickly, based on x-rays plus a whole bunch of poking and twisting. The ortho ordered me to PT, which was where I was going anyway.
The next steps were PT and the chiropractor. PT to figure out what I was doing wrong and how to fix it; the chiropractor to undo a rotated sacrum.
***
To explain what I'm dealing with....my symptoms were a sense of my right leg just not working well, combined with a burning sensation and tightness in both legs, especially the hamstrings (with the right worse than the left). I also felt like I had no power when I was running and my heart rate was notably elevated at paces that should have been easy (I noted all of these intermittently before the marathon, but attributed them to taper anxiety).
As for the cause? My understanding is that my sacrum got rotated out of position, which completely screwed up my running gait and also resulted in pressure on the nerves near the S1 vertebrae - hence the intermittent burning, tightness, and lack of power in my hamstrings over the past 2 weeks. I can do hamstring ball curls and similar at the gym completely pain free, so there's little or no damage to the muscles themselves. But they burn and grab up painfully when I run, sit, or sleep on my side. So....this is largely a nerve problem.
***
I got adjusted by the chiro on Wednesday. I'll admit that I was hoping for a massive POP! followed by my dancing out onto the streets, pain free, as sunshine spilled from the heavens. But....I wasn't quite that fortunate (though the drive home was considerably less painful than the drive there).
My first run back the next morning was one of the worst runs I can remember - I felt awkward and off balance, like I was going to trip at any moment. And everything hurt, especially the hamstrings.
But....things improved from there, with each run a bit better than that before. I've been given a slew of glute activation exercises, and I started blending those with short runs. Do the exercises, do a short run (trying to run correctly), do more glute exercises. Rest, repeat.
By Saturday, my running felt like me (I felt like I was mimicking someone else on Thursday and Friday), and by Sunday I was feeling almost comfortable.
I also had a lightbulb moment on Sunday. I had been hunching my shoulders and craning my neck forward during my last few runs - it felt like a compensation for my painful, tight hamstrings. However, I know that tilting one's head forward and hunching the shoulders can increase sciatic nerve tension. Since my pain clearly had a nerve component, I wondered if fixing my upper body would make a difference. So, I went to work on my upper back with a peanut (think two tennis balls attached to each other), and then started my run....trying to forget about my lower body and just keep my head aligned with my torso and my shoulders relaxed.
And...the hamstrings felt much much better and my heart rate finally dropped down to where it should be. Yay!
So a lot of progress this week, and hopefully I'll make more next week, and can start thinking about a comeback.
Dailies
Monday: 7 "miles" of pool-running. Foam rolling at night.
Tuesday: 7 "miles" of pool-running. Foam rolling at night.
Wednesday: Yoga and 1000 yards swimming. Foam rolling at night.
Thursday: 2 miles easy (9:11) and upper body weights/core. Foam rolling at night
Friday: 2 miles easy (9:20), yoga, 2 miles easy (8:46), 1000 yards swimming. Foam rolling at night.
Saturday: 4.5 miles easy (8:37), upper body weights/core, 3.5 miles easy (8:50), drills. Foam rolling at night.
Sunday: 4 miles easy (9:09), 2 miles very easy (8:40), yoga, 4 miles very easy (8:43), drills and two uphill strides. Later 500 yards swimming and foam rolling.
Hmmm . . . interesting tidbit re: upper back tension and hamstring tightness. I've been dealing with a nagging left hamstring issue and recently noticed I've been tilting my head at a funny angle when looking at my desk computer. I'll have to give the peanut a shot.
ReplyDeleteLooks like you're starting to figure this one out. Interesting to note the upper body connection. I am pumping right now, and it's not at all comfortable for my back. I have noticed that when it's tight, my hamstrings are also tight. Really, the whole back side of my body tends to tighten all at once.
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