I’m slowly working back into a normal running routine. I have 22 miles in for the past 7 days, which is nowhere near the 50+ I had planned on being at by now, but it’s certainly an improvement over the past weeks.
On Monday, I went in for my first deep tissue massage / physical therapy session. I was there for almost two hours, learned a ton, and (for the first time in a couple weeks) was able to walk without any pain in my knee at all when I left.
He started by taking a photo of my legs, then showing it to me. My right quad had a big rock-like bulge that was absent from the left one. That was part of the problem. Somehow, my outer leg had gotten stronger than the inside of the leg, so I was twisting in when I stepped. That was part of the problem too. And then, today, when I was back there and on the treadmill, Luke saw that my right leg was crossing over in the back because my hip wasn’t keeping the leg under control. This was also part of the problem.
So, basically, there are several things wrong with my form that cause issues with my leg muscles. This, in turn, caused the IT Band tightness and the other knee problems. He says that the Nike Frees are a great tool for people with good form, but not so much for people like me. Knowing all this, I feel like they probably weren’t the cause of the injury — but that they instead accelerated something bad that was already happening.
He says I’m fine to do 30-45 minute runs now, but not longer than that because he doesn’t want me to get tired and have the fixes in my form I’ve been working on fall apart. So, I’m doing those short runs and they make me happy. There’s still a bunch of pain out there, but it’s not the kind that can’t be fought through. Yesterday, I even dropped a couple 6:40 miles and finished the 4 mile run at a 6:58/mile average. It felt so, so good to open up a little bit again.
The rest of the recovery routine continues along with a whole slew of stretches and strengthening exercises. It takes me over an hour to get through them all each night. And, I’m still doing the whole Advil and Voltaren thing too, plus icing each day. With all that and a couple PT/massage sessions each week, I should be back to normal soon. Hopefully.
Glad to hear you’re recovering and coming back to the roads again. I think you found yourself a great PT and as long as you take his advice and stick to your recovery plan, there’s no reason to think you won’t be back stronger than ever.
I’ve always thought Nike Free and barefoot runner advocates come off a bit strong in their recommendations. Although I agree that they are beneficial for most runners in the long term, they probably will add to the number of running injuries in the short term because most people won’t take the time to make the slow transition and hurt themselves more in the process.
I don’t want to experiment with the Nike Frees or barefoot issues — I have worn shoes forever, and just afraid of switching to something so different.
Glad to hear your PT has focused on those issues. It is so hard to self diagnose overcompensation issues — your quads are weak, which throws off your hips, which hurts your ITB, etc.
Hope that you can get back to form and up to speed!
I really think that my dr is right when he says that all foot and leg pain/injuries come from hip problems but it seems like you found people who’re really helping you! Yey for the short but fast runs!!!
I’ll echo everyone else, congrats on having such a great PT! It’s wonderful that he could identify all these things for you, you are are sure to get back to your old self soon.