You must do the things you think you cannot do.
~
Eleanor Roosevelt

Wednesday, January 12, 2011

My IT Band??

I just got home from the ortho and in a nutshell, he thinks the problem is my IT band. He got paged to the ER and had to leave so I didn't get to ask him very many questions.

I'm not convinced it is my IT. I haven't had any knee pain at all. The issue has been in my hip flexor area mainly but my outer hip does hurt as well.  I can raise my leg forward and backward with no pain now, but initially that caused a lot of pain.

The issue right now is that my hip flexor(s) feel, I don't know, tired and achey, if I walk very much. Carrying my 40+ pound 4 y/o exacerbates it, and if I don't rest it I end up limping. Not with sharp pain but dull pain and a weak feeling muscle. Does that make sense?

I also can't move it laterally very well. I can lift it about 45 degrees before it hurts in my hip joint and my gluteus minimus.

Anyhoo, he gave me some stretches and exercises for my IT band.  He also wants me to use a TENS machine for e-stim. I have to wait for insurance authorization for that which can take a few days to a couple of weeks.

In the meantime, I can start biking now and run next week as long as it doesn't cause sharp pain. I don't see myself being ready for the Lewis Memorial 10 miler in 2 1/2 weeks, but that's ok.

I'm trying to keep the big picture in mind. My long term objective is to enjoy running for many years to come so if that means taking a month off here and there, so be it. If nothing else, these last 3 weeks have given me the opportunity to re-evaluate my diet and institute some changes (more on that another time).

If you have IT problems I'd love to hear what has or hasn't worked for you.

5 comments:

misszippy said...

Oh I hope it's not your ITB! I have been down for several weeks now with it and it's a frustrating injury. The good news, though, is that if you aren't getting any outside the knee pain, it probably hasn't progressed much and you can get on top of it. Try foam rolling along the ITB, ice, stretching, the usual stuff. Hope it gets worked out asap!

*~*~* Tracy said...

You're actually the first person I thought of when he said ITBS! And then I secretly wished it was anything but.
I guess it's time for me to make friends with a foam roller.
Thanks for the well wishes!

Caratunk Girl said...

Good luck. I would go with what MissZippy says - foam roller baby. I hope this gets better for you quickly.

Molly said...

I totally think carrying kids around kills you, I feel like my back is completely out of alignment from it. Hope you work out your issue soon!

coach dion said...

I once, a long time ago, had ITB, first the knee and then the hip.. It didn't stop me running, just bending the knee!!! not easy to run with a straight leg...

But the foam roller is the way to go.

good luck

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