The past ten days have been a bummer for me because I realized that I incurred an injury to my ilio tibial band. At first I thought it was nothing major... just some tightness in that area that needed to be foam rolled out, stretched, and massaged. I dealt with this injury about 3 1/2 years ago so I could recognize some of the symptoms as they escalated. The day it finally went I was out in the middle of an 8-mile run when it completely tightened up and every time the tendon slid over the bone there was a feeling that had me just about to the point of sticking my thumb out for a ride. Instead I toughed it out and walked the four miles home in disgust because I knew I would have to stop or greatly limit my running for the next several weeks.
I am human after all! I guess I was starting to think I was some bionic man or something. It's funny how the world has a way of humbling us when we don't listen to the signals.
Since then I have done a lot of research, talked with many athletes that have experienced this, and have taken action to rehabilitate myself.
I'm heading back tomorrow and Wednesday and hope to get rid of and find the root of the problem. If you are in the Ithaca, NY area and are interested in experiencing the benefits of A.R.T. Dr. Gerrit Van Loon is a great person to know, not only because he is one of the few in the area who is trained in the field, but because he is also a runner. Link to his informational website HERE.
After the initial feelings of anger, sorrow, and despair I realized that I just need to accept that these types of things happen especially to people that put huge demands on the body. So a few days later I volunteered at the local Skunk Cabbage Half Marathon and 10K and had a wonderful time. I got a totally different perspective and shared many laughs and stories with people and was glad to be of service. I helped blow up balloons for the finish line arch and clipped runner's timing chips at the end and probably answered the question, "why aren't you running today?" about a thousand times. In fact, while at the race I bumped into a chiropractor I know and have read about, who ran the half-marathon, that is trained in Active Release Technique. He pulled me aside at one point afterward and dug into the side of my leg with his fingers and started teaching me more about the reasoning behind me having to stop the activity that I am so passionate about. So I made an appointment to see him and things have been going great so far in correcting this common problem in runners and triathletes.
There are many informational videos on YouTube about A.R.T. and Ilio tibial band syndrome but this one seemed to be one of the best in terms of not being so boring! Check it out to learn a little more about A.R.T. and see if it could help you too! (You don't have to be an endurance athlete to benefit from this intuitive practice!)
I'm heading back tomorrow and Wednesday and hope to get rid of and find the root of the problem. If you are in the Ithaca, NY area and are interested in experiencing the benefits of A.R.T. Dr. Gerrit Van Loon is a great person to know, not only because he is one of the few in the area who is trained in the field, but because he is also a runner. Link to his informational website HERE.
There is always a positive side of every negative (that's what my momma taught me!) and over the past couple weeks I have been able to spend more time with Erica (planning our wedding), focus on doing well in my course work, and to be available for friends and family more than I probably would be running 80 miles/week!
The North Face Endurance Challenge 50-mile is not looking like it will happen but...ya know what?...there are plenty of other races coming up...I just want to be healthy for them and not string this injury along with me for the summer and years to come. That said...I'm off to the gym for some hot tub/ stretching/ core work and I'll see you on the trails soon enough!
For all of those you that are temporarily (or permanently) injured out there and are feeling down in the dumps hang in there and remember to be grateful for all the beautiful things we DO have right NOW!
Quote of the week: "Before I was paralyzed there were 10,000 things I could do. Now there are 9,000. I can either dwell on the 1,000 I've lost or focus on the 9,000 I have left."
W Mitchell
8 comments:
Sorry to hear about all of this, but you seem to have the right plan and attitude. NF50 would have been perfect for you, but there are plenty of other races to win for you once you recover.
You are such an inspiration...now if only you would stop obsessively massaging your leg....;-)
Yassine, injuries are always unpleasant but you have a good attitude and were smart enough to seek treatment before it got out of hand. I think you will have good results with the ART treatments. It's the only thing that helped my plantar fasciitis.
Good Luck!
In 2002 I discovered Active Release Techniques, ART, a medically patented technique developed by Dr. Michael Leahy. I was amazed at the ART treatment I personally received which immediately resolved my chronic shoulder, knee, and ankle problems that had responded minimally to other types of care. ART gave me my life back. I got my “game” back, I began running, cycling, swimming, etc.. I give all the credit to ART. Good Luck to you.
3 months ago I pulled the right side of my neck while deadlifting incorrectly (using my right side more on the way up). To this day, I still canoot turn my neck to the right and am in a lot of pain, as well as upper back pain. At the start of the third month, I began to feel numb and weak in many areas of my body, like my fingers/toes/arms and legs. I also feel dizzy and disoriented a lot now.
Doctors tell me muscle spasms are pulling my cervical curvature of my neck out of place. Ive been to acupuncture, chiros, and PT, but they only work temporarily. I am so desperate, I even had to drop out of school due to the effects of this injury. I need a permanent solution to help ease this neck spasm which is wreaking havoc on my life and body.
I have an appt. with a really popular guy who works with the NFL and such, and he does this. Im so tired of being disappointed. I am only 22, and my body feels very off balanced and I have the pain of an 82 year old. Will ART help me fix my neck spasm and restore balance to my body?
Will Active Release Technique help me?
ART can work wonders for IT Band issues as well as many many other conditions.
I'm a person totally proactive I got some hard injuries but we don't give up because those are things that occur all time.
With my own participation and adventures in extreme sports competition, I have needed to be treated chiropractically myself. From knee and ankle sprains and back strains to finger dislocations and small broken bones, I have injured just about everything. Click to get the services of Chiropractor For Shoulder Pain, Active Release Chiropractic and Denver Colorado Chiropractors.
Fortunately, my brother has been in practice for 35 years, knows my body well and is able to get me back in action when I need it.
Post a Comment