You may be curious as to why I am asking these questions & what it has to do with IT band syndrome. If you workout, run, or play sports this injury is mostly common.
How do I know? I was diagnosed with about a week and a half ago. I was running with my friends & (I haven't ran much in a while, but I workout daily so I thought my stamina was up). We ran & walked five miles around a local park. I was starting to feel pain, but thought it was just muscle cramps from the heat or beginning to run. Around the last stretch I started to get sharp shooting pains in BOTH knees and at that point I clearly knew something wasn't right. I was in shear-utter pain...could not even walk in tears kinda pain. Came home and just had to ice my knees & try to relax the best way I could. Didn't do any physical activity, but was scheduled to run a 5K that Saturday. I should not have ran
Saturday comes I get up & I'm super nervous for this fun little thing called run or dye. But promised myself to do what I could. I'm not even sure I ran a whole mile. At one point I caught up with my mom and we were running together, we started going down a grass hill & I just had to stop and go to the side. I was getting the pains again, but this time it felt like someone was stabbing me (not that I know what that feels like) just unbearable pain. Tried to pick up in run, then I'd stop. I heard someone say this is it, the finish line is there so I ran at a slow turtle pace, but did it & right at the end I hit a ditch & knew that was it. Crossed the finish line & so many emotions were running through my head....I was sad, hurt, upset, in pain, emotional, scared, and the list goes on. I stood for a moment looked for my mom & who we can with, when I found them it was a sigh of relief & I just broke down in tears.
Made a doctors appointment, wrote me a script for an MRI- which it came back for Illiotibal Band Syndrome, but wanted me to see an orthopedic because it could have been something more. Started to rest & ice til then. But if you've ever had a injury you know it can be painful & IT WAS! It was a struggle to walk at work, up & down steps, get in & out of the car, & push the pedals while driving. I never felt like I could relax it at all. It always felt tight & tense. And sleeping on my back was the only way I could get "comfortable" ....NOT. Worst way to sleep ever.
So here we are and I had my first physical therapy appointment :
So here we are and I had my first physical therapy appointment :
Nervous and butterflies in my stomach is the best way to put it. My evaluation was surprisingly awful. I had very little strength when he was telling me to push against his hand. I was uncomfortable and uneasy, super sore from just the evaluation. Something just wasn't right & that is because my strength in my muscles & flexibility is slim to none. WHY? I had to ask, I mean I highly active & I stretch and I take care of me. BUT he said it is common in athletes and people who workout daily. When running your hips should be even and sometimes you aren't always, which causes you to put more pressure and shift your hip out, and strain your gluetes, it band, everything else....which in return causes the inflammation I have been having.
I have been given some exercises to do at home twice a day, plus I have to go back to physical therapy twice a week for at least two weeks and if I feel better after that I can knock it down to one. They don't want me to push myself too hard where it starts to hurt like running that 5K, but I have to push myself to where I see results. I haven't ran or worked out since the beginning of June and I just feel lost. I can't relax my knee, I always feel like I'm flexing, and when standing you can tell a difference because my left leg is perfectly straight and the right is bent so I feel lopsided. I feel like it could also be something else, because the other night we were sitting outside just talking and I was getting a tingle feeling & I noticed my knee down to my toes were swollen. I wanted to burst into tears, but I held them back, I got to a point where I couldn't bare the pain anymore. I told them and they are unsure, so I have to monitor it, in case it could be something more serious. When you are starting to workout, whatever you do, make sure you get a good stretch before & after. They don't just tell you that for your health, it is so important to get a stretch in so your muscles are loose and you don't strain or pull something.
I know nothing more than what they are telling me, but I have started to do research. I plan on keeping everyone in the loop, how physical therapy is going, when I am in pain, what stretches are truly working and which aren't, plus I will answer any questions you may have. Feel free to ask me anything & share with anyone who is going through the same thing. It is never easy when you have to slow down and give up something you love, but to go through it alone is a bit hard as well. Having someone there, knowing how you are feeling, gives you a little comfort.
I am keeping a positive attitude even though I am uncomfortable. I can move a little better than before, but still uncomfortable. Sometimes we have to go through setbacks to get where we need to be. And this is just the beginning of my journey.
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