I have not been posting much lately, it just seems most days by the time I get to it the hour is late and no one is likely to see it.

I am seeking advice on my injury and what I should do between now and my June1 event.

I have osteoarthritis in my right knee. Because of that I have inflamed all of the supporting muscles between my hip and mid calf. The knee itself is not as painful as my hamstring attachment to my tibia, the hamstring itself, the quad, the groin and IT band. The hamstring attachment is by far the worse.

On June 1 I am running a 37 mile Fun Run at night. I use the term run loosely, I do expect quite a lot of hiking will be involved which is no less painful. My mileage has been hampered by this ongoing issue since January.

I want to run this event. I just had the bursa at the tibial attachment injected. So far no help there. I have been running 6 -10 miles 3 - 4  days a week, icing every day. I now have a prescription for a topical antiflammatory, a script for PT and a big ass brace to try (in  a desperate hope to stabilize something). Today's hopesd for 20 miler barely went down the trail 2 miles before the pain was too much. I ended up with 5 miles of painful hiking.. Even when not running...even when laying in bed the pain is nagging and often severe.

The only thing I can think to do is to totally lay off, run the event and hope for the best. What can you suggest in terms of upper body exercise that will help me maintain some of my aerobic fitness that does not involve using my legs?  Swimming comes to mind, maybe the dog paddle without using my legs. I don't know if I will be able to get even a PT eval much before the event and I am so running out of time.

Do you think a massage  to some or all of the injured areas might help? If so, do i get it now or just before the race? Any other suggestions?  I really want to run on June 1...and I don't want to make things worse.

Any suggestions would be welcomed. I hate this getting old crap and my body not working well. And constant pain kind of sucks.

Thanks you!

The only thing I can think to do is to totally lay off, run the event and hope for the best.

moonlight - first of all sorry to hear that things have gone sideways. I know it is totally aggravating and really sucks.

I have to admit, the real answer is what dc has said above.  Sounds to me that your body is screaming at you that it needs a break. You’ve even had an injection to quiet things down, but it really would be best to listen, take time off and forget the June 1st thing.

Having said that...  I’ve also been known to not be a very good listener and grunt through runs, so if you really must try to do it.......  Also with the disclaimer that I’m not in the medical field and just a warn out runner too...   It’d probably be best if you basically did what you said above take between now and June 1st totally off.  If you feel you have to do something, join a cheapo gym short-term and do some time on very low impact stuff, mostly go easy on an incumbent bike or maybe go slow and easy on a Nordic thing.  Really the main thing is rest/recovery and healing as much as possible before the start.

The only other ‘probably bad’ advice I’d have to add to the above is to check with a doctor to confirm that you likely won’t do permanent damage by doing the run.  You’d have to find a doc who knows runners or crazy weekend worrier athletes though because most docs would probably tell you to take an extended layoff and probably prescribe some more anti-inflammatories and pain meds.

Signed....  The Enabler.

Oddly enough, my doc did not advise me not to run, but he is not a runner and certainly has no idea what trail running could involve. Injections in the larger knee bursa have helped in the past. It irritates me a bit that I reported this other pain in January and he did not really think it was a big dealer make an effort to identify the source. He only addressed it this time when I asked if he thought it could be a stress fracture.

I will find a runner oriented physical therapist and see what she or he says. I really want to run this thing....but I am feeling less than optimistic.

Thank you!

 

moonlight - first of all sorry to hear that things have gone sideways. I know it is totally aggravating and really sucks.

 

I have to admit, the real answer is what dc has said above.  Sounds to me that your body is screaming at you that it needs a break. You’ve even had an injection to quiet things down, but it really would be best to listen, take time off and forget the June 1st thing.

 

Having said that...  I’ve also been known to not be a very good listener and grunt through runs, so if you really must try to do it.......  Also with the disclaimer that I’m not in the medical field and just a warn out runner too...   It’d probably be best if you basically did what you said above take between now and June 1st totally off.  If you feel you have to do something, join a cheapo gym short-term and do some time on very low impact stuff, mostly go easy on an incumbent bike or maybe go slow and easy on a Nordic thing.  Really the main thing is rest/recovery and healing as much as possible before the start.

 

The only other ‘probably bad’ advice I’d have to add to the above is to check with a doctor to confirm that you likely won’t do permanent damage by doing the run.  You’d have to find a doc who knows runners or crazy weekend worrier athletes though because most docs would probably tell you to take an extended layoff and probably prescribe some more anti-inflammatories and pain meds.

 

Signed....  The Enabler.

 

I am seeking advice on my injury and what I should do between now and my June1 event.

 

I have osteoarthritis in my right knee. Because of that I have inflamed all of the supporting muscles between my hip and mid calf. The knee itself is not as painful as my hamstring attachment to my tibia, the hamstring itself, the quad, the groin and IT band. The hamstring attachment is by far the worse.

 

On June 1 I am running a 37 mile Fun Run at night. I use the term run loosely, I do expect quite a lot of hiking will be involved which is no less painful. My mileage has been hampered by this ongoing issue since January.

 

I want to run this event. I just had the bursa at the tibial attachment injected. So far no help there. I have been running 6 -10 miles 3 - 4  days a week, icing every day. I now have a prescription for a topical antiflammatory, a script for PT and a big ass brace to try (in  a desperate hope to stabilize something). Today's hopesd for 20 miler barely went down the trail 2 miles before the pain was too much. I ended up with 5 miles of painful hiking.. Even when not running...even when laying in bed the pain is nagging and often severe.

 

The only thing I can think to do is to totally lay off, run the event and hope for the best. What can you suggest in terms of upper body exercise that will help me maintain some of my aerobic fitness that does not involve using my legs?  Swimming comes to mind, maybe the dog paddle without using my legs. I don't know if I will be able to get even a PT eval much before the event and I am so running out of time.

 

Do you think a massage  to some or all of the injured areas might help? If so, do i get it now or just before the race? Any other suggestions?  I really want to run on June 1...and I don't want to make things worse.

 

Any suggestions would be welcomed. I hate this getting old crap and my body not working well. And constant pain kind of sucks.

 

Thanks you!

What you describe sounds like tendonopthay of the hamstring (exacerbated by the knee arthritis), and Hamstring Injuries are notoriously slow to recover and almost always require lay off.  Our sports ortho always tells patients to take a lay off after an injection.  He's a Ironman and ultrarunner, so knows what runners need.

If walking and hiking are still painful, then you need to stop those as as well to avoid further injury.

100% agree on pool for exercise.  If elliptical and or cycling is pain free, then that will be good.

100% agree finding a PT who is familiar with distance runners is essential.  You can ask at the PT center before your visit to see if they place you with the right person.

100% agree it sucks if you miss your event, but look at long term goals and not short term ones.

Good luck.  Sorry you are in pain.

From someone who has had numerous types of injuries over the years, I would say be careful.  These things lead to other injuries due to favoring the area with pain.  I have nothing more to add than what was said.  A good PT may be your best bet now.  But what they recommend usually takes time and consistency.

Good luck.

I am pretty sure you are all right about laying off. You all know how disappointing that can be...but an extended lay off would be worse. I can point to what put me over the edge and that was my January race I should not have run with the injury I already had and continued to run despite the significant pain when running and hiking.

Damn.

Mandy, are you volunteering at Kettle? I may still come to volunteer...if I think I could use self control and not run anyway. My friend is running the fun run...we are so well matched it would have been fun to run with her.

And...Mandy and Harrier...I LOVE THE ICE AGE TRAIL! What a wonderful and gnarly place to run!