Rather than bore the daily with my usual list of aches and pains, I decided to start a separate thread to see if anyone can offer me some advice on what to (or not do) to make this left hamstring issue resolve itself.
First of all, a disclaimer. It would be VERY hard (probably impossible) for me to not do something every day. That said, I've tried swimming, pool running, spin classes, the eliptical, the ARC trainer, everything to try and keep in some semblence of shape while not being able to run. I've seen a PT, been to a massage therapist (great, but weekly visits for both are not in my budget) and done the exercises they've given me. I've iced, used heat, used a foam roller, used the stick, tried some Yoga poses, and this thing will not get better. It's now also moved into my piriformis muscle and even sitting is painful.
I realize that age is a factor (I'll be 61 in July) and healing doesn't happen as quickly as it used to. But I'm signed up for a 10k this Saturday and it's always been one of my favorite races. I Don't want to walk it. Can anyone give me some good advice? This was my first year in the 60 age group and I was really looking forward to some great times in the races I run every summer. Not being able to run really sucks.
Please help me, people!
#artbydmcbride
I have something that sounds similar. I am now convinced what I have is an aggravated sciatic nerve. I am hoping tomorrow's visit to the chiropractor will put me on the road to recovery. Good luck!
Runners run
Jlynne,
I'm sorry to hear of your hamstring troubles. I've had to learn quite a bit about them myself. I had a pain in the butt that everyone told me was piriformis, and it turned out to be a high hamstring tendon tear. It also caused radiating pain in my leg. After months of twice weekly PT and massage therapy to no avail, MRI confirmed the tear and I had to go on a complete leg hiatus.
This is an injury you don't want to fool around with. What does your PT say? Have you seen a sport doc?
Somehow you need to find out exactly what you're dealing with. Hopefully some kind of test (that is not cost prohibited) could tell you. I spent months last year treating gastritis that I probably never had.
Get an MRI. If it is tendonosis send me a message. If it is tendonosis stop running. Forget most PT. Your options are limited but there are some. Most doctors will try a few useless things. A very few know what they are doing. Your symptoms are similar to those I had. I do, however, hope you have something else. Tendonosis will often take a long time to fix.
If, like TriBee2010, you are told you have piriformis you need a new doctor. After reading some popular press material I asked my doctor if I might have it (hoping I had something other than tendonosis) and he sent me to look up the academic literature on it. Once I did that it became clear that piriformis very likely does not exist. A few researchers are pushing it but their evidence regarding its existence let alone how to cure it is basically nonexistent.
Live like you are dying not like you are afraid to die.
Drunken Irish Soda Bread and Irish Brown Bread this way --> http://allrecipes.com/cook/4379041/
Hi Jlynne,
If the pain is moving around (from hamstring to piriformis, etc.) then it may well be pain that is being referred from someplace other than where you are feeling it. So I agree that you really need to find out exactly what you are dealing with so you can treat it appropriately and effectively. It may be an expensive route to follow, but if everything else that you've tried isn't doing the job, then you need to take another approach.
I agree that not being able to run sucks. But I wonder if you would be doing yourself a disservice by trying to run Saturday's race without knowing what ails you. You don't want to do anything that is going to keep you sidelined for any longer than you have to be.
I wish there was a quick and easy fix to this. But you've been dealing with this for quite a while, and haven't been able to gain much ground on it. So you really do need to get a solid diagnosis and go forward from there.
Good luck!
Jay
Without ice cream there would be darkness and chaos.
MM#209 / JapanJoyful#803
If it’s your favorite race, and you can’t run it, then what is your personal reason for not wanting to walk it? .If you have a need to do well, PR, etc. and know you can’t, maybe volunteer so running anyway your favorite race doesn’t risk ruining the rest of your running life. Otherwise, if you have a streak or something you don’t want to break, maybe wrap up your knee, or both, and tell everyone you’re injured and can’t run like someone I know once did (that would be me).. .Fortunately, with so many runners nowadays, walking-in-lieu-of-running is not that mortifying, humiliating, and embarrassing as it used to be in those days when it was much better to quit/DNS as someone I know felt obligated to do at mile 23 in a 1978 marathon instead of being reduced to walking (that would be me) in front of all his friends who were still running.
"Enjoy yourself. Your younger days never come again." 100yo T. Igarashi to me in geta at top of Mt. Fuji (8/2/87)
.Fortunately, with so many runners nowadays, walking-in-lieu-of-running is not that mortifying, humiliating, and embarrassing as it used to be in those days when it was much better to quit/DNS as someone I know felt obligated to do at mile 23 in a 1978 marathon instead of being reduced to walking (that would be me) in front of all his friends who were still running.
And how I wish I could wrap my brain around this logic. But it's just not fun. Because I want to run too! Sounds like IRC for Saturday too. I may end up walking it. My 70 year-old sister is "running" the race as well, and my walking pace is around her running pace so we could keep each other company.
Thanks for all the advice everyone. I know I need to find out where the definite problem lies - I'm just afraid to. After my fall in January, the MRI showed no major changes, but the L-4 disc is suspect and I've already had surgery on the L-5 to repair a herniation. PT isn't helping and I don't know of any good sports medicine docs. I guess that's the next step. Tried to run this morning and made it about 10 feet before the pain was so bad I couldn't stand it. I appreciate your suggestions and Ilene - I hope you got some relief from the chiropractor. Tribee, how long did it take for your hamstring to heal? Twocat - I get scared just thinking about how long you were out of commission! What (if any) forms of exercise were you able to do?
Dave - love the new avatar
MM #5615
And how I wish I could wrap my brain around this logic. But it's just not fun. Because I want to run too!
Boy--you sound just like me...and most of the people on here. But, you know everybody is right to tell you to figure out what's wrong before you continue to run. I don't know if I could even go to the race...but, if my sister was doing it, I'd be there. Good luck!
And how I wish I could wrap my brain around this logic. But it's just not fun. Because I want to run too! Dave - love the new avatar
me too and I remember vowing to quit running if marathons ever took longer than the pathetic five hours of some runners in those days.. However, with one of the benefits of the aging process not being running faster, please take care this weekend so your running days can last as long as possible and delay having to find out for real too that walking is better than not.
Welp, the first visit to the chirpractor was just the back check, back x-rays and a 'thermal scan' and scheduled next visit. Thursday they will go over the x-ray and the scan with me , tell me what they can do (and how much it will cost, they are also checking my insurance )
I am not sure when they will actually get to trying to fix me.
(((JLyne)))
He stole my profile picture.
Jlynne...I got no advice for you. Sorry...And I just went thru a bout with some kind of knee injury. Never did get a firm diagonisis and I don't know if it's behind me...doesn't matter.
Mentally...wow. That was my battle. I had some big goals for this year that will not be realized. I've pretty much been absent from the masters group since January and I do regret that. Again, I've got nothing to offer you here either.
What Tet says though is true. I have learned that not every outing had to be fully run. I might get one or two miles in and the frustration would turn me back towards home...I've finally been able to come to grips with continueing my workout for the duration of time allotted even if it meant walking. I think that helped speed up my recovery!
Good luck and press on!
...jylnne//..........as you may guess, Brace It would be my advise
http://www.braceability.com/bauerfeind-myotrain-thigh-support
this one might help
..nothing takes the place of persistence.....
Consistently Slow
+1
Run until the trail runs out.
SCHEDULE 2016--
The pain that hurts the worse is the imagined pain. One of the most difficult arts of racing is learning to ignore the imagined pain and just live with the present pain (which is always bearable.) - Jeff
http://bkclay.blogspot.com/
Jlynne when my hamstrings went, like you I could not sit for long periods of time. That meant no running and no biking. I could walk and swim. Maybe something else would have been possible but it would have to somehow not involve sitting or using my hamstrings. I hate to keep being the barer of potentially bad news but you might want to get a second reading of your MRI. The report on the first MRI I had from the radiologist was that my hamstrings were "unremarkable." That turned out to be a misreading and every MRI and radiologist report after that came back with a diagnosis of tendinosis. I do have one point of good news and that is several other issues can produce the same symptoms you have. Most of those will go away a lot faster, things like bursitis. You can, and probably should, also create a cushion that you can use on chairs that will help relieve the pain while sitting. I still have and use the ones I created. Whether you have tendonsis or not the cushion will help prevent you from further inflaming your legs every time you sit for a period of time. To create a cushion go to an upholstery shop and get them to cut you one out of some reasonably firm material a couple of inches thick. Then have two holes cut towards the back a couple of inches large. The holes should be under the location where the pain is radiating from when you sit. The goal is to get the hamstrings and nerves in the inflamed area off of the surface. Eventually, I had three cushions made up: one for my house, one for my car and one for my office. I still use the one in my office.
Best of luck to you. I sincerely hope you have one of the set of things that could be wrong other than tendinosis.
In case this proves to be of use to somebody at some point here is what the one I created looks like: