Wednesday, February 6, 2013

On being injured and the Layoff

Being injured is a frustrating experience for most runners, who find that their enforced layoff is a punishment rather than a reward for their bodies. It can also mean that we ignore the most proper method of taking care of an injury. We do things like "self-diagnose." This is the most dangerous practice, as I most recently found out. Over the course of the past year, I have experienced difficulty with pain in my calf, which never really hurt when I was out running, but would begin as soon as I stopped. Ordinarily, especially ultra runners, we think we can outlast almost any pain, but eventually, it overwhelms us, as it did me on the "End of the World Marathon," and subsequently, the marathon that followed the next day, the "Day After the End of the World Marathon." Unable to finish the full marathon the first day, I limped across the finish line of the half marathon and called it quits. The pain was unbearable, but like a lot of others, I figured it would go away and so I lined up the next morning to begin again, but could only run for 7 miles before limping in and sitting down in excruciating pain. So, to put it mildly, I began this break with running to let myself heal...I would take off as long as it took to let everything heal. Six weeks later, I am having the same problem, so I managed to break the deal with myself and seek professional help. Turns out that I had two problems: arthritis in the knee, and a rare condition called Tibia Fibial Subluxation. Nothing I could fix myself. I had canceled some of my favorite races, laid off indefinitelly for no reason. a few shots of a new product in my knee would make my knee feel brand new, and physical therapy on my calf problem made it feel better after the one session of what they called "dry needling." I had never heard of this, but I had seen acupuncture, and while they are related, they differ in their function. It is, to say the least, a painful venture, but it is proving to be highly effective. Turns out, I had no reason to lay off so long....stubbornness and ignorance cost me time, canceled races, money, and fitness! Lesson learned....go seek professional help. Recovery is now just around the corner, and I can begin my comeback tomorrow, which is encouraging to say the least. I can now begin my cycle of running all the 50k races in the state of Texas, Louisiana, Oklahoma, and Arkansas. I can't wait to start on those new goals, and of course, to train for the most coveted of my goals...the 100 mile race. see you on the trail...... Dr. Jerry W. Hollingsworth

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

You really make it appear really easy together with your presentation but I find this topic to be really one
thing which I believe I might never understand. It sort of feels too complicated and extremely huge for me.
I'm having a look ahead for your next submit, I will try to get the dangle of it!

My blog; buying A car
Here is my web-site - buying a car with bad credit,buy a car with bad credit,how to buy a car with bad credit,buying a car,buy a car,how to buy a car