March 25, 2011

My PT experience

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On Wednesday, I had my first physical therapy session to try and get this whole IT band injury figured out.  I was nervous going in, but also excited about the prospect of gaining some sort of hope that I will be able to run again without pain.
The whole appointment took almost an hour.  I was really surprised that I was in there for that long, but glad that they were taking their time trying to figure things out.  They did a lot of different movements with my ankles, knee, and hip and compared my left to my right, the bad side.  I was AMAZED at how different my right leg acted when put through all of the movements.  Seriously, I had no idea that my right side was so jacked up.

One thing that surprised me was that my right ankle didn't rotate nearly as much as it should have.  The PT asked if I had ever had an ankle injury, which I haven't, because usually he sees the lack of movement from people who have had ankle strains, tears, ect.  He was thinking that if my ankle didn't work properly, allowing my foot to do it's natural pronation thing, then my hip would have to work to overcompensate that problem, maybe causing the IT band injury.
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He continued doing all of these different movements, but then focused on my IT band length (as pictured above).  WOW..what a difference between my two sides.  I had pretty much full range of motion on my left side, but my right was sooo tight.
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  Then, he tested my glute strength on both sides.  Basically he had me lay on my left side and raise my right leg up.  As he pushed down on my leg, the goal was for me to keep my leg up in the air.  However, my right glutes were so weak that it was REALLY hard to keep my leg up.  My left however, did awesome.
My new best friend!
So, as of now, I have 4 exercises, along with foam rolling 3X/day that I have do for homework over the next 3 weeks before my next appointment.  He said in the mean time, that I can continue to RULK (run/walk) as long as I take it easy and don't try to do too much too soon.  So, I'm going to start a walk/run regimin to get my miles in (along with the EFX machine) and just go from there.
The good news is that IMAZ isn't until November.  However, my training officially starts in 3 weeks.  YIKES!  

And, did I mention that I'm supposed to be running the Colfax 1/2 marathon in May?  DOUBLE YIKES!


BUT, I am not going to even think about the what-ifs at this point.  All I can do is hope and pray that my stretching, rest, and PT will be enough to get me back in the game. 

I know there are horrible things happening in the world right now, especially in Japan, and my IT band is nothing compared to what those people are going through.  I feel silly even complaining/whining about it.  But, running is just so much a part of who I am.  Without it I feel kind of lost and it is something that mentally is taking a toll on me.  So, this blog is my way of getting my frustration/stress/fear out so I don't keep it inside and self-destruct, or worse, start taking it out on my boys, which would be horrible!   

I really hope you all have a great weekend! :)

25 comments:

KovasP said...

Hope all your efforts pay off! Here's to you running soon.

Christi said...

I have visited many PTs and a ART therapist and I am always amazed at how I manage to jack up my body and how they can see it immediatlely with all their tests. Amazing!

Good luck with everything! I hope it all goes well.

Dawn said...

Yay for your new best friend and getting the help you need to get back to your "game".
I know what you mean about running being part of you- so understand.
I'm running a Half in May as well....but training isn't going so great as I continue to battle that Pain in the Butt Muscle.
Sounds like you have a great plan going...:)
You'll be back in no time! Woot!

Jill said...

If it weren't for my PT, I'd have zero hope for my heel. Glad you have some things to work on. Did you make it to one of the places I recommended or did you find another source.

Have a great weekend!

Jon said...

Glad you got an answer! Amazing how your pinky toe really is connected to your ear bone? I heart my PT and I feel so good (yet in pain) when I walk out of her office. That foam roller is gonna HURT, but after two weeks your muscles will be all good with it.

misszippy said...

Aimee--Believe me, I feel your pain. And it's ok to whine about it. One thing that I discovered after all my long, long journey with ITBS was that it wasn't muscle weakness, but rather muscles that couldn't fire correctly to support the ITB. So my glute med, and my TLF were both not doing their jobs. Go check out this video at www.sock-doc.com on ITB. He's who fixed me and he has a different way of looking at it than a PT.

Stephanie Anne said...

So glad you worked with a great PT to figure it all out! Good luck with starting up your training!

Julie said...

Yea! I'm so hoping that things go well with the new exercises. Keeping my fingers crossed for you.

Unknown said...

Bet you are glad that you can see some light at the end of the tunnel! The roller hurts like hell but keep at it!

A Prelude To... said...

Keep at it! My first attempt at rehabbing my legs, I didn't give enough time for the exercises/stretching/etc. The second time around, I definitely got better care, but I also committed to giving it all the time I needed and doing my exercises religiously and it totally made the difference.

I'm excited to see you back into training and racing!!!! Get WELL SOON!!!!

DRog said...

u must be doing more than a 24 week schedule for IMAZ if ur starting in 3 weeks? ull be good by Nov fer sure. Its amazing how all this stuff works together - last summer my glute affected my hammy which may have actually started in my calf?!!~! getbetter getbetter

D

Michael said...

PT are awesome and it's amazing how all the parts of your body work together and mess things up at the same time. You have lots of time until IM - you wil still be ready!

trisha*n said...

Injuries can be so rough! But hang in there. I had 2 knee surgeries and had to go through the whole physical therapy thing twice. it can be frustrating, but don't give up!

Unknown said...

It sounds like you are doing the right thing to get this taken care of now, before the big volume kicks in. good luck!

Regina said...

Sorry to hear you are lame as well (your body that is!). I've moved from ITB to calf injury and had to DNF a race yesterday. I get what you are saying about the frustration with relation to world events, it's hard to feel bad about what's happening to us. I hope your PT works for you! I'm off for ART tomorrow!

Caratunk Girl said...

I hope that this all fixes the ITB injury! Also, check out Zippy's suggestion, just for reference at least. Fingers crossed for you.

Big Daddy Diesel said...

I hope the ART works and it gets better soon

joyRuN said...

I have to start PT for my sadly weak hips soon - I'm hoping I'll get even close to as thorough starting eval as you.

<3 ART!

Emz said...

3 weeks until IMAZ training....crazy!!
Soooo awesome.
This.[your journey & training] I. Cannot. Wait. To. Follow!

chris mcpeake said...

good luck with the PT

Running and living said...

Hope these exercises and the PT help. Injuries suck!
THANK YOU so much for your advice on riding aero. It is nice to know that I am not the only one struggling. I think once I get over my fear I am going to be fine. I have a bikepath close by and will try to go in the morning during a weekday, when the wind will slow down a bit. Thanks again, really appreciated your comment Aimee!

RunToTheFinish said...

when i had my IT flare up, the PT was probably the first time i really grasped how all of my muscles played together and where i had weaknesses that i just didn't know about

Kristin Bradfield said...

Wow, IMAZ training starts that soon!? I'm also racing! But doing IMWI first so I'm just starting that. Hang in there with the IT band, I battled that a few years ago and finally beat it. You will be able to overcome it and have a good season!

Anne-Marie said...

Glad to hear you saw a PT and got some exercises/stretches etc to do. Hope things are progressing in the right direction! :)

Austin said...

Dude, from one IT band sufferer to another - that TP roller is frekin awesome...