Frankly, I think ITBS (Iliotibial Band Syndrome) is aptly
acronym’d: dealing with the IT is total BS. But, I am happy – though cautiously hesitant –
to report that I seem to FINALLY be kicking my stupid bout with IT BS in the
butt!
Here’s what’s gone into what I think of as “reprogramming”
my IT Band…
~ Dumping the
orthopedist in favor of a chiropractor.
The ortho just wasn’t that into my injury, if you will; he pretty much
told me to keep up with the physical therapy exercises I’d been doing, ice it
when it hurt, and maybe just accept that my body can’t do long distances. I’d never before seen a chiro, but a good
friend has seen a total reversal in her major neck problems form chiropractic
care and I was running out of other options, so I looked up chiros covered by
my insurance, picked one and hoped for the best. I got very lucky – my pick happens to be a
runner, is married to a triathlete, and treats a number of runners and dancers.
SCORE!
From the first visit, Dr. Miracle showed great understanding of the
problem, my time-frame for recovery, and how important it is to me to beat
this. Over the past month, she’s seen me
weekly and has used targeted massage, electro-therapy, spinal and hip
adjustments and active resistance maneuvers to speed healing, reduce
inflammation and get things back in alignment.
I was enormously skeptical, but I can’t express how pleased I am with
what she’s accomplished!
~ Switching
shoes. That’s right – Cindylocks STILL
had it wrong. As I thought long and hard
about possible triggers for ITBS, it occurred to me that it wasn’t getting any better
in high-drop stability shoes… whereas I’d seen some improvement pre-Tower of
Terror 10-Miler in more minimalist, low-drop neutral shoes. So I tried the Brooks PureFlow again, this
time a half-size smaller, and feel like they’re a much better fit for my
mid-foot running style.
~ Not making
stretching into a competitive sport. If
it hurts, it’s too much, ‘Nuff said.
~ Changing my status to “in a relationship”… with my foam roller. With apologies to Peter, Paul & Mary - If I had a foam roller I'd foam roll in the morning, I'd foam roll in the evening, all over this land… I foam roll my IT Band area. I foam roll my glutes. I foam roll my quads. I don’t foam roll my calves – I use a wooden rolling pin for that. I foam roll in the morning, after a hot shower. I foam roll before running. I foam roll after running. My foam roller’s gotten more action in two months than I’ve seen in 10 years. Is it helping? Who knows. It’s not hurting, and things are improving, so I’ll keep rolling with it.
I returned to running once all pain and inflammation had
gone away. Thanksgiving morning, at Walt
Disney World, Leo and I went for a good long walk, taking the nature path from
the Wilderness Lodge to Fort Wilderness, circling around the Fort, then
returning to the Lodge – a total of 2.33 miles.
I mostly walked, but ran a little… with no pain for the first time since
August. From there, I’ve slowly but
steadily built up my mileage to a 5-mile long run last weekend. I’m aiming for 6 miles tomorrow. I’m doing two short runs and one short walk
mid-week with a long run on Saturdays. I’m
still walking a lot more of each “run” than I’d like, but I’m being very
careful not to push for too much too soon.
I may not be able to run nearly as much of the Princess Half-Marathon as
I’d once thought I would, but I’m starting to feel like I can, indeed, finish.
Go me!
