Self Inflicted Injury

It has been roughly two months since I completed the Beach to Battleship full iron distance triathlon. As you may recall, I struggled through the run with some pretty intense knee pain. Since the race I have been dealing with the repercussions of my knee issue.

A week after the race, I went on an easy bike ride with Melissa. We did about 30 miles. I was fine up until about mile 20 when my knee started bothering me again. I had to take it real easy for the rest of the ride and I did my best to draft off Melissa. I did too much too soon after the race. I spent the next several days icing and taking it easy.

After a few days of healing, I started doing some physical therapy (PT) exercises that I had learned from past injuries. Unfortunately, I was not seeing much progress. I ended up getting an evaluation from a PT friend who pretty much agreed with my diagnosis of IT Band syndrome and told me some good exercises to do.

I continued to do those exercises and started seeing mild improvement. Heading into Thanksgiving, I decided I would see how it felt on Thanksgiving day. For Thanksgiving, we have some traditions that include running a hilly 5K up in the Philadelphia area. On the morning of Thanksgiving, I suited up for the race and did some warmup laps on the track to see how the knee would behave. It was not great but it was not too bad either. I decided I would start the race and if my knee started to become a problem, I would bail out.

Of course, once the race gun went off, I took off with the rest of the pack and never looked back. I ended up running a 21:15 which was not too shabby for me on this course. I did pay the price later though. Not only did I have to ice my knees for the rest of the day but since I ran in my minimalist shoes that I don't usually run in, I put the hurtin on my calves. In fact the next day, I was hobbling around like an old man. I had pretty much wrecked my calves. The knee felt better after a day of icing but my calf pain remained for an entire week.

I probably should not have run the 5K. When I got back home, I decided I better take it easy and really focus on my PT exercises. I also went to see Sara at Hands-On Wellness MT.  I decided I should go to my doctor to get an examination and perhaps a prescription for PT. I was able to get an appointment right away and, as usual, when I got to my appointment I was seen right away and did not have to wait long at all. The doctor examined my knee thoroughly and agreed that I was most likely suffering from typical IT Band Syndrome. He said there could be some meniscus damage but wanted me to do PT for three weeks and see how things went.

When I went to my first PT appointment, the therapist became the third PT to tell me that my IT Band was the worst they have ever seen. I could play "Ballad of Jed Clampett" on that thing.  Ellen got me going with some heat and then an ultrasound. Then I did some stretches that they prescribed followed by some strength exercises. I am highly motivated once I have some direction and a concrete plan and was glad to have some structure.

I have done one full week of structured PT  and I am seeing big improvements. My IT band is not as tight and does not hurt constantly. Not only did I have knee pain associated with the rubbing of the IT band, but my IT band itself ached all the time, especially when sitting. That pain has dissipated. I still have some issues below my knee cap that may or may not respond to the PT. I will continue to do my exercises as religiously as possible. I have continued to swim but I am not running or biking. I figure that I have to be ready to start training again by the end of January at the latest. I would rather get started sooner than that but I will have to see how things go. Wish me luck.