A New PT - New Hope!

Its been 4 weeks since my knee decided to crap out on me. Four weeks in which I have done a total of 3 runs. None of which were over a mile and a half. None of which did not consist of my knee flaring up and having to stop. And looking ahead to my half marathon I have to say that I was worried. What if everything I'd worked for was now impossible. I was pretty sure I could walk the whole thing, but that is NOT how I had planned this journey.

Even if I had not planned it this way, I had come to grips that the most important thing was recovering and working toward the next half marathon. But after one month of some but not much improvement I was looking for answers. So I got the name of a sports rehab specialist from a coworker and made an appointment. I felt bad. Like I was cheating on my other PT. But at the same time this is about my health and body. And I love my other PT, she is so nice and understanding and helpful, but she's not specialized in sports rehab.

And so yesterday I went to see my new PT. We went over all of my symptoms, how the pain started, she evaluated me the same as my other PT and agreed with her assessment that I had some weakness in my inner quads and butt (again I say ALWAYS a good thing to hear that your butt needs work. Thank you Dr. Quinn). What she also did is assess more of HOW my foot strikes the ground, and what she found is that my left foot collapses on the arch A LOT, which is most likely what causes the pain in my outer knee. She fixed a wedge under my insole, taped my knee up and told me to go run that night. To see if I could run 3 miles without pain, and continue if I could go further. She also showed me a few additional exercises to strengthen my butt, as well as how to reengage my fibular head (which is where my pain is), if it begins hurting during a run. Real life examples of what to do to help myself when NOT at the doctors office.

I went to the gym that night and got on a treadmill. Still going at a slower pace (5.5 on the treadmill - about 10.5min/mile). I reached 3 miles and no pain. So I kept going. Four miles passed......little to no pain. I stopped about half way through mile 5 to work on my knee for the slight pain and then kept going. And by 5 miles reached I was still good. I was in awe. WHAT?! Five miles was what was on my ORIGINAL training schedule for that night. A schedule I had revised like 5 times since I hurt my knee. So that's where I stopped.

After one hour in her office she had seemed to figure out what the root cause of my problem was. And suddenly I had hope. I didn't think I could run the whole half, but this gave me hope that I could at least do portions of it and not suffer pain. The great thing though is that it wasn't as if she said that what I'd been doing for the last month was wrong. She reaffirmed that I'd been working to fix the problem, and that obviously my gait had changed and things were getting better. BUT she gave me a solution. Not just fixes.

So here I sit. Hopeful. And for now that is all that matters.

Physical Therapy and Keeping Perspective

Yesterday was my fourth physical therapy session since my knee brought me to a point where I couldn't just work through it on my own. The first two sessions were pretty much just an analysis of my legs. Bending/stretching/rotating them all of the place to see what hurt, where my strenghts laid and trying to define the root of the problem. After those first two sessions last week the thought is primarily that it is an IT Band issue. I'm working through it by taping my knee, icing, elevating, stretching my IT band and using my foam roller.

This week my two sessions consisted of 1) video taping me running on a treadmill; and 2) using an ultrasound machine on my knee and some soft tissue work. I got on the treadmill on Monday and ran for about a mile at a 10 min pace. It actually felt pretty good too. There wasn't really any pain during the run. We sat down after and reviewed the tape to see if something in my run was actually affecting my knee. Overall my PT told me I had a pretty great form. Wasn't bouncing too much, striking the ground in a good way, legs looked strong. Only problem was when we got a look from the back. Seems like I'm doing some kind of slight swing kick out with my left foot which could be causing my pain. Only thing is trying to figure out WHY my foot does that.

We also tested my leg strength to see if maybe I'm over compensating some where. After doing some strength tests she said my outer quads and hamstrings are really nice and strong. But I could use a little work on strengthening the inner quads as well as the butt...GREAT. Isn't that what EVERY girl wants to hear? But at least its getting closer to pinpointing what the heck I really need to do to FIX this versus just NOT running. So she gave me a couple more exercises to specifically target my problem areas, and she'll be working with another one of the physical therapists while looking at my video to try and identify what is happening with that left foot.

Other things to note from my PT sessions....looks like overall my hips are aligned evenly, my right leg is actually slightly longer than my left, but only by about a centimeter so nothing crazy to worry about. The shoes I bought at RoadRunner Sports seem to be good for my running form, but I may need to look at better shoes for normal day to day wear (e.g. less high heels and more shoes with good arch support - damn it).

But other than that they seem to keep telling me that I did all the things I should've done right. (because that makes this so much LESS frustrating....riiiiight). But we seem to be honing in on what I need to do to get going, but in all honesty I feel like once again the answer is not going to be an easy fix. Its going to mean me going to the gym and actively working on weak areas, etc. Which, hey it'll be a process...but you gotta put in the time for the things you love right? Because I COULD just say screw it. I'll just stop running, the pain will go away and then we wouldn't be having these conversations right? But I DO love it, and I'm NOT willing to give it up, or take the easy road.

I've got two more weeks of physical therapy and then it will be a meeting between my normal physician and the PT to decide a course of action from there. But one way or another we're going to figure out a course of action. And one way or another I'm crossing that finish line in Vegas. For the half marathon course you have 4 hours to complete it, which is roughly an 18 minute and 19 second pace. More than doable, especially if I am able to run at least portions of the course. It may not be the way I originally envisioned completing my first half, but I also have the Cleveland Half in May to think about too. And by then I should be kicking ass and taking names!!!