It's been nearly a year since my injury. I keep reading the runner's world blog site to bond with the stories of those who've been diagnosed and those who've recovered. Bless them all.
I'm convinced now that my injury was caused by a constellation of things - the perfect storm. 1. Too many trail miles, day after day. 2. Letting my weight get too low, which may have caused some bone leaching. 3. Not enough rest.
I still fixate on this injury every day, but thankfully I'm far enough away from it that I've learned to mellow about small aches/pains. It seemed like yesterday when I'd inadvertently step on a dried twig outside and freak out thinking that the noise was me breaking in two.
Back to racing now. Training hard again. Training smarter.
Thanks for the blog, ive had this injury for 6 months and am not running yet. I am weight bearing again and still feel all the aches and pains which got me worried I was healing. I will see if I can have another x ray too.
ReplyDeleteHi Heather. Of course, I'm sorry to learn of anyone having to go through such an injury. I hope that you are also somewhat "lucky" as I was not to need surgery. Regardless, I sympathize that it is both scary and depressing. As I mentioned somewhere within my posts, the return to weight bearing was very frightening. I had soreness upon walking and such, but the pain was different than the original injury, which presented itself as deep and sharp - especially when standing up (e.g., getting out of the car or up from a chair). I'm convinced now the soreness upon weight bearing was due to aggravated tendons (or ligaments) following what was essentially two months of absolutely no use. They became tight. You are wise to request a follow up. I did the same thing, without hesitation. I simply freaked out when my groin was sore upon the initial weight bearing and immediately got a scan. Apart from a little radiation (and I wonder about my cumulative dozen scans at some point!), you won't regret the peace of mind it will bring. For what it's worth: I'm coming up on two years since the injury, and it still occupies my every day exercise. It's made me far more mindful of the aches that are "normal." I did 14 races last year, including an ultra and two half marathons, several triathlons, spartan race, etc. Just did the Wendover Trailscape (West) out in UK in early March. I write this to give you hope that you will return physically and mentally. You will certainly appreciate running more than ever. Good luck, and don't hesitate to reach out if you need any advice.
DeleteThanks, so good to know you were running again especially doing all those races, I used to do alot of triathlons so missing this season :( Did u do much cycling to cross train? I've tried outside a few times but get quite a lot of aching after!
ReplyDeleteHi Heather. Roughly four months after my injury, I was given permission by my Orthopedic to start doing light exercise, which included walking, swimming and light cycling (indoors on my trainer). As I started back to exercise, I was frankly scared to death. I experienced notable aches, but nothing like the fracture pain. The ache came from tendon disuse, as they were tight on my injured side from not being used AT ALL for nearly three months. Walking didn't produce the ache. Swimming didn't produce the ache. Cycling did (even when I rode on the trainer with relatively little resistance). My hypothesis: Riding involves notably more work of the hip flexors and associated tendons (like the iliopsoas). I think the flexed position of riding simply irritated things. It still scared me! The key was that there was no pain when I tried gentle hop tests. (The first time you try this will be scary, and please be careful). When in doubt, get a scan to confirm that you aren't re-fracturing. Take it slow. I know this is a tough time of year, as you want desperately to be outside, but you have to look at the bigger picture. Play it safe so that you can have many years ahead of you.
DeleteThanks sounds like what I'm getting, have a scan now end of month
ReplyDeleteFingers crossed it's healed!!
Thank you so much for writing this blog. You’ve been my only hope. I was diagnosed with a femoral stress fracture. I was over 12 weeks in crutches (it was the most difficult time of my life). Right now I just started to walk again (I’ve experienced pain all around my hip area, hamstring and in the front of my leg) and hopefully I’ll be running in a couple of weeks. PT has been a life saver! Thank you again!
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