Last X-ray

By November 7^th the ache was still present, and it had gotten slightly worse (a 3 out of 10), though I had also started light running and static cycling. The snapping hip was also still present. Out of fear that I might also be causing bone damage, I requested another Xray, and the results indicated that the bone was nearly fully healed, with only partial evidence of callus on the compression side, nice lines, and the slightest of dark circle in the compression area (evidence of a bone cyst).

The results were a huge relief, and the bone was continuing to heal, giving me confidence that the ache was largely soft tissue trying desperately to readjust to being used.

FNSF Aches and Pains

By late October I was given permission to incorporate some light cycling into my return to exercise. Mind you, this involved nothing more than using my bike on the indoor trainer, with fairly little resistance. This experience felt a little scary, which was expected, but what I didn't anticipate was the soreness that followed. I'd get off the bike and carefully test things (e.g., a gentle hop test, and I mean GENTLE). I'd have no pain at all when doing the simple tests, yet 20 minutes or so after cycling I'd have soreness in the area of the fracture. This would last the rest of the day, and naturally I got scared. This soreness would be gone by the following morning, but would return if I tried to use the bike. My hypothesis at the time (which turned out to be correct with the benefit of hindsight as I am writing this) was that the bent over position of biking (particularly with aero bars) plus the relative flexed positions of the iliopsoas tendons and hip flexors were causing my tight tendons to be irritated. 

 By October 26^th the aches began to lessen, and I experimented with trying to run. I went to a state park that had a series of flat and “safe” trails (no large stones or roots), the majority being covered in fallen leaves an inch or so thick. Walking was fine, but trying to run was scary. There’s no other way to better characterize the tentative fear of trying to run, and even though the surface was very forgiving, running felt foreign. I ran for only a tenth of a mile at a pace that was slower than what I could walk, but it was a running gait in the sense that I was putting light impact on one leg at a time.  All said, I ran perhaps a total of a half a mile, spaced at 5 sessions of a tenth of a mile with walking for a few minutes in between.

How did it feel?  In a word, strange.  On my injured side, the quads were tired, and my adductor and iliopsoas were very tight. The tightness after running was something new for me (not that I have notable flexibility or have ever been a dedicated runner that stretches much).  It was clear that the injury and subsequent non-weight bearing had notably affected something deep inside my hip/groin, and later that night the ache returned.

I didn’t try running again until November 1^st, though in the interim between the first run and the next, the ache was concerning. It wasn’t a sharp pain ever but rather a dull deep ache that would begin at some point in the morning when I started to walk around and continue throughout the day. I’d experiment with standing on my “bad” leg/hip to see if I could support myself (i.e., to see if there was any pain).  There wasn’t any pain at all (which was good), but the ache would persist.

I also experienced a notable snapping hip (something else that was new for me), where the iliopsoas tendon would audibly snap over something deep within. I’d have a moment of panic, thinking that my femur would certainly snap in two, followed by a relief from the achy pain within.

On November 1^st I finally started Physical Therapy, beginning initially with an assessment of my relative (left leg/hip vs. right leg/hip) flexibility and strength. After a series of tests, the PT indicated that my flexibility was high in both legs/hips, and my strength was slightly less in the injured leg (no surprise). He also found that extreme passive adduction (moving the injured leg far away from the body) would cause a sharp pain right in the injured area. (I had actually known this for a couple of weeks, as certain stretches, like an aggressive groin stretch, were painful). His thought was that the tendon was so inflamed from the injury and so tight from disuse that the ache was evidence of the tendonitis and snap.  As a result, I started doing a series of targeted strengthening exercises.

Returning to Exercise

By mid October I was given permission to try more resistance in biking and full weight bearing on walking. The ache was still present. Nothing at night, no throbbing, no sharp pain like before in early August. I could stand just fine. I could even balance on my injured leg just fine. (In late August, prior to my diagnosis, I noticed that I couldn’t balance anymore on my affected leg. This was very weird; my muscles had obviously shut down and refused to “fire” anymore). 

I also experienced tightness in my iliopsoas – occasionally snapping, and notably uncomfortable. Stretching seemed to make the ache worse, so I simply lived with it. Again, nowhere did I read from other people recovering from the FNSF about aches of this sort.

By October 21^st, the last scheduled X-ray showed nearly normal tension side bone and notably good compression side (with clean lines on the exterior of the image). The cyst was still there. The aches would come in the morning as I tried to walk around. They’d diminish when I’d sit down, and reappear with tightness as the day progressed. Again, nothing acute at all, but worrisome.

A few weeks prior (first week of October), in anticipation of the “someday” of returning to elliptical exercise (and dare I even think about running “someday”), I had done some research on the internet about using elliptical machines to recover from a running injury. One link on the web introduced me to the use of a machine called an Elliptigo, and I spent time reading as many user accounts and reviews as I could find. I decided to purchase one, even though I knew that it might be a week or two before I could even try it.  (Believe me, if you experience this injury, you will spend hours looking on the net for stories of those who have suffered through this process, including the ways in which exercise is gradually reintroduced). The Elliptigo was a significant investment, but I figured at this point – why not.

On October 21^st I rode the Elliptigo for the first time. Let me just write plainly that it was the most joyous, non-impact experience that could simulate running again. I went for a twenty minute “run” on the Elliptigo, and it was blissful. Apart from swimming, nothing had been able to get my heart rate so high, and it was such a release emotionally to be “out there” again, riding on the roads in the autumn air using a running motion. Let me state here and now that I have no affiliation at all with Elliptigo. I am a paying customer, and I gladly and wholeheartedly endorse their product. It is an investment, and there’s no denying that. I purchased their 8C model, for it allowed me to do some hill climbing around the New England town where I live. Put simply, it was the best money I’ve spent on a piece of athletic equipment ever.