October 24th, 2011
Last Night:
Hours after writing the last post, I took a short walk to the Post Office and was dismayed to find myself hurting more after 3 days off, which is not the way this is supposed to work. It could be my own fault for the self-PT I’ve been doing; on Thursday I tried to loosen up my adductors which have been a shadow through all this so maybe I just irritated them further…I hope. Regardless, I knew I wouldn’t be running the next day or for the next few days. It was time to call a doctor.
The doc was gone, it was late Friday afternoon so I wasn’t able to make an appointment, but the nurse was great, assured me they’d want to take x-rays (hopefully an MRI as well) and she suggested I stop all foam rolling, massage, ART-lady-supplied exercises and stretches for the entire weekend and to “be kind to yourself”.
Physically, I was extremely kind: for two days, I sat on the bed with the laptop, leaving the apartment for one short limpy walk to Whole Foods. Mentally, I wasn’t kind as much as realistic, reading about femoral stress fractures till there was nothing left to Google, comparing symptoms and learning what recuperating from one entails but not really reading those parts too carefully because I can’t stomach the thought. I so hope I don’t have one. But I think I do.
This Morning:
Just got a call from the doctor’s office. My fear of having to go through hoops to be seen by the right person has been completely allayed. I was able to make an appointment directly with a Sports Medicine doctor at Rothman Institute. The only crimp in the matter is that I have to wait until next Tuesday this Friday but the receptionist said I could call daily to see if there’s a cancellation (got one!). My hope is that it’s just a soft tissue injury and that I’ll feel “fixed” before then, but I won’t be testing it unless I feel absolutely nothing going up/down stairs and walking around.
All that angst about the races I missed, doing poorly on the ones to come and the pfffft of a fitness balloon seems so silly now. I just want to run.
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FWIW, remember that Google prioritizes what’s most popular, not necessarily what’s most accurate. This is particularly worth noting when using Dr. Google to diagnose injury or illness.
I was actually zoning in on running and sports discussion boards though, so getting first-hand accounts. RWOL has a couple huge threads about it and that was my biggest pool of “oh crap, this sounds familiar”.
Ah…yeah — I have found a lot of interesting info on those boards.
My fingers remain crossed. Have you pinged (Julie) Races Like a Girl — I think that’s what she had.
Frankly, if you seriously think you have a fracture, you might want to quit all activity, as hard as that is, and NOT test it until you get a DX, even if it feels great. With all these fractures, there’s a clock that starts ticking when you start resting it. If you don’t run at all this week, then if it is a fracture, you’ve hopefully got one less week of healing time…
(apologies for unsolicited advice, BTW. I have a bad habit of giving it some times. You’ve got great judgment and research skills, so no reason for me to be giving unsolicited advice)
No, you’re right, though my thought is that if I am pain free on stairs and walking then it’s not a sfx, since it wouldn’t just whisper away like that. But I won’t attempt anything unless it’s really gone, which I think probably won’t happen anyway.
Julie had a pelvic one, if I have one, it’s femoral shaft (though this latest groin thing could point to femoral neck). I read that the resting time for a femoral sfx is when you’re non-weight-bearing, so on crutches. sigh
I’ve had great experiences with Rothman, I don’t trust the PT clinic in the same building (Nova Care) but the actual Sports Medicine specialists are excellent. I always see Dr. Vitanzo. I have found it’s initially difficult to get him to spend much time with me, they’re very busy!! But he readily answers all questions I’ve ever asked. If you don’t ask, you get 2 minutes time. I know you’ll ask, because like me you Google everything and come prepared. Best wishes.
ETA: I feel it’s a good idea to initially hold back saying what you think the diagnosis is. This way they exhaust all the possibilities. Maybe that’s not necessary but it’s my best practice when I go to Rothman, even though I’ve been right all 3 times I’ve been.
Thanks for the info! I’m seeing
Dr. Kenneally (whoever that is)Dr. Jeremy Close (going to the South Philly one now). I already told them I think I have a sfx which actually worked in my favor as far as not having to go to my GP first but that’s a great point, I’ll let them do most of the talking until the end.I second Dr Vitanzo at Rothman! I saw him at the CC office for a hip stress fracture. Have always had great experiences at Rothman except for this last injury that I have (high hamstring tendiopathy). The person I was seeing was more about pain management (i.e., masking pain) rather than fixing the problem.
Yikes, didn’t know you had a hip fracture. I’m pretty happy about the doc I’ll be seeing, he’s worked with a lot of sports teams and I looked him up on Athlinks.
He’s on the slow side but he runs! hee
((hugs)) I’ll refrain from playing monday morning QB on the injury front since that is one of the few types of stress fractures I’ve never had… but take a WebMD break and plan fun things for the next 2-4 weeks that are unrelated to running! Time to buy a novel or make a reservation to a new restaurant.
It’s typical for an injury to feel worse several days after you stop running on it. I have no idea, but this has been the case with nearly all of my injuries. Usually 3 days after I decide to stop running is the worst. My hypothesis is that the body is finally being allowed to heal so all the typical “healing” things, like nerves firing to let you know something is wrong, kick into high gear. Even if that’s totally wrong, it’s a good way of thinking about it. :-) I hope you get an appointment sooner than Friday.
Kristin, yeah, I’m done. There’s nothing I haven’t read by now anyway.
Greenlee, I hope you’re right, it’s worse today still (just took a short walk to the post office). At this rate, I’ll have rigor mortis by Friday. Kidding, though I’m really not liking this.
No advice from me for once. I haven’t a clue. I like Greenlea’s comment though. Get well soon Flo.
AHHHHHHH!!!! I very much dislike this post! I have no advice. I will say a thousand prayers for your speedy recovery and that you may be able to stay somewhat sane until then. (((((HUGS))))
Oh, Flo, BIG HUGS from over here. You know that I have been through a femoral sfx in 2003, so I totally know what it’s like. The MRI will show what’s going on, no matter what it actually is, and once you KNOW then at least you’ll have an idea of what to expect and what you can do. I think I’ve also read every single thing on the internet about femoral sfx, so SNAP. If that’s what you have (and it explains your FB post yesterday, which did make me wonder) then we can compare notes and cry into our wine together. Because I hear that alcohol is good for healing….
And for the record I was NEVER non-weightbearing after that diagnosis, although I was supposed to do no exercise for 3 weeks, I think I actually swam after about a week of nothing. I biked after about 3 weeks of swimming, too. Might have prolonged the recovery time, actually, so you probably should ask me everything I did and then do the opposite!
Anyway, again, ((((HUGS)))) and hang in there. I’m here to help in any way I can, sweetie.
Thanks Jim, Rebecca and Rachel. Yes Rachel, I read quite a few stories of people who “cheated” their recovery time and suffered for it with setbacks so I’ll do what I’m told.
Wow, I hope it isn’t the “worst case scenario”, but regardless, you have my support! Any way you look at it, this stuff’s hard to deal with but somehow we always get through it.
Positive thoughts for you and your leg:)
Good luck with the Doctor. When it comes to asking if it’s a stress fracture, ask for a bone scan or an MRI. If it is, then it’s a matter of doing the right thing. Em has come back from two – search her blog – http://emruns.wordpress.com/ from memory it was rest then quite a bit of pool running. BTW, Joy had a stress fracture of the foot during our holiday! She was in a plastic boot for 4 weeks. Sending hugs your way.
Rothman is awesome! I have seen 2 Sports Medicine Docs there and they were very helpful and understood what was best for me
Adrienne, Ewen, Steph, again, more thanks. Yeah, I’ll be sure to ask for MRI or scan. Steph, super glad to have yet another Rothman thumbs up.
Being injured always stinks. After taking a few years off due to having kids when I restarted running I started using minimalistic shoes and have had fewer injuries than usual this year. Just as a note.
Kinvaras and Adidas Adios for me…I’m a minimal kind of gal.
Been checking your blog for updates. Hope you’re managing okay. I hope the appointment tomorrow brings some answers and a plan. I had injured my knee the end of August (PF syndrome), recovered from that and started up running again. I made a mistake and jumped back in too quickly and ramped up mileage too quickly and am sidelined with hip pain now. I know how frustrating it is. But, my elliptical and I are getting to know each other again. grrrr
Sorry to hear you’re having to deal with injury twice, that super sucks. I haven’t updated since nothing’s been happening in the meantime but I’ll definitely post after my appointment tomorrow. Thanks for the good wishes.
I meant updates on how you’re doing without running–how you’re spending your time etc. After all, there are other pretty cool parts of you ;-)
OH!
I’ve been a total bore. Aside from a couple voiceover jobs and some headband-making, I’ve been staying off the leg, being a nuisance on Facebook and the forums, wishing Friday would come sooner.
Get well soon Flo!!
Thanks Jeff! Won’t be long for some news now.
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