So about a week ago, I had a pain in my ass (yes, my actual ass) only when I struck this pose:
Do you love the carpet in our basement?
It wasn't a huge pain, but it was definitely there and centralized. It didn't radiate throughout my whole ass, it was one specific spot. Well, since I was messing around trying to figure out which movements made it hurt, it got really sore the next day! That's what I get for purposefully trying to make it hurt.
I was still running and working out. It was not bothered at all. It still only hurt when I would bend the way I am bending pictured above. But on Wednesday and Thursday I was on my feet at work running around and dancing ALL DAY in preparation for our shows. So at night, the pain started to feel more like my sciatica and it radiated down the back of my entire right leg!
AUGH!!!!!
WHAT THE HECK????
Admittedly, I did not have a lot of time this week to do the proper amount of stretching and mobility work. That is going to be remedied this weekend. And I am going to rest my lower body for about 3 days in hopes that at least that radiating pain goes away.
On the bright side, my knee feels freaking AWESOME!!! I hope this pain in my ass is nothing.
But it's always something, right?
Saturday update: I rested lower body 2 days in a row and the pain is nonexistent.... I wonder how it will feel if I start running again. We shall see soon!
Do you freak out over every ache and pain?
Does it sometimes seem like once one thing is healed, something else crops up?
Does it sometimes seem like once one thing is healed, something else crops up?
I am so glad rest made it feel better! Hoping that you have a nice, pain free run today! I can relate to this post--I do get concerned about all little things aches & pains. Because I have had too many "little" things turn into big things. Frustrating. Can you imagine how nice it would be to not spend so much time worrying about it? But I can't help it.
ReplyDeleteNo running today, but I will tomorrow if this dumb sore throat goes away!
DeleteUgh. Feel better. Lots of fluids and rest.
DeleteIt seems as though a few of us are experiencing a pain in the butt. ;) This is my first experience with glute pain and before this past little while I had no idea what it even felt like. A friend of mine suffers from Sciatica pain and he seems to notice it in really long races.
ReplyDeleteI know I couldn't believe it when I read your blog Friday night because while I don't think we have the exact same pain, we both have a PITA that we never felt before!
DeleteOh man, I hope the PITA goes away!! I haven't had a sciatica flare up in over a year now, but I know they can be so freakin uncomfortable and awful.
ReplyDeleteI try not to freak out over every ache, but I definitely freak out if it's bordering on or is pain. I get a bit crazy and assume I am about to die. Google'ing doesn't help which is why i'm pretty quick to see a doctor if something hurts. I hate going in just to hear it's practicall nothing, but I'd rather hear it's nothing than wait it out for several days at home thinking I have whatever horrible disease Google told me I do based on my (probably exaggerated) symptoms!!!
I hate going to the doctor too! I got a wicked sore throat last night and thought it COULD be strep. I thought about going to Urgent Care but I don't want to spend a $30 copay for them to tell me that it's not strep and to buy some cough drops lol. The pain is not as intense as it was last night so I am sure it is not strep.
Deleteha yes I do this sometimes because I always associate it with what happened with my frozen shoulder. I had some pain in my shoulder a couple years ago and then I just thought "oh it's nothing." Then eventually I couldn't play volleyball and it was very depressing. Now that I'm healed every time a pain pops up I wonder if it will keep me from exercising. I think you have to work on, as I do, a combination of diligence when it comes to stretching and foam rolling and taking care of our bodies, and learning how to "let it go" and not worry because stress and worry can always make pain worse. Know what I mean?
ReplyDeleteYup, that is very good advice and I think I need to find that balance you speak of. :)
DeleteI used to be pretty cavalier about random aches and soreness. But now that I have a big goal for this marathon and I'm working so hard for it, I'm deathly afraid of injury so I'm starting to overanalyze all my aches and soreness. My heating pad and massage stick have seen a LOT more use this time around.
ReplyDeleteIt's a fine line between knowing that an ache could be the beginning of an injury just daring you to exacerbate it, and knowing that aches and soreness are a completely normal part of a heavy training load and you gotta tough it out. Sigh.
I guess while it is not good to be extreme in either direction, it is better to be extremely cautious rather than run through pain and injury!
DeleteI get hyper-vigilant if I have a tiny pain anywhere! I never want it to become something worse, and it's why I take so many rest days! Sometimes I don't know The difference between pain and normal soreness.
ReplyDeleteSame here. I mean, sometimes I know the difference. Like after my trail run on Easter I recognized all the little pains in my ankles and feet as normal trail running soreness. And I did kettle bell swings on Saturday and I could distinguish the difference between KB soreness and the PITA I am describing in this post. But still, what the hell is this PIMA? Something big or just a normal little twinge?
DeleteI'm pretty much the opposite with little pains - I like to pretend that if I ignore them long enough they will just go away:) As an example - I'm pretty sure that I have another stress fracture in my foot (this would be at least #5) but I just keep going on it - heels and boots make it worse. Running is doable right now so.....I just keep thinking it will stop hurting!!
ReplyDeleteKim!!! I hope it is not a stress fracture. You sure like to live on the edge... ;)
DeleteI hope it has disappeared and doesn't bother you when running. I told Kristina the same thing--I would stretch your piriformis.
ReplyDeleteI use the rule, that if I can run without altering my form, stride or gain I can proceed, otherwise, time to rest! It seems the older I get I always seem to have something that is complaining!
Cheryl, that is a really good rule of thumb! Thanks for the piriformis tip. I think stretching that WOULD help.
DeleteI tend to push myself through minor pains, or aches that I am very familiar with. For instance, I deal with the occasional right buttock pain, but it doesn't really send me into panic mode since I know that it is due to my tight piriformis. It actually feels better after a run, as it stretches out. Anything to do with my Achilles, however, scares me! My injury last year was a freak event that occurred from a minor blister and a pulled calf. Won't explain the whole thing, but the blister got infected and literally overnight my foot and lower leg turned black-I was on IV antibiotics, had to have the dead skin on my lower leg removed (leaving my Achilles tendon completely exposed for months), and an eventual skin graft from my groin. Worst experience of my life. So, needless to say, when my Achilles or calf feel just a little painful, I panic a bit ;) It isn't always easy to tell the difference between minor problems and big ones. However, I think not going all out every workout is key to preventing problems...and don't take those little blisters lightly...1/1,000,000 chance of something bad happening, I am sure, but it happened to me!
ReplyDeleteOh my gosh Eugenia, I can totally see why anything having to do with your Achilles or calf would freak you out. You have been so much and I am sure many of us can't even appreciate how horrible the experience was. When you remind me of the medical problems you went through, I am just so relieved that you are running again!
DeleteI totally get it! I am sure we will chill out soon. I think it is hard for people who have had a substantial injury to not worry about it and be hypervigilant.
ReplyDeleteAs something of a runner myself, I find stuff like this to be very informative and beneficial to learn about! It's important that you take care of yourself, especially if you go into fitness because a lot of the time, you can inadvertently hurt yourself if you push yourself too hard!
ReplyDeleteAgnes Lawson @ Pain Relief Experts