Saturday, November 15, 2008

Back from the dead and an "injury" question.

I all but disappeared from this blog for awhile--just an occasional comment now and then to let you know I live. But I am BACK! and here is the gist of the past year:

In November, I got pregnant and then had some arrhythmia and decided to stop running at 9 weeks. I had my third baby girl at the end of July. She's been colicky and has acid reflux--a challenging combination. I finally started running again mid-September. Now I'm loving it so much I am willing to wake up at 5:00 am to do it.

In fact, I registered for 3 races this week (definitely overspent my monthly running budget)-- Fresno's Turkey Trot 5K; The Great Race of Agoura Hills in March (anybody else doing this one?) and the June Ragnar relay with the mommies!

But of course, as luck would have it, my hip is starting to hurt. Not bad, just a little, but I definitely don't want to get hurt any worse. I've never had this pain before. Any tips? It's on the outside of my right hip, where my leg meets my hip. What do you think?

12 comments:

rebecca said...

Hi Polliwog! I am doing the Great Race new Pacific half marathon. It will be my 3rd time at the Great Race, but my first half. Which race are you running? I have a bunch of friends and my hubby running with me (in the 5k, 10k or half) in memory of our friend Ginger. She ran the Agoura 5k in April of this year with us and then passed away in July, way too young. Sorry for the sad note.

I hope your hip feels better. Congrats on your baby. :)

Polliwog said...

Rebecca,
I'm running the Pacific half as well! It looks like fun. I'm sorry about your friend--what a wonderful motivation for your run. I have recruited 2 friends so far to run it with me. :) Now I just have to stay healthy enough to train for it. I'm only at 3 runs a week 4-5 miles each at the moment.

Stephanie@Soggy Runner Girl said...

Sounds like your IT band which most people think of as a "knee injury" but this is where the band attaches. At least if I am understanding where your pain is. Stretch it out as best you can and train slowly. This is an over use injury, either running to much or toomuch after an break. Also rolling it out on a foam roller helps a ton.

emily said...

ligaments and such all get out of whack, basically, during pregnancy. my hips usually hurt post-partum - and will tend to hurt longer post-partum if you are breast-feeding.

just give your body time to get back into it's "normal" form. i'd still run and such, but just listen to your body.

good luck!

e. said...

You might need to new shoes. My hips start to hurt when my shoes break down.

Ang said...

This is exactly the same problem I have with my right hip. I really do believe it is because of my IT band being tight. My knee on my right knee hurts. IT band again. I stretch out my hip before I run by sitting on the ground and putting my right leg over my left and hugging my knee close to my chest. I also stand up, put all my weight on my right leg, bend my knees a little, and shove my right hip out to the side so I can feel it stretch. It looks funny, but works well. Good luck!

Ang said...

Forgot to say congrats on the baby girl!!! So fun.

Polliwog said...

Yes, i'm pretty sure it's IT band. I just got new shoes, so that's not causing the problem. I'm sure it's just a little too much after baby, plus I'm carrying around more weight than usual ;). Thanks for all of the good tips.

Stephanie--I bought a foam roller; are they all pretty hard? I'm trying to get used to it, but it kind of hurts! Is that normal?

Ang--I also found a few good stretches on youtube. I'll paste the link. You'll have to copy and paste it. It's brief and I really like the stretches.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c9aJtO0VCqw

Robyn said...

Congrats on your baby and getting back to running, Polliwog! I have also had IT band problems and it can get really bad if you don't take care of it. My PT told me to do a good warm up, like 10-15 min walking briskly. Run on uneven surfaces whenever you can. Ice and elevate after running and take Advil or Aleve for inflammation. The stretches that have helped me are the Square Pose and Pigeon Pose (check a yoga book or website). BTW, you should only stretch or roll it out with foam when it's warmed up. Also, when standing- cross the ankle of the injured side on top of the opposite knee and sit down or squat on one leg as far as you can. It stretches it good. And yes, the foam roller kills but it works. I did it 2x/day and I think it really helps. My IT seems to be healing now after 2 months of almost no running! Good luck!!

e. said...

I had IT problems - only in my knees, not hips - it was not fun. After every run now I stretch my hips and also rub back and forth on the outsides of my knees. I think it's the same concept as the foam roller. I can tell if they are getting tight because it stings at first, but then goes away. No IT band problems since.

foxontherun said...

Yes, polliwog the foam roller does feel hard and it kills at first. But it helped me so much. After you work out all of knots and lesions that build in the muscles it doesn't hurt anymore.

Meg said...

Haha! I was just going to say a group is running the Agoura race in memory of a friend of mine but it has already been said! Good to see you here Rebecca!