Got in to see the physical therapist this morning to look after the knee. The doc thought it was IT band tendonitis brought on from overuse and relative weakness in the lateral plane of motion. The therapist looked at the knee joint and tested to confirm everything was working there. Next, he had me lay down on my side, raise my straight leg, and resist his pushing down on my leg. I was able to hold him off pretty well on the right side; I lifted him off the floor trying to push it down. The left side was another story: I folded like a house of cards. Diagnosis, tight and weak ITBs.
So he showed me a series of exercises to strengthen my ITBs and increase my flexibility. It was humbling because I felt like one of those baby giraffes you see on the Discovery Channel taking its first few steps. Just those exercises was enough to have me shaky-legged and tired. I am supposed to follow this regimen for the next 10 days before I see him again, then we'll talk about me running again. He doesn't want me doing any running before the ITB is reining in some of the instability in my knee because he's afraid the same thing will happen, but he does encourage me to keep lifting, swimming, and cycling.
He's also got me looking for a pool noodle: those foam things kids sit on or the old ladies use for water aerobics. I'm supposed to roll back and forth over that after my runs to try to massage out some of the tightness. Little did I know that most sporting goods stores don't carry those. Looks like I'll have to hit a pool place…
So, I'll just continue logging monster miles in the pool and on the bike, weather and work permitting. I'm on pace for a 10,000 yard week in the pool, and I'm shooting for a 160-mile weekend on the bike.
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