Baby steps

So, I still haven't gone for a run since I messed myself up almost 2 weeks ago..

..though I'm still getting out on the trails a bit.

See, when I did the stupid 25k run a few hours after my back went pop, I didn't really realise what the problem was...or that it was a much more severe version of something that's been plaguing me for more than a year. All I knew was that it seemed to be mostly ok while running, so I ran.

I'd planned to take some down time after that "race" anyway, and did so - I'm terrible at just lazing around, though, so I went for a few gentle walks with Tank on Sunday, and did some pull-ups n my rock rings in the livingroom. I did shy away from doing offset hanging knee raises, as my back was still quite tender.

Come Monday I was back at the office, and with the power of the internet constantly in front of me, I started doing a bit of searching to see if I could figure out what I'd done to myself.

Paging Dr. Google...paging Dr. Google..

Within a half-hour I'd stumbled on something that not only seemed to fit the symptoms I'd had since Saturday, but also the persistent, burning pain and cramping I'd had in my left glutes, hamstrings, and hip since somewhere around March of 2019.

Spondylolisthesis. 

Basically: I broke a bit off a vertebra, and now it can slip out of place.

So the pressure of the displaced vertebra on my nerves explains the wandering, on-again-off-again pain in my left hip, butt, and leg, plus the lack of flexibility I've been dealing with. I used to be able to fold in half and put my palms flat on the floor; for the past year I've been unable to reach past mid-shin without bending my knees. The worst part is sitting in the car; I'd started to suspect over the last couple of months that it might be something spinal, since I could ease the burning pain in my left glutes and hamstrings by dropping my seat back and laying closer to flat. This rather confirmed it.

For some reason I felt like a spinal injury should probably not be ignored.

Unable to see my awesome RMT, chiropractor, physiotherapist, or osteopath due to the pandemic closing all their practices, I started scouring used sites for something that my RMT had suggested when I texted her about how I'd managed to hurt myself this time. I'm rather embarrassed to say how often those conversations happen..

In any case, I managed to find what I was looking for (at a price I could mostly afford) for sale in Brantford, where Tank and I picked it up on Saturday.

And it sort of stows out of the way..

I got quite a bit of relief from my first use, and have been on it daily since.

Though I can't say it's the most comfortable thing in the world; it's not nearly as nice as the one my RMT has.

The relief from the inversion table hasn't been as marked since that first day, but the back pain hasn't been as bad overall, either. I'm told that this is pretty much as expected for my issue. My reading on the subject also suggests that there's no real treatment for what's wrong with me, apart from rest and strengthening my (already regularly-worked) core musculature to support the slippage. It seems if things get really horrible then spinal fusion is the final resort, but since it has a very poor historical record of proving any relief to patients, that's not a road I really want to contemplate.

So I'm in a bit of a weird place right now. My back has been improving, and I now know that I ran 100km reasonably well last year with it at least partially messed up. That ought to be comforting, but I know I've made it much worse now, and being over forty I'm not sure how well I'll be able to bounce back from this. 

And while I'm enjoying going for more walks with Tanker, I'd really like to be able to run trails again.

I've been trying to take care of myself as best I can - limiting myself to walking on my lunch instead of running, and modifying the strength work I do 5-ish times per week to include more yoga and less stress-inducing bending of my spine. I'm now to the point I can function pain free basically all day, though every now and then I'll move wrong and the pain will flare.

Yes, I've even been doing yoga.

While I know this isn't something with which I should trifle, patience is not my forte, and a nagging part of my brain keeps telling me that I managed to run 25k within hours of the acute injury, so why not go for a run anyway?

I keep trying to shut it up, but on Wednesday, when I found myself out for a lunch walk on a beautiful day (after the stupid mid-May snow finally blew away), wearing running shoes..

Oops.

I ran across an intersection. It was hard to stop my legs when I got to the other side, but I did so. Then I ran another road crossing, and then another. I finished by running along the side of my office building, with a bit of a walk to "cool down" after.

The longest "interval" was about 100 steps.

Then, I waited to see the fallout. My back didn't seem to protest, though; it's still not perfect, but it didn't really seem to get worse.

I haven't tried again yet. The weather was better than expected when I got home from work yesterday, but I went for a walk with Tanker instead. Today is not only my usual day off (though that really just means I didn't do a strength workout this morning before heading to the office), but it's hosing rain out there. Tomorrow is supposed to be the nicest day of the year so far, though, so I may just try pushing my luck a little..

A tiptoe through the trilliums would be lovely!

With trails beginning to re-open throughout the province, I can only hope the worst of this is behind me now. At least I finally know what the problem is, so I'm better equipped to come up with some management strategies. I can't give up hope of getting back to long days of rambling happily through the woods, but I'll try to take it slow and allow myself some time to heal.

Baby steps, right?