No one really wants to hear about anybody's else injuries... .RIGHT? Cause who doesn't hurt somewhere!

No one really wants to hear about anybody's else injuries... .RIGHT? Cause who doesn't hurt somewhere, right?  We ALL tend to have injuries of some kind.  I try to be one that doesn't go on and on about all my aches and pains.  I know from time to time I fail at this and I'm so sorry for whoever had to listen to me.

For probably a good 6 months now my right hip and down my leg has bothered me off an on.  Then all of a sudden for the past 2 months it's gotten much worse. So bad that I can't sleep on my right side, which just happens to be my favorite side to sleep on.  :(  Driving, sitting, standing, etc. just kills me. I'm like a fish squiring in my chair at work all day.  I finally gave in and called my normal doctor at the Bone & Joint clinic for a checkup.  However, they didn't have an opening till August!  So I requested to see a neuro doctor in Jackson who is supposed to be really good and I lucked up and got in to see him within a couple of weeks.  With my history I figured it most likely was coming from my degenerative disc disease.  Well shocker after 3 MRIs... it's not! They have now diagnosed me with a severe case of BURSITIS.

Originally the doctor thought just like me that one of my disc had to be herniated so he ordered a MRI of my lower back and one of my neck because he says usually within a 10 year period of someone having a disc fusion the disc above or below the fusion will fall apart and need surgery.  I must say this got me SCARED! It's only been 5 years since my neck surgery and I waited almost too late when I finally went to the doctor for it.  When they did my surgery the doctor told me I was at a major risk of being paralyzed.  He said of all the tons of disc surgery he has done over the years he would put mine in the worst top 5 he's ever seen. :(   So, yes at this point I'm beginning to worry.  I started thinking back on how long my hip has been bothering me and wondering why I didn't just get it checked earlier...  Probably cause I'm STUBBORN.  Even some of my close friends were surprised when I told them how much pain I was having because I had not said anything about it being so bad. That's just me.  I tend to hurt and not talk much about it in detail.  Then when it gets to the point where I just can't take it any longer that's when I break and go to the doctor.

Anyway those 2 MRIs came back ok.  He said my degeneration was still there, but he didn't think it was pressing enough on my spinal cord nerves for me to have so much hip pain so then he said we needed to do a MRI on the hip.  He said, "I want to see what's cooking in that hip area".  Yep...you guessed it... SCARED ME AGAIN!  All I could think of was my friend that use to run many marathons until he had to have both hips replaced and now he no longer runs.

I had to wait another week for the appointment for the hip MRI and then a couple of days for the results.   They FINALLY called me Tuesday with the results!  He said he was actually looking for a stress fracture to show up which he says is common in women runners.  The test showed no stress fracture.  Thank you sweet Jesus!  He says I have a bad case of BURSITIS.  He wants to do a shot next week and then start me on some PT.   If you don't know where hip bursitis hurts...well, here's a picture:

I had even begun to diagnose myself with piriformis syndrome before he told me Bursitis.  Which he says I may still have some of that going on along with my Bursitis because my butt muscle seems to be so tight and sore.  Here's a picture of the piriformis syndrome.

Let's just say my hip hurts all around my front, back, side and all down my leg.  GRRRR  I had gave up running a little over a month ago hoping it would go away.  I've been walking.  But after I walked the half marathon in the Gulf Coast Half Ironman race in May, I knew I had something bad wrong going on inside my hip.  The pain was excruciating.  

Now you know what I've been doing since I got the call on Tuesday... web surfing for info on runners with bursitis.  He can't do my shot till next Friday so I can't stand waiting till then to ask him a million questions about it so I've been researching.  I know it's probably not good to do that because you can get some wrong info.  However, there are a few running websites that I've usually found accurate info on that I've found some info concerning Bursitis.  I'm also anxious to start PT to find out recover time on this dang thing!  From what I've read on many sites, they say you don't need to run or do any type of exercise that cause pain.  It's best to rest it until you are pain free for several days then only do 5-10 minutes of exercise and see how you feel afterwards.   All this is very discouraging to me!  Running is my stress reliever!  Even on days I don't want to run, once I get that first mile in I feel so much better.  Even walking is currently causing me pain so I stopped that this week.  I keep reminding myself that when I had neck surgery I was not allowed to run for 3 months and I survived.  As they say.. This too shall pass....  

But it's hard! Seeing others running and you can't.  And it's not just the running you miss... it's the socializing with friends that I miss most! 

I've been also researching exercises for Bursitis (yep.. I like to search..ha) .. found this:

I began these exercises last night and will continue unless the PT tells me to not do any of them once I start PT.  I sure hope that I'll be ready for that half marathon in Vegas come November and I'm glad I held off registering for big races from June - November.  I may have to take off a month or two to get this problem fixed, but that would still give me time to be ready for November even if I have to just walk the half.  

Oh and I did ask him on the phone when he called me with the results how someone gets bursitis.  He said it could be a fall on the hip (guess what?...this the hip I landed on when I had my bike wreck before Augusta and the more I think about it this hip has hurt off and one since then).... or it could be simple biomechanics of a woman's makeup.  Our hips change during childbirth.  A runner needs to do strengthening exercises for their hips and glutes he said to maintain proper running form.  

So today my prayer is this:

Father, With all my pain, struggles, & temptations, remind me this is not my home.  Help me to keep pressing on to the real goal.  I want the power that raised Jesus from the dead to flow in me and through me, enabling me to run this life race with strength, hope and joy.  I want to let your glory shine in me.  In Jesus' name, amen. 

If you are in the same boat as me struggling with an injury of some sort...... don't put off getting it checked and take the time to recover.  Rest and recovery is important even when we hate it.  Yep.. we tend to be a tad crazy.  We feel guilty when we take rest days.  Maybe that's the sign of a true runner.... you miss it badly when you can't.  I hope to look back in a couple of months at this blog post and smile knowing this did pass and I'm back running.  And come on next Friday so I can get this shot that he says will help with this dang pain!   At least now I know what is causing my pain and can move forward with therapy.  Stay tuned in for a post on my girls beach trip soon.  Had such a fabulous time with my mom, my sis, my daughter, and two of my nieces.