Injury rehab.
In 2 days, it will be 4 weeks since I raced and won Huskisson Long Course Triathlon, and 4 weeks since I last ran.
30mins after I crossed the line I started to limp, caused by what I guessed correctly was a nerve pinching in my right hip/glute. My limp looked, and was, horrible, unless I pulled my glutes in and switched on every other muscle to keep me upright which worked enough for me to be able to get on the podium without looking like I had a broken leg.
My physiotherapist (http://studio-align.com/physiotherapy/) (same place I go to Pilates) agreed it was tight muscles pinching a nerve. Some deep tissue massage and I was hoping it would be fixed soon. I’d ridden 3 x 5+ hr rides in the week following the race, but when I couldn’t even take one step of a jog a week after the race, I knew Melbourne was in serious doubt. I had a feeling this was no quick fix, and relaxed my mind and training off Melbourne and focused and getting my problem sorted.
An osteopath (Chris Mullen in Avalon) I’ve now seen 3 times has since found countless other problems. Imbalances caused over years of having other imbalances have finally caught up with me and it’s proving difficult to get me even again. I’ve got very limited external rotation in my right leg, and my inside thigh muscles such as abductor and gracilus are so incredibly tight they require a lot of work.
My right obliques are tight too, causing me to be shorter on my right side and lean to my right. And while my left leg appears longer, my left hip appears higher when I’m standing. My left glute is also weaker than my right, so I’ve been working on using it a lot more and am feeling better for it already.
MY physio also helped me get somewhere with the problem of my left foot which has been troubling me for some time. I haven’t been able to bend my left ankle in a calf stretch as far as my right, but she applied pressure to the front of my ankle joint and amazingly it helped me bend more – so more work required on that too!
I’ve also seen http://www.thefootlab.com.au/ to look at my biomechnics while walking and jogging (very briefly jogging!) with some amazing technology. Their sensor plate built into the special treadmill is incredibly accurate and very interesting from my point of view. I’ll definitely be going back to check my progress and see the podiatrist, Quinton, again.
They also made up some Solestar cycling shoe inserts to help stabilise and add strength to my feet and legs while riding. I haven’t ridden much yet but they feel good so far.
In short, my rehabilitation is not over and will be ongoing. I’m seeing 3 different people every week for different types of massage and treatment, as well as doing my own extra exercises, and swimming most day. I’ve just started back spinning easy on the Computrainer this week.
I’m counting the days and weeks until my spposed next race – Hawaii 70.3 against Lance Armstrong - but I’m not going to go if I’m not happy with my strength as I could end up putting my body back where it was/is. I’m taking my time, but also doing all I can to get right and carry better strength than ever into Hawaii Ironman World Championship this year.
My physio and osteo have both given me exercises and highlighted different problem areas to work on. These include squatting – heels on floor, bum down on my calves and sittig in that position – I can’t do it! Also sitting cross legged, or sitting with my feet underneath my butt and my knees in front of me. And simple strength exercises like trying to stand one legged with the correct muscles working and others intentionally not working, then bending my knee for small one legged squats. These simple things are not easy for me and are why I’m taking my time to get my body back to a natural even stake before doing too much training again.
Look after yourselves and spend some money on your body J
Cheers
PJ
Hi Pete,
Great to hear you are on the mend! As a physio I can relate to your problems and it sounds like you are very well informed in regards to your injury and the exercises you need to focus on to correct the weaknesses and perhaps bio-mechanical issues. In most athletes your symptoms may not become evident UNTIL you couple it with large volumes of training as professionals do week to week. This is when cracks start to appear and you run (no pun intended!) into trouble! Just a small blip in the road from the sounds of it but like you said make sure your completely comfortable with your strength and training habits before competing again. From the sounds of it, these symptoms may creep up with fatigue if you return too soon!
All the best with your recovery!
Pete Jacobs is one of the most body aware & technique savvy triathletes whose blogs etc I follow so I was surprised to read that even he suffers from these kinds of injuries. Maybe there will come a day when it is possible to have weekly scans flagging up where the muscular imbalances are, which muscles are tight, the likelihood of injury before training sessions/races. At the moment, we have to rely on our own awareness & physios & the like who often know no more than we do. It would be nice if injury prevention was a more exact science. There are so many individual differences in susceptibility to injury that our grasp on reliable knowledge around the subject seems tenuous. We have to make do with theory & conjecture a lot of the time. Anyway, great post. I am sorry PJ is injured but also encouraged to see that even the best of the best go through these frustrations. Get balanced & back out there soon! All the best. Regards.
Hey Petey,
Take your time man, and get things sorted right. Kona is the only truly important race. I have had similar problems the past 2 years and after a long off-season and build up and am strong and stable going great. Keep working on the stability and take lots of advise but stick to the points that seem most relevant.. some physio’s and osteopaths have their favourite diagnosi and sometimes miss the point.
When you do get things sorted form will come back and you will feel stronger than ever.. and that will scary!
cheers
After watching you blaze through the finish at the Hawaii ironman world championships from the media stands it’s hard to imagine you having to go through physiotherapy. As a physical therapist in the US it’s good to see you take concern over your physical health so you can remain in the sport as long as you can. You are a true champion !!
I wish you well throughout your recovery and hope to see you again on the starting line in kona .
All the best…Zo