What the sh-IT (band)

It’s been a few days since my Maritime Race Weekend races where knee pain left me feeling sore and discouraged.

On Monday during the work day everything felt fine, so that evening I decided to ignore the fact that it was raining and take myself out for a (planned 6km) run.

During the first kilometer I had some mild discomfort. By the time I reached 2kms, the pain was getting pretty bad but I was hopeful I could run through it. No dice. By the time I decided to turn around, the rain was coming down pretty heavy so there I was… soaked and sore with a foul disposition. I texted my sister a picture of how things were going, grateful for my waterproof phone case.

Thumbs down to knee pain!

By the time I got back to my car I was one surly little thundercloud. On the short drive home, I must have shouted FU@K about a dozen times. When the heart and body want to go, just to be sidelined by pain it is so damn frustrating!

I changed into dry clothes and then prepared myself an indulgent little treat of vanilla ice cream over two 2-bite brownies (warmed in the microwave) and rainbow sprinkles… just because. I ate my dessert and scrapped my upcoming runs.

With the wisdom and suggestions of some runner friends, I started looking into IT band syndrome. The more I read, the more I felt I had a “why” for my knee soreness (yes, self diagnosing via the internet… I must be a doctor right?). The information I read helped explain why my spring/early summer runs weren’t plagued with knee pain, since I’d been cross-training regularly.

So, I booked three treatment appointments back to back: massage therapy, physiotherapy, and chiropractic. I am SO happy to have a facility like this in our little community! 

Last night was my massage appointment and the therapist I met with told me that my left IT band was wicked tight (at this point, I was not surprised) so she spent an hour working on my legs. I knew I wasn’t going to come out all relaxed and wobbly as if I’d had a relaxation massage, but I think it's worth it.

Tonight I'm headed back to the same clinic to meet with the physiotherapist, Sally. With a better idea of what I was working with (injury/soreness wise), I looked forward to the appointment. 

In the meantime, I’ve been looking up stretches and strengthening exercises to help IT band over-tightness and those, combined with the treatment from the professionals at ProTX makes me feel like I am on the right path!