Wednesday, February 23, 2011

Mountain Out of A Molehill

Workout: 3 miles – 31:00

I’m not dying! I can keep running! Yes, I 100% now fully admit that I overreacted. Hi, my name is Gidget and I’m a worrywart. I went into my physical therapist appointment expecting him to tell me that there was something structurally wrong with my legs and I’d never be able to run again. Neither of these things are true (yay!). My pain is also not cause by my IT Band. Now, I know what you’re thinking: Whatchu talkin’ bout, Gidget? (said in Gary Coleman voice). My pain is apparently due to my sciatica. Yes, I am a 97 year old Jewish woman who lives in Queens and complains about her sciatica. Apparently I did it by sitting on the edge of hard chairs toon often (aka I have to sit on the edge of my chair at work because I’m too short to reach the keyboard otherwise. I know, I’m midget). The PT did some massaging and used a laser to reduce my inflammation and that was that. He told me to only sit on soft surface for 2 weeks. This will make me be the super cool girl at work sitting on a cushion. Excellent. He also suggested steering clear of hills for a few weeks. Not a problem, doc, I don’t like ‘em anyway Other than that, I am good to go.

So of course, off I went. I just had to test it, because that’s the kind of girl I am. I ran for 3 miles (well, really 2 miles with a .5 warm up and a .5 cool down) and it felt great. Not even a faint hint or twinge of pain. Considering how lingering and obnoxious my old IT Band issues were, I absolutely can’t complain! Spring ½ Marathon back on!

All in all, I was super pleased with my first experience with a physical therapist. I’m usually very wary of doctors. I was completely freaking out last night (see post below) and Moondoggie definitely had to talk me out of canceling my appointment this morning.  Now, there’s definitely the possibility that I’ll head out for my long run on Saturday and die, but for now, I’m going to be cautiously optimistic.

Have you ever been to a physical therapist? What has your experience been? If you need a great one in LA, I’ll hook you up!

2 comments:

Lauren @ Sassy Molassy said...

I've usually had good results with my physical therapists. I really think they are super helpful most of the time in getting you back up and running. My PT now helped me heal up a hamstring issue and increase my glute strength so i could complete the portland marathon back in October. I'm so thankful for her help, but I definitely played a huge role in my recovery as well. Every morning I did my "homework" and it paid off because each appointment she could tell I was getting stronger and would assign different exercises or stretches. Good luck with the sciatica!

Gidget said...

Thanks! I'm completely in love with him. He told me to add squats, so I'm about to become a squatting champion!