Kara Goucher wrote:
This past week I was a patient in the neurology department at the Mayo Clinic. The doctor confirmed repetitive exercise dystonia, and tried to tell me, as gently as possible, that the more I run the worse my symptoms will get. I have to drastically cut back or not only will I lose the ability to run at all, I will struggle to walk as well.
I've never heard of this disease, but I would share this personal experience in case Kara reads this thread.
Kara,
Twenty-two years ago I had, what at the time, was an untreatable condition. I was told by a doctor at the Mayo Clinic that I could never run again. Shocked, I asked for a second opinion. The second doctor confirmed the first opinion.
I took two years off. When I returned to running, I couldn't run a mile, but I persevered.
Gradually, I got better. I learned everything I could about running, form, training, alternative medicine, diets, meditation... you name it... If it promised to improve my running, I studied it, tested it. I rejected a lot. I kept what worked. If traditional medicine can't cure it and there is no hope, look into alternative medicines before giving up.
It worked for me. In the past four years, my teammates and I have set four age group relay world records. Just because doctors say there is no cure doesn't mean that there is no cure. It just means that traditional medicine hasn't found a cure yet. Best wishes for a full recovery.
-Grady C.