Ronzo wrote:
I love these posts b/c a couple things always happen 1. some chiropractor jumps on here talking about leg length discrepancy and how you should go get adjusted every week 2. 50 other guys tell you what they did when they had the "exact same issue" 3. A few are bold enough to make a "definitive diagnosis" although they've never seen you, seen you run, or examined you (and if they did, they wouldn't know what to look for)
Bottom line: go to the freakin' doctor and let him examine you. Chances are in 4 years of medical school, 5 years of residency and likely a sports medicine fellowship, he'll know what the hell he's talking about and prescribe something that will work...IF you're willing to take his advice, cause after all, runners are sooo smart.
Sadly, most of them don't. Why should I be "prescribed" anything?
When runners can get a better understanding of why injuries occur, there is really no need to go to a doctor 99% of the time.
While chiros are good for certain things, I think the best thing a runner can do is find a great massage therapist. There is a reason people like Rod Dehaven got weekly massage when he was training for the olympics.
My therapist I go to about every four weeks lines me all up by working the muscles getting rid of the knots or tight spots and also does craniosacral therapy that opens the pathways to help my body heal and recover on its own.
I was a little skeptical at first but I had went to various sports specialists for 3.5 years after an accident with no result. Three weeks after seeing her, I was able to start running again.
I have been going a couple years now and it still amazes me how I can walk in with something that is bothering me like tight hamstrings and a day later it is gone.
As for your comment about leg length discrepency, that is one of the most common overuse injuries that the majority of runners don't know about. It is almost always caused by having a tight psoas muscle on one side that pulls your pelvis out of place. My massage therapist always take care of that because she won't let me leave until she has aligned my pelvis.
Last fall I thought I pulled a calf muscle, but after doing a little research, I found it was probably referred pain from my hips. Sure enough, my therapist worked on me and I was back running a few days later after taking a couple rest days because I was probably overtrained. The last time I did that a few years ago, without the massage therapy, it took me 8 weeks to run again.
I didn't run for 18 years because your so-called sports medicine specialists didn't have a clue what was wrong with me. I just chalked it up to being 1983 and the running boom wasn't that old. I first found out what was wrong in 2002 searching the internet after trying to run and incurring the exact same injury.
I guess some anonymous person on the internet does have more knowledge than all the sports medicine specialists I saw. I am sure there are some great ones out there but I don't have much faith myself.