Shoebacca wrote:
And contrary to ignorant Lydiard critics, he would tell any runner to stop if they are hurting.
Well, that's easy to say. But I haven't been able to get rid of the pain or tightness--no how, no way, not happening, THREE years. All exercise basically causes pain or tightness (lately mainly tightness not much pain except with the strides but anyway). This includes: leg weights, elliptical, biking, running, even walking.
So my very experienced PT has instructed me to continue running but *only* if the pain/tightness does not interfere with normal daily activities, like tying my shoes, walking, sitting, sleeping, etc. Honestly the tightness is so minimal that I am convinced that most runners, particularly masters runners, would just be runnign through the pain without getting PT.
However, I know that the problem is not insignificant because my calf and glutes on the injured side are much smaller, less tone than the other side (I can't see this but per my PT). So clearly I've been favoring the "good" side for a long time.
I'm following the advice of a PT who is a sports med expert with lots of awards and all sorts of good stuff on her resume.
Before my run with strides, the pain was non-existent and the tightness was barely perceptible after runs. I had to really think about whether the tightness was still even there. Basically I was feeling normal for the first time in 6 months. Then I did the strides and had a set-back.
I don't know what is right or wrong but I am following the advice of a medical professional who I believe is excellent. Since she told me to train as I normally would, inclusing mileage increases, I sought advice from coaches re increasing my mileage. When she found out the strides caused a problem, she told me to stop doing them for a while, so that's the new plan.
When the choice is sit on the couch for the rest of your life or try to keep training while doing PT...I'm guessing most runners on this board would run.
And I tried rest. LOTS of rest. It had basically zero positive effect. The pain returned with any exercise, more with more exercise.