Those of you who follow either my blog or my social media will already know that I have been suffering some pain for quite a while. Basically I thought if I kept documenting it then it would be easier for me to look back on things. I also kind of hope that some people will be interested! It mostly started during my time training for a Sub 2 hour Half Marathon.
Recap of the Pain and Activity
For those of you who do not know I have a pain in my left hip. It travels along my lower back like back labour pain and sometimes goes into my pelvis. Prior to this is I was running regularly with some weeks putting in up to 55 miles. On top of this I was swimming bits too.
Back in June I went to the hospital in order to have a haemorrhoid looked at. My mother died having a polyp removed and so I find things related to it very traumatic. They sent me for a flexible sigmoidoscopy as I have bleeding, plus fourteen years ago I had a polyp removed.
Treatment since the Pain
Since the pain has come on I have seen the lady who does my sports massages, two NHS physiotherapists and a private chiropractor. Also I have been for an X-Ray which came back clear. I have significantly reduced my activity not running more than 5K at a time. However, I have kept active too.
Exercises set by Musculoskeltal Physiotherapy
So the Musculoskeltal Physiotherapy lady sets some exercises, and every time I see her she adapts them a bit. At first they were causing me even more pain and even doing Parkrun was unbearable.
Changes Made for Back Pain
The lady who does my sports massages suggested it could be our bed. So my husband ordered a new mattress topper to see if that would help. Then back in November I joined at the Leisure Centre. Plus I tried Barefoot running again. Recently I bought my first pair of Vibrams but have yet to run in them.
My Regular Activities
Now I regularly do swimming in a warm pool (as well as a cold), I visit the gym and do classes such as Spin, Step, Yoga and Pilates. Zumba it turns out isn’t for me, and I have only tried Aqua and Core once each. As well as the exercises that the Musculoskeltal Physiotherapy lady sets. Parkrun is now possible without pain afterwards – I have been jeffing a 30:30. A handful of times I have also added in an extra 2 mile jeff in the week with the boys too. Totally not relevant but I have also been fitting in some weight exercises at the gym too!
Where am I now with my Pain?
Well I was regularly having a sports massage but then Covid-19 struck. Each time she would be able to break away these fluids like blisters but they kept coming back. At one point they were so bad my husband felt them too! Last time I saw the Musculoskeltal Physiotherapy lady she reacted as if I hadn’t told her about these before and asked whether I had mentioned them to my doctor!
Here is the thing, I am now 7 months in since I ran long distances and wasn’t in pain. The pain, fortunately, no longer is so severe that it is keeping me awake. But it is enough that I am worrying about doing more than jeffing 5K. But there’s been progress.
But this Friday I am back at the hospital. I’m convinced that this is what triggered all this pain but am hoping that they will finally give me banding and remove the haemorrhoid. It is such a minor thing that I am sure they aren’t going to take my anxiety about it all seriously, but we shall see. Fingers crossed it just doesn’t make things worse again.