Two quick anecdotes of physical fitness and pain:
- When I started lifting weights three months ago, my shoulders were weak. They were so weak that it hurt to do even three-pound seated dumbbell raises. Well, my shoulders are still weak, but they’re getting stronger, and the pain has diminished. But I haven’t really been testing them. Today, though, some wise guy had absconded with the 7-1/2 pound weights, which meant that in order to do the dumbbell raises, I had to go far beyond what I’ve normally been lifting. You know what? I did 15 pounds. There was some weakness, sure, but no pain. And I never would have tried if my normal weights had been there.
- Meanwhile, my left quad has some very real, very intense pain. I still haven’t learned to run properly on hills, and Monday’s race simply exacerbated the problem that had been lingering for ten days. Now walking down the stairs brings stabbing pain. At the gym today, I walked for a mile, and that seemed to help. Then I tried to jog. Nothing doing. I may have to skip this weekend’s marathon training run. I hope not, but it’s certainly a possibility.
One final note: because the gym has been so motivational, I signed up for another three months today. Not frugal, I know, but my philosophy is if it’s getting me in shape, it’s worth the cost. I’m thinking I may actually try the Tuesday and Thursday evening yoga classes. Besides, they gave me a discounted rate this time: they only charged me $32/month instead of $40/month!
{ 8 comments… read them below or add one }
Just make sure you get that discount next time as well! And only renew if you keep using it.
If the pain is still there tomorrow, I’d *definitely* see a doc. More than 48 hours is a serious warning sign. And not being able to jog at all means it’s not just a bit of pain, I guess…
Pain that’s been lingering for 10 days isn’t good. Pain that has escalated into “very real, very intense” is even worse. See a doctor, preferably one with experience in sports medicine.
Definitely try the yoga classes. I’m more into sports than fitness classes usually, but I’ve done a couple of yoga classes and they are usually really good, especially for stretching out from running, biking and lifting.
Watch out for that quad. I ended up with bursitis from overtraining, it’s easy to do. If it flares up, you’ll have to stay off your leg for weeks, only time and rest will cure it.
I want to be very clear about this: I’ve done some very, very stupid things “working though” injuries before in my life, and have expensive knee surgery to show for it. I know why I have this injury, and I know that it’s imperative to not do anything to make it worse.
If the pain persists until Saturday, I will not do my training run, and I will then make a doctor’s appointment. If the pain diminishes, I will attend my scheduled run and play it by ear. I may go with a slower group. I may go a shorter distance. Whatever the case, I’d rather lose a little time now than a lot of time later.
Why is the gym not frugal? I understand that you can do a lot of exercise without a gym, but you have been using the gym and it works for you. That does not sound like a waste of money to me.
I come from a biased place, being a Massage Therapist myself, but I suggest you try massage for the sore quads. It is true, over training can cause serious injuries. It is also true that over training, and then resting to deal with the pain may end up compounding things when you get moving again. A good Massage Therapist can really help out in a situation like this by keeping you moving and relieving pain.
If you go that route, try to get a recommendation for a good MT, or at least call around to various MT’s to see which one would be best working with you. Not everyone has the right training or experience to help with injuries. You needn’t necessarily go to someone who is certified for sports massage, though that could be helpful, but you might wanna ask if they know about sport massage and/or sport injuries and how to address them.
Also, and this might even be a more frugal option if you have good health insurance, you might want to consider a Physical Therapist. Many of our competencies overlap, but it might take you longer to get in for an appointment, which might make you miss the marathon.
Good luck!
{ 4 trackbacks }