OUCH No running for me now

I have been sidelined and I don't know how long this will last. First, I have the hip injury. Has anyone else had either a stress fracture or iliotibial band syndrome? I've been doing some reading and those are the two conditions I've found so far that seem to match my symptoms. I see an orthopedic guy on June 7th. Couldn't get an earlier appointment.

Second thing, I've finally gone to a Podiatrist to have my plantar warts removed. The first treatment hurt for about a day and a half. The second one, which I had on Wednesday, has caused me excrutiating pain for days now---I couldn't go to work on Thursday. It wouldn't be so bad if it was just one foot, but it's both of them. Now the limping I'm doing seems to aggravate my hip pain. I am NOT happy!!! I'm supposed to run a 7 mile race on June 11th, don't know if I'll be able to at this rate.

Sorry if this sounds like whining but I am really bummed out!!!

I've had i.t. band strains. Ice and anti-inflammatory meds help, as does rest. I did have a stress fracture once in my foot, but didn't discover it until it healed. I had an mri for another issue, ( a lypoma) and the dr told me about the stress fracture. When I was younger I was able to run so injury free. All of those years of fast forefoot-strike running have finally caught up with me. It seems to be one thing after another. Good luck with your hip/i.t. band.

thanks Ruby. Did you find that your i.t. band injury recurred after it felt like it was healed? so far, rest is not helping this injury. I suspect it may be something worse, but I'm hoping for the best.

Once i.t. band healed, ( I think it was just over strained), I incorporated stretching specifically for the area. No problems after that. Now that I am older, I have incorporated a 20 minute vinyasa yoga routine to my workouts, and this has really helped with flexibility.

What distances do you run? I have done everything from a 4x400 meter relay (first leg), up to the marathon, (Grandma's Marathon in Duluth, and National Capital in Ontario). I think 10 k. is the best distance for me, but I enjoy x-country the most.

What have you done to treat your hip/it injury?

just prior to this injury I was up to about 24 miles a week, then I upped to 30 miles and bingo, injury. My longest runs (weekends usually) were anywhere from 7 to 10 miles. I had planned to run a 7 mile race in early June but I don't think I'll be able to make it. I've only been running for about a year and a half, so I haven't done much racing. Would love to run a ten-miler this fall and hope to run a half marathon if I can ever get back on the road!!

So far all I've done is rest, take motrin and when it is really bad I put ice on it. I just recently gave up on trying to run on it. It took me a couple of times to experience the agony to decide to stop trying for a while. I'm hardheaded that way.

I am 43 now, and have been running since age 23. I say that to establish my credentials(ha-ha). Take a few days and take ibuprofen according to the label. Usually this means 200 mg every 4-6 hours. Do this for about 3 days, and don't miss a dose. Also, for the same 3 days, use a soft ice pack on the affected area. 10 min. on/ 10 min. off. Repeat this as often as humanly possible, for several hours if you can. No running/stretching. After 3 days, try an easy paced 20 min. run on flat, non-banked terrain. Ice upon completion, and take another dose of ibu. The key is to keep a therapeutic dose of the anti-inflammatory drug ibu. in your system, not just to relieve pain but to treat the problem, kind of like taking penicillin to treat infection--don't miss a dose!! I am pretty confident that you will find relief if you follow this plan. Please let me know how you did.

I went to the Orthopedic Surgeon today for my hip. He took an x-ray and all the bones and joints look good. He says he thinks I have a torn labrum. I need an MRI to confirm it, but from my description of my symptoms he seemed pretty sure. From what he told me I think he's right. He says the labrum, which is a cartilege thing that runs around your hip socket---has a poor blood supply and will not heal on its own, much like the cartilege in your knee. The only way to fix it is with surgery which is out patient but will require 8 weeks of recovery. So I'm looking at at least 4 to 5 weeks before they can do the surgery and another 8 weeks on top of that for recovery---bottom line: I'm not going to be running this summer and probably not much in the fall. He did say I can do low impact stuff like biking, eliptical, swimming, etc.

I'm pretty upset about losing an entire running season for this. I hope I can talk my husband into a gym membership so I can start swimming laps or something. Otherwise I may turn into a big ball of blubber.

Run a few extra miles for me and think to yourself how grateful you are that you can do it!