Tuesday, January 11, 2011

Chiro Appt in Detail


"Whatever it takes"

The chiro asked again, "Seriously, what are you prepared to do. I know you distance runner types?" The wall was lined with images and autographs of Webb, Lukezic, Rod Koborsi and Julie Culley.

Now deadpan I answered again, "Whatever it takes. I'll do whatever it takes"

"It's going to require more time off"

"I haven't really trained since July. In a sense, I've been off since then. I'm ready to do whatever it takes" 

"I'm going to hold you to that", he said.

Truthfully, I was ready to do whatever it took, though the price tag of $75/visit gave me reason to pause.

The session started with the chiro (who will remain nameless) getting a sense of my history. He was perturbed that I had not come during the fall and angry that the ortho hadn't recomended that I do so. Since then I had healed the stress fractures, but I hadn't corrected the problem that CAUSED the stress fractures. That work would soon begin in ernest. He started by putting pressure on my legs and asking me to pushed back against the pressure. I failed in all those tests, which I knew I would. Then he worked his hands around my legs and lower back and noted I was tight all over. This is old news. Soon thereafter, I went through a 20-minute ultra sound session geared to stimulate muscles that wouldn't fire it my gluteus. Awkward indeed. Necessary, I assume. Then the doc came back in and made me sweat. 

"I'm going to have to get in there deep and dig around", referring to the plethora of muscles and tendons his claws would soon be squeezing and pulling. I remembered what I had said at the beginning of my session, swallowed hard and then asked to go to the bathroom. My wish was granted.

Soon I was being worked like a (insert appropriate analogy here). At the end of the session I was able to withstand the pressure the doc was putting on my legs that I hadn't been able to do at the start of the session. Then I began to ask questions, because I needed answers. Here is the gist of it:

I have "multiple muscle imbalances". These imbalances involve the myriad of tendons and tissues that stem from my pelvis and not just the muscles. I asked if this was worse than most semi-pro runners he sees and he replied yes and that I had "lots of issues". Sometime, long ago, I began running a weird way and I kept on running that way because eventually the wrong way felt like the right way. I continued to pound...and pound, over the years, never in any pain, until finally, one day, the muscles/tendons/pelvis had all they could take. The shock of my relentless pounding had settled in my groin and around my pelvis and the muscles no longer fired -- at least this is how my simple mind understands it to be. In a sense, as my post earlier notes, I ran myself into the ground. 

I was told to come back and see him 2-3 times per week for two weeks and we'll go from there. He is going to work at correcting my imbalances and then, I assume, give me exercises to strengthen/correct it for good. He understands I want to get back up to full bore training as fast as I can with the understanding that I'll take my time to get there.

7 comments:

Chris Vames Sloane said...

This is part 2 of your running career, Jake. You are restarting everything again, the way you run, the ability to know your body, if you go through with it, will discover what you are truly capable of.

Peter said...

Is he going to try and correct your biomechanics? I've noticed from filming you that you are a heel striker. Since you're essentially starting fresh, this might be something to mention to him. From what I have read, heal striking is much more jarring than a mid-foot or forefoot strike.

Ancient Chinese Secret said...

Jake said: "Whatever it takes. I'll do whatever it takes"

Dr. Chiro heard Jake said 'I will give you all my $$$ and no need to say thank you.'



Frank think: Everything will be alright...

KLIM said...

Money is designed to be spent and frankly I can't think of something better, at the moment, to spend it on.

DM said...

"Money is designed to be spent and frankly I can't think of something better, at the moment, to spend it on."

The early leader for 2011 quote of the year? Very nicely put.

RM said...

Being truly able to understand and empathize with what you're going through, I can say that, although I am frustrated every minute of every day, the one thing that keeps me going is that I keep thinking, maybe foolheartedly, that I can get back to where I was.

The exciting thing is figuring out the plan of attack to get back.

Two years ago I had an ambitious goal for Ironman racing. Last year there was no way I could even run a mile it seemed. I started small, used my head and figured out what I could get away with doing. And a short while later was able to make it through an Ironman.

Sure, it sucked, and if I hadn't been hurt I would have kicked and screamed and threw a tantrum. But, I figure if I was able to do that, I can literally do anything I feel like doing.

Do it up Fox.

Anton Houskeeper said...

Good luck with your chiropractor. It's a nice thought for athletes and physical activity: whatever it takes. One must be willing to go forward, as doing nothing means not participating in the "race."