The Official Thread for Runners

[Joe Public]

Update: Jared Ward, former BYU runner, finished third and will be representing the U.S. at the Rio Olympics. Also, Galen Rupp is a beast.

[Moliere]

Every day my knee feels a little better. Did physical therapy for the first time today. Did some light exercises and stretching. He's optimistic that I'll be ready for my Army school in February. I feel like I could do some light running right now.

I did two monhts of PT after my surgery. Hip is fine but the knee is still hurting when I run. I've done stretching, strengthening, balancing, massage, cupping, graston tools, rolling, lgiht-weight running, dry needling (with electric current), and plain old rest. Went it to see my doc and he gave me the option of having the IT band lengthened at the knee. Since my company pays 100% of my medical bills I figured I'd do it. I've got to wait about two months since I've got some stuff coming up that I need to be able to walk around for (in-laws visiting, family outings, etc.) but I should have the surgery in mid-April. He said the recovery shoudl be similar to the hip surgery, in that I'd be on crutches for about a week and then I should be able to start running around 6-8 weeks. I'm excited but nervous that it won't fix the problem...but I gotta try since I've done everything else and it's just not loosening up. He'll do a "z" cut operation.

So naturally I'm curious on your progress since I'm having the same procedure. You feeling better? Back to running?

[Bo Diddley]

I did two monhts of PT after my surgery. Hip is fine but the knee is still hurting when I run. I've done stretching, strengthening, balancing, massage, cupping, graston tools, rolling, lgiht-weight running, dry needling (with electric current), and plain old rest. Went it to see my doc and he gave me the option of having the IT band lengthened at the knee. Since my company pays 100% of my medical bills I figured I'd do it. I've got to wait about two months since I've got some stuff coming up that I need to be able to walk around for (in-laws visiting, family outings, etc.) but I should have the surgery in mid-April. He said the recovery shoudl be similar to the hip surgery, in that I'd be on crutches for about a week and then I should be able to start running around 6-8 weeks. I'm excited but nervous that it won't fix the problem...but I gotta try since I've done everything else and it's just not loosening up. He'll do a "z" cut operation.

So naturally I'm curious on your progress since I'm having the same procedure. You feeling better? Back to running?

Man this has been a much slower recovery than I had hoped! I've done most of what you listed as well, but the knee is still hurting some, so I'm not back 100% yet. In addition to the IT Band lengthening, they scoped the knee and cleaned up the torn meniscus. The pain I'm still feeling is unrelated to the IT Band.

My typical routine right now is to warm up for 10 minutes on a stationary bike, then run for 20 minutes on a treadmill at 6-6.5 mph. Right now it's 6.2 mph, since I'm running at 10 kph on a Moroccan treadmill. Incidentally, it cost me $70 for a two-week gym membership here. What a scam! My therapist has said to gain the maximum benefit from the treadmill before hitting the road. He specifically targeted 30 minutes running at a good tempo. For me that will probably be 30 minutes at 7 mph.

So while I don't feel any pain in the IT Band anymore, I'm still not pushing it through the mechanics at 100%. I'm hopeful that the IT Band is fine, but I still have a ways to go in my recovery to really test it. The biking, especially at a higher setting, should have indicated whether the IT Band was still an issue, and it performed just fine every time.

[Eddie]

You're making me jealous, Bo. I'd love to get some running or cycling, or really anything!

Had a bone spur removed on my heal mid December. To get to the bone spur, they had to split my Achilles down the center long-ways and then nick each side at the bottom to spread it like a curtain. Then they made a small incision part way up my calf to disconnect it from the muscle and release some of the tension.

Crutches and a scooter for 4 weeks. Then in a boot for 4 more weeks.

Once I started walking, any stretching would result in tearing scar tissue in my calf that felt like someone had stuck a dagger in me. Then it would be very painful for 3-4 days, and swollen, so I really couldn't do anything at all beyond some very careful walking. And then it was time to start over again.

It doesn't really hurt any more - but I walk with a limp because I don't have any strength in my foot. I don't have the strength to go up on my toes on that leg.

I jumped on a bike Saturday, and made it about a mile before my calf was too sore to continue. That was riding almost entirely flat. My wife's bike is on a trainer right now, so I jumped on this morning and made about 7 minutes before I was done. Muscles worked until exhaustion.

Dr. says I can start jogging a little whenever I'm ready. I have no idea what that would even look like, but kind of assume I need to be able to walk before jogging is in the books. He says structurally everything is intact. Now it's just building up strength.

I'll see him in about a week and a half - we'll see how it's going.

I took a risk and signed up for Spudman in July. Dr. says that 6 months is usually like the magic moment when everything is back to normal again. Luckily that is before July. But it would be nice to have some marked improvement prior to that. Building up to get to more than a mile on the bike is going to take some TIME. And I can't even imagine running yet.

I hate this.

[Bo Diddley]

Youch! I guess that goes to show you know matter how bad you might think you have it, someone else has it worse. Of course not many, in your case.

We went on a 10 mile stroll yesterday. It was OK going out, but coming back both the knee and the opposite hip were in pain. I'm taking the day off, and will go back into the gym tomorrow. I keep telling myself that I'll be back to normal again. Looks like I'm quite a bit closer than you are.

[Commando]

Ug. IT band problems aren't fun. Something I didn't know is that they come largely from hyperextension during downhill stretches. That explains why i haven't had any problems since moving away from Utah.

[Moliere]

http://www.runnersworld.com/health/5...0World__Health

You Can Supercharge Your Erection
Anyone who runs regularly—a couple days a week or more—will improve their blood flow and heart health, Köhler says. “And since we all know your heart’s main purpose is to pump blood to your penis,” he says, jokingly, “strengthening your heart will also strengthen your erection.”

If you’re currently a couch potato, he says taking up running will lead to improved erections within a few months. A recent study from Duke University School of Medicine found that men who reported 18 MET hours/week of exercise—similar to two hours of hard running—will benefit your erection.

[Commando]

http://www.runnersworld.com/health/5...0World__Health

Sweet. I can just see the "Rager For Running" T- shirts now!

[Moliere]

Had the surgery today around noon. Was home and in bad by 3pm. Took a quick nap and am now wide awake and sitting in bed. So far this surgery has been much better. I can almost put my full weight on the leg. The doc said it'll be easier since the IT bad is much easier to work with by the knee and he didn't do the arthroscopic thing so there wasn't a bunch of water and what not. The incision is obviously bigger.

He said he was going to do a z cut which basically cuts the band in towards the center, the along the center for a couple cms then away from the center towards the opposite side. He then takes the ends of the cut IT band and sees them together. He said he was planning on 1 cm to 1.5 cm of lengthening. I didn't see the doc after the procedure so I don't know how it went but I'll see him tomorrow. Guess I won't know if it was a success until I try it out in a couple months.


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[Moliere]

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[Bo Diddley]

You have a much longer incision than I had. I think your doctor took a different approach than mine did. I'm still not 100% almost 5 months later, but I think I'm getting there.

[Moliere]

You have a much longer incision than I had. I think your doctor took a different approach than mine did. I'm still not 100% almost 5 months later, but I think I'm getting there.

But you also had meniscus work done as well right? That's gotta be harder to come back from.

I had my follow up appt today. The doc said he lengthened it by 2 cms. His surgery helper guy said he was surprised at how tight the IT band was. They also said that there was a bit of scar tissue (or whatever it was) on the IT band from the tightness and the subsequent rolling/stretching/massaging/cupping/needling. The doc said I could start swimming once the bandages come off and the skin wound fully heals (around 10 days) and I could also likely start biking pretty soon as long as I don't have pain. I go back for a follow up visit in 3 weeks and he'll assess then whether I can start biking. He said running likely won't happen for at least 3 months as he wants the IT band to fully heal before I put good strain on it. He said by 3 months the IT band should have grown together and healed. He did the Z cut and then put in 7 permanent sutures on the IT band to hold it together. He also did some clean up on another part of the IT band since he said it was also tight...I didn't really follow what he was saying there but it sounded like he knew what he was doing so whatever.

I'm also now walking without crutches and I can put my full body weight on that leg. I'm still a bit stiff since everything is a bit swollen but I can bend the leg just fine...just need to bend it slowly right now. I also have pain at the incision, which I guess you would expect, but it's not bad and has significantly gone down today. My biggest problem is with the pain meds. I've never done well with narcotics. THey always make me nauseous and mess with my thinking. I'm only taking them at half the prescribed dosage and I might just stop taking them tomorrow. I'll see how the pain is in the morning and if it's fine then I'll just go with some lighter pain meds to just take the edge off.

The biggest difference is that I don't feel tight anymore. From my hip to my knee my leg was always tight, even when I wasn't exercising. That tightness is gone and I just hope it stays gone.

[Bo Diddley]

Yes, the meniscus... Sucks getting old. Hopefully you're back to normal soon. My IT band still has felt just a little tight once or twice. So maybe you got a better deal than me.

I was able to dump the pain pills quickly. They don't do much for me anyway. I do like the way nitrous oxide makes me feel, but I try to act normal for fear the dentist is going to turn the gas down. It's kind of a sick paranoid drug seeking behavior, really.

[Moliere]

The Official Thread for Runners

Yes, the meniscus... Sucks getting old. Hopefully you're back to normal soon. My IT band still has felt just a little tight once or twice. So maybe you got a better deal than me.

I was able to dump the pain pills quickly. They don't do much for me anyway. I do like the way nitrous oxide makes me feel, but I try to act normal for fear the dentist is going to turn the gas down. It's kind of a sick paranoid drug seeking behavior, really.

Had a follow up yesterday. Things are progressing well. I've been swimming a bit and the doc said I could do light riding (10-15 miles and not strenuous). Heavy riding and running are still at least two months away.

[Bo Diddley]

My IT band on the right side seems to be doing pretty good. I just went 22 miles riding my bike to work at Camp Williams. The left IT band just flared up, so I fear I will be in for another year and a half of treatment before getting back to 100%. I am going to see a surgeon, so hopefully he can write it up in such a way that my insurance will cover surgery right off the bat.