Semitendinosus

My sweeties and I met Jim in the Stillwater Dome today (the Bubble), where Jim and I and ran for 50 minutes at a pace just slightly slower than 9 minutes/mile. That’s a little over 5 miles. I wanted to work my left hip/buttock before going to see the sports doctor in the afternoon. The pain was there, soon after the beginning, but never became a limiting factor. I quit at 50 minutes, though, because it felt like I had done enough damage. Jim is such a good sport - he ran with me the whole way even though he could run three loops of that dome in the time it takes me to do two.

After a shower and lunch, Sunshine and I went to the doctor.

I have had this pain in my left buttock since the Tulsa Marathon ten days ago, and possibly before that. Dr Ronald Yee, new sports doctor at SMG, examined my left hip/buttock and determined that the pain is in the medial hamstrings, likely the semitendinosus muscle. Really, that is a word and it is spelled correctly! The pain is near the top where the muscle attaches to the "sitz bone." He thought it most likely that it would heal without intervention, even if I continue to run, because it has improved over the last few days. His recommendations:

• Avoid painful running.
  
• Use ice for pain control, and Tylenol if necessary in a race.
  
• Avoid ibuprofen or naproxen because:
  • It may inhibit the healing process,
    
  • It can mask the true nature of the injury, increasing the risk of a more-severe injury,
    
  • It may injure the stomach, which is especially vulnerable in a long race, and
    
  • It may harm the kidneys, also under stress in a long race.
• Come back soon if it gets worse.
  
• Come back eventually if it doesn't heal.

If I come back, he may take pictures of it and possibly prescribe some kind of therapy.

I asked whether it could be piriformis syndrome. It was a reasonable thought, he said, but there is actually some debate in the medical community about whether piriformis syndrome (irritation of the sciatic nerve by the piriformis muscle) actually exists or if it is a symptom of something else. I think that's what he said; anyway, he was content with the semitendinosus diagnosis.

Pain In The Butt

Monday, Nov 29, 2010:

Yesterday I really couldn’t run well, because of the pain in my left hip/cheek. Today was better, butt it still hurt.

I have an appointment with Dr Ronald Yee at Stillwater tomorrow, and wanted to be able to tell him which activities would hurt, so we went to the North St Paul Community Center to try various exercises. You guessed it: Only running and walking hurt.

Thinking about the symptoms, though, I'm leaning toward piriformis syndrome, which is when the sciatic nerve is irritated by the piriformis muscle. All of the symptoms fit. If true, that means it is NOT: (1) The hip joint failing, or (2) A muscle, tendon, or ligament in distress. I sort of hope it is piriformis syndrome, because maybe I can keep running while it's treated. I hope. Runners do not like to stop running, even if there are alternatives.

I did get in some nice aerobic exercise at the club:

• Running: 3 miles, finishing the last mile in 8:26. I count that as 125 calories per mile, total 375.
  
• Elliptical: 150 calories.
  
• Bicycle: 120 calories.
  
• Walking: 50 calories.

Total 695 calories, divide by 50 for Weight Watchers points = 13.9 points, round up to 14. I need to lose 10 or 12 pounds to get back to proper running trim, so I’m back to WW. These are points that I can eat and still be on track in the program.

Sunday, Nov 28:

I tried to run in the park, on the paved trails, but had to walk much of the time because of the pain. Am I hurting something when I run? I don’t know, but it certainly does get worse when I run. About 3.2 miles in about 38 minutes. Huh. Sunshine thinks I should make an appointment with a sports doctor, and she may be right.

Saturday, Nov 27:

Regular run with the St Croix Valley runners, except my left hip (butt) hurt so I ran the shorter 3.6-mile route while the others did their usual five. About 10-minute miles, a little walking but mostly running.

Thursday, Nov 25 (Thanksgiving Day):

Thanksgiving morning "run" with the St Croix Valley runners. Dave and I were both injured, so we walked about 2.5 miles while the others ran their usual five. Left hip joint hurts, even while walking, but more when I run.


Real food: