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Jacksonville, FL, United States
In Life as well as in running the secret is Pace.

Friday, February 1, 2013

The groin thing….

Doctors…  golly gee….  They really do live in a stovepipe world. 

I have had an issue with my groin on the right side for about a year

I waited 90 minutes to see the Orthopedic for about 5 minutes.  He did have an x-ray done…  no visible tear…  which means nothing for an ortho to treat. (he offered pain meds..  I refused)

And I'm back to the "healing myself" thing… 

What it is

1.   Pain in the groin and up into the abdomen – mostly on the right side but sometimes in both
2.      Activated by
a.     Rolling over in bed
b.     Sit-ups
c.       Pull-ups
d.      Planks
e.     Adductor exercises
f.        Lateral movement
g.     To a much lesser degree running
3.      Sometimes affects sleep
4.      Occasionally effects running (past 2.5 hours)



What I know
A.      I may have a micro-tear of the oblique (sports hernia)
b.      I will have yet to find a doctor that has heard of it…
c.       There does not seem to be one in Jacksonville
B.      It could be something else
a.      Psoas
b.      Groin strain (as the good MD surmised yesterday)
c.       ???
C.     So while the issue might yet be adductor related…  the associated pain is just as near to psoas as adductor.
D.    Interesting aside - none of the 3 health care professionals I have been to explained this to me…  Dr Google did


The good news

1.      I now have a PT referral (for ultrasound) which means that Chris Kopp (my PT) can work on my hips (and maybe Psoas) some more
2.      I have built a good base
3.     The mobility work I continue to do has my body handling and recovering from workouts better than I ever have.
4.      The pain is less since I quit aggravating it on a weekly basis racing cyclocross

The Plan

1.      Keep training J
2.      Maybe start introducing longer than 2.5 hour runs to see how my body handles the stress
3.      Continue mobility work
4.      Explore the psoas with
a.      Smashing http://www.mobilitywod.com/2011/08/episode-301-psoas-flossing-and-biker-hips.html
5.     Continue my research

6 comments:

Kurt @ Becoming An Ironman said...

I love (read: hate) how much frustration doctors can cause not by being unsure of what an issue is, but by not sitting down to explain the possibilities.

They go by stats so often now that it's sad.

Matthew Smith said...

Well, the good thing is you can keep training, but the pain has got to suck! Hang in there, buddy!

Will Cooper said...

I'm suffering from a groin injury as well. What is working for me is continuing my training ALL at sub 135 heart rate (remember maffetone?). I've had three straight weeks with no pain. then today I want out and did a MEF run (north of 141 bpm) and the damn thing flared up again. I'm convinced my body is simply begging me to build the base before I go ballistic. Now I'm finally listening. Good luck with yours...and don't give up.

Big Daddy Diesel said...

Well, that sucks, at least you can still train

So I have a training questions, in your opinion, do you think that doing the rotating stair climber will help with me climbing on the bike? It is a curious question I been thinking about recently, thanks

tri_diesel@yahoo.com

Kevin said...

I strained my groin a few years ago. It wasn't fun. The worst part was that when I went to see my general doctor, she thought it was a hernia. Luckily I worked in a hospital and I saw one of my favorite general surgeons who also happened to be a triathlete. He did his exam and quickly concluded it was a groin strain. I was so glad I didn't need surgery. Good luck and I hope you find your answers soon

Unknown said...

A sports hernia can be hard diagnose because of the lack of visible bulge like you mention. It took me almost 2 years to get mine finally diagnosed correctly, it was beyond frustrating. Have you tried a conservative treatment plan involving the use of full core strengthening program? In a recent study researchers found it to be effective in a professional hockey player. Feel free to check it out.

http://physiqz.com/physical-therapy/sports-hernias-athletic-pubalgia/

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