Runner Insight

^ Click Arrow To Listen

As most of you know, I was struck with lower right back pain after a sneeze at the end of last year.  They diagnosed the lower right back pain as sciatica on December 30th. Since then I have been going to see my chiropractor Dr. Krieg.  It’s been just over 3 months now and I’m feeling really good and the lower right back pain is all gone. 

For a while there I wasn’t so sure how this was all going to work out.  Dr. K was aligning my upper cervical vertebrae when all my pain was lower right back pain creeping down into my right leg.  It didn’t really make a lot of sense to me, and the sciatica was intense and painful.  But I trusted that the doctor knew what he was doing, and he explained that if he didn’t start by getting my head and neck into alignment, nothing else would ever be quite right, and even if we fixed the lower right back pain for now, it could re-occur. 

Once I was past the worst of the lower right back pain and I got the go ahead to start running again several weeks ago, I was ecstatic to get out there and hit the pavement.  But as soon as I started running I found that my right calf muscle would get really tight and it caused the runs to be way less enjoyable. Don’t get me wrong, I was still glad to be able to get out there and run again once the chance of re-injury was past, pain or no pain. But the tight calf muscle hampered my enthusiasm somewhat.

Well it’s now been over a month since I’ve been able to run again, and each day that I run I can feel myself getting stronger and faster. And I haven’t had the lower right back pain come back.

But I must admit for a while I was wondering what he had done to me!  Was being in alignment messing up my running?  It sure felt that way my first few weeks. 

When I mentioned this to Dr. K, he told us a story about a guy he treated who was ranked in the top ten nationally in archery.  He had taken up archery later in life and had done very well, and was hoping to gain the title of National Champion, but could never place higher than about fourth place in the national events. 

After Dr. K started adjusting him, he found that he could not hit the broad side of a barn.  He asked “What the heck have you done to me?!”  Dr. Krieg told him that since he had been living out of alignment for so long, his body had compensated all these years for it, but now he was getting his body back into the alignment where he needed to be. It would take his body and his shooting some time to adjust to the new (proper) alignment.

Some time after that he was shooting better then he ever had. And the guy went on to win a national archery championship! Had he chosen to just live with his body out of alignment, he probably would have never realized his true potential.

With that story in mind, I realized that my body had to learn how to run again with the correct alignment, instead of the way it had been running (13.5 lbs heavy on the right side) for years and years.  So now that I’m running in alignment, I guess that means I’m on my way to realizing my true potential. Hey!  Maybe I’ll break my PB of 2:02 in the half marathon this year.

How ‘bout it?

-Vision Runner

Popularity: 35% [?]

^Click Arrow To Listen

As you know from my 4 part Back to Basics blog posts, I had an excruciating encounter with sciatica on December 30, 2008. If you haven’t read the dramatic story of my back pain saga you may want to click here to read it before continuing:here’s the link to the beginning, from there you can follow the links to the other installments: Back To Basics

To update you on my progress, I’ve continued the story here:

I had a feeling my mid-way re-exam at the chiropractor’s office was going to be a lot different from my initial exam.  And I was right. The changes were impressive and significant.

Dr. Krieg put me on the dual scale and instead of being 13 ½ pounds heavier on my right side, I was now only 1 pound heavier on my left!  Right within normal range. Wow!  Amazing!  My hips were no longer 1 ½ inches off: I was right on even!  Overall I had improved in all areas, and some of the changes were dramatic.

At that point though, I was still having a lot of pain in my lower back and down my right leg due to the sciatic nerve.  But, the good thing was that my alignments were holding; I only had to be adjusted about once every 2 weeks. So the initial work was going well and producing the results that we wanted. I had another deep tissue massage with Robin and that really helped with the circulation in my right leg.

I kept on seeing Dr. K twice a week.  Since I was staying in alignment, Dr. K started working on my lower back.  He took me to a different table.  Here he had me lay face down and then lowered the bottom half of the table as he kept his hand on my lower back.  As he did this, my back was stretched like I have never had it stretched before.  It felt great!  Dr. K explained that the little muscles in between the vertebrae can not get stretched with conventional stretching.  This process speeds up the recovery time it would take if I was to only to do stretching on my own.

I am so pleased with how my treatment is progressing.  I feel so much better.  I hardly have any pain from the sciatica.  My right leg is still a bit tighter then the left, but not nearly as bad as a few weeks ago.  Seems like what used to take weeks to see results is now happing in a few days, I now only have to see him once a week.

He also recommended a joint formula that I have been taking for about 6 weeks. That, along with the deep stretches and running, makes me feel almost new again.

I go in for my (hopefully) last re-exam at the beginning of April.  Dr. K will take x-rays and compare them to the ones he took back at the start of the year.  I’m looking forward to seeing those.  I’ll keep you posted on the results!

How ‘bout it?

Vision Runner

P.S. Don’t forget to fill out our simple 10 question reader survey!! We love your input! And it’s quick and easy – won’t take you but a minute.  You too, mom! Thanks!!

Popularity: 2% [?]

^ Click Arrow To Listen

I was still limping from the tightness of my sciatica, but it was improving.  The doctor gave me about 4 stretches to do for my back and hip where the sciatic nerve runs through.  One of the stretches makes me laugh every time I do it.  I get down on my hands and knees letting my back sag with my tummy dropping as far down as possible.  Then I arch my back up like a Halloween cat…Making the appropriate hissing sound to go along with it, just for fun!

I continued to see Dr Krieg three times a week, and I stayed in adjustment for the most part, maybe a little off every three or four visits or so. After a couple of weeks of getting me aligned, and me continuing to apply the Bio-Freeze and do my stretches, my right leg was still really tight and I was still limping around on it.  It was a bit frustrating, but I had learned that sciatica is one of those mystery ailments that seem to be on their own time table.  But as I said, each day was better.

My right leg was now feeling like it was getting more numb than tight.  And my right foot would get very cold, while my left was nice and toasty.  I told Dr. Krieg about this.  The good news was that after a couple of weeks, the alignment was holding for the most part, with occasional minor adjustments every few days.  So when he checked my alignment and I was still looking good, he began to work on my sciatic nerve on my right leg with pressure point therapy. 

Painful doesn’t even begin to describe how it felt when he was pressing on my leg, but I knew when it was done it would feel better.  He explained that he couldn’t work on my sciatic nerve before, because it would have been way too sensitive or “hot” as he put it.  That made sense as I could hardly stand the pain as it was after a couple of weeks of healing and adjustments.  But after that session my leg did feel a lot better. 

At this point, I have been going to see Dr. Krieg for about a month.  I’m seeing him a couple of times a week now. We’re going to have my re-exam this week, and we’ll see how much better everything is. I’m sure the results will show that I’m nowhere close to an inch and a half off from my left hip to my right hip, and hopefully my weight is more balanced on my left and right side. My leg is doing much better, just a slight limp and tightness.  I did have a couple of deep tissue massages with Robin where she mainly worked on my right glut and upper back and neck where I have been getting adjusted.  That really has helped expedite the healing process in my leg, as it no longer feels numb or cold.  I may have another one soon.

I’m not back to running yet, but I’m sure as I continue to see Dr Krieg over the next several weeks, he’ll have me back in my running shoes just in time for the beautiful spring weather.

So this brings me to why I named this blog “Back to Basics.”  For years I have been ignoring my back.  I was not doing the things that I knew I should be doing to insure I would have a strong and healthy core.  I suffered for that when I ran my first marathon, and now with my lower back and the sciatica. It’s horrible to be disabled and unable to do the every day things you enjoy…like sitting and standing!  

I am now a newly-converted believer in good chiropractic care.  And not just when your back hurts, but getting a screening and making sure everything is working the way it is supposed to.  It’s all about being proactive in my health and well being.  Wellness instead of sickness!

This is a continuing process and I will be sharing my progress with you as I go along.  Oh yeah Dr. Krieg also holds wellness classes every month at his clinic that we’re planning on attending.  They sound like just what we are looking for: planning for a healthier life style.

How ‘bout it?

 -Vision Runner

Popularity: 3% [?]