Bring out The Gimp!
February 23, 2007I have been hesitating to write about this, but I’ve decided it’s time to go ahead and spill the beans… I’ve been seeing someone.
Unfortunately, it’s a physiotherapist. And it’s only professionally.
I have what has been diagnosed as a hip flexor strain. I’ve been Limpy McGimp for the past 4 or 5 weeks, and haven’t been able to go running. I wouldn’t have ever guessed that not being able to run would be as frustrating as it has been… For the first few months after taking up the sport, it was the feeling of accomplishment I had after a run that made me feel good but it eventually morphed into a real enjoyment of the actual process of running. I looked forward to getting out there. I mention it now because my injury had been getting better over the past week or two but I started noticeably limping again yesterday morning. Dunno why. Don’t recall doing anything weird the day before that. But this step backwards makes me wanna cry on somebody’s shoulder (and if you’re reading this then you’re nominated), so it’s obvious that the frustration that has been building over the past few weeks is starting to really wear on me…
I have an appointment with my physiotherapist scheduled for this afternoon. He asked me to bring my running shoes this time because he wants to watch me run on the treadmill. Barring something miraculous, though, I’m afraid I’ll just be lurching along on it now. Not sure what he will be able to gauge from that, unless it’s…
“Wow. You run like a complete spaz, Carla. 
No wonder you hurt yourself.”
His name is Dave and he was recommended to me by the local chi running instructor, who told me that Dave treats a number of runners in town. See, I had been advised to find a physiotherapist who is also either a runner, him/herself, or is, at least, running-friendly. I was told to try to stay away from a “Negative Nellie”-type who would just try to talk me out of running instead of wanting to help me get back out there. Upon meeting Dave, I immediately realized that he was an excellent choice for me: he understands my frustration and clearly wants to help me get back out doing what I enjoy doing. He has a warm manner and a good sense of humour and a strong but gentle touch. (Starved as I am for that sorta thing, I’ll take what little I can find wherever I can find it, heh-heh!) I have had two appointments with Dave so far… At the first appointment, he confirmed the layman’s diagnosis I had gotten from a friend and I learned, in addition, that my left hip (the troublesome side) is actually a little higher than my right hip. (Which made me feel a little freakish until two of my running friends said that they have one hip higher than the other too. Then they said
“Gooble gobble, we accept you! Gooble gobble, one of us!”
…which sorta creeped me out, truth be told.) Because of disuse after the strain and the amount of time I spend sitting at my desk and in my car, the hip flexor muscle had shortened which, in turn, had pulled my left hip tight. Hence, the limping. Dave worked on my hips during that first visit and showed me some stretches I could do to lengthen the hip flexor back to normal and to loosen the hip joints. And now I dutifully do my stretching in the morning and at night and throughout the workday whenever I have the washroom to myself at the office. At the second appointment, Dave worked on my tight upper back and showed me some exercises to strengthen my core muscles. Coincidentally or not, these are the same muscles whose fitness is integral to chi running. He was able to explain to me where they were what it felt like to “engage” them, so I finally sorta “get” that part of the chi running technique. He showed me how I could work on them while I was sitting here at my desk.
In fact, I’m doing that right now. And hopefully I’m doing it correctly, ‘cause I sure as hell don’t wanna accidentally spill my chi all over the place. That would surely leave an embarrassing stain.
