File this under self help. The DIY approach. We do it all the time. Must be 99% of the posts here can be catagorized as such. We train our bodies, we eat the right stuff, we manage our stress. Then we go out and race, fuel, recover, rejoice and repeat. All good.
Except when things break down. There aren't too many worse feelings than to be cruising along in your car, heading somewhere cool, for the sake of this example let's say it's to a race 250 miles East, and suddenly (out of the blue?) comes a noise that sounds eerily similar to fingernails on the blackboard. Metal on metal with no lubrication. A grinding screech accompanied by an evil, foul odor, smoke, and the instant (and way tardy) rapid jump of your temperature gauge to the red zone. Something is radically wrong. Turn down the stereo and safely pull over. NOW.
And of course by then it is too late, the damage has been done. Your only decision at this painful juncture is how to respond and what the impact will be. You won't hear me say this very often, but in this scenario, the better your coverage the easier it will be. Call AAA, your car gets towed, fixed and a $50 deductible and 15 hours later, you're back on the Interstate. Ah yes, security in a jar. But let's get off the highway and back to the side streets. After long and diligent practice you have mastered the art of discerning pain from injury. You actually now relish the onset of muscular fatigue because you know that the real fitness gains come only after we have introduced fatigue. Pushing past pain is now something you do on a regulate basis. You enjoy the post workout feeling of having survived another round of high-intensity action. The results are as evident as the way your clothes now fit (or don't.) You understand the value of a proper recovery and your body's need for rest. You sleep like a log.
You know pain from injury like you know slow from fast. But then something breaks down where you least expect it. A long dormant sciatica nerve flare up, achilles tendonitis, ye 'ol piriformis. What to do now?
If you are over insured or have a terrific medical plan, go see your doctor. If you feel that the injury doesn't warrant a trip to see Doc, try the oldest and most reliable method known to man, and especially racing man: RICE.
Rest Ice Compression Elevation.
Take some time off and let your body heal itself.
Carpal tunnel syndrome is defined here, and golfers elbow (tendonitis), here. Google DIY. I may have both, calling for two servings.
As RCVman demonstrates in the photo, sitting too long editing video or blogging can bring about significant elbow pain. Time for some RICE, ouch.
4 comments:
Nice class today! I almost fell off the stationary bike from exhaustion...loved it :) My outer hip has been bothering me recently. I sometimes feel referred pain down my quad to my knee. It's is more of an annoyance than pain actually. Does this sound like it's muscle related? I had a femoral neck stress fracture in 2007, so I'm always cautious and very aware if something is bothering me in my right leg! BTW, bone pain is extremely localized, it doesn't move at all! Thanks for any advice! -W
Sounds like your ITB. Does it flare after both cycling and running, or just one? The first things to do (and remember I am not a doctor) are stretch more and use the foam roller. We do both religiously on Tuesday and Thursdays before Yoga. The HoM sessions we typically do are high-intensity (as in almost fall off your bike) and put a LOT of stress on joints, tendons, ligaments and connecting tissue. Post workout ice, stretching, the above mentioned foam roller and the passage of time (rest & recovery) are crucial if one is to continue pain free and injury free. Which is what we all want!!!!! Have a great day, looks like it is going to be spectacular today.
I use a zero tension mouse now. The pain in my wrist and forearm is gone. It's that vertical handshake posture that seems to do the trick. Have you looked into this option before?
Never. Just received my wireless 'magic mouse' and have built a new elbow rest to better support wrist and forearm. Hope it helps, this is killing me. Thanks.
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