Today was my first physical therapy session. The bad news is that my injury is weird. Weird that it’s symmetrical, weird that it’s not a straight-up tear, pull, or -itis of some sort. Weird means that there isn’t a connect-the-dots established treatment for me. The good news is also that it’s weird; whatever it is, it is not a straight-up tear, pull, or -itis of some sort. So it might be weird, but my therapist Tim thinks it’s unlikely to be a deal-breaker.
His best guess is that I have over-used, mildly strained, or possibly even very mildly damaged the Gastrocnemius muscle and tendon group, leading to swelling. That means when I use the muscle it swells even more and ends up compressing my nerves and blood vessels. So the goal is to reduce swelling, increase flexibility, and improve circulation.
Today’s treatment was comprised of E-Stim therapy and an ultrasound application. I was also given some active stretching exercises to do at the therapist’s office and again at home. Tim is cautiously optimistic that I’ll be running again by the end of March.
And boy does he have my number. When discussing things I can do now, Tim proposed the elliptical, a Nordic Track, cycling, or swimming.
“What about a fast walk or slow recovery run?” I suggested.
“Oh my God! You runners are all the same!” he shrieked at me. “I tell you we need to rehab you before you do anything high-impact, and you immediately ask if you can run again tomorrow since we did a treatment. Runners and dancers—nuts.”
Busted. He knows whence he speaks, too, as Tim is one of the area’s go-to therapists for runners and dancers. When I saw him for my neck, didn’t feel qualified to see “the athlete’s PT” as my doctor described him. But now that I have a legitimate running injury, I guess I finally qualify, even if I can’t do anything terribly athletic at the moment.
Any chance that you’d swim when you aren’t running?