I have tried various therapy types for these injuries, which I want to share with you in case you might find them interesting or useful. Unfortunately they have not helped me much. On the other hand, I did learn a lot from each of the therapists, and they were all recommended by people who were very happy with them. Although my body did not respond well to these treatments, I know that each of them worked perfectly for many people, including professional athletes. In the beginning of each treatment, I had full trust and confidence in each of the therapists, with high hopes that this one would be the one to cure me. Here is how it went:
Traditional physiotherapy:
In May 2014, after having confirmed by MR an edema in the right buttock, my regular doctor sent me to a series of treatments by a traditional physiotherapist who specialized in sports injuries. This consisted in half an hour massage weekly, by hand and by a machine, all very very pleasant and comfortable. In the beginning the treatment concentrated only on the buttock injury, but after I got the pain behind the knee, my therapist also treated this part. The massage gave instant relief for both injuries, but in the long run it did not really make any difference. I continued with this treatment until the end of 2014, at which point I decided that there was no point in continuing. My therapist was an active runner himself, with a long career of participating in races, all from 5k to half marathons. In fact, he also participated in Oslo half marathon at the same time as me, and finished in 1:34, which I was very impressed with, as he was about 15 years older than me. I learned a lot from him during our discussions, so I value the time I spent at these sessions, although they did not result in a cure.
Acupuncture:
In December 2014, after discussing it with my first physiotherapist, I decided to try another physiotherapist who specialized in acupuncture. He had already helped several of my running friends with various injuries, so I was very optimistic when I started the treatments with him. He treated both injuries with acupuncture only, no massage at all. The acupuncture is not painful, and one feels a pleasant fatigue afterwards. Also this treatment gave some relief, however I did not really experience much improvement over time. My therapist also realized that the treatment was not really helping me, although he was very certain and reassuring in the beginning that he would be able to cure me. So we decided after about 4-5 weeks to stop the treatment.
Muscle therapy (deep tissue massage):
In January 2015, I started with muscle therapy twice a week. This therapist was an athlete himself, and a very philosophical man around my age, so we had many many interesting discussions and I learned a lot from him during the 6 weeks I was treated by him. Muscle therapy is incredibly painful. It is in fact the most painful thing I have ever experienced; I daresay it is worse than giving birth. The therapist pushes tense points in the muscles with a finger or with his elbow, really really hard. The idea is that this will increase blood circulation through the muscle, and promote healing. In the beginning I experienced that there was a change in my legs, and my therapist said that my tenseness was getting better, so I was very optimistic and motivated, despite the pain. My therapist forbade fast flat runs, and I followed his advice, which I really regret now. Not running did not help my injuries; it merely worsened my form, which was at top at the beginning of the year. I had already rested quite a bit during the holidays, so I should have trusted my gut feeling and just continued running. As we continued with the treatment, I experienced that my pain got worse, especially in the buttock. In fact, at some point I had so much pain around the whole right side of my hip that I was actually not able to run even if I wanted to. This period was quite depressing, mainly because I could not decide what to do. I started losing faith in the treatment, and I was all the time hesitating between continuing the treatment or not, and starting running again or not. In the end I could not take it anymore, and I decided to stop this and try something else. I must tell you though, that many runners I know are very very happy with this kind of therapy, and especially with this particular therapist. He also treats professional athletes, some of them very famous. It is just that my body did not respond well to this therapy.
Intramuscular needle therapy:
In February 2015 I started to visit a physiotherapist who specializes in treating muscles with long thin needles that are inserted deep into the injured muscles. The idea is the same as with muscle therapy, but without compressing the muscles with hard massage. Once the needle hits the affected area, one feels some trembling in the muscle which loosens. Although it sounds painful, it is not at all! Just a little bit unpleasant. Especially compared to muscle therapy, it is nothing. This therapist was also recommended to me by people who were helped by him, and he also treats proper athletes. He gave me the most complete examination of all therapists. He made me run on the treadmill to study my step, he made me do many different exercises to see how my body, my skeleton, and my muscles worked. He could even point out what was painful before I told him. He gave me a few treatments with needles, and once high pressure treatment (that is actually painful!), but there is a huge difference between this therapist and the previous ones: he does not think treatment is what I need! My body does not really respond that much to needles or pressure. What I really need is to strengthen my hips, especially my gluteus medius muscles. And he allows me to run! The only times I am not allowed to run is right after needle treatment, but otherwise I can just run as long as I am paying attention to the signals from my body. I am still continuing to see him, but it is not on a regular basis like with the previous therapists. The plan is that I conscientiously do my exercises and stretches, and we meet once in a while so that he can see my progress. I am already feeling much better, and the pain, although still there, has changed quite a bit. As all therapists have told me: change is good!
If nothing else works, a therapy that always helps is to buy a new dress! :-) I do quite a bit of my shopping online, and when a package arrives and the contents fit perfectly, there is no better therapy! And on top of that when it is 50% off of an already reasonable price...
On a positive high after a successful and pain free uphill interval training with Melkesyre yesterday, I am more optimistic than ever about curing my injuries by simply strength exercises, stretching, and adjusting my training. Keeping the core and the hips strong seems to be a good advice for all runners, and not the least to stretch properly and long enough. I have by now understood that most runners around my age have some kind of pain most of the time. We just have to deal with it in our own ways. Maybe I cannot run half marathons as much as I want, but then perhaps I can concentrate on uphill races. I will just keep running, training, and racing as long as it is fun and gives me joy, and I will never give up on my goal of always improving and getting faster, better, stronger.
Stay strong and never let the pain get the better of you!
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