Deranged Disc

Back on November 16, I wrote about hitting a slippery patch on a run, shifting my weight, and having the sore spot in my right hip scream at me. I wondered if I should go get it looked at…nah, no need. Since then, it had been kind of a background ache — not enough to keep me from running (in fact, it actually felt better after I ran for awhile) but achey enough that I was actively working to make it feel better. Warm epsom salt baths, stretching, rolling — pulling everything out the runner’s bag of tricks.

Over the last few days, the ache got deeper. It was getting painful to sit, and the last few nights I’d actually woken up and had to rub on the spot. This morning, I went for a late morning run at Walnut Creek and was shocked that I couldn’t run at all at first. It was too painful. Knowing that it would feel better as I warmed up, I limped along. Sure enough, it loosened up and I was able to run after a fashion. But my gait wasn’t exactly normal and I knew then that it was past time for me to get this looked at.

When I got home, I called up Dr. Sellers, who fixed the only other injury I’ve ever had back in ’05 (it was a hip thing, on the other side). They got me right in, which said to me that the universe smiled on my decision. It turns out that my hip thing isn’t a hip thing at all; it’s a back thing. Evidently, when I tripped and fell back in September, I hyper-extended my back, which “deranged” a disc. It’s not herniated (I’d have pain all down my leg if it were) but what I’m feeling is the sciatic nerve below where the disc is/has pinched the nerve. So all the rolling and stretching of my leg was pointless, and the warmth and heat I’d been applying was actually counterproductive, causing the nerve to inflame even more.

Dr. Sellers did some painful things to me which made me feel soooo much better when he was done. I have some exercises to do three times daily, and I’m supposed to not run for the next couple of days until I get a couple of treatments done, as he said the jarring would just make things worse. Probably all my road running over the last few days aggravated it, which is why it was so bad today.

Ah, well, lesson learned; next time, I won’t wait months.