My ortho appointment yesterday went very well. Better than I expected. I was resigned to the fact that I would not be running any time soon and that after that morning, I might not even be allowed to bike for the foreseeable future. I was nervous, scared and already trying to figure out how I'd deal with the worst case scenario.
That wait in the doctor's lobby seemed endless.
My friend Sherry generously offered to go with me to the appointment, an offer I gladly took her up on. I figured that it would be good to have someone keep me company and she might think to ask questions I didn't and remember stuff I wouldn't.
The doctor did a quick exam of my range of movement and asked me if various positions hurt and if the pain moved to any places. After hearing all my answers and asking me to pinpoint where I normally felt the pain, he gave me about the best news I'd ever heard. My malady was not serious and easily treatable.
This is how I felt when I heard that.
The diagnosis was bursitis around the trochanter (a fancy name for part of the hip bone). It could be treated fairly quickly with some anti-inflammatories, stretches and some rest. I got an injection of an anti-inflammatory directly into my hip and would be getting a prescription for a special compounded topical ointment. After 1 or 2 sessions with my PT, and a few weeks, I should be able to try running again.
There are parameters to my recovery though: I am only supposed to run 1/3 of the mileage I normally would when I first start back. I need to reduce the intensity of my runs (if only he knew how non-intense they were already....) and I was not allowed to run back to back days for quite some time. But given all that, I was given the go-ahead to return to running when it felt comfortable.
It was at this time that I handed the doctor a list I had written down prior to my appointment. On it were all the races I was already signed up for, with their dates and distances. I leaned over him as he read it, pointed to the first race and said, "I've already accepted that I can't run this one. And possibly not the 2nd one either. The big priority is being OK for Dopey in January, but I'd love to be able to still run the Chicago Rock N Roll in July." He looked up from the list and said with a good deal of confidence that he thought I had very realistic goals.
I could have hugged him right then.
I was also comforted by the fact that he said I should feel better fairly soon and if I didn't to call him back and we'd try something else. He didn't expect surgery to even be a thought as the labral tear that showed up on my MRI was not the cause of my pain and was something we didn't even have to think about any time soon.
It's amazing how much better I feel already - only one day after the injection. But I must admit that though I feel mostly relief, a part of me is worried that the doctor is wrong and I'm still going to be in pain. Much experience has taught me that it's never easy to diagnose anything with me, and it's even harder to find an effective treatment. So for the last day and a half, I've been walking around trying to concentrate on how my hip feels. Did stepping up onto that curb cause a twinge? Did I feel a little something when I walked down the hall? Is that soreness the expected result of the shot or is it something else? I find myself constantly taking inventory of everything that I feel coming from that part of my body.
That being said, I should be enjoying this time. Basking in the delight of not needing surgery. Returning to the excitement of planning for my upcoming races.
Yesterday was a good day. A very good day indeed.
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