Great news! I finally got serious about doing this Ironman (it seems) and went to see a physical therapist to try to resolve my two years of hip pain. I was nervous because I've never been to one before. I fretted a long time about whether to wear jeans or running clothes or yoga clothes or what. But then I started Googling Ironman nutrition articles and lost track of time, and when I finally looked at the clock again it was three minutes past time to leave, so street clothes it was!
I wasn't surprised that the therapist gave me a lot of tsk-tsking about waiting so long to have my hip looked at. He was also horrified at how tight my IT bands are and how weak my right hip is. Apparently it all adds up to something-something-something bursitis (he talked really fast). I got assigned a bunch of exercises and stretches to do and am supposed to ice it three times a day. I'm also seeing him twice a week for a while for ultrasound, plunger, and rolling pin therapy. (Actually I'm not sure if it was really a rolling pin, but it felt like one. The plunger was really a plunger.)
Oh! And I was instructed not to lie on my right side to sleep any more, which turns out to be the most horrible thing ever. I dutifully went to sleep on my left side, only to find my husband poking at me an hour later to roll me back off that right hip. I don't know why my two sides aren't equally sleep-worthy, but there it is.
Well, having been to PTs for the greater part of 3 years I can tell you that they aren't all created equal so keep your ears/hip peeled to what's going on. I also believe that a triathlete PT would rock but a runner and/or cyclist PT will do in a pinch. They understand the rigors that our sport put on us more than the theoretical idea of it. Did he check your alignment while running??
ReplyDeleteAnd yes, changing sleeping sides is HARD. You could put something on the right sleeve of your jammies so you don't go onto that side out of habit. I've heard tennis ball though that seems rather extreme.