June 24, 2012

Bursitis!

Week of June 18 ~ 24

Still no running, as soreness persists, but is lessening.

I found this and it describes my smyptoms exactly, so I guess this is it.

A common spot for bursitis is on the side of the hip. Here a large tendon passes over the bony bump on the side of the hip. The bony bump is called the greater trochanter. Inflammation in the bursa between the tendon and the greater trochanter is calledtrochanteric bursitis. This problem is common in older individuals. It may also occur in younger patients who are extremely active in exercises such as walking, running, or biking.
Friction can build in the bursa during walking if the long tendon on the side of the thigh is tight. It is unclear what causes this tightening of the tendon. The gluteus maximus attaches to this long tendon. As you walk, the gluteus maximus pulls this tendon over the greater trochanter with each step. When the tendon is tight, it rubs against the bursa. The rubbing causes friction to build in the bursa, leading to irritation and inflammation. Friction can also start if the outer hip muscle (gluteus medius) is weak, if one leg is longer than the other, or if you run on banked (slanted) surfaces. … This thickening, constant irritation, and inflammation may result in the condition becoming chronic, or long lasting.
The first symptom of trochanteric bursitis is usually pain. The pain can be felt in the area of the hip right over the bump that forms the greater trochanter. Eventually the pain may radiate down the outside of the thigh. As the problem progresses, the symptoms produce a limp when walking and stiffness in the hip joint. Eventually, the pain will also be present at rest and may even cause a problem with sleeping.

This is exactly where I have had pain for the last 6 months - sore to the touch - so I guess that qualifies as chronic. And I do have it at rest, in fact, it gets worse when I sit down.
I thought it was weird that that spot is ALWAYS sore to the touch, so I guess that is why.

I sent this to a fellow club member with leg/hip problems, and he said Yes, this is what I have had for 15 years (!!). He controls it with stretching, specifically, with the stretch known as Pigeon in yoga, where you put the affected leg in front of you at a 90-degree angle and extend the other one in back of you. I can't do 90, so I do about 45 and lean forward until I feel the stretch. You can also bend the back leg to make it easier to do.
Sometimes he stops while he is running and stretches for a while.
He says if he stops running he can walk with no discomfort, but it never heals completely - comes back when he starts running again. (Maybe if you stopped for 4-6 months it would go away, but that is an experiment I am not willing to try - as long as it is manageable.)

So I am stretching a lot, and since I have not run for a month, I plan to start tomorrow with very easy and short runs. Let's see what happens.

7 comments:

  1. i hope this cures the problem. it's been bothering you for far too long.

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  2. Great to have found a cause Bob even if it means that it is likely to be with you all the time - at least it can be managed and hopefully demoted to a very mild irritant.

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  3. very sorry to read this, Bob. I had a similar problem some years ago while we lived in Japan.Gentle stretching as you described helped a lot. I did not run for 3 months and stretched as much as I could without causing pain. Keep my fingers crossed that you'll be ok soon!

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  4. Getting blood to the leg and hip area may help. Swim kicking solves most of my leg fatigue and twinches. Build up from 10 mins to 1 hour. Tipness allows MP3 player to help time pass by ;)
    Hope to have you back soon, so CP can finally beat you, in an undertrained state ;)

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  5. That doesn't sound good, but don't believe the future dire predictions about it hanging around. Do what you said, keep running and looking for ways to fix it.

    One day and it could be sooner rather than later you'll wake up with it gone! Keep searching, somebody has had this and overcome it, I'm sure!

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  6. I suggest you try rolling with one of these everyday, all round your legs it could just release something that takes the pressure off your sore spot. Worked for my piriformis syndrome.

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4u0dPoI99Gw

    Anyway won't hurt!

    Dr.Scott ;)

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  7. How are you doing? I had the same problem 3 years ago. I am a tennis player and I had to stop playing for months due to bursitis. I consulted to different Rheumatologists, had tons of lab and physical tests, took different medications and pain relievers, but the pain never stopped. I tried stem cell therapy too with my orthopedic surgeon, Dr Purita and all went well after the therapy. I am now back to my normal life, I can play tennis 2-3 times a week, and I never felt the excruciating pain again. I hope that this will inspire athletes with bursitis too. :)

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