Monday, October 31, 2011

Hot mess!

Since about late June my body has been going through some ups and downs. Every day I daydream through assumptions about what is going on inside my body. The list below is the range of symptoms and conditions I have self-diagnosed with. Recently my physical therapist has confirmed that I have an anatomical leg length discrepancy of ¼ inch to 1 cm. By the look on her face when she told me this, I realized I was outside her normal zone.


Medial gastrocnemii tear or strain on right and left leg (calf strain)
Posterior compartment syndrome
Sacroiliac joint dysfunction
Anterior pelvic tilt
Anterior pelvic rotation right side
Anatomical leg length discrepancy right leg
Functional leg length discrepancy right leg
Rib subluxation left side (1-2)
Pes planus right foot
Twisted sacrum

Our assumption is that everything else is related to this little birth defect; that and trying to do too much to quick. Really need to fix that!

Main hindering thing right now is when I go for a run my calves, more so my right, locks up and hits me with extricating pain, enough to not be able to put any pressure on during or afterward. At least it was because I haven’t ran for a little over a week. I have been doing physical therapy with a new therapist and am going to get some deep tissues massages over the next month. Apparently my muscles are on lockdown and don’t want to loosen up. After my functional (muscular) discrepancy goes away I will be fitted for a heel lift in my right show. I am aiming to get ease back into running on Friday. Fingers crossed. My plans to for a successful recovery include strengthening my butt and lower extremities with tedious exercises, resetting the muscle memory part of my brain, and get back into running slowly.

If anyone has any wisdom or suggestions on these symptoms and injuries I would be gracious for your thoughts. I always feel like I am a hot mess when I am not completely back into shape. Once I get to the level of fit and strength I would have these minor hiccups. Getting there is key.

2 comments:

  1. so they actually think you have compartment syndrome? not good - make sure you actually take it easy! that can be some nasty stuff, surgeries, yuck. i'm sure you're doing all the right stuff with the PT, but i would say strengthening at the hip, stretch the calves, fixing the position of the sacrum/pelvis during PT, and avoid running on slanted pavement with the pes planus and leg length on the one side. i have the exact same problem on my left side - shorter, pronated/flatter, calf pain and swelling. if i run on even trails (aka not on the slanted side of the road) my symptoms are waaay better. good luck lady! ps - i should just call you soon:) miss you lots!

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  2. The compartment syndrome got brought up but hopefully is not the case. My new PT is strengthening the hips and glutes and stretching the calves. We are getting there. I am going to do some deep tissues massages to release. Hope all is well my favorite PT. :)

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