Gluten-Free

I think it’s been well over a year since I posted here. It seemed that every time I posted of good progress with my injury, I had a setback. I’m superstitious, so I stopped posting.

To sum up the last “more than a year,” I still struggle with SI issues and still see my physical therapist monthly. However, I have made good progress. I run 15 miles/week, and I’ve been able to start biking again. I just still have random setbacks and still sometimes have to run in the proprioceptive SI belt. And I’m tired of it. I’ve been dealing with this for about 3 years now. I’m not even 30. This shouldn’t be a nagging issue.

I’ve decided to try a gluten-free diet. My naturopath has nudged in this direction but knows better than to “prescribe” it for me. As I’ve been reading more about other people’s struggles with SI dysfunction, a common theme I’ve seen is that people who cut gluten out of their diet see dramatic improvements in their SI issues.

I’ve been tackling this issue from the biomechanical aspect for a long time now. I’ve seen improvements, but I’m not over this injury. I think it’s time to start looking at other aspects, like nutrition. It’s sorta the same line of thinking as, “If you want to lose weight, you need to exercise AND eat healthier.” Doing just one or the other won’t yield the results you’re looking for. I’ve tackled the “exercise” aspect of my SI issues but not the nutrition part. And now it’s time to do that.

It’s daunting and scary, but I hope it will be worth it. Wish me luck!

Long-Awaited Update

Well, it’s been over two months since my last update. You might think no news is good news, right?  I wish. Unfortunately, my blogging absence was due to a hectic work schedule, not an active lifestyle.

In a nutshell, my tailbone (technically my sacrum) has continued to give me problems. It simply doesn’t want to stay in place. I see the PT, she pops it back in, and somehow in the course of the ensuing week, it pops back out.

So, I’m taking a new approach. I’m still seeing my PT, albeit only once every few weeks. On the PT front, she has given me a new proprioceptive sacroiliac belt that has a sacral pad to put more pressure on the sacrum and do a better job of keeping it in place.

I’ve also started seeing a naturopathic doctor. It’s become clear to me in the past couple of months that there’s something deeper going on that’s preventing my body from realigning properly. I’m hoping that the naturopathic treatment plan will help me regain balance and proper alignment in my body. Currently, my doctor is performing craniosacral treatments and has prescribed Unda numbers and various other homeopathic remedies. My hope is that the naturopath is able to help me achieve lasting results so I can run long distances and ride a bike.

As for my activity level, I’m running 3 miles 3 times a week and swimming 3000 yards twice a week. Still no biking. On the plus side, I’m running between an 8:00 and 8:30 pace, depending on what kind of day I’m having.

It doesn’t hurt to run or swim. In fact it only hurts to sit. And even then, it hurts the worst only at my office. I switched out my office chair, and that has helped a lot, but it still hurts to sit there. It hurts less to sit at home or out at restaurants. Go figure.

I think the combination of the sacral pad and the craniosacral treatments is helping me. I think my sacrum is in place, and my pain has decreased.

So there’s the update. Hopefully I’ll have more time to blog regularly from now on.

More Setbacks and Pity Parties

Things were going so well, and then, inevitably, I took a giant step back. Will this ever end??? Two weekends ago, I noticed a sharp pain right at my SI joint that would come and go. It wasn’t really that bad, but it gradually got worse from a Friday to a Tuesday. Then that Wednesday (last Wednesday), it got so bad that I couldn’t sit at my desk at work because the pain was so bad. I had to lay on the floor with my computer to get any work done.

Facing Facts and Being Conservative

Hello blogosphere. My body is doing pretty well, in case you were wondering. I even got on a bike last week! Just for 20 minutes of light spinning, but it still counts. My left glute is still a bit painful when I sit, but it’s just muscle tightness that I’m hoping will eventually go away with time and continued massage.

Run, Don’t Walk

I know, I know, it’s been awhile. But you should probably realize by now that absences in blog posts mean good gains for my physical health and training in real life…I get too busy to blog and don’t have anything to complain about .

Knock on Wood

Yesterday I ran without my proprioceptive SI belt. My SI joint and tail bone still looked good when I went to the PT last Friday, and she suggested that, instead of increasing the amount of time I’m running this week, I should try running the same amount of time but without wearing my SI belt. So I did.

It went really well. I didn’t have any pain during or after running. I still don’t feel totally normal on that side, so perhaps a more accurate description is that I didn’t feel any different running without the belt. Which is good.

Running More

So clearly the new puppy is taking away my blogging time…and I’m okay with that. Anyway, here’s an update.

I went to the PT on 1/4, and miraculously, my tail bone looked really good. It was only very slightly out of place. Mostly the joint was just stiff. My PT was shocked that I was doing so well, especially considering all the torque I’d put on my joint during our ski trip.

Long Hiatus

Sorry for the long hiatus. I guess that’s what happens with the holidays. I try to keep personal details out of this blog, but I have to tell the world that this morning I became the proud owner of a German Shepherd puppy that my husband and I have named Buck, a reference to Jack London’s book Call of the Wild. I’m beside myself with excitement because I’ve been waiting for a dog for the last 8 and a half years.

Now that that news is out of way, let’s talk about my injuries. Basically, I’ve stalled out at improvement. In early December, everything was in place but still a bit stiff. Shortly after that, my tail bone and sacrum (I recently learned that they’re not the same thing) popped out of place and hasn’t been normal since. Due to the holidays and work travel, I’ve only been able to see the PT once every two weeks, and that doesn’t help me improve, just maintain.

I think I may try acupuncture (in addition to PT) because I’ve heard it can help, and at this point I’m willing to try anything. We’ll see how it goes. My next PT appointment is on Monday. Hopefully things will get better then.

Minor Setback?

I saw the PT last Tuesday. Things were great. On Thursday morning, my husband and I took a 3-hour road-trip to another town. I drove his car because he messed up his back at the gym. When we got to our friends’ house and sat down at their dining room table, I noticed that my butt hurt much like it did when my tail bone was out of place. It has persisted ever since.

Continued Progress

Well, I went back to the PT today after a week and a half without her. Everything is still in place (hallelujah!), but I’m also still a bit stiff in my SI joint. She said I’m less stiff than I was the last time she saw me but still stiff, nonetheless. I won’t get to see her again for two weeks because I have an exciting work trip (sounds like an oxymoron, right?) that will take me out of town all of next week. Hopefully I’ll be even better by then.