Injury Prevention Clinic with UPMC Sports Medicine & Pittsburgh Marathon

I knew I'd learn something, but the hands-on experience at yesterday morning's clinic was what made an impression on me.

University of Pittsburgh Medical Center (UPMC) Sports Medicine and Pittsburgh Marathon hosted a clinic on injury prevention at UPMC Montefiore in Oakland, and we heard from runners, trainers, doctors, and physical therapists--some of whom fill more than one of those roles!

First up was Dr. Vonda Wright, an orthopedic surgeon and assistant professor of orthopedic surgery at UPMC, also known nationally as a speaker and author who regularly appears on the Dr. Oz television show. She was raised in what she called a "running family,"  so in addition to her vast professional experience, she brings the "I know what you mean" part of running pain to the table. She shared with us a number of videos detailing stretches ideal for runners, focusing on form.

I don't know about the rest of the people in attendance, but this miniature encyclopedia of stretches will surely set me straight with a number of my oooos and ouches. I really enjoyed hearing Vonda speak, and, for anyone interested, she has other online resources as well as classes, DVDs, etc.

Next we heard from Ron DeAngelo, known nationally for working with NFL and NBA players, who taught us a plethora of wonderful, deep, dynamic stretches. He had us up and moving around the room for these. My blood was pumping for sure! I wished there was a worksheet with a stick figure or something to remind me of the moves... But some of the stretches are in Vonda's videos.

Finally, we heard from Dr. Aaron Mares, an internal an sports medicine expert, who described a variety of common injuries he sees in his runner patients--everything bursitis to the stress fractures and tendonitis to the dreaded plantar fasciitis. He described what these feel like and where, some things that go wrong to lead to these and, naturally, some preventative measures to keep in mind.

All in all, this clinic was full of great information for runners at all stages. I consider myself a novice, but my friend Eleanor is definitely intermediate and she said she learned quite a few things too.

Thanks to UPMC and Pittsburgh Marathon for the invitation to this event. Well done! Can't wait to see what you have next!

Check out the Pittsburgh Marathon on Twitter: @PghMarathon
UPMC Sports Medicine: @UPMCSportsMed
Dr. Vonda Wright: @DrVondaWright

In Stitches: Time Off

Back in October, I wrote about a dermatological hiatus... And now the time has come. Today I went to the dermatologist to have two skin "items" removed. One on my back and one on my shin.
 
At 5 mm each, the cuts required the doctor to close them with one stitch each. When you have stitches, it's a bad idea to exercise because if you bleed, you interfere with healing. (And, seriously, who wants to interfere with healing?) The appointment itself went okay, but the local anesthetic is wearing off now and I'm feeling the soreness in my back. Oww...

My follow-up appointment is later this month. By then, they'll have the results of the biopsies and the stitches will be ready to come out. Until then, though, no exercise.

I raced on January 1st and my next race isn't until late February, so I'll be healed and back to training before then. Once I have the stitches removed, I know I'll still have to take it easy, so I plan to use a GroupOn I bought for a local yoga studio and stay limber.

Patellofemoral pain syndrome = sad face

I was putting it off because I had hoped that if I gave myself enough rest that it wouldn't bother me...

After the Ohio Outside trail race on November 17th, my knee hurt pretty badly the next day. I took care of it the best way I knew how and eventually it felt normal enough for everyday life. But when I tried to exercise again, the pain returned. 

I tried running again this past Tuesday. I walked five minutes, ran two. Walked five minutes, ran two. I felt okay the whole time I was on the treadmill. 

Wednesday morning was a different story. Reluctantly, I called the doctor. 

I met with a physician's assistant instead of my usual primary care physician. Ryan was really helpful. I explained my running lifestyle a little, when the pain started, where it was, and when it seemed to appear. 

I allowed him to flex my knee, hip, and ankle joints, testing for abnormalities. He told me what many other doctors have mentioned: I have extremely "pliable" joints. They're loose. I sprain easy. I haven't slipped a shoulder or anything, but I commonly feel my bones slide around to the point that when I had X-rays once or twice the doctors have retaken them and had me flex different muscles to view the bone positioning.

I'm not a perfect human specimen. I know that.

Without question, I have runner's knee. Ryan didn't have to think twice about it. My pain is above the knee cap and fits all the other criteria like hurting more when I walk downhill or down stairs and feeling like it needs to "pop ." What's crappy is that I've learned that I have a number of criteria that make me more likely to have this and to get it again: 

• I'm female (we tend to have wider hips, thus making the alignment of hips, knees, and feet a bit more challenging) 
• I overpronate (i.e., I have flat feet; no arch to speak of)
• I have weaker thigh muscles than calf muscles

So I can't not be female or not have overpronated feet... but I can work to strengthen my hip flexors and other muscles for alignment, and I can ensure I'm wearing proper footwear for running. And for those pesky thigh muscles? Well, quadriceps, you have met your match. You've got to stop letting those calves carry you.

I have a race tomorrow. The third trail race in the Ohio Outside trail series. I'm sorry to say that I won't be running it. I might walk it, if I'm allowed. I want to complete the series... I plan to rest, do some really gentle cross training (I'm thinking yoga), and do the stretches Ryan the PA gave me so that I *might* be able to run in the Doomsday Dash 5K in Columbus on December 15th. I reeeeeeally want to run that one... not only because it looks freaking awesome, but also because if I don't run it then I won't have run a race in December, which breaks a NINE MONTH RACE STREAK part of my goal to run a race every month, which would really tick me off. Oh, and I paid to run the race so I want to do it. There's that.        

Have you ever had runner's knee or another injury? How long were you sidelined? What did you do to help yourself get over the physical AND mental parts of being injured?