I haven't run a step since.
Today I realized that perhaps an additional frustrating aspect of this prolonged injury season, now creeping up on 5 months, has been the "unknown factor". While I've received some clarity on the injury itself, no one has really explained to me how specifically it's going to get better—and when. And my injured self always fills in those blanks with the same two answers: "it won't" and "never".
Maybe it's the engineer in me, but I think what I'm looking for at the chiropractor's office and physical therapy appointments is for the conversation to turn to technical words followed by non-technical explanations. Take me to medical school. Teach me about soft tissue, ligaments, muscles, nerves, alignment. I don't want to just get better; I would like to know why I am getting better. Fix me, and teach me how to fix myself.
I realize such teaching is likely outside the scope of my brief appointment time-slots, but I do think it is important for doctors to give attention to their patient's "hope levels". We all need to know, one way or another, that things can get better. It is not enough for the doctor to know. The patient must be persuaded as well. As one of my seminary professors used to often say, what we hope for tomorrow changes who we are today. This is true spiritually, and also true to some degree medically.
Anyways, since crash courses in med school are unlikely, I've resorted to asking as many questions as I can during the appointment time-frame. I then try to remember important words and phrases, and look them up on the internet when I get home.
For example, yesterday's important phrase at the chiropractor was "scar tissue". (She also applied what felt like electrical current through the injury location, but I forgot what she called it. Its purpose, she said, was to stimulate blood flow to the area—which apparently now contains the aforementioned key phrase.)
Subsequent internet searching for "scar tissue" led to the discovery of these three articles, which I found relevant and helpful. If accurate, they provide some explanation for the surprising re-injury and the slow healing process:
- "Pulled Muscle, Scar Tissue and Re-Injury"
- "Active Rehabilitation and Complete Recovery from Sports Injury"
- "Sports Massage Therapy for Recovery, Injury Rehabilitation and Better Athletic Performance"
As best as I can locate myself on the recovery spectrum, here's my current understanding for how I'm going to get better:
- Get rid of scar tissue. Perhaps through deep tissue sports massage (which I think my PT started last week) and maybe through some creative use of electricity (which my chiropractor started yesterday). Rationale: Untreated scar tissue, while maybe helpful for healing in the short term (?), leads to a loss of strength, power, and flexibility—and will ultimately encourage re-injury by preserving a weak spot. While not stated in the articles, I would guess that the more load-bearing or torque-bearing the injury site is (as in my case behind the knee) the more re-injury is likely. If the articles are accurate, neglecting the scar tissue at the injury site is probably why I was re-injured so easily a couple weeks ago.
- Active Rehab. Do exercises and activities that specifically target areas affected by the injury and other weak areas that may have facilitated the injury. The article suggests this progression, which is what my PT has roughly followed thus far: (a) Regain full range of motion, (b) Stretch and Strengthen, (c) Balance and Proprioception (limb positioning), and (d) Final Prep with Increased Intensity. I've been doing exercises since early December, and feel like my PT has me alternating exercises aimed at (a) through (c).
- Run. Hopefully, regularly, without pain or tightness, by the beginning of March. There may be some shorter test runs before March, but I'm hopeful another 6-7 weeks focusing on scar tissue removal will finally be enough complete the healing process. There may still be snow on the ground in March, but not for much longer.
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