Wednesday, June 25, 2008

Anatomy Lesson

Popliteal Region - The space behind the knee joint. The space is bounded by ligaments and contains soft tissue including nerves, fat, membranes and blood vessels.

Most common causes of pain in the popliteal region are Bakers's cyst or popliteal tendinitis. Doc didn't think I had either.

His theory is that I overextended my leg during the original injury incident causing a sprain/strain at the hamstring-popliteus interface. It obviously hasn't completely healed.

He said he could tell from my "runner's legs" (I'll take that as a compliment!) that I probably wouldn't like what he had to say, but if I wanted the fastest path to get back to full training, I really needed to let this heal. Anything that fully extends the leg is preventing healing and possibly making it worse.

So the plan is to try rest, heat, and Traumeel Ointment 2x per day. No running/jogging for 2 weeks (eek!). Try to minimize walking as well, especially stairs/hills. Cycling is okay as long as I don't stand on the hills, because my leg is protected from full extension. Swimming is okay, but easy on kicking. If it doesn't seem to be getting better or gets worse, go back in or see a sports medicine guy.

Seems reasonable, so I'm giving it a go.

Not too long ago, I signed up for a 5K that is now 2.5 weeks out. At this point, I'm looking at it as a training run rather than a race. If I can run without pain, I'll consider it a success.

18 comments:

  1. At least you now know what's going on and you have a recovery plan in place. You've got the right attitude. Keep it up.

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  2. Oooh ouch :(
    but now you can start getting better (not that any one will take my advice on recovery ever again LOL)

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  3. That doesn't sound too bad in terms of recovery! At least you can swim right? ;-)

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  4. Hope it gets better fast! Knees really sux sometimes!
    Take Care

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  5. Its great you got a diagnosis. You may still want to see a sports med doc just to get a better opinion on recovery

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  6. This sounds pretty good -- glad you know what is going on. Take advantage of the time to cycle and swim more! Love your attitude! I hope this heals within the two week parameter that the doctor gave you . . . your patience will pay off. :-)

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  7. At least you can keep up with other activities and prioritize the importance of the 5K.

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  8. If two weeks of rest is what you need... get busy :-)

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  9. Lisa, as tough as it sounds, u KNOW you will come back stronger and faster after the 2 weeks. So rest well and heal up. I just came back from 4 weeks off training, and I must say that I seem to have lost less fitness than I thot I would. In short, chill out and rest well. :-)

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  10. That doesn't sound too bad. What's two weeks when you have a whole lifetime of running ahead of you?

    Chin up, girl! :-)

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  11. Could have been much worse than a recommendation of 2 weeks recovery. I'd be relieved by this. Now, hopefully, the knee cooperates in that timeframe also!

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  12. Two weeks will fly by and you'll be good to go!

    Wow...no one ever told me I had "runner's legs." That's definitely a compliment :-)

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  13. Lisa, ouch! Don't you just hate those nagging pains that don't go away? Better you checked it out sooner than later. After last summer's sprained ankle, I learned that the fastest way to heal was time off. I think you'll find the rest will do you good, even if it drives you crazy! Good luck with it!

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  14. Glad you're getting that sorted. Rest and some treatment sounds good - I'm sure you'll be fine on your 5k "training" session in a couple weeks time if the healing goes to plan!

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  15. owweeeyyy, take care of that!! What you do know to make it better will help in "the long run".

    Look after yourself, we want you running, swimming and tri-ing for a long time to come1!!

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  16. Well it's time to hit the pool then!! Rest it up and take it easy, ok?

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  17. I think it's smart to consider the 5k a training run. Definitely don't want to run that too hard & make your injury worse.

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  18. Pain, injury, rest, recovery... not favorite words for active runners.
    Wishing you alternative activity, peace, healing, return to running.

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