M'kay

Sick. Flu.

Over the flu, which was actually pretty mild this time around and was only really bad for a couple of days and then just lingered for a couple more.  Still have a case of the tireds and an occasional dry cough, but otherwise unscathed.

Wish the running injury report was similiar but it's not.  It seems like all the gains I made while on the pain meds the first 2 weeks after seeing the doctor and starting Physical Therapy started being slowly erased once off the meds and today on my 1 month checkup, I'm back where I started.....same pain level, can't do some of the exercises and stretches I could do 2 weeks ago pain-free, and no end in sight. 

So the *new* plan is to completely rest for 2 week (to start) and go from there.  No more keeping semi-fit on the exercise bike, on the off chance that's been holding me back (although I haven't really cycled since last week just before I got the flu).  Minimal walking around.  Heck, I'm even supposed to try not to do a lot of standing from a sitting position since it triggers the pain.  Stretching only for 2 weeks and then progress as directed by the PT until one of two things happens:

1 - Good things happen, in which case I see the doctor again right before they have me try to run again.

2 - Bad things happen, I don't get any better and get fed up waiting and am ready to try an injection.  This is really a two-parter, since I asked the doc today about Prolotherapy versus Cortizone injections and it sounds like it really boils down to my choice (great).  Actually, he was more helpful than that, and the modality he was intending to try was the Cortizone but when I asked about Prolotherapy he told me some of the history, the science (or lack thereof), the hard facts (most insurance won't cover), and the different types.  So if anyone knows about Prolotherapy and would like to chime in, I'm all ears.

In the meantime, I'll be resting.....

Still down and out.  Nearly 3 weeks of complete rest haven't produced much in the way of concrete results.  On the plus side, some chiropractic adjustments managed to help alleviate the % of time I'm in pain.  Some PT work has helped me figure out the exact movements and muscles that cause the pain (and how to avoid them as much as possible).  Moving from ice only to alternating ice and heat modalities has helped eliminate pain under certain conditions (mostly static).  But the big freaking down side remains:  the pain is pretty much at the same *intensity* when it does happen.  Nights are the worst....sleeping tends to aggravate things so first thing in the morning, things hurt worse than they do later in the day.

Tomorrow, I'm going for a corticosteroid injection.  One one hand, I'm not at all excited about it.  When the lady making the appointment asks me twice (just to make sure) if I really want a shot in that area, I'm guessing it'll be a tad uncomfortable.  Plus, I like healing naturally if at all possible, and the rounds of Aleve did nothing other than hide the pain for a while.  On the other hand, the hours I've spent researching this thing indicates one thing:  corticosteroid injection of the pubic symphysis *can* speed recovery.  At this point, I just want to feel like I'm on the road to recovery, and the lack of progress while under total rest helped make this decision for me.  Here's hoping the short-term pain tomorrow results in some long-term gain.

New diagnosis:  adductor tendinitis.  Before injecting the corticosteroid, the doc examined the afflicted area again and determined that the pain was now originating from the adductor tendon origin on the pubic bone, essentially down and to the left of the area I was supposed to get injected in.  Looking back at the MRI results, there was evidence of a Grade 1 adductor strain, along with the indicators of Osteitis Pubis.  Best guess:  I had both and the OP has calmed down from the rest and rehab, but the tendonitis is being stubborn.  Makes sense as I injured the adductor at virtually the same spot 2 years ago and went thru rehab that didn't quite fix things completely in my estimation (still had occasional pain even after the doc/PT said I was good to go).

So we tried what I'll call the "Therapy of 1000 needles".  The idea was to stimulate healing by repeatedly poking the tendon where it attaches causing microtraumas and blood flow to an area that has little bloodflow.  I'm also on a nitroglycerin patch on the tendon to help increase bloodflow to the area.  Both may help stimulate the healing process, but lurking over the horizon should these new attempts fail is the possibilty I'll need surgery.  Here's to hoping that's not required.

So not much progress but I feel better about this diagnosis revision since they allow new treatment modalities that might help speed things along.