A story of going from being a non-runner to planning for a marathon in three years...

Friday, September 24, 2010

And the PT Says



Can you guess what my injury is? Well, it's not IT band issues. It's not a stress fracture.

It's Patellar Tendonitis. Also known as "jumper's knee". I would get jumper's knee instead of runner's knee wouldn't I?

I'd self-diagnosed as having runner's knee but then, after some prompting from my husband, I decided to suck it up and actually make a doctor's appointment. Turns out there a chain of physical therapy offices here in Illinois called Athletico that offer FREE injury consultations. And there happens to be a location just down the street from where I do my track workouts.

I went there this afternoon for my screening. The physical therapist poked and prodded and flexed and pushed and concluded that my patellar tendon is inflamed. Why?

Probably because I quit taking Pilates and haven't done any strength training for a month. I knew that was going to come back and bite me in the butt. Oh well, nothing I can do about it now.

Anyway, she suggested I get a Chopat strap and fashioned a sample one out of this fabric-y tape stuff.

And she gave me some stretches and exercises to do.


Click picture to see full sized


So I will be continuing to ice and stretch and picking up one of those Chopat straps. And probably going back to Pilates. I probably won't try running again until Wednesday and even then I'm probably done with speed work. The good news is, though, that the PT thinks I'll be able to run the marathon because I caught this issue early.

But keep those fingers crossed! I'm off to ice.

9 comments:

Maribeth said...

So glad to hear it is going to be fine by the marathon!!! See you soon.

kilax said...

It sounds like it is a good thing you went! Is the strap you have on in the picture the one the PT made for you? Where do you have to get the chopat strap. I guess we won't have matching sleeves! ;)

So excited they think you will heal quickly!

Anonymous said...

Glad to hear that you're taking care & will be able to run teh maraton!

Johann said...

Just stay away from any speed work or fast runs and you'll be fine for the marathon. Good that you know exactly what it is. Good luck!

Mica said...

Yay! The diagnosis wasn't so bad. Good job going into the doctor early.

You're almost in taper period, aren't you?

And that's great to know about Athletico. We have one here!

Anne said...

Yay for good chance you'll be able to run the marathon! Take care of yourself until then :)

Jessica (Bayjb) said...

That is a great news about catching it early! Glad you got some exercises to do and are still on track for the marathon! Keep me posted how it goes.

Anonymous said...

That is good news!! Good for you for going in so early to see the doctor. I'm crossing my fingers (and toes) that a few days off, icing, and the strap will do the trick!

Melinda said...

Good luck and I hope the PT pays off! I have been doing PT for my entire marathon training schedule, and I'm starting to notice a difference! I'm glad you caught the injury early.

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