Sciatica is a shocking show-stopper for runners

 

Ever step on a high-voltage cable? Don’t even think about it.

 That’s sort of what sciatica (sciatic nerve pain) feels like. At least, that’s my own best estimate.

 It’s crazy-painful. Like many runners or other athletic types, I’ve broken plenty of bones. I’ve had stitches in several spots. I’ve had a frozen shoulder, a collapsed lung, and a host of other injuries – not to mention chronic migraines.

None of those comes close to the agony of sciatica.

Sufferers have described sciatica as aching, burning, sharp jab, or stabbing pain. It often plagues pregnant women (when the baby’s weight adds pressure to the lower back), as well as older folks who spend a lot of time sitting. But active folks can have it too.

 If you’ve ever lived through this ordeal, you’re already nodding your head. (That might be the only thing that doesn’t hurt with sciatic pain. Or nearly so.)

 Wish I had a heroic story to go with this injury. The truth is, I was pulling out a too-big and too-deeply-rooted plant in my garden on the first really lovely spring day of the year.

You know how the story goes.

 Immediately, I felt something go wrong in my lower back. Then I could hardly stand to my feet for a while. Soon, the high-voltage torture ran from the small of my back all the way down one leg. Fire gripped that hip, those glutes, that hamstring, the back of that knee, that calf, that ankle, and that foot.

 Soon, the foot went pins-and-needles and then numb. For nearly a month, that foot alternated between pins-and-needles and numb. I couldn’t trust that ankle while walking. (Forget about running for a while. More on that below.)

 An x-ray showed only a 23-year-old compression fracture. My primary care physician quickly tagged that as the cause of my sciatic pain. 

Um, not exactly. 

There’s like a 6-inch distance between that spot and the onset of sciatica. My chiropractor, physical therapist, and neurologist begged to differ with the PCP, pointing directly to a lower vertebral spot (right smack at L-4). Classic sciatica.

Did I mention insurance won't cover an MRI till after at least a month of physical therapy?

Ten weeks later, I’m just barely coming out of the woods on this thing.

 

What is sciatica?

 The sciatic nerve is the biggest (largest and longest) nerve in the human body. It runs from the lower part of the spine all the way (on each side) past the hip, buttocks, thigh, calf, ankle and foot. It ends by the big toe. It’s approximately 2 cm (almost an inch) in diameter at its widest spot. That’s a lot of nerve!

 Sciatica occurs when the sciatic nerve is pinched or compressed, usually by a bulging or herniated disc between two vertebrae (often L-3 and L-4). And it’s a whopper.

What does sciatica mean to a runner?

 Running is a no-go till it subsides. People try, but pounding the pavement isn’t exactly what the doctor ordered. (Walking is good. More on that in a minute.)

 Lifting is a non-starter. I was instructed to forgo any exercises with weights and to steer clear of anything over 10 pounds in daily life. In our house, that meant someone else has to tote the 50-pound bag of dog food into the house.

 Yoga is a mixed bag with sciatica. Some yoga stretches can be helpful, but twisting can make it worse – much worse.

 Sitting is out of the question for a while. That rules out deskwork (unless you stand up for it), and biking is not an option (especially trail biking or bumpy road biking). Don’t mention horseback riding or motorcycling for a couple months.

 Sleeping is a stretch. Many sciatica sufferers can sleep on their backs. Not so for me. The only way I’ve caught any Z’s has been on my stomach. Side-sleeping is starting to become an option, but only on the good (non-sciatica) side.

 Standing can be challenging, especially after a few minutes. Walking is a bit better and sometimes helps to alleviate some of the sciatica stiffness, as long as you don’t go too far. For two months, I had to force myself to get up and walk at least a mile or two (wearing compression socks and a lumbar support belt with an ice pack at first), just to push back the pain of trying to be still (or adjust painful positions) overnight. 

And if you have MS or another chronic medical condition (such as an autoimmune disease), guess what ongoing sciatic pain (and all that lack of sleep) can do. That’s right. It can trigger a flare-up/exacerbation.

  Doctors may suggest steroids (either orally or by injection into the affected area of the back), physical therapy, back surgery, or any combination of these. And maybe massage.

 For me, the answer has been a combination of chiropractic adjustments (first twice a week, but then weekly), added to physical therapy (on a similar schedule). It’s a long struggle, but it eventually helped.

 In the meantime, I missed a bunch of races. I’ve skipped a lot of cardio and strength training sessions at the gym. I’ve done a lot more walking than running.

 But I’m coming back.

Related Items:

·        Hey, Doc. Don't tell a marathoner to exercise more

·        Marathon recovery: Let's talk about toenails.

·        Mid-season knee injury puts a crimp in marathon training

·        Peroneal Tendonitis is stretching my vocabulary by a foot

·        Sick days are setbacks for runners!

 

 

Image/s: Public domain photo by WolfBlur - Pixabay

 

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Have you been caught WALKING again?

 

Cue the blush here.

 OK, I’m totally kidding.  But sometimes it feels like that, when a runner is spotted out walking.

 A non-runner might say something like this:

“I saw you out there yesterday, but you were walking.”

 It’s as if we are expected to maintain an all-out sprint the whole time we are out on the trail or the road or the track in our sneakers.

 

It doesn’t really work that way.

 Even elite marathoners begin their jaunts with warmups and end with cool-downs. These may include giant steps, backward steps, lunges, and butt kicks. But they also include walking – plenty of walking.

 And plenty of fitness fanatics walk miles and miles and miles, burning countless calories without ever breaking into a jog. They’re on-the-move for hours, which is almost harder in some ways than running faster for shorter time spans.

 

Walking may be purposeful.

 It usually is exactly that.

 Walking is a primo plan for beginner runners, but also for those who have run countless races and are still committed to practicing physical fitness (perhaps past their primes). Professional trainers and physical therapists prescribe walking for those who are recovering from injuries or long races.

 Additionally, more than a few runners mix walks into their weeks for cross-training, socialization (with other runners and non-running friends), dog-walking, sightseeing, stress relief, or even phone calls on-the-fly.

 Let’s not judge one another, or ourselves, for slower steps.

 

Runners build one another up – at any pace.

 Mostly, the running community acts like a fellowship of mutual encouragement. We say things like “Your race, your pace,” and “You’re lapping everyone who’s at home on the couch.”

 Sure, runners want to become faster. We want to beat our own personal records, racing the clock more than one another. Some of us even want to win race titles – or at least place in our age brackets.

 But we generally enjoy waving at each other (at the run or the walk). We salute one another for getting out there and cranking out the miles, from 5Ks to ultras. We “like” each other’s online posts. We basically celebrate running, hoping to inspire anyone who’s getting up and trying.

 

So why do we almost apologize for walking?

 We act like we’ve been caught in a crime when another runner catches us walking. We trip up into a trot when we approach race cameras (if we spot them). We jump into a jog when a car comes along, if our routes take us on the roadway. We pick up the pace when another runner (or even a walker) approaches.

 Why are we embarrassed to practice a slower pace?

 

There’s no shame in walking.

 All miles count. And just by stepping out there, we are all burning calories, building endurance, improving our cardio condition, and doing the distance. All that makes us stronger … and yes, faster.

 

Related Items:

·        Long runs: Shared-track slowdowns don't have to be let-downs

·        Long runs: Sometimes ya just gotta walk a bit

·        Mixing it up: Cross training adds spice and fitness

·        Some training runs are simply dreadful

·        Walking works wonders for warmups and workouts

•   What’s the difference between a runner and a jogger?

 

 Image/s: public domain photo

Feel free to follow Runderdog on Twitter, as well as Run Run Run in Wisconsin and Northern Illinois (Runderdog Runs the Midwest) on Facebook. Please visit my Amazon author page as well.

Social Distance running is a whole new game

 It seems like everyone wants to be a runner, now that social distancing has become a thing.

Regular runners definitely took the lead on this. Keeping up with running and avoiding contact with others (and possible Coronavirus / COVID-19 exposure) is something of a balancing act, isn’t it? From race cancellations to gym closures, runners are taking to the trails (and streets) to keep moving. Virtually every race director is coming up with virtual races to offer the running community at-large.

Hey, we’re still free to lace up our sneakers and go pound out as many miles as we want.

In these crazy days of pandemic uncertainty, scores of other folks are stepping into sports shoes and hitting the bricks or tracing out trails to escape cabin fever and burn off some of those shelter-in-place calories.

If we’re heeding the warnings, we’re running (or walking) solo. Or we’re pairing up, but trying to stay 6+ feet apart (per federal guidelines). Maybe we’re wearing face-masks or stretching neck gaiters / buffs or lycra headbands over our noses and mouths.

Then there are those devil-may-care hotshots, who think they’re tougher than anything Covid-19 can throw at them.

Those are the hard-core runners who still post Instagram photos of their running crews with arms draped over each others’ shoulders. They’re the ones who jog three or four across on single- or double-track paths.

Take a look at these photographic examples. (Disclaimer: These stock photos were taken before the pandemic hit. So these individuals were not violating any current health standards.)

An active worldwide pandemic makes running a whole new game.

Tons of runners have posted photos depicting the lack of social distancing in favorite running spots. Chicago's mayor has now closed the city's scenic lakefront paths, for example. On the other hand, Wisconsin has waived fees for state parks and trails, urging people to practice safe social distancing.

Experts tell us COVID-19 can spread like wildfire. Would you run through wildfire?

Have you encountered others along your running routes, who crowded your Coronavirus-avoidance personal boundaries? How did you handle this?

I have darted into the street to cross and put appropriate space between me and them. Two days ago, a pair of runners came up behind me and passed me on a local trail. One actually shoulder-bumped me, as he crowded past.

Seriously, folks?

Call me germophobic. OK.

I just want to stay healthy, so I can keep running and doing the rest of life well (or reasonably so). I battle a chronic medical condition daily, which threatens to sideline me, if a serious illness throws my immune system into overdrive. I have family members and other loved ones who could likely not weather such a storm, if they became infected.

Bet we all do, if we think about it. Because when it comes right down to it, it’s not just about us. It’s about who our lives might impact.

Images:

Photo collage created  by this user from public domain images

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zippy