Chiropractor

I woke up this morning feeling pretty good. Instead of a ton of tightness and wide-spread pain in my lower back, I was back to very localized pain and even that seemed somewhat improved. I decided if one day off helped then two days off couldn't hurt. So no running today. However, I did go to see a chiropractor this afternoon.

I took advantage of an offer for a consultation, exam, x-rays, and a massage for $20. I figured $20 wasn't a bad price for a massage so even if the exam didn't produce any results, I didn't have anything to lose.

I've never been to a chiropractor before so the doc explained what he does and why he does it. He assured me he isn't out to steal my money or condemn me to a lifetime of chiropractic adjustments. We talked about my pain and he put me through some range-of-motion tests. Based on what I told him and what he saw, he made it sound like I'm probably dealing with tight hamstrings and IT bands. It didn't sound like a bulging disc or a fracture were likely but he wanted to be sure before offering an official diagnosis or treatment. He took a couple of quick x-rays and asked me to come back Monday to go over the results. (His office is closed Friday through Sunday and the golf clubs in his office made the reason for this very clear.)

On my way out, he dropped me off in a dimly lit room with relaxation muzak playing softly. He said "one of the girls" would be in to give a quick massage just to work out some of the adhesion in the soft tissue then he would follow up with me Monday.

I've never had a massage before so I wasn't sure what to expect other than some pain. When the girl walked in, she apparently hadn't talked to the doctor because she asked, "Where are our problem areas today?" I said my lower back is the problem and she told me to lie face down. This lady spent 15 or 20 minutes massaging, rubbing, and digging painfully into my upper back and shoulders. She hardly touched my lower back and never touched my legs (which I thought was where all the tension was hiding). Don't get me wrong, it was relaxing and my shoulders probably needed a good massage, but I don't think it helped my lower back at all.

So I'll head back to the doc on Monday and take a look at my insides to see if anything is messed up. Between now and then, I've decided to give whatever is so angry in my back a chance to calm down. As much as it's killing me to skip days on my schedule, I'm going to try taking my own advice for once and rest.

I've decided no running today, tomorrow, or Saturday. If I'm feeling okay, I'll see about going out on Sunday but it probably won't be the full Long Run I have scheduled. I'm hoping that some serious stretching and repeated use of the foam roller with break up any 'adhesions' and loosen things up. The days off will give any inflammation a chance to subside. The sad thing is, the weather is finally breaking and today was the first not-scorching, partly-cloudy, I-even-saw-a-couple-of-rain-drops-on-my-windshield day we've had in weeks. So complete inactivity will drive me crazy. Maybe I'll get in a bike ride Saturday.

Missing a couple of days this early in my schedule won't hurt anything, it can only help, but it's still frustrating and I hope to get back to work ASAP.

Thursday
Goal For The Day: Rest & Recover.

Notes: Awesome weather for a run and I'm sitting on my butt. Blah. I need to work more abdominal exercises into my routine. More core work. Feeling unbalanced.

Daily Miles: 0.00 Miles.
Blog Totals:
  Run - 160.84 Miles.
  Bike - 67.68 Miles.
  Swim - 5,400+ meters.