Psoas What Hurts

No running today. I met with the Physical Therapist this morning before work and then I worked late so today was a day off.

I felt like my trip to the PT was very productive. I left the appointment feeling good about the information I was given and feeling confident that my back pain can be taken care of. I'm sure part of my sense of satisfaction is due to the fact that I like the PT's diagnosis better than the chiropractor's. She told me I'm experiencing pain in my back because of muscle imbalance and problems with my hip flexors. She actually said a lot over the course of the appointment and I don't remember all of the specifics, but she noticed a lot of the little things I've noticed over the past few months without me having to prompt her.

I'm probably also happy with the appointment because she seemed so thorough in her evaluation. I spent over an hour with her while she tested range of motion, strength, checked for pain, and made adjustments to my hips and back. I felt like the chiropractor had me in and out of the office very quickly and wasn't as thorough while trying to diagnose my pain.

My favorite part of the appointment was toward the end of the hour. She felt like she had a pretty good idea of how she wanted to proceed with treatment and was explaining a stretch she wants me to do. While explaining the stretch, she pressed down near my hip bone and it felt like she had reached in and squeezed my insides. That was when we found out just how tight my psoas muscle is. The psoas travels from your ribs to your thigh through your hips and attaches to your lower spine. Mine was tight and painful and could be causing a lot of the pain I'm experiencing. She dug into the sore spots one by one until the pain subsided. It was painful and awesome at the same time. Just last night I was kinda massaging that area because I noticed some tightness. I was barely applying pressure compared to what she did, but I felt better afterward.

When it's all said and done, PT will cost less than the chiropractor, but it's still going to be expensive. She wants me to come in twice a week for about a month (give or take a week). I scheduled another appointment for next Monday but I'll see how long I stick with treatment. If the exercises and stretches she has me doing at home help, I might not continue with the appointments.

It's good to know there's hope for my back. It's annoying that hope is expensive.

Thursday
Goal For The Day: Physical Therapy and Rest.
Distance: 0.00 Miles.

Notes: I think mileage is more important than speedwork this week. Since I missed today's workout, I'll probably do Middle Distance tomorrow instead of Bannister Repeats.

Daily Miles: 0.00 Miles.
Blog Totals:
  Run - 179.87 Miles.
  Bike - 98.53 Miles.
  Swim  7,200+ meters.