Benched Again

....or, bummed about my bum.

My old friend piriformis (as I now know it's called) has reared its ugly head again.  I thought I had over-stretched in Pilates because the day following my return to my Pilates classes there was a pinched feeling in my right buttock.  I kept stretching my glutes as much as I could thinking (rightly, as it turned out) that it might be the pirifomis muscle pinching my sciatic nerve again, but the pain began to move around my hip joint and radiate down the side of my leg every time I attempted running.  I could never get past 5K without worrying about a real injury occurring.

So, yesterday I went to see my charming and always effective (not to mention good-looking) chiropractor who treated me with deep muscle massage.  Not as restful as it might sound, it consists of him drilling his elbow into my right butt cheek to make the piriformis muscle let lose its death grip on my sciatic nerve.  It will eventually leave bruises, which can be darned hard to explain in the locker room!  It is a very painful procedure but it's effective, and, I hope quick.  Last time this happened it took a few weeks to heal but this time, being in better shape, the treatment might take hold more quickly.

The cause is definitely due to running and not, as I had feared Pilates.  Still, I am banned from both for the rest of this week.  The reason is due to the muscles in my butt and hips trying to stabilise my body while I run.  Proper stance and posture will aid in this but it's also treadmill-related.  When running on a natural surface the body will require rest periods where a runner will slow their pace.  A treadmill, while adjustable for speed, cannot properly emulate this process.  So it could be that I was running too fast.  Sometimes the treadmill runs you and not the other way around.

So for now I am doing the stretches Wade gave me and hope to connect with Bruce soon for another strength training session at our new work-out space.  Higgie bought a 10 session pass for the place yesterday and now we just need to arrange a time and day with Bruce to continue training.  My first run of the season is April 2nd, so I need to be ready.