Post 20K Blues

One unfortunate byproduct of the 20K race was a muscle pull high up on my left leg. I have not worked out since Monday. I know if I begin running too early it will only serve to increase my recovery time. Fortunately I have three weeks to recover before I need to run the half marathon in Toronto.

After researching my issue online, I may have a sports hernia. It's not a typical hernia where you would have swelling or protrusions. I would need to schedule an MRI to determine this conclusively. If I have a sports hernia, this pain may not subside for a month or two. You need to have surgery to fix a sports hernia and then six weeks to recover.


After completing more research I may simply have a groin pull.

Excerpted from http://www.coolrunning.com

Groin Pull

Description:
Pain in the upper inner thigh muscle.

Likely causes:
Plain and simple, this is an overuse injury. The pain is your adductor muscle calling attention to itself, complaining that it's been held too tense. The adductor is the muscle that runs along the inner thigh and is involved in turning in your toes, a natural motion when running. It's possible that you got this injury when running on a slippery surface; it's a natural instinct to tense your adductors to keep balance, but it can result in a groin pull.

For others, though, it could be a foot imbalance. If there's not enough range of motion in your ankle, the adductor tends to tighten to help you keep your balance.

Remedy:
This injury takes patience and more than a little dedication to overcome. It's not what you want to hear, but you'll have to stop running -- or at least cut back drastically -- for about a week. After the pain has gone away, and not before, gently stretch the area with the groin stretch, and try the inside leg raise for a strengthening exercise. Do these stretches, they'll get you back on the road. After seven days of stretching, try a little easy running, starting with just a mile. Keep doing the exercises, and gradually build your mileage. If the pain keeps up, take a few more days off.

At the same time, try putting a wedge in your shoes, at the inner side of the heel. If you don't have enough range of motion in your ankles, as mentioned above, a wedge will help your ankles and heels turn out with less strain on your adductors. Try cutting a wedge out of foam rubber (like a makeup sponge), about 1/2" thick at the widest part.

If the pain persists after these treatments, consult a podiatrist on whether orthotics may be needed

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