a little improvement

So, I had my midway progress appointment with my doctor on Monday (12/13).  My personal analysis prior to the appointment was:
1) my lower back had improved, but was still tender and sore at times especially upon waking
2) my upper back felt worse than when I began
3) I was managing my calf discomfort and the knots/adhesions seem to have gotten smaller from using my foam roller daily and getting the muscle work done during appointments.
Overall) I feel like I had plateaued and was not improving anymore.

He took a thermography scan of my back.  What this means is he basically ran this instrument from my buttocks up my spine to the top of my neck.  The machine senses heat in the areas along my spine, the purpose being to identify muscles that are emitting heat from irritation.  The results showed far less irritation in both the upper and lower back, although my neck still had some inflammation.

Wednesday I had another appointment.  I was feeling as though I had made slight improvements since Monday.  Much to my surprise, my doctor stated he really liked how I was aligned even though I may not feel the improvement yet.  He did a few extra adjustments to try and alleviate my upper back stiffness.  It seems to have helped.

Also, I was the first patient to experience the deep muscle stimulator.  He used it on my calf on the scar tissue buildup previously diagnosed.  I'll have to pay attention to see if it works.

I am feeling even better today.

Dec 6 - Dec 12

Mon: 4 miles
Tue: off
Wed: 4 miles
Thu: off
Fri: 4 miles
Sat: off
Sun: 5.77 miles

Total: 17.77 miles

That is the most miles I have run in a week since I have been seeing my doctor.  Too bad that my back, both upper and lower, hurt like hell most of the week.  All the miles were easy miles.

I'm still in a sensitive state when it comes to my back pain.  Not sure what to think about it right now.  I have another doctor appointment this evening.  I am halfway done with the expected treatment.  They will take some x-rays and other tests to determine the progression I have made.  I'm curious to see what the results are because I do not feel good right now, physically or mentally.

I want to be pain free before increasing mileage and/or adding another day.  I am sure my doctor is going to share this view.  How long is that going to take???  Man, I am frustrated.

Nov 29 - Dec 5

This was a week for three runs: Tue, Thur, Sat.  I had planned (and was allowed) to run 4, 4 & 6 miles on the respective days.

Up to this point in time, my progression had been steady and successful.  My doctor had outlined a good, conservative plan and I agreed I needed to take it slow.  I was resolved to the fact that if I wanted to return to pre-injury levels of performance and higher that I was going to really have to focus on a long term approach.

This past week was the first chink in my armor related to my approach so far.  The runs on Tue & Thur went as planned.  Saturday's run seemed to go as planned as well after initially finishing it.  I had no back pain throughout the run and my left soleus only tightened up a bit the last few miles (the soleus is seems to be an ongoing problem but I am managing it for now until my back is 100%).

Then came Sunday morning.  It was the first morning I had woken up with back pain for as long as I could remember.  The pain was pretty constant throughout Sunday and Monday.  It was a feeling very similar to the pain I had prior to first seeing my doctor though not quite as severe.

Monday night I had an appointment with my doctor.  I told him about what had happened.  He instructed me to continue with 4 miles during the week and this coming weekend I will "retry" 6 miles.  That night was also my first experience with a flexion table.  My doctor said the muscles in my back were tighter than he had felt in a while, so the flexion table would stretch out my back and spine to ease the muscle irritation as well as decompress and rehydrate the discs.

So, progress has turned to pause or maintenance.  I've got my fingers crossed it is just a hiccup in the greater scheme of things.  It does bring back a wave of caution, concern and fear.  The reason is because I expected small problems and setbacks, but not such severe regression in terms of pain.  I'll have to wait and see what happens during my appointment this evening.  I continually come back to the word hope...do you ever run out of hope?

Good news!!!

I had an appointment with my doctor on Monday evening.  During that visit, he informed me that my back was ready for more mileage!!!  I am sure a smile spread across my face from ear to ear.  I couldn't contain it.  I'm now good to run 4 times a week: 4 miles 3 times a week and continue to extend my weekend run one mile each week (6 miles this coming weekend).

It's PROGRESS!

BUT, his comment was quickly followed with, "but I'm not sure your left calf is ready for it."  We had discussed how it constantly felt "tight" during my runs.  He told me to ice it after runs, self-massage and to use "The Stick".  I told him I have been using a foam roller.  Regardless, it looks like I need to go get myself one.

My leg feels like it has improved a little.  I'm going to continue to work on it each day to see what that results in after a month or so.

In conclusion, I'm optimistic and excited but grounded.