pain in the butt

Seriously -

Did a sprint triathlon today and somewhere between the swim and the beginning of the bike something happened so that I almost quit during the first couple of miles of the bike portion. Had to basically pedal with one leg for a while - it got a little better, but hurt throughout the race. Got home and my cheek is swollen a little, but not black and blue. Took and epsom bath and nap - now it's feeling better but hurts to the point where I can't do my afternoon ride... If you grabbed your cheek, the pain is worse in the region between the palm and wrist. I've been fighting with a sore leg before this that was more irritating than anything - seemed to hurt worse when I would twist my left leg to the left to unclip from cycling pedals, but never anything like this. Pain seems to be in a little different spot, so I'm not even sure if the two are related.

Any ideas? This sucks...

Based on your grab-the-cheek description, it's more on the side? Or top? How are we grabbing the cheek? Stretch, rest, repeat. How was it on the run?

Hopefully it is not your gluteus medius or gluteus minimus. I blew both of those out last year at Chicago. THey are difficult muscles to treat because they are hidden under the gluteus maximus. If it is the gluteus maxmu, you should be able to treat that Either way, luck and hopefully it doesn't keep you out too long.

I'm thinking along the way Nick is; however, it could be your TFL or even the top of the ITB which can both be "fixed" using a tennis ball and foam roller. Hurts like hell, but I'm hoping it is just a spasm/knot in that area that you can knead out (so to speak). Try pressing a tennis ball into the area and rolling your butt along the wall - seems odd, but works like a charm.

One of my friends had something that sounded like that, he had some stretches that helped, I think when you lie on your back and with knee bent and put your ankle across the opposite knee and pull (sorry, terrible description but if this is one you do regularly you probably know what I'm talking about) helped....I hope it heals quickly!!

Julie wrote:One of my friends had something that sounded like that, he had some stretches that helped, I think when you lie on your back and with knee bent and put your ankle across the opposite knee and pull (sorry, terrible description but if this is one you do regularly you probably know what I'm talking about) helped....I hope it heals quickly!!

Also called the "figure 4" among SCUBA divers. Except instead of using it to put on fins, you're laying down and stretching your butt.

Mike MacLellan wrote:

Julie wrote:One of my friends had something that sounded like that, he had some stretches that helped, I think when you lie on your back and with knee bent and put your ankle across the opposite knee and pull (sorry, terrible description but if this is one you do regularly you probably know what I'm talking about) helped....I hope it heals quickly!!

Also called the "figure 4" among SCUBA divers. Except instead of using it to put on fins, you're laying down and stretching your butt.

Now that makes it easy to picture this stretch!

Mike MacLellan wrote:Based on your grab-the-cheek description, it's more on the side? Or top? How are we grabbing the cheek? Stretch, rest, repeat. How was it on the run?

It is more on the top - the pain actually eased a little on the run, but really started hurting when I stopped running...

Nick Morris wrote:Hopefully it is not your gluteus medius or gluteus minimus. I blew both of those out last year at Chicago. THey are difficult muscles to treat because they are hidden under the gluteus maximus. If it is the gluteus maxmu, you should be able to treat that Either way, luck and hopefully it doesn't keep you out too long.

Thanks Nick - I actually have been doing quite a lot of thinking about you and your recent hiccup - instead of pushing it, you were confident and laid back for a little while and it seems like you came out of it fine. I had written on my training log "you owe me 5 hours" for this weekend, but I skipped yesterday afternoon's training ride and this morning's run. I actually feel better now, but is it better to err on the side of caution and risk losing (or risk not gaining) fitness or try to do something low intensity and see if it starts to hurt badly again?

Michele "1L" Keane wrote:I'm thinking along the way Nick is; however, it could be your TFL or even the top of the ITB which can both be "fixed" using a tennis ball and foam roller. Hurts like hell, but I'm hoping it is just a spasm/knot in that area that you can knead out (so to speak). Try pressing a tennis ball into the area and rolling your butt along the wall - seems odd, but works like a charm.

Thanks for the tip - I tried it with a nerf football and a)it did hurt like hell and b)it does seem to feel a little better and after church now it seems the swelling is reduced. It sort of felt like a cramp that didn't go away - is it possible it was just a balled up muscle that stayed that way for a long time?

Julie wrote:One of my friends had something that sounded like that, he had some stretches that helped, I think when you lie on your back and with knee bent and put your ankle across the opposite knee and pull (sorry, terrible description but if this is one you do regularly you probably know what I'm talking about) helped....I hope it heals quickly!!

Thanks Julie - tried that too and I didn't feel it in the area where it hurts so much. Good news is that this afternoon I can actually lift my leg up to my waist without a lot of pain. I think I may of dodged a bullet on this one (fingers crossed...)


[quote="Mike MacLellan"]

Julie wrote:One of my friends had something that sounded like that, he had some stretches that helped, I think when you lie on your back and with knee bent and put your ankle across the opposite knee and pull (sorry, terrible description but if this is one you do regularly you probably know what I'm talking about) helped....I hope it heals quickly!!

No idea what caused it - am debating on whether to run/cycle this afternoon or give it another day... I hate gaps in the training...

John, FWIW you will not lose significant fitness until approximately three weeks of no training. In other words, if you miss a day or two you're not going to hurt yourself at all. Glad it's better today. It does sound like it's a muscle that is complaining about something.

John - I am glad to hear that things are feeling better. It may just be your body telling you that it needs a break.

I used to use a tennis ball to help with tight muscles, but now I use a softball. It hurts a lot more, but for me it's a good hurt.

Thanks Nick - I wouldn't feel so bad except last week was a step-back week so I wanted to get back to normal this week and this weekend. I ended up taking Sat and Sunday off following the Sat. morning sprint tri, so hopefully I can ease back into normal tomorrow....

John Kilpatrick wrote:Thanks Nick - I wouldn't feel so bad except last week was a step-back week so I wanted to get back to normal this week and this weekend. I ended up taking Sat and Sunday off following the Sat. morning sprint tri, so hopefully I can ease back into normal tomorrow....

I think you did the right thing. Like you said above, better to be safe than sorry. The timing sucks, but wouldn't you rather take it easy after a stepback week instead of being out for four weeks or more with an injury?