3 Opinions

In the last 2 days I've had 3 medical professionals give me their opinion about what is going on with my hip. Chiro yesterday said possibly bursitis. He said I could probably manage it and continue to run but don't push too much volume or intensity until it's better. He is a triathlete so he truly understands my desire to RUN. Said ibuprofen ok as long as I'm not using it to mask pain so I can run. Ibuprofen 400-800mg after run, which is how I've been doing it and that pretty much works except it bugs me to have pain when I run. Focus on PT type strength exercises.

Acupuncture this morning said not likely bursitis but more likely trigger points in the TFL. He used some needles to get the trigger points to release, which I think he actually managed to achieve, but my pain remained and I limped a little as I walked out of his office. He suggested no running, but said yes on ibuprofen and suggested a protocol of taking 1 tab 3x/day with meals for 3 days in a row then take a day off from taking it.

Sports Med doc this afternoon agreed not likely bursitis. She listened to my whole story (as did the other two), ordered an x-ray, and finally after a physical exam said it's likely just a really pissed off glute med/TFL. X-ray showed no signs of a stress fx which didn't surprise me at all (I would have been seriously shocked if there was a stress fx anywhere). She didn't seem to think cortisone would help because there's no bursa in the specific area where I feel pain, though she did also agree yes on the ibuprofen (but didn't tell me specifically how to take it- just 'as needed'). She said my best bet was more rest and heavy focus on PT type strengthening exercises. If it's not healed in the next few months we can talk about an MRI and maybe a round of PRP.

So. I walked out of that last appointment thinking that I really just need to be my own best advocate.  I came home, took some ibuprofen- which almost immediately relieved the pain- then spent some time doing the PT/strength stuff I know for hips and core. My plan will be to not run the next few days, continue the ibuprofen as needed and do the PT stuff like its my job. I feel like I've been doing all that stuff, though maybe not as frequently and consistently as I could be. It's one of those things where I think about doing it, and I plan to do it, but sometimes I don't actually DO IT. So that's the part I'm going to try to change and see if it makes a difference. #workworks My biggest challenge will be resisting attempts to run when my hips feels 100% fine due to the ibuprofen.