Wednesday, August 12, 2009

Derailing the pain train

As I wrote here in early May I injured my back the last weekend in April (conveniently the weekend before XTERRA Vegas). So of course I raced Vegas and then was unable to sit for longer than 10 minutes for the days following, and my back mobility was at an all-time low.

Fast forward 3 1/2 months and I'm still in pain. I've been resting, icing, stretching, and then racing/training the heck out of my back for those 3 1/2 months. I've been about a 2-3 pain level for the last 3 months and I'm sick and tired of it. So yesterday I did something about it.

Yesterday I saw Dr. Jimmy Yuan at All Star Health Spine and Sports Care. I got Dr. Yuan's name off an MTBR AZ post about chiropractors and looked him up online. In a VERY strange twist of fate Dr. Yuan had actually worked on me 8 years ago when I was in the Phoenix area on vacation and playing in a local ultimate frisbee tournament. He took me from lying face down on the field in incredible pain to sprinting and playing again in just a couple minutes with a couple adjustments. I've always told the story about "this guy in AZ" and now I've found him again.

Until yesterday that experience 8 years ago was the only chiropractic experience I'd ever had. Yesterday I got in to see Dr. Yuan again and I think I'm on the road to recovery and may have derailed the pain train. I'm a little sore from yesterdays adjustments, but my shoulders are back on my back like they're supposed to be and I'm walking taller and feeling better. It's really amazing what we can do to and with our bodies. Hopefully more improvement in the days ahead!

Training Update:
Friday: bike 40
Saturday: rest
Sunday: bike 30
Monday: swim 1200 / weights
Tuesday: run 3 / weights
Wednesday: bike 20 / weights

2 comments:

Cooper said...

That's the guy?! I remember you're explaining how your spine felt like it had twisted a full 90 degrees...

Erin said...

Does he work on overused knees and broken hamstrings, too? I'm sick of being in pain as well, and pray it's not going to be like this for ever and ever amen.