ischial tuberosity pain

[JAK]

AKA pain in the butt

I injured myself last summer, doing sprints. It recurred a couple of weeks ago. I think I have the problem narrowed down to where the hamstring muscles attach to the ischial tuberosity. It hurts when I sit, and I am somewhat hamstrung when it comes to running. I am supposed to rest, completely somehow, for a few weeks, then go from there.

I am wondering if anyone else has had this, or something similar.
Also wondering if it would be better to do lots of walking before running again?

Did anyone have this and then go on a long hike? Did the hike help?

[Appalachian Tater]

JAK about all they can do for that is treat symptoms, you do have to let it rest so the ligament tissue can heal. It was a cumulative injury, right, not something sudden? Does it hurt when you press on the area and when you sit? I assume they did an x-ray to rule out anything more serious like bone being involved.

You might talk to your doctor about physical therapy and specific exercises after it heals some. Better to do the rest now than interfere with the healing or cause more injury. As with any similar injury it takes a while to completely heal so you should start off slow with activity and gradually increase it. You probably are painfully aware of what makes it worse so avoid those things.

[K2]

A physical therapist may be able to do treatment now , such as using ultrasound therapy to ease pain and accelerate healing.

[JAK]

Thanks for the feedback. I find it hard to sit these things out, I think I will give 3 days of rest a try, then take it from there. Eventually I think I need to stretch out my hamstrings some. I think from now on I won't sit unless I put my feet up and keep my legs straight. Not sure. Experiment of one.

[K2]

If sitting is uncomfortable because it's a pressure point, maybe a doughnut would help?

I'm not talking 'bout Krispy Kreme. ~K2~

[Kerosene]

I've had a number of relatively serious hamstring injuries during my soccer career, although only one at the connection point that doesn't sound as serious as yours.

At your age, regardless of physical conditioning, your body is going to need a lot longer to fully rehabilitate. I seriously doubt that 3 days is going to make any material difference, and then you're back to square one and have to start all over. The good thing is, you can get a sense of your progress just by sitting, which shouldn't overly stress the injury.

If I were you, I'd resign myself to 3 weeks of inactivity. You can probably get by with limited walking, but keep your stride short and slow. Ice is probably worthless given the depth of the injury, and you really can't compress the injury location. However, I would go with a big dose of anti-inflammatories for the first few days, tailing off over the first 7-10 days. With a serious 'pull' or sprain I'll start with 1000 mg of Aleve naproxen sodium twice a day with food, cutting back by 200 mg after days 2, 4 and 6. My internist was fully onboard with this regimen.

Somewhere in the second week I go to a massage therapist, ideally one who helps rehab accident victims, for what is typically an excruciating deep-tissue massage. I may repeat the massage a week later depending on how it's feeling.

Hopefully you'll be feeling better as you enter Week 3. The challenge will be to slowly ramp up your intensity and duration...something that is very difficult for me to moderate. You might be able to relieve some of the frustration by starting slowly with multiple exercises, such as recumbent bike (less stress on the high hams), eliptical, and light 'old man' jogging with limited stride. Try to forget what you could do before the injury and focus on slow, steady improvement (I know, easier said than done) to avoid re-injury.

Good luck.

[JAK]

If sitting is uncomfortable because it's a pressure point, maybe a doughnut would help?

I'm not talking 'bout Krispy Kreme. ~K2~

lol
I think it is mostly because of the pressure points, the sitz bones.
It's weird though. I think it is also a blood circulation thing. Not sure.

[JAK]

Kerosene,
Thanks for the feedback. I am not sure how serious my situation is. It's been bothering me for awhile, related to other stuff over the years, so I don't really know all that is going on. Kayaking was always a pain in the butt. lol. I fixed that by putting more weight on my thighs and back. Last summer was the closest thing I've come to pulled hamstrings, and I still don't know if it was a serious tear in the muscles, or more on the upper tendon, or closer to the bone. Last week I thought it was my glutes. I was also sure it was piriformis at one point. I went to indoor track last night, just to watch my daughter this time, and I did alot of easy leg swings and light stretching. After that everything felt very relaxed except right at the top of the hamstring tendons where they attach to the butt bone. Left side much worse than right. I'm 95% sure now that all my problems are radiating from there. I also have ankle/foot issues, different cause, but perhaps inter-related. We are fascinating beasts.

I will take it very slow. I'm going to rest 3 days. Test things out a little, then try and figure out how long I really need to rest, and what rest entails. I will see a physio guy next week who is also an excellent runner/triathlete, and about my age also which is always good. lol

I don't think it is all that serious. Just getting old, so I need to get better and preventative and corrective maintenance. I think once I am healed up I am really going to work on stretching things out some.

cheers

[GGS2]

JAK, a lot of ligament things are blood circulation limited when it comes to healing, because they don't require a lot of blood when well, not being muscles or active tissue. So when the injury comes, they have to get by on what kinda leaks in and out. My injury was Achilles tendon tears and inflammation, and what I did wrong was to try to get back on it aggressively, time after time. That's the other thing about tendon/ligaments: they are somewhat deficient in nerves, so just because it doesn't hurt doesn't mean they are not damaged. The pain probably comes from the surrounding muscles, bones and such which are trying to compensate for the injury. When the inflammation goes down, they stop yelling, but that doesn't necessarily mean you're done.

Go slow, no matter how much you want to get going again, and by all means get physio if there is a clinic near you that actually knows what they are doing. But that can be expensive, since you are probably not covered for that. Go into town at least once for an assessment and a plan, and then stick to the plan unless things begin to hurt in a way they didn't warn you about. If that happens, back off and rest some more. Trust me, you don't want this thing to get chronic.

[JAK]

I checked out glucosamine and vitamin E and stuff at the drug store.
Holy crap that stuff is expensive. I am going to have to read up first. lol
Yeah I'm a cheap b*stard. You can buy alot of sardines for $20 though.

[JAK]

JAK, a lot of ligament things are blood circulation limited when it comes to healing, because they don't require a lot of blood when well, not being muscles or active tissue. So when the injury comes, they have to get by on what kinda leaks in and out. My injury was Achilles tendon tears and inflammation, and what I did wrong was to try to get back on it aggressively, time after time. That's the other thing about tendon/ligaments: they are somewhat deficient in nerves, so just because it doesn't hurt doesn't mean they are not damaged. The pain probably comes from the surrounding muscles, bones and such which are trying to compensate for the injury. When the inflammation goes down, they stop yelling, but that doesn't necessarily mean you're done.

Go slow, no matter how much you want to get going again, and by all means get physio if there is a clinic near you that actually knows what they are doing. But that can be expensive, since you are probably not covered for that. Go into town at least once for an assessment and a plan, and then stick to the plan unless things begin to hurt in a way they didn't warn you about. If that happens, back off and rest some more. Trust me, you don't want this thing to get chronic.

Good insight. Thanks.

[Blissful]

Best bet is giving it time. A good week. And Advil. Be hard to ice, but if you can locate the spot somehow, do it.

[JAK]

I don't normally use anti-inflamatories, because they are the bodies way of starting the healing process. But I think it does make sense for these next few days of rest. I am going to try 3 days of rest with some anti-inflamatories, on the assumption that any inflamation still happening needs to stop. Then 3 days of rest without anti-inflamatories. Then I think I will gradually add more easy warmup, easy stretching, and easy walking, and see how it goes.

This might all change when I meet with the physiotherapist. I think I have a few visits covered, but it might need my Doctors referal. My Doctor didn't give me a referal, but I didn't really ask him to. Perhaps I'll do the 6 days of rest first, then go back to my Doctor, then to the physiotherapist if the Doc suggests that. My doctor isn't a runner but he is my age and still plays alot of hockey, so he is on the ball. Perhaps I should say he's got his stick on the ice. He also suggested heat, but said it won't help that much. He said there is alot of stuff in that area, but the treatment is pretty much the same at this point. I will keep good notes, then go back to see him after a weeks rest.

Thanks all.

[K2]

Get a doctor's referral, and it will be easier to justify your insurance claim.

[JAK]

Thanks Rosebud. Will do.

[JAK]

Is you 'appy?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Mxa2JehLShU