Diagnosis Confirmed- again.

Yes, my hip is still stress fractured. But it is not 'cracked', which apparently is a good thing. Looking through the MRI with Dr. M was CRAZY! It literally felt like I was seeing through my body, it was so, so cool.

You were clearly able to see the area of major swelling in my femoral neck and hip joint. Although I am OF COURSE not 'happy' to be hurt, when you are in as much pain as I have been in over the past month, to see a tangible PICTURE of the pain, somehow made me feel better about the entire situation. I have never been seriously injured in my athletic career (save major ITB issues while swimming in college), so even being able to describe the pain in my hip has been hard for me. I couldn't pinpoint exactly 'where' it was or exactly 'how' it felt:

Sharp? Yes, when I step wrong or with too much weight.
Dull? Yes, when i lay on it and try to sleep.
Achy? What's the difference between dull and achy?

See how hard it is??

Anyways, the treatment plan (at least for the next 10 days before I leave) is:

1. To get a bone density test this week, Dr. M wants to rule out any osteopenia.

2. A calcium supplement, such as Viactiv, EVERY day. I am awful about taking pills or anything on a regular basis, so this is going to be a challenge for me.

3. To try to get in at least two Physical Therapy sessions before I leave. Although I can't imagine doing any type of strengthening right now, hopefully some heat, electronic stimulation and/or ultrasound will help with the pain and swelling of the bone before I leave.

4. Re-evaluate where I am when I return. Absolutely no running while I am away. And as Dr. M put it, trying not to do anything that would hinder the healing process (like I did when I drank way too much on Saturday night and ran to catch a subway train...just an example :). So an hour and a half hike around Table Mountain while in Cape Town? Or a day full of walking around and exploring the ancient ruins at Ellora? Yea, I should be aware of those.

Dr. M also gave me a great article about dealing with injury. It was pretty clear in our appointment that I am having some trouble accepting the injury and what the future holds. I understand that I cannot be running right now- I have accepted that, mostly likely due to the simple fact that running is too painful, and I get that. However, I think in order to heal and have hope for my future running, I need to let go of any type of timeline for return, and let get of the worries of how long it is going to take to get back to where I was. I have to simply focus on healing myself, and allowing PT to strengthen my hip, so when I CAN return to running, my legs are in the best place they can possibly be in.


So in 10 days, this blog will officially turn into a travel blog and may be opened up to my friends and family and the whole world to see. As of now, I have only shared the link with people who I feel like I have come to know through their blogs over the past year, and 1 friend (who shared her blog with me so I felt it was only fair!). I am conflicted about it, not sure about it yet. We will see.