Has anyone been injured and felt that they'd never be able to run again?

...and did you?

Or did your worst fears come true?

If so how did you cope with it?
«13

Comments

  • Yes

    i'd given up on my ankle injury a couple of months ago and was just coming to terms with the prospect of not running :-((

    i was kind of not thinking about it and threw myself into using rowing machine even bought one

    anyhow
    in pursuit of rowing - especially as i was really keen to keep up weight loss - i rang up a local gym to find out if they had rowers and what times they were open
    and the gym manager asked me about my training aims
    and i explained i'd had to give up running
    (i'd had 8 years of ankle prob after a football tackle and even harley street surgeon hadn't been able to fix and it was now so painful i could hardly walk on it)

    anyhow
    we got talking
    and she said she'd had really bad hip problem and this local physio guy had worked wonders and got her back running

    (she was a hockey player and all she wanted to do was play hockey again)

    she gave me his number
    and to be honest i was a bit annoyed

    i'd seen plenty of doctors including a "top" ankle doc and a few phsyios
    and so i didn't really think that a physio would be any use

    anyhow
    i went

    and guess what

    he fixed my bloomin ankle

    in a way that none of the other supposed specialist had been able to do

    thing is
    he was a sports physio
    and a top one too

    who by chance is based locally

    now
    things haven't been entirely smooth since then
    and i probably tried to get back to running too quickly
    but
    i am running now
    and i think if i take it slow and easy coming back

    i may just run

    i'm not talking marathons

    i don't think the injury will ever be strong enough for that

    but to be able to do 10k's is my dream

    and i think it's possible


    so this story had a kind of happy ending

    (i hope)

    but
    i can tell you that when i thought i'd never be able to run again
    initially it was ok
    as i threw myself into running
    but
    when i came back to running after the initial "fix" i had a setback where i overdid it
    and THAT time

    i found it really really hard

    because it was like running was given back to me
    and then snatched away again

    that was cruel

    and it was just after flm
    when everyone on forum was celebrating and keyed up etc

    i don't think i could have stayed on forum if my ankle hadn't recovered

  • typo= "as i threw myself into rowing"

    not "as i threw myself into running"




    anyhow
    trinity

    are you....erm ...badly injured?
  • Thanks LOK

    badly injured? I guess so, although I still don't want to admit it.

    It happened at a 20 mile race 6 weeks ago, my right leg kind of buckled briefly at 14 miles but didn't hurt and I could still run ok so I went on to get a PB.

    However it was in agony after the race.
    I saw my sports masseur but he didn't really find anything.

    I rested it for a couple of weeks but that didn't help. Had to defer from FLM, cancel Great West Run and Tewkesbury halfs.

    I've been seeing a physio for a few weeks now and although he has corrected a few problems, my injury isn't responding so there's obviously something deeper wrong with my leg.

    I've now cancelled my trip to Copenhagen marathon, which was to be next weekend, plus my annual trip to Dartmoor for the ultra in June...that's been a highlight of my race calender for the past couple of years.

    The pain used to start at around 3 miles, but now it's pretty much all the time, especially going down stairs.

    :(
  • Trinity
    really sorry to hear about your injury
    though amazing you got a pb that race ?!

    from what you've said though
    you have a long way to go before facing the prospect of giving up running

    you have had a horrible set back
    and it's really scr*wed your main plans for this spring
    but trust me

    this is a long long way off giving up running for good

    you don't get to have the luxury of that complaint until you've been through another 8 medics/physios/whatever
    and none of them have helped

    also
    in terms of time
    it sounds like early days

    if you're saying this first happened 6 weeks ago?

    and you've been running up to 3 miles since then??

    i think you have to get loads more info on this injury
    scans or whatever if necessary

    don't give up
    keep pursuing the solution

    my ankle thing turned out to be subluxation
    (bit like a dislocation) that AMAZINGLY none of the docs had spotted

    so
    - and this is hard when you're really p*ssed off about what has happened
    - but if poss do as much as poss to find out more about the injury

    research / threads / whatever

    the sooner you get to the bottom of what happened the better

    is your physio a SPORTS physio?
  • me this time last year. I had a problem in the build up to FLM, physio didn't seem to make much impression, nor did resting or anything. Even two minutes running could leave my knee pretty sore

    I've been building up very gradually since, but having to rest for a week after ten miles, but then got some new shoes and they enabled me to get round FLM. Now back training a lot more seriously and looking to make up for lost time!
  • (((Trininty)))

    Me in November. I hurt my back lifting stuff and gave it a day off work and a week's rest to heal up. It felt fine after that so I went for a 3 mile slow run. I had a slight ache at the base of my spine after, but nothing much - I thought a bath would ease it off. However, 6 hours later I couldn't walk. I was off work until Christmas, had a numb foot & lower leg until near the end of January and didn't run again until the middle of February.

    My main fear was at the numb but mostly painfree stage where it was sore first thing in the morning but got better as I got mobile - what if it never gets any better than this? I suppose I looked at the other punters in the waiting room and thought, "I'm still fitter than you lot!"

    I got diclofenac from the GP which kind of took the edge off the pain and I had 4 or 5 sessions of physio, including traction which was bliss. Since then I've made an effort to lose some lard and keep doing the back exercises. It really gave me a fright.



  • (((Trinity))) it's early days, I say as I sit here recovering from an arthroscopy and chondroplasty on Friday. I lost running for 18 years and have only had it back for 3, I'm not ready to lose it again so I know how you feel. Have you tried alternative approaches? My Bowen man coupled with lots of core stuff was the answer for me (until now at least). I was very sceptical but prepared to try anything at the time. This time I've paid a lot of money (for me) to go straight to a top knee man. Will hopefully know in a few weeks if it's been worth it in the meantime I shall keep you company on the bench. Any idea what it is that you've done?

    LOK - you'll be amazed what you can achieve (and how core exercises will become your friend:-) Good luck.
    If you think you can or you think you can't you're probably right.
  • LOK... yes, he is a sports physio, in fact he's a runner himself.

    Thanx Bear and heebs...

    I guess it's just because no one seems to know what the problem is that I'm fearing the worst

    Every time the physio works on it and then tells me that I can go out for a run I get my hopes up, only to find that nothing has changed... in fact if anything it feels worse now than it did last week.
  • Oh, Trinity :o( I'm sorry to hear that you're injured, especially when you've been running so well.

    When I lost joint position sense in one of my ankles for several months after spraining it jumping off a kitchen worktop (being about the same height as me, I'm sure you'll understand!) I thought I might never be able to run securely again, but it recovered with time. I have to confess that, not being a dedicated runner, I just accepted that I might have to do different sports instead.
  • I`m on to my third long time injury one after the other its hard.It has changed my as a person not as happy and full of energy .Have been told to give it up a few times but cant so after another year of poor running and pain i`m still running injured but hey still running.I did ben lomand hill race last saturday it was hard and then i did dumyat hill race on the wednesday only a 5 mile hill race and should have been easy but on the way up i had no leg strength.I felt soooo bad at the end 6 mins slower than the last time and it hurt like hell and inside it hurt knowing i had lost all the strength i had built up over the years has gone .

    But never give in to it i have goatfell race on saturday yes i will be at the back and slow but i will be out in hills running with a smile on my face good luck to you and i hope your injury goes soon.
  • Sorry LMH... didn't see you there.
    I'm spending quite a bit of money on physio too...don't want to think about it really in case I start adding it up :/
  • Thanks Vrap

    and thanks hillrunner... I know what you mean about losing leg strength for hills and speed... I built it up really well last year but now I can almost feel it dripping away from me
  • I was out running with my road running pals yesterday the first time in a long time god it was hard.15 miles of hilly roads leg hurt a bit and i was at the back all the way but i think my injury is on the way out and the old me will be back soon.Trinity have you done some hill races?
  • I am no stranger to hill running

    I take it you don't know about the Dartmoor Discovery ;)
  • Just reported in to my physio on this weekend's failed run... he's now referred me to someone else

    The good news is I've got an appointment on Wednesday


    The bad news is it's £70!
  • No never did a race in England so is it a 10k.
  • no, it's 32 miles of very big hills :)
  • I was just pulling your leg i had a look at the web site great race .If you can get back to running well again try the two breweries hill race in september.
  • I've had two injuries (back, and knee) where I thought (and was told by a doctor) that I could not or should not run again.

    In both cases, lots of time was required, and not "testing" it to see if it was "better yet".

    However the real key in both cases was finding the right person who was able to provide the correct information and the right approach.

    I'm now running better than I ever have!
  • Trin - I'm well in excess of 2k already! Running means a lot to me - even though I know I'll never be any good:-)

    Sounds as though you could use a consult with an orthopod, have you started going down the NHS route? I know it takes time but the sooner you start the sooner you'll get there and it's either that or the credit card I'm afraid!
    If you think you can or you think you can't you're probably right.
  • Know exactly what you mean about "no-one seems to know what the problem is".

    The physio had a theory, and although that seemed to help, the problem seems to flare up again all too easily. I ended up going to see a chiro, which I think helped - my only concern with it is that it just seemed to fix the problem for a few weeks, although it did enable me to run during that time.

    I'm still going every six weeks - if anything I think the shoes have made more difference. I've got mixed feelings about it tbh.
  • I injured my hip just before I went for Royal Marines selection. It didnt hurt that much (just felt 'weird'), so I trained through it and attended (and passed) selection. After that I decided to rest it for a week to get rid of the weird feeling in my hip. After a couple of days I could barely run at all! Even running 3 steps caused a ton of pain!

    After a year out, I was really wondering if I would ever recover. I had seen two physios and a doctor, but none of them gave a proper diagnosis for it!

    15 months on from the initial injury, I am well onto the road to recovery though not fully recovered yet. I can do 3 mile+ runs with no pain at all now, but sprints or sudden movements still hurt it a little from time to time.

    Its getting better though slowly....and I can get my butt into the Marines :)
  • popsiderpopsider ✭✭✭
    I was told I wouldn't run again by a doctor because of my right ankle Trinity. I had about 4 months off - not even trying to run - and then a month doing maybe 4-5 miles a week in 1s and 2s - so effectively 5 months off training. I think most injuries do get better with time - I went on to do a couple of marathons and whilst I have had other injuries my ankle has never really been a problem again. I got into cycling during that 5 months and that's my main thing now. Hope yours turns out OK.
  • keep us posted.
    I have a calf problem since november.. no one including gp and physio can really say what it is. Paris marathon has gone, and my beloved local triathlon!

    just as you.. i'm off to see a private sports bod aaargh £80!

    Although I am sick of swimming with a float between my legs it's better than nothing. It's the hope of running again.

    Try to find something else that you can do... it's not the same as the run, but it helps. But take care - i set myself back by cycling to far!
  • Not the same thing, Trin, just annoyed at a chest cold that just won't go away :((
  • GobiGobi ✭✭✭
    patience Trin

    come back strong

    I lost a lot of time when I tore my cartlidge. Although I run fine most of the time it did mean I had to give up football
  • (((trinity))) and (((everyone else injured)))

    i got PF and after 11 months of still not being able to walk down the street, my physio turned round and said i'd never run again and needed surgery. i spent another 7 months looking for someone who could help me and found my current physio who got me running within 2 weeks. that was last july and i'm (hoping) to complete my first marathon on saturday.
  • GobiGobi ✭✭✭
    Good job Rhino

    enjoy it
  • thanks gobi :o)
    really excited - just wish i didn;t fall over at leeds half last week and hurt my leg and knee - oops! xxx
Sign In or Register to comment.