Pain, pain, go away...

Please don't come another day.

I've been giving my injured hip (see last week's post)rest, relaxation, and some darned good pampering (compression gear, ice, Advil). Despite all of this, and killer Vietnamese food courtesy of my mom, the hip was still angry with me. Yep, still hulking it up when I even pretend to run trying not to miss the light on my way home from work. I admit, that hill workout last week was probably not a good idea, but I'm talking about fake "running in heels".

I decided that I really had to do so something about the pain now because I need it be at least 75% by Pumpkinman. Sorry - I did not run/bike/swim/mom my way ragged to do the aquabike (not that that isn't a legitimate race!).

So first I tried super doses of this...

That helped, but my good friend pain was still lurking about, waiting to pounce.

Then I tried this...

If you're Asian you probably know what this stuff is. If not, it's tiger balm - an ancient herbal miracle remedy that cures all ails. It also smells like you chopped down a bunch of eucalyptus trees and bathed in their rotting husks. My mom used this stuff on us all the time when we were kids. We smelled, though we tried not to smell at school. Anyhow, this tiger balm is special - made from white tigers, rather than your run-of-the-mill orange ones - and is not supposed to smell quite as much. It doesn't, but it also didn't cure the hip. An Asian girl can hope.

Then I made an appointment with a chiropractor on the recommendation of a friend. The Russian's response to this was, "95% of them are frauds". Before I went to the doctor I was hoping that I was getting one of the 5%.

Dr. Frank specializes in sports related injuries and sporty patients and he seemed to really know what he was talking about. I got e-stim with heat, a massage, an adjustment, and some stretching. Overall, it felt really great and was cheaper than going to a spa. Did it cure the hip? Not yet, but that was one session. I am hoping that with some additional sessions it will help with the problem and I can get back to running soon. At this point, I will try anything to make sure I am at least okay for the big day (and the Nike women's marathon after that).

Some things that Dr. Frank told me:

1. My right hip is actually the messed up one (tight). It is making the left hip do all the work, thus causing the injury. This makes total sense! 
2. I need to stretch. I know, this seems so basic, but I am so lazy and stretching always seems like so much effort.  It would be great if I had time for yoga, especially as I'm getting older and less stretchy (he confirmed you lose flexibility with age).
3. I need to get my bike professionally fitted. I've been wanting to do this, but most shops will only do this during the week and during the day so I hadn't done it yet. Dr. Frank recommended a place that will do it this Saturday. Yay!

I'm hoping for the best with the chiro sessions and the bike fitting, because the race is about 3 weeks away.  YIKES!