The pain in my right hip that flared up three weeks ago seems to have slid around to the backside. While I don’t think it’s sciatica some of the symptoms are the same: pain shooting from what feels like the inner meat and bones of my hip socket down my leg, driving long distances becomes painful to the point that I’m in tears, and it’s only relieved by flicking my leg out from the hip socket so I get a nice loud pop.
In running circles it’s delicately referred to as “high hamstring tendonitis,” so as one can imagine I’ve taken to sitting on an ice pack when I have down time at home. Thankfully the pain doesn’t really stop me from doing much in taekwondo although it’s made me a little more hesitant to go full-out. I had tendonitis in both hamstrings (okay, uh, actually a little higher than my hamstrings) a few months after I first started taekwondo training, and eventually it went away. Hopefully this pain will too.
The most logical solution would be to take an extended break from taekwondo since it’s probably an over-use injury.
That’s not happening. I’ve come too far and my black belt test is too close to drop out for a few weeks. (Yes I know, what if the injury gets worse and I’m out of commission for the test? I’ve considered that too.) So I have some work-arounds: frequent breaks at my office job to stand and walk around; avoiding exercise that’s very demanding on that area (other than all those kicks); lots of stretching and warming up before taekwondo class; doing low-impact stuff like swimming or the elliptical when I do want some extra cardio; and ice packs and anti-inflammatory medicine. The pain is starting to subside, but it’s taking longer than I’d like it to.
So what can we do when we’re faced with something (or someone) that is a royal pain in the ass? Avoid it (or them) completely? Sometimes that’s not possible. What if it’s something you have to do every day as part of your job or home responsibilities? (I’ve never met anyone who looked forward to their work commute, have you?) What if you have to work with that person or worse, live in the same house with them?
Getting angry or venting may feel good for a moment, but it’s a fleeting high. Focusing on what you can control rather than what you can’t can help you regain some confidence in the face of adversity. You feel like you can actually do something about the situation rather than falling apart in despair or consigning yourself to crappiness.
I can’t rip my leg and the right side of my pelvis off (oh what a sweet relief that would be…for about 2 seconds anyway) and I choose not to skip taekwondo, so I’m going to go pop some ibuprofen and sit on another ice pack until class time…
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