My psychotic nerve...

Oh yes...I have a psychotic nerve all right, unfortunately! Well...after some internet surfing, I think I've figured out the source of my problem. It's called: Piriformis Syndrome. It's a small muscle located deep within the pelvis (buttocks) which when overworked or injured can put great strain and pressure upon the sciatic nerve. Unlike the last time I had a nerve issue (August 2007), my back does not hurt (that's a plus, LOL), but rather the pain originates in my right hip/butt then shoots down the back of my leg. With my first back issue, I could hardly walk, or bend or sit or pretty much do anything other than lay flat on my back...but with this, normal activity isn't that bad, but just plain sitting is excruciating.

OUCH!!

Tender piriformis/sciatic junction: Pain with digital or other pressure just below the mid-buttock. Occasionally this may induce or exaggerate the sciatica.

Overuse: More than 3 miles/day running, high-performance athletics such as tennis, fencing, pole-vaulting, or sitting for hours at a time are examples.

Strangely enough...this pain began near the last week or so of my 4 mile walks. In fact, I remember specifically the day the pain began. It was my "beautiful day in the neighborhood" walk on the McCulloch Trail. It's 2 miles down hill, then 2 miles back (uphill). I remember feeling a pain on my way back going uphill, but thinking it was "just" my hamstring pulling a little. Because I usually walk on the treadmill (flat) I wasn't used to walking uphill and I'm sure that's when this happened. So....now that I know what it is, what to do? Well, with our up and coming trip, I'm not worried about Sea World, etc...but rather the drive ...as sitting is what hurts the most.

Ordinarily, I would contact the doctor (our new doctor now) for at the very least some pain meds for the trip...however, if I go into the doctor's office, I risk catching something, then being sick on the trip...so I've decided that the psychotic nerve pain is the lesser of two evils (butt pain or possible illness)...so at this point, I'm going to self treat with Ibuprofen, heat, stretching and deep massage (whenever Nolan is around to do it, LOL)...hopefully between now and Sunday...the pain will subside...otherwise, I'm just going to have to grin and bear it! As a pre-emptive measure, I think I will go ahead and schedule an appt. with Dr. T for when we get back. That way, if it's still bothering me, I'll already have the appt...otherwise, I can cancel the appt if all is well.

Now I really need to rethink my workout routine. Here I thought walking 4 miles a day was a real victory...when instead, it was a huge mistake. I think for now...I'm just going to take an indefinite hiatus from my workout...then when I resume, I'm only going to do one or two miles a day along with my strength training and functional exercises. I mean it's really not doing me any good pushing 4 miles a day if I end up injured and then can't exercise at all. So...I guess it's slow and steady wins the race after all, LOL! I think a Jaccuzi bath is definitely in order tonight...