There's a Needle in my Butt!!

Regular readers of this journal will note that there hasn't been much in the way of running news here lately. The reason for its absence, despite this blog's title, is that I haven't been doing any. This is a very sad development for me, but even sadder for Nicholas, who really enjoyed our daily forays into the park and along the River Thames.

To use the technical term, I am having piriformis problems. This is the same hip problem that waylaid me just two weeks before the marathon. I only ran one mile on Marathon Day, and my hip then shouted at me, "What the hell are you doing to me??" Actually, the problem is one that I think most mothers can relate to: my piriformis muscle was doing the work of other muscles, when they were too lazy to do the work themselves. So when my piriformis is aching, that's its way of saying, "Doesn't anyone appreciate me around here? Do I really have to do the jobs of three people?"

I have been faithfully seeing my physiotherapist and doing the exercises required to rehabilitate it, but it still wasn't getting much better. Until Monday. I think the phsyiotherapist was somewhat exasperated that I was still complaining about this, so she suggested we "needle" it. It's sort of like acupuncture, but without the Chi element to it. The idea is that you get blood rushing to the area that hurts, and that helps alleviate the tightness in the muscle. I was willing to try anything, just as long as it didn't hurt anymore. I've got races scheduled for July, and I need to start training again.

So there I was, lying on my side, minding my own business, with a big fat needle sticking out of my butt. Truth be told, I did think, "This is so hip!" (pun intended) "I'm just like Charlotte on Sex and the City!" It felt a little strange when she put the needle in, but it didn't hurt. Bear in mind, though, that my threshold of pain is somewhat different from many people, given that I've experienced childbirth twice and a marathon once.

To make a long story short, I think The Needle In My Butt worked. I'm still a little sore, but I was able to go out for a short run today without my hip hurting. I'm going to go for a slightly longer run tomorrow.

What's the moral of the story? For those, like me, with Pain in the Butt (this does not include offspring), try a Needle in the Butt. It works a treat!