Why having a PT as your roommate is AWESOME

So end of July I went to a music show with a few friends and the next day after reviewing the photos I noticed something...

Do you see anything wrong with me?!?!?

Close up-

Look at how uneven my knees are! Back in February the chiro told me I had 'short leg syndrome' and my left leg was longer than my right, but with regular adjustments it could be fixed. After a solid month of chiro + 2 months of 'taking it easy' with running, I felt fine / 'normal' aka my right knee no longer made its presence WELL known while running. 

Fast forward to yesterday. I decided to do my first run in my new shoes: Saucony Mirage

Although its a lightweight shoe, its still a stability shoe. It was too hot to run outside, so the plan was to run for 40 minutes on the treadmill- my right knee started bothering me + my quads were tight so I cut it down to 30 min. 

All day today my right knee was feeling slightly tender, but I wanted to get a longer run in, so I decided to do 5 miles in my normal saucony guides- although it was manageable, I definitely noticed my right knee being a little more 'sensitive'- PLEASE don't let it be my IT Band again. 

Get home and decided to seek the advice of my roommate. 

Meet Adam- my wonderful, easy going, physical therapist roommate. (and his niece) 

I had him take a look at my legs and in literally 5 minutes I found out the following:

My left tibia is about 1/3 of an inch longer than my right, and somewhere from beginning of my femur to my hip is also longer (he couldn't pin point without doing a bunch of tests) thus my left leg itself is about 1/2 an inch longer than the right, which is why the right leg / knee/ it band gets messed up since it has farther to 'come down' on the pavement with every stride I take. 

Then we have my hips- ah my hips. Left hip is higher than right and after doing a few simple tests he found that my trunk compensates for the height difference, thus what is causing some of my back pain I experience DURING the run. 

So the potential solution?!?!

He recommended I check out Fleet Feet to see if they have a slight running lift to even out my legs.

Has anyone ever used these or know someone who has had success with a lift suitable for running?!?!

So why the pain now?!?! Basically when I run on the treadmill, I go much faster than my normal ability- aka around a 7:30 min/mile once warmed up- this allows me to really open up my stride and focus on my form. What it also means is that there is more 'bouncing'  and 'pounding' than normal which puts extra stress on legs- hence why it started acting up last night and was still tender today. 

To make me feel better, Adam got out his massage table and gave me a deep IT Band and  around the knee massage- IT.WAS.AMAZING! I told him I would cook him dinner all week if he did this for me once a week... we're working out an agreement. 

Dealing with IT band this winter was enough of a lesson to not want to have to go through that again, so I will be resting until Chicago Rock n Roll 1/2 on Sunday. 

Please send happy INJURY FREE thoughts my way! 

First injury

So as described in my Critz Tybee 1/2 Recap, I got my first major injury of the year. Basically I have a sharp shooting pain in my knee if I walk too long on it, run, or go downstairs (upstairs is fine.)
Sunday I went to the emergency room hoping to get an MRI, but apparently in the state of TN they don't do that... one of the few times I wish I was back in Ohio. The ER doctor did some mobility tests on my knee, and the good news is everything is still intact and there doesn't appear to be any ligament damage. Key word here is appear- I need more validation than that- hence my desire to get an MRI in the first place. Normally I wouldn't care so much and would just rest, ice, take anti-inflammatories, and wait, however this couldn't have come at a more inconvenient time. In the next month I have 3 more half mary's- New Orleans this weekend, Disney world Feb 27, and Little Rock 3/6. I.need.to.heal.QUICKLY.
I've been racking my brain to think what could have caused this random 'knee going out' at 11.5 miles. The only 2 factors that may have played a role is that I consistently train in my Newtons, but then run in different shoes- maybe its too much of a difference in my gate?

does anyone know if this is actually a possibility?!?!?


And the other factor may be that I had my first chiro adjustment before the race. My hips are misaligned and I guess I just naturally compensate for it while running. Now that they were put back in place, did it throw everything off?!?! 
I took yesterday off from work so I could stay home and rest and follow strict 20 on 20 off icing. I did go to my chiro for my scheduled appt in the afternoon and he did a few tests and found that my abductors are really weak- that in combo with my hips being off could have caused injury. . But I ask myself- why now? This past weekend was my 7th half mary, and by far I'm the strongest now vs. going into any of the other 6 races. Apparently the faster I go, the more pressure it puts on my hip with the shock absorption and eventually it travels down to my knee. Guess I need to spend even more time focusing on weight training, the frustrating part is that I actually do a fair amount of weight training focusing on ab and adductors as well as hips. Guess I need to spend even more time.
My right IT band is SUPER tight, which also might be causing the issue- I had one of my friends come over last night and rub it down with icy hot for a solid 20 -30 min. I'm surprised I didn't cry, but it was extremely painful. Now the pain is greater in my IT band that I don't even notice my knee pain- haven't decided if this is a good thing or bad thing.

What do you all do for IT band issues affecting your knee??

For now all I can do is follow the above regimen and hope and pray nothing gets worse. I secretly still want to run the Rock n Roll New Orleans 1/2 this upcoming weekend, at the very least walk / run, but we'll see what my body decides.
 Need all the positive thoughts / affirmations sent my way!!!