Back Talk

If you’re squeamish, this might not be the best place to be. Don’t worry, I’m not going to go into gory details or post unsettling photos, but I do need to talk for a bit and something uncomfortable. And what’s uncomfortable is my BACK.

Nearly two weeks ago, I was moving a heavy tray and twisted my hips in a certain way and POP! My sacroiliac joint was out of the socket. According to Wikopedia, the sacroiliac joint or SI joint is the joint in the bony pelvis between the sacrum and the ilium of the pelvis, which are joined together by strong ligaments. In humans, the sacrum supports the spine and is supported in turn by an ilium on each side. All I know is that mine hurt.

Since we were in Key West I tried to gut it out for a few days. Not a great plan. The car ride from Key West to Ft. Lauderdale on Thursday was – well – it was VERY unpleasant. There was no other choice but to go to the Emergency Room at the Broward County Medical Center. The sight of me trying to unwind myself and get out of the van was enough to scare one of the attending docs so much that he ran out with a wheelchair. Of course, the last thing I could do was sit down.

A few hours and some x-rays later I was given two shots of cortisone, some Oxycodone, and a Medrol dose pack and I was on my way. The next morning, Friday, it wasn’t any better AT ALL. Saturday morning, departure day, and still no REAL relief. But, folks were expecting me to be working the Caribbean Islands Marathon Cruise, to it was on the boat for me.

One of the participants happened to be a massage therapist. She dug around my back and hips some until she found a spot that sent be screaming for her to stop. The pain, the point of the pain, was NOT on the back where the spasms were, but in the front along the SI joint. She pushed and shoved and then there was this strange “pop” and the joint seemed to go back together.

As the days went on, as I had to get on and off the ship, get in and out of cars and truck, walk with participants, and take finish line photos. Darlene Goltz, the massage therapist, worked on it a few more times but there was no real relief.

I don’t even want to tell you what it felt like to try to stand up after the flight to Chicago.

Sunday I rested. But, Monday morning is was as bad as ever and the ONLY way to get in to see an ortho specialist was to go through the ER again. Which I did. They did an MRI this time and the results were good – and bad. The good news is that there is no spine or disc problems. The bad news is that there is still a lot of pain.

With Jenny at my side and the RockDoc [Dr. Lewis Maharam] on the phone the ER doc decided to basically try it again. More cortisone, this time by IV drip, some muscle relaxer, and off I went. As I write this, the pain is still very much there. Watch for further updates on my Facebook page.

But, even with the pain the Caribbean Island Marathon Cruise was fantastic. We had such a wonderful group of people, including our old buddy, 78 year-old Charles Cohn who did one heck of a good job. We had sensational weather and the runs just got better and better. You can read about the event and see photos at: CIMC on Facebook.

I haven’t run in over a week, although I did do a fair amount of walking on the cruise. I’m ready for the pain to be over, but I’m also afraid to start banging things around again. So, I’m trying to walk the line between patient recovery and running obsession. I’m doing the best I can, but it ain’t easy.

Waddle on,

John “the Penguin” Bingham, Competitor Magazine columnist

Author, The Courage to Start, No Need for Speed, Marathoning for Mortals and Running for Mortals.

“The miracle isn’t that I finished.

The miracle is that I had the courage to start.”

Have a question for John? E-mail it to thepenguin@johnbingham.com.