Injuries and Swimming

I may have mentioned that I have been struggling with an aching hip/groin for the last few weeks. It started a couple of weeks before my half marathon- an intermittent pain in the crease at the top of my left leg where it joins the pelvis, pretty hard to pinpoint and often just a dull ache that I could still run through. I actually had a couple of really great runs in Geneva! Perhaps foolishly I put off seeing someone about it until after the half marathon because I was afraid I would be told to stop running! I was determined to finish that race!

But after taking a week off, doing the usual RICE-ing and foam rolling, and it not abating, I am now seeing a physio (I have another post on this to come). So far he thinks I have a probable hip tear caused by tight hamstrings, ITB overloading the front muscles- the usual suspects! It will heal itself with time, but I can speed it up with ice/heat therapy, stretching the muscles that caused the problem, and strengthening the area around my hip.

I will keep up the (gentle) yoga, and I seem to be able to cycle without any problems too. But considering I want this injury to heal as quickly as possible, I'm trying very hard to give myself a break and focus on lower intensity workouts.

This is where the swimming comes in- I don't know about you, but the prospect of weeks of no running (I currently have a 3week complete ban before I can reassess and reintroduce gradually) and being inactive fills me with dread! After just 1 week I was going stir crazy and feeling like I was missing out on so many cool events (I'm really hoping I can do the Gloanna Yoga Run!)

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I'm being realistic however, and am curbing my urge to sign up to things! I also realise that if it takes longer than I hope to deal with I may not be able to run the Ealing Half Marathon in September, which I'd entered with a friend as my next goal- I will be disappointed, but at the end of the day, getting back to being fit and healthy is more important... (I may be less calm and rational in a few weeks!)

I can't really swim- well, I can do a very slow breaststroke with my head out of the water- better than nothing I suppose! But I checked with my physio beforehand as breaststroke obviously requires quite a lot of movement of the hip joint. He said to take it easy, do a few lengths and assess how my hip feels before continuing. I should probably look at learning front crawl really as it puts less strain on the area!

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Yesterday I signed up to the local Virgin Active gym so I can use the pool- help rehab my injury, and feel like I'm still doing something!

The pool is 25m long and pretty small but there were only 2 other people there last night- a fast guy was in the "slow lane" so I actually ended up pottering up and down the "fast lane" which was pretty funny.

I did 10 lengths (250m), stopped for a sauna break (!), then as my hip felt good, another 10 lengths, followed by chilling in the jacuzzi - a bit of hot/cold therapy going on there too!

Your body is supported by the water when swimming, so is generally a great way of unloading injured joints and soft tissue. It will also work your heart and lungs in the same way running does, so will still provide training benefits. Front crawl would be a better stroke for those with leg injuries as I've mentioned, as in this case 80% of the hard work is done by the back, shoulders and arm muscles.

Does anyone have any suggestions on teaching myself an easy front crawl to reduce the load on my hips? The movement may help to strengthen the area, but I obviously don't want to make the problem worse. Perhaps cycling would be a better option...

Any tips on dealing with the frustration of being injured?

Beki x