Kat Sack here! Sometimes Katastrophic Sackrilege to the running community, but most definitely The Mountain Lioness to those who follow and join my adventures. I currently call Tallahassee, FL home. The mountains are my favorite place to be and explore but given my location, I dive into other types of rad places too!

I created this blog as a personal project to document my adventures. Photos are great, but I love text describing more of the story and to recall what I have learned. I am no expert at outdoorsy activities, but I learn as I go! If you end up here, I hope you can get something out of it.

My original focus was on backpacking, hiking, camping, kayaking, and mountain biking. I have thus shifted the scope as I discovered my love for National and State Parks. I have the National Parks Passport and the Florida State Parks passport which have allowed me to discover places I originally would never have seen. Now I write about national monuments, history, run-cations, etc.

At some point I hope to dive into personal growth as well with topics including self-sufficiency and improvement, turning boredom into adventure, steps to heal my body and mind, and overcoming social adversities.

Life is an adventure. Go outside. Pay attention to all that is around you. Get lost in the moment. Everything has a story. Listen for it, even if you do not speak the same language.

Wounded in the Wild: March 18, 2019 - The Snapping Hipsturtle



Wounded in the Wild INJURY UPDATE

March 18, 2019 - The Snapping Hipsturtle


The GOOD news! No surgery!
The MEH news. Unknown recovery timeline.
Still not running Boston 2019.

Where?
Tallahassee Orthopedic Clinic
3334 Capital Medical Blvd #400
Tallahassee, FL 32308-4470
https://www.tlhoc.com/

[Talk about missed opportunity to call it Tallahipsee Orthokneedic Clinic]

Who?
D. Jason Oberste, M.D., FAAOS

Reason for Visit
"Left hip pain"

The Appointment
Pre-Appointment Personal Goal: MRI results only indicated that I had torn my labrum and needed surgery. With all the times I had been told "they will call within a week", my mission was to occupy TOC until I had the surgery scheduled. Post-Appointment Kat with her new knowledge had to dispose of this goal or else she would be occupying TOC until she got injured enough to warrant surgery.

I arrive 15 minutes early after running some errands. I checked-in and payed the co-pay online last week. I sit in the waiting room for 45 minutes. A nurse comes to get me and asks about my pain on a scale of a 1-10. It depends. Noticeable discomfort all the time 2/10, but if hypothetically a doctor were to say, wiggle my leg around in all possible ways then hold it in a bent position and push on my hip flexor as if he were pushing on a door ignoring the large red sign on it that says "PULL", how about an 8. And then a 5 for the remainder of the day. Hypothetically of course.

My 2018 MRI was displayed on the computer. Also among the tabs were my knee and pelvis x-rays from last year. Missing from the tabs was my MRI from a month ago. I look at the 4 images that are already on the screen then start writing down questions to ask in my journal.

5-10 minutes later, the resident comes in. She begins the leg bending game. She got it to pop at the end, which began the fun.

Doc comes in. We discuss my MRI and stuff. He explains that the injection I had prior to the imaging would have made my pain better if the pain was coming from the labrum. The source had to be something else. Now it's taken me a year to get the labrum tear diagnosis, and I've had over a month to cope with it. It was a diagnosis with a true fix, even if it was surgery. My mind has to prepare for a new diagnosis and treatment plan.

He brings me over to my MRI - which I point out is from last year. He then summons a member of the nursing staff to load my recent results. While waiting, he began drawing the inside of my hip on the patient chair crinkly parchment paper.

Then he wants to play his turn in the hip bending game. Dr. Oberste won. He got it bending and snapping and firmly pressed my hip flexor causing an explosion of sudden pain. And we discuss the contrast dye on my MRI results. There is a teeny tiny labrum tear that he isn't worried about and refuses to operate it. "You can find a doc to scope it, but it won't be me." He shows how dark it is in the hip flexor area. He retrieves a wooden hip from a cabinet (I'm sure we all store wooden hips in our cabinets at home) to show me a three dimensional model and demonstrate what's happening to me.



Snappy Hip!
I swear he said snappy. Part of me likes snappy hip more than snapping hip. Willpower suppressed my urge to bust out some of the sassiest snaps that ever snapped. I also guess I took the 'hip snap' part of a kayak roll too seriously. Right after the Tallahassee Marathon in 2018 where the shit first went bananas, I went to Ecuador for almost a month. The trip included a week of crazy awesome whitewater kayaking and lots of flipping over and hip snappin' to roll up.

My roll technique motto - Set. Separate. SNAP!
Ecuador 2018 Hip Snappin' Shenanigans - PC: Dan Dixon

Discussion Notes

  • Patient's exam as well as her imaging are consistent with coxa sultans interna. 
  • I think she also has significant iliopsoas tendinitis. 
  • Her MRI did show a small labral tear but she is completely asymptomatic and had a negative diagnostic injection. 
  • I will send her for an iliopsoas sheath injection, focus physical therapy, and start her on a scheduled antiinflammatory to decrease her inflammation. 
  • I also spoke spent 30 min counseling her in regards to appropriate training regimen, nutrition, and cross training.


Coxa iliopsoas salty tendinotniceis snappy syndrome?



What Now? 

  • Figure out what caused it.
  • Anti-Inflammatory Medication - Meloxicam 15mg
  • Iliopsoas Sheath Steroid Injection
    • The place doing this procedure should be calling me "within a week" - the technical term in the medical field meaning "likely they won't call you, so probably just call them in a few days to get it scheduled"
  • Physical Therapy at TMH
  • Continue to rub my groin in front of medical professionals to show where the pain is


Snapping Hip       +       Hipster       +       Snapping Turtle


 + + 
=
Snapping Hipsturtle

 Snapping turtle represents my current feisty attitude as well as the long, slow recovery.

While it's great surgery is out of the picture, I am concerned about my recovery timeline. It's all unclear. Dr. Oberste said that I have to discover the roots of what caused the tendinitis. It could be anything and everything - shoes, too many miles too soon, not enough cross training, nutrition, etc. This is something that I will have to deal with for the duration of my running career. I'm glad I already coped and came to peace with the fact I won't be running my first Boston Marathon this year as well as my first Half Ironman. I'm signed up for the Chicago Marathon in October of this year and hope to still be able to participate. I'm also qualified for Boston 2020 by over 5 minutes, which helps with the disappointment.

No more risks of surgery, all of the downtime from it, paying for the procedure, loss of money for not being able to work, starting from scratch again with walking. I'll be at PT learning stretches and exercises to ease the tendinitis, in the pool, on a kayak, diving, completing short hikes, meditation, non-bendy yoga, etc.

Timeline of Injury [Will enhance this better soon]


February 4, 2018 - Tallahassee Marathon

http://gulfwinds.org/raceresults/2018/Marathon2018.html

March 8, 2018 - Chiro


March 10, 2018 - Gate River Run Tipsy Hipsies

https://troubleafoot.blogspot.com/2018/03/river-run-2018.html


March 12, 2018 - TOC Now


March 17, 2018 - MRI


The Adventures of Hippi Longstocking

PT, stretching, assuming it was soft tissue issues, on/off training and racing


November 4, 2019 - NYC Marathon


December 15, 2018 - My last race/run


January 24, 2019

Acetabular Labrum Tear Active 01/24/2019
Sacroiliac Joint Pain Active 01/24/2019
Inflammation of Pubic Symphysis Active 01/24/2019


February 7, 2019 - Hips Don't Lie MRI



March 18, 2019 - The Snapping Hipsturtle


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