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Our user asked: "I have been training for a half marathon (it's on April 4th). About 2 weeks ago I went horseback riding and think I strained my groin muscle. Running has been difficult, to the point where my groin feels so sore I am not able to run past 4 miles. I iced it & had been taking some anti-inflam meds (Diclofenac, but not consistently). I took a couple days off, ran 4 miles FRI and felt great. Well, SUN I had an 8 mile run and had to stop at 4 miles b/c my groin AND my knee (opposite leg) started bothering me so much. I have had probs with this knee (last summer) but am not sure if it's b/c I was overcompensating to alleviate the pain of the groin muscle on the opposite side.... so now I'm really frustrated and not sure how to proceed with training since it's 3.5 weeks away! :( I'll be so bummed if I cannot run the half marathon. Any advice? My friend said to take the Diclofenac 2 x per day and ice and perhaps in 2 days I can use an elliptical so I can at least keep up on cardio. What do you think? If you can offer any advice I'd TRULY appreciate it!!!!!!!!
Ask a PT Response: "I would definitely back off from the running. Applying heat to the injured area before activity followed by icing the injured area after activity is usually recommended for my patients. Gentle stretching of the muscle groups involved is usually recommended to my patients as well. This includes and is not limited to the hip adductors, hip abductors, hip flexors, quadriceps, hamstring and gastrocnemius/soleus. Sample exercise clips of these stretches can be found on http://www.cyberpt.com/cptvidlist.asp - http://www.cyberpt.com/cptvidlist.asp .
Soft tissue mobilization or massage is usually performed to the affected muscles as well. As far as progression back to running, I would usually have my patient start with walking to elliptical to jogging than to running. When my patient is able to tolerate running again the duration and distance should gradually be increased ie. 2miles>3miles>4miles>5miles>6miles etc. I tell my patients to let pain be their guide. If pain develops when running they should cease running and perform some gentle stretching followed by icing as soon as possible. Given your time frame, you should be very careful not to do anything that will set you back even more. For maximal results, might I recommend you undergo an evaluation and treatment from a PT to ensure the potential for a faster recovery. Good luck with your recovery and with your marathon!"
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