Last Monday, I got up earlier for a good morning run. I wanted to cover 10km in an hour - a regular pace. I was doing well until my 6th km when I had a sudden, excruciating pain on my left crotch. I walked to complete the rest of 6.5km - I run in circles because I'm afraid of going to unfamiliar streets and ending up in an accident, etc. etc. so the end of the 6.5km brings me to my starting point, where there are a lot of commercial stores (there's a Starbucks nearby) and a lot of people to ask for help in case I need it.
I sat down and had a drink and I assess my situation:
1. my crotch is in pain. I wasn't imagining it.
2. my left butt feels tight and it's really painful whenever I [involuntarily] pull it
I wait for five minutes, sitting there... Ignoring the stares, trying to stretch my legs to figure out how much I can extend my legs. I try to feel for any piercing pain that might mean I fractured my but or my hip... until I was satisfied that it was really muscle pain (and that means I don't have to cry about it because it's something that I can get fixed).
So finally I call my boyfriend and tell him to pick me up as soon as he can... And I tell him that I'm just sitting there waiting for him because I couldn't walk. Metro Manila traffic is a bitch so I was basking in the sun for 30 minutes before he arrives and we laugh [painfully, because that movement pulls my butt for some reason] about how I can get in the van when (1) I can't stand up or walk (2) he can't carry me because he was recently diagnosed with back muscle spasms and isn't even allowed to lift 20lbs of anything... But somehow we pass that test and we're on our way to the Emergency Room.
I was immediately brought to the Suturing Room. And I was literally shaking from fear because I thought they were going to open me up and cut loose some tightened muscled or whatever... but I later figured out they just needed a close, private room because I kept telling the attendant that my crotch hurts really bad and I gave it a 10 (out of 10) level of pain. But after discussing my scenario with the two nice doctors, they decided to skip checking out my private area and sent me straight to X-Ray. Relief...
My X-Ray showed that I did not fracture any bone. THANK YOU, GOD!
So they concluded that it's muscle strain (or muscle cramps) and I was prescribed to refrain from using the affected area for 48 hours, and that full recovery will take 1-2 weeks. I was also given (1) pain relievers twice a day and (2) muscle relaxant thrice a day.
This the fourth day since the event and here's my progress:
Day 1. [Morning of the muscle strain to appear] - pain was 10 out of 10 throughout the day until I went to sleep.
Day 2. Pain was down to 8 out of 10. I was still using a walker to get to anywhere. That was very, very tiring.
Day 3. Pain was down to 6 out of 10. It felt like staying in bed would have helped me recover faster. But at the same time, I have to perform minimal functionality like: get up and eat, lie down to rest, get up and eat, lie down to rest...
Day 4. Pain is the same from Day 3. I think my gauge is biased to "how frequently I trigger the pain", which is every time I stand up, sit down, lie down. The pain's intensity definitely decreased after Day 2. But the affected area seems to have also decreased on Day 3. I'm just concerned that I did not feel much improvement from Day 3 to Day 4...
I thought I could be doing Tai Chi by now...
Maybe tomorrow? I'll have to consult my body. First, I have to accomplish walking normally because now I limp heavily and it's a conscious effort to walk straight. It kinda feels more like I'm getting used to it so my body automatically shifts my weight away from the affected area thus the limp.
Oh oh oh.... I have to say one more thing:
Coughing and sneezing is HELL. For that split second, they bring back the pain back to 10 out of 10. I think for that reason alone, I am not ready to leave the house because I always scream from pain after coughing or sneezing =( (screaming does NOT trigger the pain).
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