I typically never mention much about nagging injuries or little nicks here and there. We all have them as runners, and if I mentioned every time I was dealing with a little tweak or soreness, it's basically all I would write about. But the big issue I'm dealing with as I write this post is a strained Trapezius Muscle - basically the shoulder blade muscle on the left side of the upper spine. It affected my run yesterday and it's killing me. It feels like that pain when you sleep on your pillow the wrong way and then your neck is sore to the point where you can't turn your head either way - you know what I mean? It's like that, except for right in the middle of my upper shoulder blades, in the left Trap. I can't look down or to the left side comfortably. And it hurts every second of the day. I did it doing overhead shoulder presses, which seems to be a recurring injury with me, so I should probably have it checked out. But right the pain is non-stop. I'm sure it will subside by the weekend, but it just irritates me that I made it through my training basically 100% healthy, and now a non-running related workout is providing a huge distraction. The good news is, it will force me to rest this week. But other than that, I felt good about how the week went.
Looks like a sane taper Jim. I think you'll be in good shape for your marathon next weekend. For sore muscles like your Trap, I usually rely upon Aleve. I find just a day or two of treatment via that route will usually put it in its place. Keep up the good work and sorry to see you relegated to the treadmill.
ReplyDeleteDoes sound like a solid and sane taper!!!(aside from the cold forcing you on the dreadmill ) If you are able to get a sports massage soon ,go for it. sounds like you need a trigger point in your trap released? if your able to get professionally worked on use heat and Aleve-have Michael give you a shoulder rub after a hot shower....
ReplyDeleteHere's to another sane week of the taper!
I have gone into races with the exact same injury, and it is so annoying! It's not a lower body injury, but it totally changes how you carry yourself and can affect your form. Luckily, I really didn't notice it during the race itself, just training runs (and then it was all I was thinking about, of course).
ReplyDeleteAt this point I'd try heat, maybe even some capsaicin cream (but not the two together), and NSAIDS... and it should pass by race day. If it doesn't, you could probably do an NSAID prior to the race as long as you remain hydrated and are really careful of your kidneys after the race. I don't usually recommend the combo, but I know this is an important race!
That'll teach you for being an atypical runner and doing upper body strength work. I never get injured doing upper body strength work. But on the down side - cleaning blinds yesterday has left me with stiff and sore shoulders and it was only one blind.
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