Tag Archives: health

February 21, 2013

The Good, the Bad, and the Angry

The Good

I’ve been long overdue for some good news. It came today. No labral tear. I repeat: NO TEAR!

My orthopaedic doctor has left the country, and my GP had the day off, so I had to smooth talk the imaging company to get the MRI results. The X-Ray results concluded that there was a likely lateral labrum tear. As I opened the envelope of the MRI report, I fully expected to find more bad news waiting for me. Not only did I expect a tear, but I thought there was an outside chance there would still be signs of the stress fracture.

The MRI definitively ruled out the stress fracture. It is gone. I won’t miss it.

The report also ruled out a tear. One thing I have to remember is that this is a radiologist’s report, and not an orthopaedic surgeon. While I have to take these results with a grain of salt, they are encouraging.

No stress fracture means no more crutches, no more cane, and most importantly, I can take Advil and anti-inflammatory drugs. It is simply amazing how much these drugs help. My pain and soreness diminished significantly with the first swallow.

The Bad

There are some other things that still need to be dealt with.

I’m reluctant to self-diagnose. I’ve learned the hard way that reading too much on the internet can sometimes do more harm than good. To be honest, I do not understand half of the report, and I agonize myself trying, but there are some things that give me cause for concern.

One issue has to do with the bone marrow in my hip. It may be related to the stress fracture, maybe not. I have no idea, and will try not to worry about it.

The other issue is that I have a small cyst in the labrum. This isn’t the cancerous type, just some swelling, which is likely the cause of the popping, snapping, and the pain. Some of my internet research shows that this type of cyst is often accompanied by a tear, so I’m not out of the woods yet, but my fingers are crossed.

This means that surgery may still be necessary, although there could be alternate methods. From what I understand, the cyst could be zapped with a shot. Physical therapy might also help work it out. While I’ll consider all options, surgery is now more of a last resort.

The Angry

When I first heard about the potential tear, I’ll be honest that I was a little miffed. Why was this not discovered months ago? If the doctor had ordered a different sort of MRI the first time, could he have seen this? Why did he give me short shrift when not seeing healing marks on the X-ray, and make me go another month on the couch?

After reflection, I’m not angry with the doctor. In fact, I feel the opposite. He actually got it right. He told me that I had a stress fracture, and that my hip labrum was ‘off.’ That appears to be the case. He said that when the fracture heals, we’d deal with the rest, which is where we’re at now.

Instead, I am diverting this anger to my recovery. I’m going to be smart, sensible, and listen to my doctor’s orders, but I am going to attack my training and recovery with vigor. This was an unfortunate and uncomfortable setback, but after riding angry, I will emerge stronger with more focus.

Ready or not, here I come.

7 Comments | tags: anti inflammatory drugs, bone marrow, cycling, health, hip injury, labral tear, medicine, orthopaedic doctor, paralabral cyst, recovery, stress fracture | posted in Injury

January 5, 2013

2012 Rides of the Year

By aaronwest

Last year I ranked my rides with two lists. One list was for the overall experience, while the other was for the most difficult. This year I’m going in a different direction. The most difficult list is being shelved, and doesn’t have to be on an annual basis. I’m also excising rides that were not new to me. That means that some of my favorites, such as Assault on Mount Mitchell, Assault on the Carolinas, Tour de Cashiers, and Bridge to Bridge are not present here.

The criteria here is not a judgement of each ride, but rather just my favorites based on the entire experience. Of course, the better the ride is organized, the better the experience for the rider.

It was still difficult to narrow these down to 10. Since my passion is riding, these were all fantastic experiences. Choosing between them is almost as ludicrous as choosing a favorite child, but here goes anyway …

10. Blue Ridge Brutal

Brutal is a fitting description. This ride had about as much climbing as the toughest centuries I rode, and then they had a bonus mountain at the very end. The roads were quiet and smooth. The volunteers and their yellow shirts seemed to be omnipresent. Handing out musettes on the parkway was a terrific idea. It was a difficult challenge, especially with Mount Jefferson tacked onto the end, but a memorable one.

9. Tour de Lure

What really set this ride apart was the scenery. Through Marion and over Stone Mountain wasn’t much to speak of, but when you turn towards Lake Lure and see the monolithic structures around you, it is breathtaking. The course was more of a challenge than I expected, and it was a good experience and benchmark for me to ride Mitchell several weeks later. This is among the better training ride options for others that are training for Mitchell.

8. Fletcher Flyer

It was flat, fast, and in the mountains. Who would have imagined? It was also a blast, as we traveled through the scenic valleys in the shadows of 6,000 foot monsters like Mount Pisgah. It was well attended enough that there were packs to ride with at nearly any pace. I settled in with a good group, and managed to finish far quicker than expected.

7. Fabulous 4th Bike Tour

What better way to celebrate independence day than with riding a metric century in the mountains? Unfortunately, my experience at this year’s event was affected by an accident and injury to another rider. After helping out, I lost many of the riders. As a result, we had a comfortable, social ride through the North Greenville, Tryon and Saluda foothills. The best part was the food at the end, which I would rank near the top for any ride.

6. Six Gap Century

To nobody’s surprise, this was one of the more difficult rides I experienced. It didn’t help matters that I was riding with a broken hip (which was discovered much later). The starting line experience was among the best as they filtered 3,000 riders through the school parking lot, having riders shout out their hometown on the microphone as they ride by. Support was excellent. The timed climb of Hogpen Gap was a nice touch, not that I had any chance of being competitive.

5. Copper Triangle

This was the climax of my foray into Colorado, and what an experience it was! We climbed several passes, finishing with the epic climb up Vail Pass and rolling into Copper Triangle. The ride started in freezing temperatures, but we made the best of it. I rode with and met a lot of people from all over the place, enjoying the blueberry muffins at every stop. The coolest part was rolling into the heart of Copper Mountain resort for a picturesque finish.

4. Fort Jackson Awareness Ride

There may be a little bias for this ride since I helped organize the event, but I feel comfortable including it here after hearing the post-ride feedback. Everyone had a fantastic time. Not everyone can ride on a military base, much less participate in a timed event there. The event exceeded our expectations for riders, and brought out the competitive spirit and camaraderie of the local cycling community. It could not have gone any better. Even though I participated, this was among the most fun experiences on my bike during the year.

3. Issaqueena’s Last Ride

This was the most surprising entry. I had not heard much about Issaqueena, but was pleasantly surprised by the entire experience. The course was terrific, much of it in neighborhood roads with rolling hills, with the rest of it touching the foothills near the North Carolina border. This probably had the best markings I’ve seen on a road course, and they had tremendous pre and post-ride meals. My experience was bittersweet because a good friend became injured by a charging dog, but she has now recovered and is climbing better than ever.

2. Tour de Leaves

Mother nature deserves some of the credit for this ride’s placement. I’ve ridden these hills quite often, but nothing compares to riding them in mid-fall. We were lucky with the leaf color, riding right around their peak color period for the year. I had previously Green River Cove Rd a few other times, but never had it looked this beautiful.

1. Blood, Sweat & Gears

As much as I love mountain centuries, I rarely expect to call them ‘fun.’ Blood Sweat & Gears is a challenging ride, especially around mid-way when riders have to fight the snake. The Parkway, George’s Gap, and Schull’s Mill were all moderate and enjoyable climbs. I’m not sure why this was, but of all climbing events, this one was the most social. I met a lot of people and had a great time talking to them. The organizers and volunteers were terrific, meeting all of our needs throughout the ride. I was tired at the finish, but the atmosphere was festive, like a celebration. I look forward to riding it again.