Question:
I've been dealing with a horendous pain in my left "cheek". It mainly hurts when I stand still. Feels almost like an electric shock. Also, when it gets bad, my left leg goes numb. Walking helps relieve the pain but it does not completely take it away. The only thing I have found to relieve the pain is sitting, laying down, and running. While running, and for a short period following the run, I have no pain at all.

I have run two marathons in the last three months, completing Seattle two weeks ago. Within a week of the marathon the pain got pretty bad. I've had this on and off for years, but never this bad. It gradually develops, and honestly, I can't recall if I was having any symptoms prior to Seattle.

I love to run and greatly appreciate the fact that it doesn't bother me at that time. I have dropped my mileage to my winter "maintainence" level of 25-30/week. However, I do worry that running may be causing the problem or delaying the rehab. I went to the doc and he just handed me a bottle of Motrin and sent me home. I'm taking 1600-2400mg of Motrin/day with no relief.

Have any of you experienced this? Is there any stretching or exercises to relieve the discomfort?

Answer:

I've had sciatica for 5 yrs now and am able to relieve the pain using a form of accupressure (sitting on a tennis ball). I know it sounds strange...my physical therapist recommended it and it works for me. It takes a little bit of practice to find where the right pressure point is, but you'll know when you find it...instant relief from the dull ache and numbness.

I continued to run and eventually ruptured a disk in my lower back and had to have it removed. Prior to the surgery I tried everything to relieve the pain. The only medicine that helped was called Indocin and it only worked for a short time. Finally I went to a chiropractor and walked out of his office pain free after the first visit. Unfortunately the pain came back and I did have to eventually have the operation, but that man became my "best friend" in the meantime.

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