Doctor visit

Today I had a visit with Dr. Amy Powell at the sports medicine clinic at the U. She was GREAT and came highly recommended by a friend. If any of you are looking for a sports medicine doc in the future, definitely pay her a visit.

This clinic was also VERY efficient and amazingly well-run. When I arrived at 10:40 am for my 10:45 am appt, they immediately got me on the new patient paperwork (though I have seen some of their other docs for a broken ankle (TWICE!) in 2001, I had not seen this doc and had not been to their new facility). Before I could even get finished w/the patient questionnaire (do you have heart disease, etc.), they called me back to the room. By the time I finished the questionnaire, the radiology guy came to do 3 x-rays on my knees. I only waited a few minutes (long enough to read a section of the newspaper) before the doc came.

She took a thorough history, examined my leg, and pronounced it a surefire case of ITBS (iliotibial band syndrome). Apparently the latest research shows that the best treatment is physical therapy. She noticed a muscle imbalance - my left leg/hip is definitely weaker than my right (in my opinion, this is possibly due to my ACL surgery 16 years ago - it's been that way since then, no matter what I do in the gym). She says that after 4-6 wks of good PT I will probably be lots better. Yay! I hope she is right. She was very sympathetic, asking when my next race was, and apparently she has had ITBS before herself and understands the stabbing pain associated with it and how unpleasant it is. I think she must be a runner, because I told her I was planning to do the Canyonlands 1/2 Marathon and she knew right away that it was in March, and that there was a lottery to get in. She seemed to think it was likely I'd be able to do it. I asked her what physical activity I can do right now, and she said I can definitely do anything that doesn't hurt, including stationary biking and the elliptical. She also said that I am welcome to racewalk through the pain if I want to - that it won't make the injury any worse. This surprised me; however, I'm not likely to do much of this because the pain is REALLY BAD when it gets going, and I can't tolerate it for very long.

She gave me a prescription for a pain reliever/anti-inflammatory medication which is gentler on the stomach than ibuprofen (I've been having some nausea from lots of ibuprofen), and told me that a strap for ITBS that they sell at running stores might help w/the pain as well.

After this very helpful visit w/the doc, I was shepherded out to get my prescription, which I could fill on-site. Then, just a hallway away, I was able to make my appointment with Physical Therapy. They have an opening for tomorrow night at 6:30 pm. Wow.

I left at noon, after only 1 hr 20 min, with my prescription medication in hand and my appt w/physical therapy. I am a very happy camper. I highly recommend the U Orthopedics people if you ever need care like this (and I hope you don't).