ShapeFit.com

[katiesuarez]

Hello everyone,

I was hoping to get some expert advice on my current situation. Here is goes. My favorite exercise has always been running. I have been doing it since high school (I just turned 31 in July). I run five miles a day, at least five days a week. I also enjoy swimming and biking. On June 6th during my morning run, I got really stiff on my right side. I had to stop running after three miles. About an hour later, I had slight pain in my lower back (around my tailbone) and in my right leg. I took it easy for the rest of the day, but the pain kept getting worse. By the end of the day, I could barely walk. I just assumed it was my sciatic nerve and that the pain would go away after a day or two. This had happened before on occasion, but the pain was much more severe this time. By June 11th, it still had not let up so I made an appointment with a D.O. He suggested physical therapy in case it was a disc problem and they scheduled an MRI. My MRI results came back with “abnormalities”, indicating they found something on my spine that should not be there. My regular doctor then scheduled a bone scan. Meanwhile, the physical therapy did not seem to help my back and leg pain. My test results showed a lesion on my spine. This had me worried since MS runs on my mom’s side of the family. My regular doctor referred me to an orthopedist who specializes in spine injuries and diseases. When he looked at my test results, he actually found three lesions on my L5 and sacrum. He said it definitely wasn’t MS, but he wanted to make sure it wasn’t cancer, so he ordered a CAT scan. My test results showed no malignancies. As it turns out, I have a stress fracture on my sacrum. The lesions were caused by the trauma to my spine. My orthopedist said this type on injury is very common with runners. He said I should be able to start running again in three weeks, but only one mile at a time to start out with. He also said I was about 20 pounds underweight. Right now, I am 5’10” and 140 pounds. Here is what I need help with: I would like an exercise routine that will help me put on some muscle and increase my bone density. I cannot do any back exercises just yet. When I tried to use my rowing machine yesterday for the first time since my injury, pain shot through my lower back again. I need to know what I can do and eat to get a competitor’s physique without causing more injury to my back. Sorry for the long post!