Houston, we have a problem

I came back from the Grace Hopper Celebration of Women in Computing with a little something extra—IT Band Syndrome. For those who’ve not experienced it, the iliotibial band is a ligament that runs between the thigh and the knee. ITBS is an acutely painful inflammation that generally results from overuse, as in, say, walking in excess of 16K steps per day on concrete floors, as I did last week.

I thought I was prepared this time around, having returned from GHC17 with the same. Last year the pain was so bad I actually wanted a cortisone shot. (My doctor wouldn’t give it to me; she prescribed only stretching exercises and OTC anti-inflammatories, the cow. It took several weeks before I could sleep through the night, because there was no position that did not come with teeth-grinding agony.) Before heading to Houston last week, I’d upped my walking routine so that I was regularly logging between 10K and 13K steps per day. I took two newish pairs of walking shoes this time (instead of one), so I could alternate in the humidity. And I swore I wouldn't overdo it.

But apparently that wasn’t enough. Wednesday night was okay, but Thursday night it was so bad—waking me up with great burning stabs of pain at the knee—that I thought I might need to go to the ER. Overdoses of Naproxen, topped up with half-tabs of Vicodin left over from surgery didn’t make a dent in it, so I stopped taking them; just had to tough it out.

By Friday I recognized what it was, and fortunately had brought a tennis ball with me, which I used to massage the band in lieu of the foam roller I have to use here at home. I amused myself by fantasizing about taking a scalpel and nicking the ligament just enough to release all the tension. I half sat up in bed and propped my knees on a pillow to kind of immobilize me so I wouldn’t turn over and start yelping. I made it home, where I hit the foam roller and tried to ease through it.

Sadly, it’s clearly got hold of me, and I’m going to have to take more tennis balls to work, and maybe WFH so I can use the foam log and apply ice packs to it. I can feel the IT band under the tissue, both stiff and sore, as though the entire line from hip to knee is bruised. It’s a cruel twist of fate that moving around isn’t so bad (I am, of course, not logging 15K steps per day); the pain only starts when I try to get some sleep.

This is a souvenir I could have done without.