Had my epidural consult with a neurologist/radiologist today. Nice guy. Very informative. Tells me what's going on is I've got a lot of cloudy inflammation obscuring what should be a nicely defined line in the joint between my sacrum and ilium bones on the right side of my hip. Where there's smoke, there's fire!
That's the old Sacro-iliac, see song references to "The Hucklebuck," the "Lewis Boogie," "Rub It In," and "The Message."
By the way, if you're tired of doing the Booga-Loo or if you're scared of The Swim, you might want to do the "The Sacro-Iliac," by 10 cc.
Anyway, he explained as he viewed the MRI taken in July, I've got a lot of wear and tear on the old spine. Some disk compression, some outright disintegration in the case of one disk, and some still healthy disks, notably the ol' L4-L5 that had been operated on 13 years ago after it blew out while lifting a Sunfish sailboat onto its trailer. Sunfish is the most popular single-person sailing boat in the USA. Go to the Wikipedia article here.He also saw some mild facet arthritis (facets are the little hooks that link together on the spinal column) and some bone wear, but nothing unusual for a guy my age.
"I can tell you've done a lot of living, and never missed out on an opportunity," the good doctor told me with a wink and a grin. Made me feel a bit devilish, as if he could read all my sins like a map etched all over my spine. Ah, well. Yes, I've abused the old body running, mountain-biking, dropping out of airplanes etc.
But he didn't see any real problems with disk protrusions, and recommended an injection right in the upper part of the ilium. It should douse the inflammation and mend the old hip joint.
I return in one week for the first of my injections. And afterwards, I should be up and running again in no time.
Oh, P.S. I ordered a copy of the MRI and will post as soon as it's available.
It sucks getting old. I switched from running to the elliptical after pulling my Achilles tendon three years ago. For weeks I continued running thinking it was just a tightness that needed to work it's way out. After all, I'd felt a twinge at start of runs when I was younger and it always went away. Not so in my 40s. I miss the high, but not the pain. Good luck with your recovery. Give yourself time to heal!
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