So, in November of last year, I woke up on Thursday morning out of the blue, and couldn't turn my head. I figured that the night prior, our first really cold CX training ride, had made things stiffen up. So, I made my first ever appointment with a chiropractor for Friday. Our big CX Regional Championship races were Sat and Sun, so I walked into the chiro and told her she needed to work magic, because I needed to race my bike on the weekend . Yes, I am stubborn.

To keep this story a bit on the shorter side - I raced both days without being able to turn my head (and consequently won the Women's 45-49 and Women's Singlespeed championship). I continued with the chiro for about a month, and things were MUCH better.

We went through the holidays and sometime in January (I can't pinpoint exactly when), I started to get some pretty significant pain in my shoulder. I have an old injury there (laberal SLAP tear), and figured that I had re-torn something, so tried doing my PT shoulder exercises, some push ups, and self-medicated with Ibuprofen. The exercises made the pain worse, and soon, it was radiating down my arm, and I was getting numbness and tingling in my hands. Since we were spending a lot of time at our second home over the winter, I didn't make an appt with the doctor - I continued to ride, ski and do all of my usual activities, despite the pain and numbness, but did continue with the Ibuprofen.

Then, two weeks ago, everything got worse after a fall on some icy roads while riding the fat bike. The pain became much worse, with sharp pains, and more numbness. What little sleep I had been getting, was now non-existent. Icing made it hurt worse. The continued regimen of Ibuprofen didn't seem to be helping.

Today was my annual physical with my primary care. Turns out that I have a pinched nerve in my neck, and am on my way for some PT. She also prescribed a muscle relaxant to help me get some sleep.

Lessons?
  • Waiting three months and continuing to ride through the pain is probably NOT the best option.
  • I have a VERY high tolerance for pain.
  • Self-diagnosis is a BAD thing.
  • Sometimes a pain in the neck is something that really needs looking at!


SheFly