I have been training for a half marathon for the last 12 weeks. (Note: I finished the half on May 8 with a time of 2:28!) I’m in my mid-to-late 40s and I’ve never exercised or ran this much in my adult life. I was a teen runner in junior high and high school and ran the 1-mile and 2-mile races. I got shin splints and had to stop running after high school. In fact, I was convinced I could never run again because every time I did, my shins hurt for days after. But years later a friend told me to stretch my shins out good before I ran, to tire out the muscles on the top of my feet before I ran and to wear compression socks. My first thought was of a grandma with swelling ankles, but my friend did not steer me wrong. I read up on some stretches specifically for my shins and ankles. I learned how to stretch out the tops of my feet (the theory being that shin splints are in part caused by a runner keeping their toes lifted as they run, keeping the muscles tighter in that lifted position and thus causing shin splints).
It all seemed to come together for me and I started running again. I have compression sleeves for my shins in some far out colors.
What I didn’t count on was a new pain in my left hip. It is a quad muscle, hip flexor strain and on my 10-mile long run week I put in some serious miles and the next day my left leg ached something fierce; to the point where putting weight on it and walking on it hurt.
I freaked out.
I stretched, I iced, I Epsom-salt-bathed, but a week or two later I was standing in the shower wondering how in the world I was going to actually be able to run this race. My husband, who was flying with me to California, and my son and his partner who were driving from a middle state were all making travel plans and I might need a wheelchair. It was awful!
And then my Nike+ running app recommended I spend some time in my “hyperbaric” chamber after a walk I was tracking. I thought, “Yea, right! Like I have one of those lying around.” But it piqued my interest. As I was walking home, I looked up hyperbaric chambers on Yelp and ended up calling a place listed. The nice lady said they didn’t do that anymore, but gave me another number and in less than 15 minutes I had a hyperbaric oxygen therapy session scheduled for the following Monday.
What is HBOT (hyperbaric oxygen therapy)? I thought it was a complicated looking medical tank they used for people who went diving too deep and came up with the bends. I thought it was only offered in hospitals to seriously ill people. What I learned is that HBOT is available in naturopathic clinics, gyms, athletic departments, and even some chiropractors offices. Hyperbaric Oxygen Therapy is a way to breathe oxygen at pressures greater than at sea level. Increasing the pressure drives greater amounts of oxygen into the fluid parts of the blood. Your body’s tissues and cells need oxygen to function properly, too, and when tissue (like my hip flexor) is injured, it requires even more oxygen to just survive, much less heal. The increase in blood oxygen from HBOT temporarily restores normal levels of blood gases and tissue function to promote healing. HBOT can also be used to fight infections and aid in wound healing, especially wounds that are in hard-to-heal places. Through increased oxygen and improved blood flow, the body is able to build new blood vessels, rebuild cells, and repair damaged tissues.
The day I went in for my first HBOT the naturopathic doctor said to “enjoy my dive.” The photo to the left is what I took my “dive” in. It is a little closed in, like a small tent, at first, but once the air starts pushing in and it tightens and fills, I could sit up cross-legged in the tube. There are holes to let in light and you can use your phone, laptop, whatever in there to pass the time.
When I first got in, I freaked out as the pressure increased. I was popping my ears, but they kept getting tighter and then for some reason I thought what if this tank pressurizes me too much and my whole body burst into blood and bone like in that movie, The Core? Morbid thoughts, I know, but I had a pager I could ring if I really freaked out and the nice lady who pressurized the tube was there the whole time.
Once I adjusted and my ears finished popping, I tried to read for a few minutes but ended up falling asleep, and each time I’ve gone in for HBOT, for whatever reason, I just end up napping. I bring a book, I read, but then my eyes get so heavy. What happened to me after my first treatment is the reason I went back and will keep going back.
I was limping when I went in to the clinic. I was sad and hoping beyond hope that this worked, because if it didn’t I wasn’t going to be able to run the race. I had already skipped a long Saturday run because after my short Friday run I could barely walk. I went in for my first HBOT dive on a Monday. On Tuesday I felt better and my hip didn’t hurt as much, so on Wednesday I went for my 4-mile run. I figured I would walk the entire thing. I walked the first mile and felt great, so once my muscles got warmed up, I started running.
As a little side note, I am not a fast runner. I am not a tall person so my stride is short and my average pace is an 11 minute 30 second mile.
But on this Wednesday, I ran the last three miles of that day in 30 minutes! And I had to try and slow myself down so that I wouldn’t over do it. I felt awesome after the run and the next day, no limping and hardly any pain. So I kept going back for HBOT sessions. In all, in the three weeks before the race, I went five times. My runs got faster and faster and I ran all my long training runs. I walked better, my hip pain eased and in general, I felt great.
Considering I could barely walk three weeks before my half marathon, I would call my HBOT sessions a rousing success. On the day of the race, I paced myself (which is hard with all the adrenaline of 15,000 people running) and ran almost the entire 13.1 miles. My overall pace was an 11 minute 19 second mile. I don’t think I could have done it without the hyperbaric oxygen therapy. And to anyone struggling with an injury or even a wound that is having trouble healing I would suggest you try it.