I'm Having Lower Back Pain and Sciatica Again

For the second time in a week, I’m writing something that isn’t a race report.  This one is an injury report.  After two and a half years of good health, I’m having lower back issues again.

This all started at the Jackal Trail Marathon, which was the first race in a five-day series.  I was on my last lap of a trail loop when I tripped on a root and fell.  I didn’t land on anything hard, but as I rolled, I felt a twinge in my lower back.  I got up and continued running.

For the next few days, I had discomfort on the right side of my lower back.  This was a familiar location.  This is the same place where I felt pain several years ago when I had a disc protrusion in the lumbar region.  It’s also the same side where I’ve sometimes experienced sciatica.

I could still run, but each day I had to start slowly.  I need a few minutes for my back to loosen up before I could settle into a normal rhythm.

Beyond that, bending down low to the ground was uncomfortable.  I especially noticed it putting on socks.  I also had discomfort getting in and out of bed and rolling over in bed.

It got worse last Wednesday, when I was running the Native Jackal Trail Marathon.  This was the last day of the series.  It was another trail marathon, and I was on my first of ten laps.  Near the end of the loop, there was a steep hill.  As I approaching the top of the hill, it wasn’t as steep, so I was able to pick up my pace.

I thought the last part of the hill was just a gentle uphill slope, running over soft pine needles.  I didn’t notice that there were small logs built into the hill to form a series of small steps.  I tripped on one of these logs and lurched forward awkwardly before regaining my balance.  I immediately felt a sharp pain at that same site on the right side of my lower back.  Whatever I had done four days earlier was now worse.

For the next two or three minutes, every step was painful.  The pain gradually subsided and I was able to continue running.  My back discomfort didn’t stop me from running, but bending down was more difficult now.

After the race, I didn’t feel too much different than I had the previous four days.  Certain motions were more uncomfortable than before, but I still felt normal as long as I wasn’t bending or twisting.

I returned home on Thursday.  I felt OK bringing my bags to the car, other than the fact that I got out of breath easily.  That was the lingering symptom of overheating badly during my last race, when I was running in extreme heat and humidity for more than eight hours.

I felt OK driving back to Memphis, and I felt OK walking through the Memphis airport.  Things got worse after I got off the plane in the Minneapolis airport.

I had checked my bags, but I still had a backpack with my laptop and other electronics.  My gate was one of the farthest from the central part of the terminal.  They have trams and moving walkways, but I chose to walk the whole way.  I usually do that, so I can get extra steps.  On this occasion, it was probably a mistake.  By the time I got to baggage claim, I was experiencing a great deal of discomfort in my lower back.  I was also hunched over slightly as I walked.

Every day of the marathon series, I got dehydrated, but I was usually able to rehydrate before the next race.  The last race was much hotter than the others, and I was out in the heat for a longer time.  I drank about 11 pints of fluid during that race, but it wasn’t nearly enough.  On Thursday, I thought I did a good job of rehydrating.  Friday morning, I weighed myself for the first time in a week.  My weight was still down four pounds compared to a week earlier.

I went grocery shopping that morning, and I noticed a new symptom.  Walking through the store and the parking lot, I didn’t just have pain in my lower back.  I also had weird sensations in my right leg. That’s where the sciatic nerve runs.

I’ve had sciatica in my right leg two or three times before.  It can have a few different causes.  Dehydration can make it worse.  It could be a disc protrusion that was pressing on a nerve root.  It could be synovial cyst that was pinching a nerve root.  It could simply be tight muscles in my lower back, made worse by dehydration.  These are all things I’ve had before.  The worst case would be a herniated disc.  That would probably sideline me for a long time.

I made an appointment to see a spinal specialist, so I could find out what I was dealing with.  The earliest appointment I could get was Monday afternoon.  I put off running and other exercise for another day.

On Saturday, I tried to go for a short run.  It did not go well.  I immediately felt more discomfort on the right side of my lower back.  Also, I couldn’t run at a normal pace.  I was shuffling forward slowly with abnormally short steps.  I knew I couldn’t run as far as I normally do, but I still wanted to at least go a mile.

Within the first few minutes, I felt a sensation in my right leg that’s hard to describe.  It wasn’t actually painful, but it didn’t feel right.  The outside of my thigh felt weird.  It’s like when a muscle just feels tight, but I knew it wasn’t the muscle.  It was along the line where the sciatic nerve runs.  I’ve felt something similar before.

I couldn’t run the whole way.  I had to take several walking breaks.  I may have done more walking than running.  It was frustrating how long it took to complete a mile, but I eventually got it done.  I haven’t run since.  I’ve kept up some of my strength training, but I’ve had to omit exercises that might be too hard on my lower back.

Day to day activities have sometimes been difficult.  At times, I couldn’t stand up completely straight.  Other times, I could stand and walk normally.  Sleeping has also been more difficult.  It’s tough to find a position that’s comfortable.

My doctor appointment was today.  The big advantage of waiting until today, rather than going to urgent care is that I saw the same doctor who I saw two years ago when I was having similar symptoms.  She knows my full history.  She also knows how many marathons I run.

I’m scheduled to have an MRI tomorrow morning.  Until I get the MRI results, I won’t know for sure how bad this is.  In the meantime, I'm already started my treatment.  If it’s not a herniated disc, I could potentially be training normally within a week or two.  As another doctor once told me, you can do a lot of healing in 10 days.