Compression is the enemy!

That probably will get the attention of my fellow triathletes. Let me clarify that statement though. Compression socks are good (in fact I am wearing some now!) compression in your cervical vertebrae is bad. Perhaps I should have started out with Spinal Compression is the Enemy!

Starting about two weeks ago when I finished my long Saturday bike ride I put the key in the door with my right hand but couldn't turn the deadbolt. I thought that was odd but didn't think to much of it. I changed into my running clothes and headed back out the door for my run. Later that afternoon when I got to work I realized that though I had almost full range of motion in my wrist I had no strength in it. I could open and close my fingers together but not individually and could not, no matter how hard I tried, move my ring finger. I could grab something with my hand but I could not hold on to it. I had no gripping strength. Throughout the week it got a little better each day and I was able to move my fingers more freely by the end of the week. The next weekend the same thing happened after my Saturday bike ride. This time it was a little worse. There was no pain but certainly something was not right. There was a problem and I needed to get this looked at soon.

I made an appointment with Mark Kane (http://www.kanetraining.com/) who has worked wonders on my poor mis-firing left glute. Long story short, I have some restricted mobility in my C2 and C3 vertebrae as well as my C6 and C7. This is causing some neck tension and resticted movement. Though that is not the primary cause of the issue with my hand it certainly is related. Mark also believes that the number of hours that I spend in my aero bars on the triathlon bike, which is not a natural spinal position, is causing the nerve damage in my right hand. If you could picture what the aero position looks like on a bike like this it is essentially like you are looking straight up above you for hours on end. That is the compression being inflicted on my cervical vertebrae.

So what is one suppose to do? Well that is an easy question for most people to answer- "Don't ride your bike so much". Well I am not happy with that answer so I chose a different path. I started riding my road bike more. On that bike my spine is less compressed and so far so good. Since this is me we are talking about though...I am not happy with that answer. I am going to try some new aero bars and a new base bar on my triathlon bike and see if we can make it a little more "natural" and cause a little less nerve damage. Additionally, I have been doing some stretches and foam rolling for my neck and will be seeing Mark again this week to do some more manual traction work on my cervical spine. We'll see what happens after this weekend's rides. If it gets worse then we are on to the neurologist.

I'm training for a double ultra distance triathlon...did you think I'd need to be seeing a neurologist? A psychiatrist perhaps but not a neurologist! With each passing day I am realizing more and more the reality of what I have signed up for. The hours being put into this race are adding up but so far so good. Each week is a new milestone with regards to training and each week I learn something more about myself and this triathlon lifestyle. Swim, bike, run, eat, sleep, and repeat. It's now time for the sleep part. Good night!