Toronto Women’s 416 GOLD Run Challenge—Week Three, Pain Management

 

All runners feel pain at some point in their journey, some more than others. Running is a repetitive-strain activity, and any motion you do over a prolonged period of time can put significant stress on your joints and muscles, which can lead to pain and discomfort.

 

I've had arthritis for about 15 years now (not due to running) but I’ve been dealing with chronic pain for much longer than that. And while running hasn’t made my arthritis worse, I can have a lot of aches and pains during or after a run, depending on how my body is feeling that day. Over the years I have found various things that can be helpful in dealing with pain and aiding with recovery.

 

Coffee: Who doesn’t love a good cup of coffee? Not only does it taste good, but studies show that it has a significant role to play in pain management too. Coffee can help reduce pain due to its action on the adenosine receptors in our brain which play a role in pain perception. Certain chemicals in coffee will bind to and block the adenosine receptors which can have a pain-relieving affect. Coffee also stimulates the release of dopamine and beta-endorphins which are neurotransmitters that act as a natural pain killer in the body. Research has shown that caffeine can reduce post exercise muscle pain by as much as 50%.

 

Caffeine can also help reduce inflammation in the body which can lead to pain. It is thought that this is due to chemicals in the coffee blocking pathways involved in the production of inflammatory molecules. So enjoy a nice cup of coffee after your run.

 

Heat: this has been my go-to for pain since I was 10 years old and had my first physiotherapy appointment for lower back pain. When I come home from my run I have a hot shower and then put heating pads directly on the pain source. I have 3 heating pads that I use to help with stiffness and pain in specific areas related to my arthritis, muscle “knots” or trigger points, and cramping/spasm.

 

Tens Machine: A transcutaneous electrical nerve stimulation (TENS) unit is a battery-operated device that is used to treat pain. TENS units work by delivering small electrical impulses through electrodes that have adhesive pads to attach them to a person’s skin. These electrical impulses flood the nervous system, reducing its ability to transmit pain signals to the spinal cord and brain. The same electrical impulses also stimulate the body to produce natural pain relievers called endorphins.

 

I have 2 units: one with normal adhesive pads and another that is just for the neck. Since I can’t have a massage every day, this is the next best thing.

 

Analgesic Topical Creams/Gels: Topical analgesics are pain medications that are applied directly to the skin instead of being swallowed or injected. They come in creams, lotions, gel or patch form. I use Voltaren Emulgel which is a non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drug (NSAID) and classified as a pain reliever, but there are many others to choose from. I use it reduce pain, stiffness, and inflammation in my joints and usually apply directly after a shower.

 

 

Foam Roller: Spending 5-10 minutes using a foam roller after a run can be a great way to boost the recovery process and help you relax after a tough workout. Foam rolling is a form of self-myofascial release. It puts pressure on the soft tissue to release tightness, increase blood flow and aid in muscle recovery, and more.

 

After I’ve had my shower, drank my coffee and applied the emulgel, I take a few minutes to roll out my calves, hamstrings and piriformis muscle. Then I put on my compression socks.

 

Compression Socks: in my experience, wearing compression socks after a long run prevents those awful charley horses that wake you up screaming in the middle of the night from a deep sleep. Compression sleeves assist the muscle into a lengthened position, which helps reduce the chance of cramping. Added compression also helps maintain blood flow and keeps the muscle warm, which can also aid in preventing muscle cramps. 

 

NSAIDs: Nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory agents (usually abbreviated to NSAIDs) are a group of medicines that relieve pain and fever and reduce inflammation. There are nearly two dozen different NSAIDs available, but they all work in the same way, and that is by blocking a specific group of enzymes called cyclo-oxygenase enzymes, often abbreviated to COX enzymes. These enzymes are responsible for the production of prostaglandins. Prostaglandins are a group of compounds with hormone-like effects that control many different processes such as inflammation, blood flow, and the formation of blood clots.

 

 Weekly Run Recap

This week I ran 77.59 km for a total of 224.9 km. I have 191.1 km left before I’m finished the challenge. I am now past halfway.

 

Playing cards with Trish and her brother Eddy way past my bedtime on Saturday night may have been fun, but it made getting up early for my long run Sunday morning very difficult.  Despite only having one drink I felt like I had a hangover and it took everything in me to get up and out the door for my run.

I eventually got out the door at 8 am. It was a dark and dreary day and while I hoped the sun would eventually show itself it never did. I ran on local streets before turning down Greenwood Ave. A cop had pulled over some unlucky driver who had created some infraction and was now paying for it with a ticket. I kept running and a few blocks later the same cop was ticketing someone else. Clearly he had a quota he needed to keep. I ran downhill past Greenwood train yard and then Greenwood Park where people were playing with their dogs in the off-leash area. I was hoping by now all the niggles I was feeling in my body would be gone, but unfortunately they were worse. It was not going to be a good run.

 I then turned right on Queen Street East and ran through Leslieville for the next 3 kilometres.  The smell of coffee was driving me nuts and I contemplated stopping and having one. Only I knew once I stopped I wouldn`t get going again.

 

I turned left onto King Street East and then left again on Trinity Street and arrived at the Distillery District, the pavement giving way to beautiful cobblestone pathways.  People were milling about outside drinking their coffee and I passed them with envy. It was formerly an industrial complex, and all the Victorian-era architecture was preserved and turned into restaurants, boutiques and art galleries. I hadn’t been down here in quite a while: It was two Christmas’ ago when Trish, Cilla and I went to their Christmas market to peruse locally made crafts, see the Christmas lights, listen to carollers, brass bands and watch dancers. There was even a Ferris Wheel that the two of them went on together. It’s a neat little hub where people could gather (pre-pandemic) and not worry about motor traffic.

 

After running through the Distillery District I took a left on Parliament Street and ran under the overpass to meet up with the Martin Goodman Trail. It was really windy today and I had been fighting brutal headwinds the whole distance, but they were even worse down here. I ran west on the trail parallel to Queens Quay and apparently every runner in Toronto had the same idea as me. It was crowded and I found myself being passed by faster runners while I in turn passed slower runners. Then there were a few cyclists and walkers thrown in to the mix to make it all very chaotic.

 

Before long Queens Quay ended and the trail continued alongside Lakeshore Blvd. I had some beautiful views of Lake Ontario and soon came to Ontario Place. It’s shut down now, but as a kid in the 1980’s it was a pretty popular place to go for school trips. We were bussed from our small town 2 hours away from the city and spent the day playing and exploring. It opened May 22, 1971 and was originally designed to promote the Province of Ontario through exhibits and entertainment, but by the time I frequented the park it operated as a theme park with water rides and amusement park-like rides.

I stopped at kilometre 16 to let Trish know I was halfway done and watched the ducks as I sent my text. It was a tough run so far and would only get tougher. The kilometres seemed to take longer and longer to tick by as my muscles became even more sore, spastic and stiff. I had to walk a few times but that wasn’t really any better than running. The spasms were the worst and almost brought me to tears a couple times. Several times I’d considered calling Trish to have her pick me up, but instead I dug in and continued hobbling forward, thinking of anything and everything to distract myself. It`s funny how some days I can run with hardly any pain while other days every joint and muscle in my body aches.

 

I don’t know how I did it, but eventually I made it home feeling like I’d done 100 km, rather than 32. I had a hot shower, lathered my body with Voltaren, drank a hot cup of coffee, and then put my heating pad on my sore muscles. Later, Trish hooked me up to the TENS machine. The next day I got up and ran 9 km as if my body didn’t hurt at all yesterday. I was slow and tired but the intense pain from yesterday was gone. The rest of my runs for the week went well and I managed to average 9 kilometres each day.