I had another fairly intense Tuesday morning. Following a run and a gym session at home, I went down to the river and did a threshold workout: two sets of three (3 minutes on, 3 minutes off) with small resistance (one golf whiffle ball) on the boat. Each "on" piece was done at 80 strokes per minute. It was a tough one, but my stamina held up for the duration of the workout. The worst part was that my left biceps and forearm were hurting a lot.
Tuesday afternoon I went to the orthopedist's office to get the news from my M.R.I., and at last I got some answers regarding all the aches and pains and struggles of the last couple of years. It seems that in several vertebrae, I have "severe neural foraminal narrowing" on my left side and the beginnings of the same problem on my right side. What that means, as far as I can understand it, is this: as nerves branch off from the spinal column and extend out into my shoulders and arms, they pass through holes in the bony material of the vertebrae, and these holes have shrunk and are putting pressure on ("impinging") those nerves. That's what's been causing so much pain and discomfort in the muscles of my left arm, and if left untreated I'll have the same issues in my right arm soon enough.
The doctor asked me if I also have felt weak in those muscles, and as a matter of fact, I have. I've noticed it just in the past week while moving those logs around in my shop, especially when I had to lift something over my head. I also have noticed in the last year or so that it's harder to do certain exercises than it used to be: for instance, I used to be able to do 30 pushups without a second thought, but lately I've found it hard to do even 20. Pullups seem harder, too.
As the doctor put it, with a condition like mine the muscles can stop responding to what the nerves are telling them to do. It had never occurred to me that muscular weakness could be related to all this impinged-nerve business. It's hard to know for sure, but maybe my condition is even responsible for the decline in some of my race performances in the last several years.
Whatever the finer points may or may not be, I'm elated to know that all my woes are not just my imagination. And while I'm sure I'm no more immune to the impacts of aging than anyone else, I'm pleased to know that maybe I'm not all done yet as an athlete.
As for what happens next, I'll be seeing a surgeon to determine my options. Basically, there are two: I could have surgery to enlarge those holes that the nerves pass through; or I could have a "nerve block," in which I'd be injected with some stuff that would make the nerves shrink so they wouldn't be getting pinched where they pass through the holes.
I didn't do any specific training today, but I was back in the shop dealing with those logs some more, and the arm pain was a nuisance. My appointment with the surgeon is next Wednesday, and I hope to move a step closer toward some kind of relief.
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