Dean Santucci

On the morning of the 2013 NY marathon, I was getting ready for the big day. I was all set after months of preparation. I was dressed, fueled up and ready to go. The final prep was to put on sweat pants so as to keep warm during the long wait. Then out of nowhere, a sharp spasm across my back as I had never felt before. I couldn't bend or sit. However, I figured it was just a pulled muscle, so I took some Advil and figured that by running things would loosen up, and headed out. I ran the race and felt OK, but it must have been adrenaline as I was walking back home, the back tightened up and by that night, any kind of motion was painful. I gave it a month, and when it didn't heal I made an appointment with HSS. My wife and daughter had excellent experience there for various issues over the years. Turns out the MRI indicated I had a herniated disc. Dr. Halpern's basic advice was to keep moving and walk, but stop running for a while, no heavy lifting, and to not sit longer than 40 minutes; and that it was hard to predict how long it would take for it heal or when I could resume regular running. So, the latter two directives were easy to keep (i.e., no lifting/limited sitting), but not so with running. As an everyday runner, its really hard to stop, so I continued on a light schedule mixed and alternated it with biking, which seemed to keep the back loose as I just couldn't resist running even with the discomfort. Well it took some time, but 4 months later, I was running 4 times a week with just some discomfort, and then by June was back to full form. The best advice received was to keep moving, and in the end, you have to know and listen to your own body.