How Going Vegan Allowed Me To Run Again
I went from running 10+ half marathons a year to being told I would never be able to run again. Then, I went vegan.
I started suffering from lower back pain when I was in middle school. I continuously brushed off the pain and ran competitively in Junior Olympics, and then on to Regional and State Cross Country meets in high school. It was not until the fall of my senior year that my low back pain turned into a serious issue. It was my first cross country meet of the year, after a summer of training, and I tweaked a muscle in my glute. From there the debilitating low back pain began. I could not run, walk, stand, sit or lay down without being in excruciating pain.
Fast forward a few painful months, I found out I have a stress fracture in my low back, from there began a year filled with physical therapy and a horrific (think plastic with two painfully loud velcro straps) back brace.
After a year, I was almost back to my normal self. I began running again, I even joined my college track team for a little. After college, I became more serious about longer distances, I ran my first full marathon and went from doing one half marathon a year to 10 or more.
My back pain had never fully dissipated, but, with a lot of stretching, it was bearable. Then, in fall of 2018, my back pain was back, in full force.
It was like I was back in the fall of my senior year of high school. Running, my passion, was snatched from me once again. I was in constant pain and no one knew why.
I spent the rest of 2018 and the beginning of 2019 doing everything myself and doctors could think of to ease the pain and get a diagnosis. I had X-Rays, MRIs, and bone scans. I did physical therapy, I got acupuncture, massages, and saw chiropractors. I tried medicine, got blood tests, and eventually got a few rounds of cortisone shots, all to no avail.
Finally, my doctors agreed on one thing: I would never run again.
If I continued to run I would have pain, but the real scare was what it would do to my back down the line. I was told that running would forever be out of the picture and hiking and long walks would be as well.
To say I was devastated is an understatement.
Running is my lifeline. It is how I deal with emotions, stress, and anxiety. It makes me feel powerful and confident. Without running who was I?
I looked for answers and got none. Finally, I was asked if I had tried going vegan. My answer was “no”, I did not eat much meat or dairy but had never thought about completely cutting it out. They told me to try and I jumped at the opportunity to try something else, my final hope.
I went vegan.
At first, I did not notice a difference but I kept up with it, as I was told it could take time. About 6 weeks in, I was running errands one day and realized it was gone, my back pain was gone!
I did not want to get my hopes up, as maybe it was a coincidence. But here I am almost 2 years later to tell you it was not!
I have not had low back pain since. Going vegan cured me.
I am now training for a 90 minute half marathon and have a few other goals in sight for the near future — qualifying for the Boston Marathon and competing in a 70.3 Ironman.
I went from being told I could never run again to training for lofty running accomplishments. Who would have thought going vegan could do all of that?
After a few months of being vegan, I went back to a few of my doctors and they were astounded. Most did not understand how the change in my diet healed me, but were blown away by the results.
There is some science behind why going vegan cured, what should have been, a life-sentence of constant back pain.
Studies have shown that both meat and dairy have many components that cause inflammation in the body and inflammation can cause various types of pain.
On the other hand, many plant-based foods are typically higher in anti-oxidants which are, more or less, inflammation blockers.
These facts make it clear that a vegan diet does lead to less inflammation in the body which is what was likely causing my pain.
I know this does not reign true for everyone as every body is different. However, the facts remain the same, and if you are looking for a way to relieve stubborn pain or inflammation in your body maybe going vegan is right for you.
Personally, going vegan saved me and gave me back the gift of running which I cherish more than I could ever put into words.
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