Unexpected Source of Pain

So I cruised through the summer and almost, I said, "almost" forgot I even had PVPS. I would get a few reminders from time to time, but this was by far my best 3 months since my reversal. With that being said, I did what any other normal guy would do when they're feeling better, I became more active. I returned to the gym 2-3 weeks ago and started slow and easy. The treadmill and recumbent stationary bike were the two pieces of equipment I used for cardio. That was it, just these two. No weights, no long endurance routines, just simple low intensity cardio.

I spent all of about 5 minutes on the bike for a warm up and then crawled my way to a 35 minute treadmill workout at a very slow mph. It felt good to get up and move again. I really felt reinvigorated. The next day, I did notice a little inguinal ache on my right side, but didn't think much about it. Then I noticed the ache didn't go away, but continued into the next day.No big deal I thought. Probably just a random thing.

Two days later, back to the gym for a repeat of the previous workout. I had the same ache the next two days. Then I took 3-4 days off because of work and a busy life before returning to the gym. During that 3-4 days, I began to feel good again - no pain! This time I ramped up the warm up and the mph on the treadmill. The next day, I was in even more discomfort and pain which lasted a full two days. Well, I guess you can see where I'm going with this.

It appears that when I do my rather pedestrian cardio workout at the gym, my PVPS gets aggravated. This really surprises me because I've heard other guys say that working out helps them. Increases blood supply and all that.

I suppose I have a choice to make. Do I keep working out in spite of the pain or just try to push through; maybe incorporate some light stretching to see if that helps. I believe I'll opt for that last option. Part of the challenge with PVPS is loosing the feeling of normalcy and riding the roller-coaster of pain and frustration. Veering away from activities you normally love to do because the pain is too much or the threat of pain is too daunting.

My mindset is going to need a shift as I try to move forward. I believe I'll tell myself the pain I'm experiencing is just 'normal' muscle pain that everyone gets after they work out, you know, from the build up on lactic acid. For all I know, that could be exactly what is happening in my inguinal region. So with this potential excuse to return to the sidelines banished from my thinking, I will return to the treadmill and suffer through the normal consequences of a workout, pain.