Hidden Inflammation

I'm a 36 year old athlete. I run 40-60 miles per week. play basketball 3-4 time a week, raquetball, ect. I have been a runner for about 20 years. Never had any injuries. Well, about a year ago I started having back problems and other nagging injuries. I have had MRI's and nerve conduction studies. Everything is working i just have some disk problems throughout my whole spine. C,T and L spine. Normal wear and tear. All labs are ok. Let me get to my question. About three weeks ago I started having shoulder and hip pain. It was very painful. And still is. My physician, who is also my cousin ran some labs on me. He ran a CPK,Lactic acid, and Sed rate. My CPK was 170. The range is 0-220. My CPK is always high normal. He said it is because I run daily. My Lactic acid was low. My concern was my sed rate. The range is 0-15. Mine was 18. My cousin said that is fine. he said to not read into the range so much, that he only gets concerned about sed rates over 40. He said he takes a males age and divides it by 2 to get a sed range upper limit. Do you think I should be concerned. Do I have a hidden Inflammation. Could this be a sign of a connective tissue disorder. LUPUS,ect. He said active people usually have higher sed rates. i did run 10 miles the day before these labs. i appreciate your input. JEFF Also, I have never stretched and alot of my problems stems from that!!!!

[Kevin Pho, MD]

By itself, an ESR is not helpful.  Many diseases can lead to an increased ESR.  It can be elevated in the normal population as well.  

Without another clinical, correlating symptoms, it is difficult to interpret what your ESR value would mean.  If there was concern about lupus or another rheumatological disorder, you can consider obtaining a blood ANA level.  

Repeating the ESR can be considered to ensure this level isn't rising.  You can also measure it not after exercise, to ensure it isn't correlating with your physical activity.

These options can be discussed with your personal physician.

Followup with your personal physician is essential.

This answer is not intended as and does not substitute for medical advice - the information presented is for patient education only. Please see your personal physician for further evaluation of your individual case.

Kevin, M.D.
kevinmd_b

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