Coming back from a hip injury
Stacy Cimino loves to race, and her training is always motivated by her next race. So far this year, she has run the ING Miami Marathon in February, the Mid-Winter Classic in Cape Elizabeth, the Polar Bear, the Belgrade Lakes Triathlon, the LL Bean 10K, the Field House Sprint Triathlon in Shelburne, VT, the
Scarborough Triathlon, the Urban Epic and Beach to Beacon!
But her aggressive racing season was almost compromised by an unexpected injury this spring. “When I bought my new bike in March, my left hip started bothering me,” says Stacy about her new Cervello P2C. “After a while, it hurt to walk, and running was out of the question. So I went to OA.”
Stacy initially visited with Dr. Bill Heinz, a sports medicine physician at OA Centers for Orthopaedics. Diagnosing her injury was difficult, as Stacy was unable to pinpoint the exact location of the pain. Initially, OA postulated that Stacy may be suffering from a hip labral tear, but later determined that the labrum may only have been strained, not torn.
Anatomically, the socket of the hip joint is lined by cartilage called labrum, which provides stability for the hip joint. The labrum allows the ball of the thigh hone to move smoothly and painlessly in the socket. A hip labral tear may cause pain or a “catching” sensation in the hip joint. OA surmised that the hip injury may have originated with the birth of her second child 20 months prior and been exacerbated by her initial position on her tri-bike and a weak core.
She was referred to OA Physical Therapy and began working with Tim Davoren, PT, ATC. While undergoing physical therapy 2-3 times each week over three months, Stacy had to avoid running altogether, but she could continue to cycle and swim after Tim made some modifications to her cycling position. “Tim was great. He provided me with a ton of manual treatment. The therapy was painful, but eventually, I started to feel better, and by early June I was running again.”
Stacy’s start as a multisport athlete actually began in 2004. “I used to run with three woman in Cape Elizabeth. They each had three kids. And they each did three sports. I was in awe with how they could manage their households and find the time to be proficient in three sports. That was the ultimate in my mind.”
Eventually, her friends convinced Stacy to do the Bethel triathlon. “I got up there, and I was a wreck looking at the swim course. I thought to myself, I’m never going to survive. Turned out, it was the best thing I ever did. I completed the triathlon and signed up for Camden the next week!”
Stacy loves to run and enjoys the bike more and more, as she gains speed and confidence. The swim, however, still give her pause for concern. “I am always happy to be out of the water. I’m a little fearful of what lies below!”
Stacy trains 10-15 hours per week, but never writes anything down. “I am very goal oriented,” she says. “I always need a carrot dangling. I’m always training for my next race. If I didn’t have a race to train for, I would probably sleep in!”
Next up for Stacy: The Pumpkinman Half-Ironman - 70.2 kilometers of fun and pain - followed by the Lobsterman (tentatively) and the Noyes, Hall & Allen CELT Challenge in late September.
“I love triathlon. It’s part of who I am. My kids are psyched to watch me race and my husband is very supportive. I could not do it without him!”

