Too-too-tootsie, don’t cry…
Posted by Carrie on 14 Aug 2008 | Tagged as: Fitness and Health, Pictures and movies
Kind of appropriate and amusing that this week’s Runners’ Lounge Take it and Run Thursday meme is “Care and Feeding of Your Feet.” 
They want to know how you take care of your feet, and I…well, I take a possible stress fracture out for a seven-mile shuffle.
To be fair, I woke up feeling great, and I had no pain at all until about two miles into the run. After that, the pain came on really slowly, and it wasn’t too bad; I’d wiggle my toes in my shoes and focus on form, and I’d be good for another half-mile…or until I would try to make a right turn. Oh, those hurt, no matter how slowly I tried to take them. I banked really, really widely to try to avoid using the outside of the foot, but you can only do so much.
Back to babying it for the day. Honestly, I think that when I’m being diligent about it, I do a pretty good job of taking care of it; it’s only when I’ve been sitting for days, thinking about running until I nearly salivate, stressing about what the wait is doing to my endurance, that I slip and push too hard. But what am I doing, when I’m being “good”?
- Ice baths.
- Compression.
- Elevation.
- Rest.
It’s funny, how you can almost get used to the sensation of immersing an appendage into a box of freezing water and ice cubes. The first couple of times I did it were agony, but when I iced after this morning’s run, there was only a minute or so of internal screaming before I was able to slip into my slow-breathing state of calm. I don’t see myself ever being one of those runners who jump into bathtubs full of ice water after every run, just as a matter of maintenance and habit, but it certainly seems to help an injury.
I got my new ACE bandage yesterday, as well as some sports tape. Truthfully, the sports tape unnerves me a bit; for one, there’s the idea that adjusting it, should I accidentally get it too tight, will be an ordeal, and for another, there’s the whole issue of removing it. It wouldn’t be so bad as if I had to apply it to, say, my forearm, or another body part with more hair, but still. So I’ve been wrapping after icing, and it does a good job of keeping everything stable.
Ah, my trusty stool. Elevation isn’t hard to do and doesn’t warrant much discussion.
Ah. Yes. Um. When I’m not running, I’m resting the foot. I even dug out my old crutches, which is a sign of my dedication to healing in itself, since I HATE crutches. (It was amusing to see the awed looks on Sam’s friends when I picked him up from the playground yesterday; I forgot how “injury = cool” in the elementary school set. Looking back now, I can remember being super jealous of other kids who broke limbs and got to wear CASTS to school. ) I’ve been keeping as much weight off it as I can, doing the cross-training thing on exercise bikes and in the pool. Also, I’ve stumbled upon the deleterious effects of hearing stories of Olympians who are competing or training on injured or broken limbs; the whole “If they can, why not me?” mindset is dangerous in moments like these.
Of course, there’s also the fifth item on a list like this: Get thee to a physician. I’m trying, but it’s harder than it seems; the first appointment I could get isn’t for almost two weeks. Truthfully, I don’t know what he’ll be able to tell me, either, other than to do what I’ve been doing, minus the slip-ups. Even if, worst-case scenario, it is a stress fracture (please, God, no), all he’s likely to add is, “…and keep doing that for four to six weeks.” 
Please chant with me: I’m running for life, not for one race. I’m running for life, not for one race. I’m running for life, not for one race…
11 Comments »
on 14 Aug 2008 at 10:10 am
Cory said …
Carrie, use prewrap. It’s a thin, foamlike material with which you wrap your foot first. Then you put on the athletic tape. That way, whenever you remove everything , the adhesive tape isn’t ripping off your skin.
http://www.pre-wrap.com
on 14 Aug 2008 at 11:45 am
Karen said …
Taking care of it now, taking a week off now, may still save the race. You are four weeks out, and you already know you can handle the mileage. Running through it may increase the damage from what it is now to something more serious.
Says the girl who hasn’t been running much at all, and is at the same four-weeks-out point.
on 14 Aug 2008 at 12:14 pm
gwen said …
Two weeks?! That’s outrageous. You told them you had a possible fracture and that’s the best they could do? Wow. There is no where else you can go?
About the athletes training on injured body parts. I know it’s tempting, but don’t do it. In high school I fell into that mindset and finished out my senior year basketball season on a sprained (? there is some question about whether it was sprained or broken as I didn’t want to go to the Dr. and have him tell me I couldn’t play, so I didn’t go) ankle. We used to ice it for 30 minutes or so and then go out and I would shoot some baskets and do some very light practice. (if you can’t feel it, it doesn’t hurt, right?) I did end up skipping a game or two, but I finished the season out playing. Now I look back on it and see how stupid it was, especially when my ankle throbs for no reason at all.
on 14 Aug 2008 at 12:57 pm
amy said …
I have had a stress fracture in both feet. And once there, they are a buggar to get rid of. I know I will sound like an overbearing mom, but do go to the doctor and get an xray. In the meantime, when you do walk, find the stiffest, supportive shoes and wear them all the time.
And then, don’t run - for a while - at least a few weeks. You are running for life.
on 14 Aug 2008 at 1:19 pm
hannah said …
DO you think it was the puddle-jumping, leaping about day that did the damage? Or is this just par for course for long distance runners?
I can imagine your frustration
I hope you can find a Dr who will see you sooner. That’s a long way out for an injury like this (in my ignorant opinion).
hang in there. . .
on 14 Aug 2008 at 1:45 pm
Carrie said …
Now, bear in mind that I don’t know it’s a fracture; that’s just the worst (likely) thing I can think of at the moment. Hannah, I was fine for a while after that rain run; this started the evening after my long run this past weekend.
Amy: when you had your stress fractures, were they sore to the touch? If you squeezed your foot, was it painful? What about swelling, etc.?
Wouldn’t matter if I could get in sooner, really. We’ve got our vacation booked for next week, so I won’t be around to be seen.
on 14 Aug 2008 at 4:43 pm
amy said …
hey…get to the doctor. might even warrant an ER visit. IF it is a fracture you could be making it a lot worse by running. I had one recently and they gave me a nice brace to wear and it did wonders for the pain. My foot was swollen and I had pain on the top and bottom of my foot. It was extremely painful. I too tried to keep exercising and doing normal stuff but that just made it worse.
the reason I said go to the dr is a friend at the gym had similar pain and by the time she was convinced by the pain and others to go the doctor told her if she had waited any longer she would have had a complete break and needed surgery. so it might help prevent more damage to get it checked.
I am amazed you are running still, my foot hurt so incredibly bad I couldnt even sleep w/ a sheet on my foot from the swelling and it touching me.
Good luck!!
on 14 Aug 2008 at 5:12 pm
Carrie said …
See, that’s the thing: it’s not swollen, and it only hurts when I put weight on it. Even squeezing it hard doesn’t hurt. This is what has me doubting, really, that it is a fracture. That’s just the worst-case scenario. Could just be a deep bruise or something? I dunno.
on 14 Aug 2008 at 5:26 pm
Cindy said …
If anyone you loved was in that much discomfort but kept antagonizing the injury and finding excuses not to pursue medical care, what would you say or do? I am sympathetic to your intense obsession with running, but I’m seriously wondering if you are doing long term harm to your foot. Long runs in the morning followed by crutches in the afternoon? To the outsider, it sounds a bit insane.
on 14 Aug 2008 at 5:38 pm
Carrie said …
Well, being fair, it’s nothing I planned. When I woke this morning, it felt fine (jogging our hallway and up and down our stairs to test it), or I wouldn’t have even considered going on a run. I won’t do it again, believe me, until I’m much more sure. My only real option besides waiting until the appointment I made would be to go to the ER, but since everything I’m reading about stress fractures seems to indicate that x-rays aren’t conclusive…an orthopedist seems a far better bet.
on 14 Aug 2008 at 5:49 pm
Carrie said …
Oh, and the crutches are probably just me being overly cautious (as odd as that sounds).
I can get around fine without them, but I wanted to take even more weight off the foot in hopes of speeding recovery.